大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly!

It’s cold outside!

Is it getting cold where you live? If so, then warm up with this list of cold-weather vocabulary in Chinese:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/12/03/chinese-adjectives/

Twitter: @FluentU

Table for how many?

If you go to a restaurant in China, the waiter might well ask you, “几位” (jǐ wèi). How do you respond? A short, but crucial, question to know how to answer:

http://hellochineseapp.blogspot.co.il/2015/11/how-could-you-response-to-waiters.html

Twitter: @HelloChineseApp

Using 点

The word 点 has a huge number of uses, from “dot” to lighting. In this post at DigMandarin, we can learn 10 different uses for this character:

http://www.digmandarin.com/10-ways-to-use-dian.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Tone training course

Want to improve your tone listening skills? Olle from Hacking Chinese has announced a “tone training course”:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/the-tone-training-course-is-now-open/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Songs to learn Mandarin

It seems that everyone is now finding songs in Chinese that’ll help students improve their reading, vocabulary, and listening. This list from the Chairman’s Bao newspaper provides a good starting point if you haven’t yet listened to Chinese music:

http://www.thechairmansbao.com/five-of-the-most-beautiful-chinese-songs-to-learn-mandarin/

Twitter: @TheChairmansBao

Another song to learn Mandarin

Chris from Fluent in Mandarin recommends this song, The Ordinary Road（平凡之路 píng fán zhī lù):

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-music-song-ordinary-road/

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

Yet another song

This song, by Jackie Cheung, is also a famous and favorite one, recommended here by Chinese at Ease:

http://chinese-at-ease.com/short-story-in-chinese-she-comes-to-my-concert/

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

Isaac Newton, in Chinese

Isaac Newton was a world-famous scientist, as you probably know. This simple story in Chinese, read out loud and with both Chinese characters and pinyin, will tell you more, as well as improve your listening ability and vocabulary.

http://chinese-at-ease.com/simple-chinese-story-scientist-story/

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

Words with 心 (xīn)

The 心 character means “heart,” and is used in many words having to do with emotion or thought. In this post, Decode Mandarin Chinese lists several such words:

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/blog/2015122/xin-in-chinese

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

Chinese character bites

Chris from Fluent in Mandarin has a few more of his “character bites” segments this week, talking about 也, 道, 出, and 地:

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-25/

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-26/

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-27/

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-28/

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

Reading menus

Going to China soon? You should learn the basic vocabulary that you’ll see on a menu, so that you have a chance of understanding what you’re ordering:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/common-chinese-menu/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Third wheel

Is someone interrupting your date, acting as a “third wheel”? This amusing video clip from Learn Chinese Now introduces the Chinese equivalent of a third wheel, namely a “light bulb,” or 电灯泡（diàn dēng pào):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkzQMif6LT4

Just a moment

How do you say “Wait a moment” in Chinese?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3voelv/how_would_you_say_just_give_me_a_moment_in_chinese/

Traditional or simplified characters?

Learning Chinese? Then you’re likely learning one of the two character sets, simplified or traditional. What are the relative advantages of each?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3usy1p/studying_mandarin_in_college_im_deciding_whether/

Where does one word end, and another begin?

In English and many other languages, It’s obvious where one word ends, and another begins. But in Chinese, each character can stand on its own or be part of a larger word. How can you figure out where these breaks occur, using a computer program or other automated system?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16658/how-to-tell-when-one-word-starts-and-another-word-ends

Different kinds of “style”

A question about how to translate the English word “style” into Chinese turned into a description of not only different meanings for the word “style,” but also a reminder that where one language uses a single word, another language might have two or three:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16671/what-is-the-difference-between-%E6%AC%BE%E5%BC%8F-and-%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F

Hard grammar

What parts of Chinese grammar do you find difficult to remember?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3v5ydq/frustrating_grammar_points_or_words_which_shut/

Preschool characters

How many Chinese characters can native Chinese children read before they start school?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3v2966/how_many_characters_can_preschoolers_in_china/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly!

Learning to hear tones

Speaking the tones in Chinese is hard for those of us learning the language, but hearing them can often be even harder. In this post, Olle from Hacking Chinese describes how we can improve our sensitivity to tones, for better comprehension and speaking:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-learn-to-hear-the-tones-in-mandarin/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Everything and nothing

A great video from ChinesePod telling us how to say the words “everything,” “nothing,” and so forth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bj_NyD6uRE

Personalities

Another video from ChinesePod, describing different types of personalities (and how to say them in Chinese):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSWK6W7sc38

Breaking up is hard to do

This post, from the World of Chinese, contains many expressions that we can use in Chinese to describe relationships (and their ends):

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2015/11/how-to-break-a-heart/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Story time

Grace from Just Learn Chinese has another story in simple Chinese, with characters and then (when moused over) pinyin and translation:

http://justlearnchinese.com/chinese-city-girls-story-li-mans-resolution-%E6%9D%8E%E6%9B%BC%E7%9A%84%E5%86%B3%E5%BF%83-1-elementary-level/

Twitter: @graceJLC

Spatial relations

A great video from Helpful Chinese Resources, demonstrating the different places that things can go, and how to describe them relative to one another:

http://helpfulchineseresources.blogspot.co.il/2015/11/extra-147-how-to-say-spatial-words.html

Fun homophones

Chinese has a huge number of homophones (i.e., words that sound the same, but mean different things). Hollie at Written Chinese has collected a number, and provides us with some of the more amusing ones:

http://www.writtenchinese.com/fun-chinese-homophones-you-can-use-online/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Slang, slang, and slang

Three collections of Chinese slang for DigMandarin:

http://www.digmandarin.com/popular-chinese-slang-collection-part-2.html

www.digmandarin.com/popular-chinese-slang-collection-part-3.html

www.digmandarin.com/popular-chinese-slang-collection-part-4.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Basic numbers

Learning the characters for numbers in Chinese is both easy and useful. In this post, Oksana introduces a number of them, and shows how they can be combined in various ways:

http://www.digmandarin.com/numbers-as-graphical-components-in-chinese.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Waiting for a Person

Chinese to Learn provides a nice love song in Chinese, with Chinese characters, pinyin, and English translation. Improve your listening and your reading at the same time:

http://www.chinesetolearn.com/%E7%AD%89%E4%B8%80%E5%80%8B%E4%BA%BA-deng-yi-ge-ren-waiting-person-%E6%9E%97%E8%8A%AF%E5%84%80-lin-xin-yi-shennio-lin-lyrics-pinyin-english-translation/

Twitter: @ChineseToLearn

Do you love me?

Chris from Fluent in Mandarin offers a love song, with characters and pinyin, for a popular (if old) song:

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/learn-chinese-through-music-do-you-love-me-or-not/

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

Can you really become fluent?

Chris from Fluent in Mandarin asks whether it’s possible to become truly fluent in Chinese. His answer: Definitely, but it will take time.

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/is-becoming-fluent-in-chinese-really-a-realistic-goal/

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

Easy reading

FluentU provides us with a list of books (some for children, or for the young at heart) that are good for beginning Chinese readers:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/11/23/easy-chinese-reading/

Twitter: @FluentU

“Magic wand” sentences

What are some good all-purpose conversational phrases and sentences you can use in Chinese? Here are a number of useful ones to keep in mind:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3tsi1d/what_are_some_good_magic_wand_sentences_in_chinese/

Voiced initials

You’ll often find Chinese books and lessons talking about “voiced initials.” What are they, and what can/should we do to learn and understand them?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3u79wc/what_is_a_voiced_initial/

Only children

China’s one-child policy, recently changed, is the subject of much international discussion. How would you describe someone as being an only child?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16613/what-is-the-correct-chinese-expression-for-only-child

How do you say “sticker”?

Some people asked whether “sticker” is transliterated into Chinese, but it turns out that you can say 贴纸 (Tiē zhǐ), or “sticky paper”:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16609/does-sticker-have-a-transliteration

Dedicating a book

How would you dedicate a book (or other work) to someone? There are both traditional and modern (colloquial) ways to do so:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16623/would-you-use-%E4%B8%BA-or-%E7%BB%99-or-neither-as-a-dedication

Taping up a package

If you have to tape up a package, what words should you use?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16642/how-do-you-say-tape-it-as-in-taping-a-package

Saying “percent”

“Percent” should be 百分之 (bǎi fēn zhī), but not everyone says it that way. Why not?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3ty8p2/saying_percent_not_%E7%99%BE%E5%88%86%E4%B9%8B/

Dealing with frustration

What should you do when your Chinese isn’t improving as quickly as you would like? And when you don’t have anyone with whom you can practice?

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnchinese/comments/3fkjfh/feeling_very_discouraged_and_demoralized_lately/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly!

When you don’t understand anything

If you’re learning Chinese, you’ll likely encounter situations in which someone is talking, and you don’t understand them at all. What do you then? Chris from Fluent in Mandarin offers some suggestions for getting through such situations, as well as encouragement, reminding us that this happens to everyone:

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/what-to-do-if-you-can-barely-understand-anything/

Tone strategy

How can you keep the tones straight in your head? Chris, writing at Dig Mandarin, has some suggestions:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

http://www.digmandarin.com/how-to-get-the-tones-in-chinese-right-and-then-fix-them-in-your-head.html

Snow White, in Chinese

Love the story of Snow White? Or just looking for some good beginner-level reading material? Here’s Snow White, in simple Chinese:

Twitter: @ECLSchool

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/baixuegongzhu-snow-white-beginner

Choosing the right font

I have always used the default Chinese fonts on my computers and phones. But in this article from Olle Linge, we see that fonts can affect our reading ability, and reflect different styles and locations:

Twitter: @HackingChinese

http://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-verify-that-you-use-the-right-chinese-font/

Watch TV, and improve your Chinese

If you need listening practice, then watching Chinese television can be helpful. But what shows should you watch? Chris from Fluent in Mandarin offers his suggestions for the most interesting shows, including an indication of the difficulty:

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/14-of-the-best-chinese-tv-shows-to-improve-your-mandarin/

Beijing tourist attractions

Beijing is full of great tourist attractions. How do you say their names in Chinese? This post, from Warp Speed Chinese, will tell you:

Twitter: @WSChinese

http://warpspeedchinese.com/how-to-say-beijings-top-10-tourist-spots-in-chinese-perfectly/

Thanksgiving vocabulary

This week is Thanksgiving in the United States. William, from Learn Everyday Chinese, offers a vocabulary list to describe the day, what you’re doing, and what you’re most likely eating:

Twitter: @learnchinese88

http://learneverydaychinese.com/2015/11/learn-everyday-chinese-186-happy-thanksgiving/

Work vocabulary

Decode Mandarin has a short list of words having to do with the workplace:

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/blog/20151122/vocabulary-about-work-

Hair and skin care products

In this video from Emma Xue, she reviews the hair and skin care products she has bought, describing them both in English and in Chinese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Owi8tQIao

HSK3 to HSK4 in three months

The HSK examinations certify how well you know Chinese. Is it possible to go from HSK3 to HSK4 in just three months? In this blog post on Speak Up Chinese, one student describes his experience trying to do so:

Twitter: @SpeakUpChinese

http://speakupchinese.tumblr.com/post/133601265586/hsk-3-to-hsk-4-in-3-months-ollies-challenge

HSK4 in eight months

Along the same lines as the above link: Timo Horstschaefer, a physics student in Switzerland, managed to do it in only eight months of part-time study. His techniques might help you to achieve a similar goal:

https://blog.timo-horstschaefer.de/2015/11/hsk-4-within-8-months/

Brainstorm!

How do you say “brainstorm” in Chinese? Crazy Fresh Chinese has the answer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrKNE0wET9s

Improving your tones

If your tones need improvement, what can you do? Some suggestions on how to make them clearer and more accurate:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3t0qk9/my_tones_suck_help_my_pronunciation_is_okayish/

Difficult sounds for English speakers

What Chinese sounds are the hardest for English speakers to learn to say?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3tef3n/difficult_sounds_for_native_english_speakers/

“Spelling” a character

Chinese doesn’t have an alphabet, and has many homophones. How do native speakers indicate which character was their intended meaning?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3t1gal/how_does_one_spell_a_chinese_character_if/

Get lost!

How do you say that you’re lost in Chinese? Several words can be used, but they have slightly different meanings and use cases:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16563/what-is-the-difference-in-use-between-%E8%BF%B7%E5%A4%B1-%E8%BF%B7%E8%B7%AF-%E8%B5%B0%E5%A4%B1-and-%E8%BF%B7%E9%80%94

Vacant taxi

How do Chinese taxis indicate that they don’t currently have any passengers? (Not that I’ve seen this myself very often, I must admit!) They use the phrase 空车 (kōng chē)， as described here. The discussion then continues with the uses and pronunciations of 空:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/pronunciation-%E7%A9%BA%E8%BD%A6.3098355/

I’m cold; put on a sweater

How do you tell someone to put on warmer clothes?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E7%A9%BF%E5%BE%97%E5%A4%9A%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B-%E5%A4%9A%E7%A9%BF%E7%82%B9%E5%84%BF-%E8%A1%A3%E6%9C%8D.3098693/

Modesty

How do you say “modest” in Chinese? There are several terms you can use, each with its own connotation:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16543/difference-between-%E8%B0%A6%E8%99%9A-and-%E8%99%9A%E5%BF%83

Multiple adjectives

Is there an easy or accepted way to describe a word with multiple adjectives? Some ideas on the subject:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/50269-how-to-use-several-adjectives-to-describe-a-noun/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly!

Most common character components

Chinese characters aren’t random drawings; they are the result of combining components in different ways. Recognizing and understanding these components can really help you to improve your reading. In this post, Carl Gene Fordham introduces a chart that he recently (and exhaustively!) made, describing the 800 most common components in an organized fashion.

Twitter: @carlfordham

http://carlgene.com/blog/2015/11/800-most-common-chinese-character-components/

How to think about the third tone

The third tone tends to give people problems. How can you think about it, to pronounce it more accurately?

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

http://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/learn-mandarin-chinese-third-tone-the-correct-way-to-pronounce-it?

Chinese children’s books are for Chinese children

If you’re learning Chinese, then you might think that a great way to practice your reading would be to read children’s books in Chinese. After all, the level is probably low, right? John from Sinosplice reviews a number of Chinese children’s books, and comes to the conclusion that this probably isn’t a good idea — and reocmmends some alternatives

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2015/11/11/chinese-picture-books-as-learning-material

Most common measure words

Measure words are an essential part of Chinese grammar. This blog post includes a link to a chart of the 37 most common measure words, and what sorts of objects they describe:

Twitter: @MasterofM2015

https://masterofmandarin.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/37-most-useful-chinese-measure-words-%E4%B8%89%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%83%E4%B8%AA%E9%87%8F%E8%AF%8D/

Written vs. spoken Chinese

Every language (at least, the languages that I know) has differences between its written and spoken forms. Spoken language is generally less formal and more fluid, with more assumptions that the listener is expected to fill in. Chinese is no different, although the distinctions between oral and written Chinese are more precisely defined. In this article from Written Chinese, Hollie tells us about many of the differences, and how they can help us to speak and read better, as well as to understand the evolution of Chinese language.

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

http://www.writtenchinese.com/the-difference-between-written-and-spoken-chinese/

Variant characters

You are probably familiar with the differneces between simplified and traditional characters. But there are variations beyond these that you should recognize in characters. This post, by Ollle Linge at Hacking Chinese, explains:

Twitter: @HackingChinese

http://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-character-variants-and-fonts-for-language-learners/

Expressions with money

A quick review of the things we can do with money (in Chinese, of course):

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/blog/2015/11/13/all-about-money

Practice exercises in Chinese

This blog post at JustLearnChinese describes a new Internet-based Chinese practice system known as Cloze Cards. From the few minutes I looked at it, this appears to be an interesting and useful resource:

Twitter: @graceJLC

http://justlearnchinese.com/learning-by-reading-davids-chinese-learning-method/

Feeling bad

This list of negative emotions is useful for when you’re feeling down… or when you are feeling good, and just want to learn how to describe being uncomfortable, bored, or upset:

Twitter: @chineseclass101

http://www.chineseclass101.com/chinese-vocabulary-lists/feeling-sad-learn-the-top-21-words-for-negative-emotions

Chinese pick-up lines

Want to out on the town, and perhaps even ask someone out in Chinese? This guide introduces all of the vocabulary you need to have a great time out:

Twitter: @ChinesePod

https://chinesepod.com/blog/chinese-dating-flirting-guide/

Southern accented Chinese

If you’re like me, then your Chinese teacher has been giving you something of a northern accent. But that raises the question of what a southern Chinese accent sounds like. This article by Angel at Mandarin HQ provides some insight, as well as videos, to answer that question.

http://mandarinhq.com/2015/11/the-missing-guide-to-the-sounds-of-southern-accented-mandarin-chinese/

Improving your Chinese via film

One way to improve your Chinese is by watching movies. Of course, the speaking might be quite fast, but this blog post from FluentU provides not only movie recommendations, but also summaries of the plots, vocabulary, and reason to watch these films:

Twitter: @FluentU

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/11/09/watch-chinese-movies-online/

How do kids learn tones?

A discussion of how (and when) Chinese children learn tones, and why adults who learn Chinese seem to have such issues with them:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3sqx8v/heres_what_i_dont_understand_about_learning/

Where does 我 come from?

The pronoun 我 means “I” or “me,” but how did that character come to have that meaning?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16518/etymology-of-%E6%88%91-what-it-is

Combining “soon” and “fast”

You might know that you can use 快 (kuài) .. 了 to express something that will happen soon. How can you say, without sounding weird, that someone will soon run faster than you?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/he-will-soon-be-able-to-run-quicker-than-me.3096814/

Seasons

Which is more appropriate, or formal, to describe seasons — 季 or 天?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E5%AD%A3-%E5%A4%A9.3094694/

Waiter!

How do you call the server in a Chinese restaurant? The answer is more complex than you might think, and depends in no small part on where you are:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3sji2b/variations_in_addressing_the_waiterwaitress/

How do you say “pizza”?

It turns out that there are many ways to say “pizza” in Chinese:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16528/most-common-well-known-translation-transliteration-of-pizza-in-chinese

Newbies!

How can you describe someone as a “newbie” in Chinese?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16485/how-to-say-newbie-or-noob-in-chinese

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly!

Chinese-learning strategy

How should you learn Chinese? It will take a while to become fluent, or even close to fluent — so you should plan accordingly. The strategy outlined in this post at Sensible Chinese strikes me as very reasonable, aiming to maximize motivation and a sense of accomplishment long before you’re fully fluent:

Twitter: @FluentChinese

https://sensiblechinese.com/how-to-learn-chinese/

Jump-starting your Chinese

In a similar vein to the above article about long-term Chinese-learning strategy, this blog post from Written Chinese provides a short-term strategy to give yourself a boost — learning characters, improving your vocabulary, and some tricks for improving your understanding:

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

http://www.writtenchinese.com/how-to-jumpstart-your-chinese-in-30-days/

Keeping up the learning motivation

And in yet another article that combines motivation with strategy, Chris from Fluent in Mandarin describes how he managed to work on his Chinese for nine years, and in so doing to become fluent:

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://fluentinmandarin.com/content/6-ways-i-kept-up-the-motivation-to-learn-chinese/

Useful phrases for common situations

Michael at FluentU has put together a list of useful phrases for when you’re traveling to China or living there. Whether you’re in a restaurant or a train station, you’ll want to look through and practice these phrases:

Twitter: @FluentU

http://fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/11/02/important-chinese-phrases/

The two “twos” in Chinese

Why do we have two different ways of saying “two” in Chinese? Rita from Dig Mandarin explores the issue, and the use cases:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

http://digmandarin.com/the-major-differences-between-er-and-liang.html

War in Chinese

The character 战 (zhàn) means “war.” The history of this character, and the ways in which it can be used, are detailed in this long blog post at the World of Chinese:

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

http://theworldofchinese.com/2015/11/on-the-character-%E6%88%98/

Using 场 as a measure word

Did you know that 场 has two pronunciations (cháng and chǎng), and that each pronunciation has a different meaning (and is used as a mirror word for two different types of noun)? This short chart from Decode Mandarin Chinese makes it clear:

Twitter: @DecodeChinese

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/blog/2015/11/4/how-to-use-

Hey there, good looking!

How can you say that someone is good looking in Chinese? The latest slang, according to Sarah at Speak Up Chinese, is to say 颜值高 (yán zhí gāo). More about this phrase, with examples, are in the post:

Twitter: @SpeakUpChinese

http://speakupchinese.tumblr.com/post/132541773946/chinese-slang-%E9%A2%9C%E5%80%BC-y%C3%A1nzh%C3%AD-attractiveness

Learning tones with Morse Code

Tones are hard to learn — hard to hear, and hard to say. But Warp Speed Chinese has an interesting idea, thinking about Morse Code (you know, dots and dashes) to improve your tones and pronunciation. The first of this series is here:

Twitter: @WSChinese

http://warpspeedchinese.com/learn-chinese-tones-with-morse-code/

They learn how many?!?

How many characters do Chinese children learn to read in school? And at what age? This short anecdote, from Joel and Jessica about their six-year-old, certainly put me to shame:

Twitter: @ChinaHopeLive

http://chinahopelive.net/2015/11/02/chinese-characters-vs-english-sight-words

Addicted to phones

In China, as elsewhere, some people cannot go without checking their phones all of those time. Such people are known as 手机控 shǒu jī kòng, as described in this eChineseLearning blog post:

Twitter: @ECLSchool

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/are-you-a-smartphone-addict-shoujikong-ditouzu

North American countries

You might know how to say “United States” in Chinese, but how about other country names? This list, from Sasha at Transparent Language, should help you to tell people where you’re from, or where you’ve never visited:

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/north-american-countries-in-chinese/

Ways to build

Three different verbs — 盖 (gài) ，修 (xiū )，and 建 (jiàn) — can be used, in various ways, to describe building or fixing. How are they similar and different?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16449/difference-between-%E7%9B%96-%E4%BF%AE-%E5%BB%BA

Uses of 先 in a sentence

The word 先 can be used to mean “first,” but has a few other uses, as well:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E4%BB%96%E8%AE%A9%E6%88%91-%E5%85%88-%E7%95%99%E5%9C%A8%E8%BF%99%E5%84%BF.3092701/

Sitting in a chair, a grammatical exploration

How, in Chinese, can we say that someone is sitting in a chair? The discussion of which sentence is correct leads to a discussion of the 者 (zhe) construct, which (sort of) turns a Chinese verb into a gerund.

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16434/why-is-%E4%BB%96%E5%9C%A8%E6%A4%85%E5%AD%90%E4%B8%8A%E5%9D%90-wrong

Established in …

How can an organization say that they were established in a certain year? A question with multiple answers.

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16423/how-to-say-when-a-university-was-established

Studying by yourself

What’s the difference between 自习 (Zì xí) and 自学 (Zì xué)? Both involve self-learning ,but slightly different types:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16422/%E8%87%AA%E4%B9%A0-vs-%E8%87%AA%E5%AD%A6-whats-the-difference

Learning computer-related words

What are the best ways to learn computer-related words, so that you can use (or just talk about using) your computer in Chinese? This discussion points to several resources, as well as some of the differences between the vocabularies of different types of Chinese relating to computers and technology:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16413/word-list-for-computer-ui-and-technical-simplified-character-pinyin-english

Nothing to lose

How would you say “I have nothing to lose” in Chinese? Some suggestions:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/have-nothing-to-lose.3093565/

Using 了 to soften a sentence

Why was 了 added to the end of a sentence? To soften its impact somewhat:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E7%85%A7%E7%89%87%E5%9C%A8%E8%BF%99%E5%84%BF-%E4%BA%86.3093087/

Using 和 to link nouns

When you learn about 和 in Chinese, you hear that it’s not the same as “and” in English. This discussion explores the issue a bit:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/50173-question-about-an-example-i-saw-for-the-use-of-%E5%92%8C-to-link-nouns/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com.

Learning characters vs. words

Should you learn Chinese characters, or words (which often contain more than one character?) Chris from FluentInMandarin provides us with some interesting insights into how and when to focus on each one.

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/better-learn-chinese-characters-or-words/

How to read Chinese

Before learning to read Chinese characters, they look like a random jumble of scribbles. But after a while, you can see the patterns. This article by Michael Cruickshank describes how radicals and components fit together, and the different types of characters that you will encounter.

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/10/27/how-to-read-chinese/

Latest and greatest

How can you say “the latest” in Chinese? In this article by Sarah Soulie in DigMandarin, we learn a few of the phrases that we can use to describe the most recent things we’ve done and seen.

Twitter: @DigMandarin

http://www.digmandarin.com/four-words-that-mean-latest-in-mandarin.html

Listening resources

What online resources exist to help you with your comprehension of spoken Chinese? Sensible Chinese lists a number of sources for Chinese audio that can help to improve your understanding

https://sensiblechinese.com/chinese-listening-resources/

Discussing hobbies

Want to talk about your hobbies in Chinese? This article, from Speak Up Chinese, will show you how to ask about someone else’s hobbies, and also how to talk about your own.

http://speakupchinese.tumblr.com/post/132044313181/how-to-discuss-hobbies-in-mandarin-like-a-native

Shopping in Chinese

In this video from Emma Xue, she narrates her experience shopping in the supermarket before Halloween. There isn’t any English or Pinyin — so if you’re at more than a beginner level, this might provide you with great listening comprehension review.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY__l1omgc4

Pronunciation via the IPA

Most of us learn to pronounce Chinese using Pinyin. But in this article from Hacking Chinese, Olle Linge suggests that it’s worth learning the IPA pronunciation, which is more precise and standardized.

Twitter: @HackingChinese

http://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-to-pronounce-mandarin-with-pinyin-zhuyin-and-ipa-part-3/

Short stories

These short stories from Miss Panda Chinese, meant for children (but we won’t tell if you listen, too), are good for listening practice.

http://www.misspandachinese.com/miss-pandas-story-picks-short-eared-rabbit-nineteen-girls-and-me/

Double objects

What are double objects, and how do we use them in Chinese grammar?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3qkwor/basic_grammar_question_verbs_with_double_objects/

Asking for things

When you’re in China, how can you ask for something from (for example) a restaurant?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3q6kt3/on_asking_for_things/

Regional accents

What accents do you like (and dislike) in Chinese? Which are easier and harder to understand?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3qsv4c/whats_your_favourite_regional_accent/

Listening to too-hard podcasts?

Is it worth listening to podcasts that are at a more difficult level of Chinese than you currently know?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3qq47z/is_it_worth_my_time_to_studylisten_to_podcasts/

One or two?

When can you use a single character, and when do you need the entire two-character word? This question on Reddit asked about 或者 vs. 或, and resulted in an interesting discussion

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3qasym/when_should_i_use_%E6%88%96_instead_of_%E6%88%96%E8%80%85_and_also_when/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com.

Identifying and using the water radical

One of the most common radicals in Chinese characters is the “three drops,” or water, radical, appearing on the left side. In this article, Oksana Ermolaeva introduces this radical and shows a number of characters that contain it.

Twitter: @DigMandarin

http://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-characters-learning-the-three-drops-of-water-radical.html

Coffee in China

China is, of course, traditionally assocated with the drinking of tea. But coffee is also becoming popular in China, and you should be prepared with appropriate vocabulary beyond the simple 咖啡 (kā fēi). In this article by Sam Bleakly, we learn how to say all of those complex and fancy types of coffee, such as espresso macchiato, in Chinese.

Twitter: @DigMandarin

http://www.digmandarin.com/mandarin-chinese-coffee-vocabulary-for-the-up-and-coming-chinese-coffee-market.html

Ordering in Chinese restaurants

Why is it sometimes hard to use Chinese to order in Chinese restaurants? Chris from FluentInMandarin.com provides some advice and suggestions on this front.

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/difficult-to-order-in-chinese-in-restaurants-and-make-it-easier/

Understanding simple characters

Chris from FluentInMandarin.com introduces two more characters, 个 (gè) and 国 (guó), which are common in Chinese, comparing how they’re written in simplified and traditional characters, and how they’re written.

Twitter: @FluentInMandarin

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-16/

Hungry ghosts!

Many Westerners think of October as the month in which they celebrate Halloween. China has its own version, known as “Ghost Month,” or the “Hungry Ghost Festival.” In this article, Winnie Lui writes about this festival, including Chinese vocabulary needed to celebrate and understand it.

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/10/21/chinese-halloween/

Story time: The rich man and the fisherman

A story in simple Chinese — audio, characters, and pinyin — to help you improve your comprehension. If you aren’t sure of the meaning, English translation is provided, as well.

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

http://chinese-at-ease.com/chinese-story-in-pinyin-rich-man-and-fisherman/

Welcome!

If you’ve ever been to China, you know that stores often blast recordings welcoming you to their store. How do you say “welcome” in Chinese, and how do you use it to welcome someone to your home? In this short article, Will introduces the phrase and breaks it down.

http://learneverydaychinese.com/2015/10/learn-chinese-day-183-welcome/

Common antonyms

It’s often helpful to learn words via opposites (antonyms), and in this post, we get a set of many such verb pairings.

http://www.decodemandarinchinese.com/blog/2015/10/22/very-common-antonyms

The mouth radical

All About Chinese has another chart with Chinese characters whose radical is the mouth.

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/131733403173/allaboutchinese-all-about-chineses-%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97

Traditional or simplified characters?

One of the first things you discover when learning Chinese is that there are two character sets. Which should you learn is up to you, but you’ll almost certainly need to learn to read both, because you’ll encounter both at some point. In this video and blog post, Mark describes the differences between traditional and simplified characters, and how the transformation was made. No matter which type of characters you’re learning, this will help you to identify and understand the others.

https://toshuo.com/2015/is-it-better-to-learn-traditional-or-simplified-characters-first/

Verb reduplication

In Chinese, we often use verbs twice. When do we do this, and why?

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/50058-why-chinese-people-often-repeat-the-same-verb-twice/

Indicating lateness

You might have learned that 才 (cái) indicates lateness. How do you use that?

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/50052-adverb-%E6%89%8D/

Using 过 (guò) vs. 了 (le)

Both are used to indicate what we think of as the past tense in English, but they are used differently in Chinese, and understanding that difference is key to fluency. A discussion of when to use each construct.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3pr2v8/difference_between_%E8%BF%87_and_%E4%BA%86/

Getting the most from a class

If you’re taking a course in Chinese, then how can you maximize your learning? Some hints for how you can do more than just participate in class.

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16321/how-do-i-make-the-most-of-my-chinese-language-course

Going vs. walking

Does the word 走 (zǒu) mean “walk” or “go,” and what does that mean for its use?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16314/why-in-some-contexts-does-%E8%B5%B0-mean-walk-but-in-others-go

The third tone

Why is the third tone so hard to remember and say? Some suggestions for how to improve on your pronunciation.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3psp0j/mandarin_third_tone_pronunciation_help/

Q&A from a Chinese teacher

Cici, a Chinese teacher, asked the Chinese Language forum on Reddit what questions they had about learning Chinese. The questions, and her answers, were quite illuminating.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3q0gak/i_am_a_chinesemandarin_teacher_and_i_am/

Vacation time

There are several ways to say “vacation” in Chinese. What are the differences bewteen those?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3q07sg/whats_the_difference_between_%E5%BA%A6%E5%81%87_%E5%81%87%E6%9C%9F_and_%E6%94%BE%E5%81%87/

Different ways to remember

Chinese has several verbs for “to remember.” When should you use each one?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3pyxxc/different_words_for_to_remember/

大家好！ (Hi, everyone!) Welcome to the latest Mandarin Weekly, with yet more links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

Please tell your Chinese teachers, fellow students, and others about this free resource. You can use the “share” buttons to do so.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the subscription box on the left side at MandarinWeekly.com.

Blogs

Non-boring Chinese

Are you always saying that things are 好 (hao, good) or 不好 (bu hao, not good)? Spice up your language a bit with these more interesting descriptions and words:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2015/10/12/useful-chinese-words

Family tree in Chinese

How can you describe various family members in Chinese? It’s not quite as straightforward as in English, because you need to pay attention to age and whether the person is related on your mother’s or father’s side. EChineseLearning.com (Twitter: @ECLSchool) provides a handy chart to learn and remember:

http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/how-to-talk-about-your-family-in-chinese

Always and never

How do we indicate that something is always the case — or never the case? In this posting for Speak Up Chinese (Twitter: @SpeakUpChinese), Sarah Soulié (Twitter: @suxiaoya) write about when and how to use 从来 (cóng lái) and 向来 (xiàng lái):

http://speakupchinese.tumblr.com/post/131162726986/using-%E5%90%91%E6%9D%A5-and-%E4%BB%8E%E6%9D%A5-to-express-always-never

Should you learn Zhuyin?

Like most other students of Chinese, I use Pinyin to learn the pronunciation of characters. There are other systems for writing out the pronunciation, one of which is known as Zhuyin. In this post, John Pasden (Twitter: @sinosplice) describes Zhuyin, and indicates why it might be advantageous to learn it:

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2015/10/15/the-case-for-zhuyin

Don’t be sorry!

One of the first phrases I learned, even before studying Chinese formally, is 对不起 (duì bù qǐ). But as Vera Zhang writes on DigMandarin (Twitter: @DigMandarin), you can’t use it whenever you would say “sorry” in English:

http://www.digmandarin.com/secrets-of-saying-sorry-correct-use.html

Female characters

All About Chinese (Twitter: @AllAboutChinese) lists characters with the 女 (nü) radical:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/131205877186/allaboutchinese-all-about-chineses-%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97

Pronunciation beyond the basics

How can you improve your Chinese pronunciation? And how important is it?  This post, by Olle Linge (Twitter: @HackingChinese) provides insights into why we should work on our pronunciation, and some ways in which to do so:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/improving-pronunciation-beyond-the-basics/

Writing characters

Chris from Fluent in Mandarin (Twitter: @FluentInMandarin) is back with even more videos about Chinese characters, and how to write them, as well as a video describing how foreigners can make their Chinese both fluent and native sounding:

• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-episode-11/
• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-12/
• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-13/
• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-14/
• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/chinese-character-bites-15/
• http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/2-brits-speaking-fluent-chinese-georges-china-story/

Tips for learning Chinese

Chinese often seems like a huge and overwhelming things to learn. Where do you start? What should you concentrate on? Do you need a teacher? Hollie from Written Chinese (Twitter: @WrittenChinese) offers tips from her personal experience:

http://www.writtenchinese.com/whats-the-best-way-to-learn-chinese-some-dos-donts-from-a-student-of-mandarin/

What do Chinese people fear?

An interesting, and somewhat amusing, analysis done by Chinese search company Baidu, this post by Sasha at Transparent (Twitter: @ChineseLanguage) includes some vocabulary describing their fears:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/top-fears-of-chinese-people/

Sheldon’s bad Chinese

Vera Zhang, writing at Tea Break Chinese, uses Sheldon Cooper (from the Big Bang Theory) and his bad Chinese to demonstrate some bad pronunciation habits that students can and should avoid:

http://teabreakchinese.blogspot.com/2015/10/what-can-we-learn-from-sheldon-cooper.html

Q&A

The “r” sound in Mandarin

How should we pronounce the “r” sound, at least as used in Pinyin?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3ozy15/the_r_in_pinyin_conflicting_statements_about/

Using 给

The word 给 (gěi) can be used as the verb “give,” but it can also be used to indicate the person for whom an action is being done. How do you use 给 in these two cases?

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E7%BB%99-for-to-give.3084271/

As a result…

When can and should we use 因而 (yīn ér)? It means “as a result,” but it seems to be similar to other words and expressions. Some answers and suggestions:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E5%9B%A0%E6%AD%A4-%E5%9B%A0%E8%80%8C.3084089/

Resources for advanced learners

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3oxxdi/intermediate_to_advanced_chinese_learners/

Searching and finding

How do you say that you cannot find something? The answer requires, in part, understanding the difference between 找 (zhǎo) and 找到 (zhǎo dào):

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16259/why-is-%E6%88%91%E6%89%BE%E4%B8%8D%E5%88%B0-correct-and-%E6%88%91%E4%B8%8D%E8%83%BD%E6%89%BE-wrong-which-grammatical-point-am-i-missing

Different ways to read

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E7%9C%8B-%E8%AF%BB.3083099/

Sunday

How do you say “Sunday” in Chinese? Both 星期天 (xīng qī tiān) and 星期日 (xīng qī rì) appear to be correct, but which is more common?

Blogs

Common mistakes

Listening challenge

Radical lists

• 小 （xiǎo）small: http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/130534159258/allaboutchinese-all-about-chineses-%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97
• 山 （shān） mountain: http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/130893349498/allaboutchinese-all-about-chineses-%E9%83%A8%E9%A6%96%E7%B3%BB%E5%88%97

The Great Wall

Chinese foodies

Visiting Tiananmen Square

Writing characters

How was your break?

Improving your Chinese via TV

Rare Chinese characters

Doing and making

Using 所哟的 (suǒ yǒu de)

Eating?  Or eating something?

Blogs

Q&A