Mandarin Weekly #50

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

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Must-know verbs

A great video from ChineseClass101 with 25 verbs (and related vocabulary) you should know in Chinese:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsT_yxXx60c

Twitter: @chineseclass101

Verb differences

In English, we “do” homework, but in Chinese, we “write” homework. Different languages use different verbs to express the same action; here is a list of some such verbs that you should know in Chinese:

http://www.digmandarin.com/basic-verbs-that-are-different-in-chinese-and-english-part-ii.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Yes and no in Chinese

How do you say “yes” and “no” in Chinese? The answer is a bit more complex than you might think:

http://www.onlinechineselearning.com/resource/how-to-say-yes-and-no-in-chinese.html

Are there shortcuts?

We all want to learn Chinese faster. But are there any shortcuts that can truly cut time off of the learning experience?

http://www.hackingchinese.com/are-there-any-shortcuts-for-learning-chinese/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Character bites

Chris, from Fluent in Mandarin, is back with two more characters:

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

December holiday vocabulary

Are you celebrating one or more holidays this December? Then this handy guide will tell you how to describe them in Chinese:

http://www.writtenchinese.com/how-to-say-merry-christmas-in-chinese-and-other-winter-holiday-vocabulary/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Christmas in China

How do people celebrate Christmas in China? Here are some vocabulary words (along with nice pictures):

http://hellochineseapp.blogspot.co.il/2015/12/what-you-need-to-know-before.html

Twitter: @HelloChineseApp

Yet more Christmas vocabulary

This video from LearnChineseNow introduces a number of useful Christmas-related vocabulary words:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiTtmGWXdB4

Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Demeaning Chinese nicknames

Would you ever call your child a dog? Or your wife a poorly-dressed woman? Probably not, but it seems that there’s a long-standing tradition of demeaning nicknames in China, documented and described in this article (which is full of related vocabulary):

http://www.theworldofchinese.com/2015/12/humility-or-insult-take-your-pick/

Twitter: @WorldOfChinese

Small shoes

If you’re shopping for shoes in Beijing, and you have big feet, don’t be surprised if you have a hard time! This article really spoke to me; I had terrible problems finding size 46 shoes in Beijing:

http://www.learnchinesechina.com/site-content/40-blog/1667-big-feet-in-beijing#.VoDfaxg2sVc

Chinese is easier than you think

Chinese has a reputation for being very difficult to learn. Is this true? At least one person things that it isn’t:

http://tysongibb.net/?p=360

Twitter: @TysonGibb

The shortest route

A short story in Chinese, read aloud with characters and pinyin for you to read, as well:

http://chinese-at-ease.com/learn-chinese-online-the-shortest-route-may-not-be-the-quickest/

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

Improving your Chinese handwriting

Want your handwriting in Chinese to improve? Here is a roundup of the various apps and guides you can use to make it more accurate and neater:

http://www.digmandarin.com/the-best-resources-to-improve-your-chinese-handwriting.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

When can you read a newspaper?

If you have passed HSK4, does that mean you can read a newspaper Maybe, but not necessarily. Here are some experiences, along with advice, from other advanced learners:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/3yfnpc/halfway_through_the_hsk_4_vocabulary_list_yet/

Measuring accidents

The word 事故 (shì gù) means“accident.” But what measure word goes with it? The answer is a bit more complicated than you might think:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E4%BA%8B%E6%95%85-classifier.3115208/

The 是。。。的（shì … de) construct

This common construct in Mandarin allows us to emphasize when, where, or how something was done, as described in this discussion:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16823/what-is-the-function-of-%E6%98%AF-in-this-sentence-%E4%BD%A0%E6%98%AF%E6%80%8E%E4%B9%88%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0%E8%8B%B1%E8%AF%AD%E7%9A%84

The 起来 (qǐ lái) construct

In this discussion, someone asks about 起来 following a verb, which results in an interesting discussion regarding its use:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16808/what-does-%E8%BF%99%E4%B8%AA%E4%B9%A6%E5%8C%85%E7%9C%8B%E8%B5%B7%E6%9D%A5%E4%B8%8D%E5%A4%A7-mean

“Who” as a relative pronoun

In English, we can use “who” not only when asking questions, but also in phrases, such as “the woman who was eating that ice cream cone.” How do we do that in Chinese, and do we use the word 谁 (shéi) to do so?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/16796/%E8%B0%81-as-relative-pronoun