Mandarin Weekly (每周中文) #115, 2017-March-27

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #115, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

More than 14,000 people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy Mandarin Weekly, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

If you offer products or services aimed at students of Chinese, consider sponsoring Mandarin Weekly; contact Reuven (the publisher) for more details, at reuven@lerner.co.il.

“Yes” and “no”

Beginner People learning Chinese are often surprised to find out that there are no exact equivalents to “yes” and “no.” How do people express these ideas in Chinese? With a variety of different answers:

https://www.yoyochinese.com/blog/Learn-Mandarin-Chinese-Different-Ways-Chinese-People-Say-Yes-or-No

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

Chinese TV

Advanced If you’re looking to improve your Chinese listening ability, as well as gain insights into Chinese culture while enjoying a guilty pleasure, consider watching Chinese TV shows. Here is a list of shows you can watch, along with some information about each one:

http://www.digmandarin.com/learn-chinese-tv-series.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Types of eggs

Beginner Eggs are a common food all over the world, and China is no exception. Here is a list of the different ways that you can cook eggs, including some uniquely Chinese ways, along with the words and phrases you’ll need to identify and order them:

http://blog.hellochinese.cc/2017/03/24/ordering-food-say-fried-eggs/

Twitter: @HelloChineseApp

Life as a translator

What is it like to learn Chinese, and then work in China as a translator? This post from Hacking Chinese is an interview with Carl Gene Fordham:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/become-chinese-english-translator-like-one/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Peking opera

You might have heard of “Peking opera,” a form of classic Chinese entertainment that comes from Beijing — but what is it? Here is an introduction to Peking Opera, including a number of relevant words and phrases:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/peking-opera/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Meat meat meat

Beginner Chinese food includes a lot of meat. And many kids of meat. From many different sources. Here is a list of the various sources, configurations, and types of meat you’re likely to encounter in China:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-vocabulary-for-meat/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Ordering steak

Beginner If you’re ordering steak, then you’ll need to indicate how you want it cooked, as well as what side dishes you would like to order. Here’s a complete guide to ordering meat and potatoes (and perhaps even a green salad) while in China:

http://blog.hellochinese.cc/2017/03/21/ordering-steaks-china/

Twitter: @HelloChineseApp

Dating ≠ learning

Beginner Want to improve your Chinese? Maybe you can/should date someone for whom Chinese is their native language. Or maybe not, as this post explains:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/03/24/why-a-chinese-girlfriend-or-boyfriend-will-not-improve-your-mandarin-level/

Peacocks and princesses

Intermediate A short story about a princess:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/15-2009-12-02-23-37-29/2792-2017-03-26-05-19-07

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Terracotta army

Advanced One of the most famous things to see in Xi’an in the “terracotta army,” an enormous set of soldier-shaped statues. Here is a story about them:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/2788-2017-03-22-05-26-40

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Unprecedented

Intermediate You’ve never seen anything like it before? Fine; how can you express that in Chinese?

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2017/03/24/listen-66/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Spring equinox

Beginner Spring has arrived, and with it the equinox. Here are some Chinese words and phrases for this period, and activities we can do now:

http://teresarainsegna.blogspot.co.il/2017/03/equinozio-di-primavera-spring-equinox.html

Variant spellings

Advanced Some words can be written with different “spellings” — meaning, they can use different characters. How do we describe this, and what are some examples of this phenomenon?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23153/how-to-express-words-variants-in-chinese

After Chinese Breeze

Intermediate Chinese Breeze is a well-known series of reaeders for people learning Chinese. What should you read when you’re done with that series, or when it no longer suits you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/60jt5d/reading_material_after_chinese_breeze/

Measure words

Advanced Which mirror word (classifier) should be used with small things?

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E9%87%8F%E8%AF%8D%EF%BC%9A%E9%A2%97-%E7%B2%92.1633789/

The trailing 吃的

Advanced A question about a trailing 的 leads to a discussion about adjectives, nouns, and when you can leave out words:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23193/meaning-of-%E7%9A%84-in-%E6%88%91%E4%B9%B0%E4%BA%86%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%9B%E5%90%83%E7%9A%84

了 (le) and future actions

Advanced Can we use 了 to indicate a change of status for future actions? Sometimes; this discussion makes the point clearer:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23175/why-cant-%E4%BA%86-be-used-to-indicate-a-completed-action-that-has-yet-to-come

Different types of registering

Intermediate The word “register” in English has several translations into Chinese, depending on the context:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23138/what-are-the-differences-between-%E6%8A%A5%E5%90%8D-%E7%99%BB%E8%AE%B0-%E6%8C%82%E5%8F%B7

Mandarin Weekly (每周中文) #114, 2017-March-20

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #114, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

More than 14,000 people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly. If you enjoy Mandarin Weekly, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

If you offer products or services aimed at students of Chinese, consider sponsoring Mandarin Weekly; contact Reuven (the publisher) for more details, at reuven@lerner.co.il.

Learning 了 (le)

Beginner One of the most confusing and difficult topics for students of Chinese is the use of 了. In this first of three videos from ChinesePod.com, we learn how 了 describes a change, and is not a simple marker of past tense:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAGEjr6-kY

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Math symbols

Intermediate Everyone knows that 2+2=4, but how do you say + and = in Chinese? Here’s a chart to help you out:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/158407091372/allaboutchinese-%E6%95%B0%E5%AD%A6%E7%AC%A6%E5%8F%B7%E8%A1%A8-mathematical-symbols

Scanning friends and bikes

Beginner The word 扫 (sǎo) means “to scan” — and nowadays, we can scan not only documents, but also people (in WeChat) and bicycle rentals:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/03/20/awesome-chinese-public-bikes/

I can, I want, I will

Intermediate Expressing the ideas that “I can” or “I want” or “I will” do something is a bit complex in Chinese; here is a complete guide to these verbs, and the ways in which they’re used:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/auxiliary-modals-time-related-expressions/

Learning by playing

Games are fun — and if they can help you to learn Chinese, then that’s even better! Here’s a list of how you can use games to improve your Chinese:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/10-ways-using-games-learn-teach-chinese/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Street food

Beginner Everywhere you go in Chinese cities, you’ll find stands serving street food. What are they serving, and how do you ask for it in Chinese?

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/street-food-china/

Family words

Beginner Chinese families have the same people as everyone else, but the names can be a bit more complex. Here is a family tree that can help you to learn those names:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/158384011350/allaboutchinese-%E6%88%91%E7%9A%84%E5%AE%B6%E8%B0%B1-my-family-tree

Travel words

Beginner If you’re like me, then much of your Chinese involves needs when traveling — especially hotels and restaurants. Here is a useful list of words you can use in your travels:

https://chelseabubbly.com/2017/03/13/hotel-themed-vocab-and-sentences/

Twitter: @Chelsea_bubbly

Opposites

Beginner How well do you know your opposites in Chinese? Try this simple matching game, and see how you do!

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-adjectives/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Learning resources

Where can you go to improve your Chinese? Here is a list of some resources you can use to improve your reading, writing, speaking, and listening:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2017/03/15/elearning-chinese/

Twitter: @FluentU

Internet and gaming terms

Intermediate The Internet has spawned all sorts of words and phrases. Here is a list of some of the Chinese terms that people use:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-internet-culture-and-gaming-in-china/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Rules for a football pitch

Intermediate Maybe football isn’t your thing — but even so, you can learn a lot of good vocabulary from this description (in Chinese, of course) of the rules associated with making one:

http://mychinesereading.com/football-pitch-regulations/

A short joke

Beginner What weighs the most? A silly riddle for someone you love — assuming that they speak Chinese, of course:

http://chinesehacks.com/fun/whos-the-heaviest/

Dictionary errors

Intermediate Writing a dictionary is hard, and writing a dictionary that translates between languages is even harder. Here are some errors that Carl Gene Fordham has found in Chinese-English dictionaries, which demonstrate the complexity of language:

http://carlgene.com/blog/2017/03/another-12-common-errors-in-chinese-english-dictionaries/

Twitter: @carlfordham

Emphasis with 是 (shì)。。。的 (de)

Intermediate How do we emphasize things in Chinese? One common way is to use the 是。。。的 grammar pattern:

Keeping fit

Intermediate Are you keeping fit and healthy? Sleeping enough? Eating correctly? Check yourself (or your friends) with these sentences in Chinese:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2017/03/18/listen-60/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Traditional story

Advanced A short traditional story about 后羿 (hòu yì):

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/15-2009-12-02-23-37-29/2780-2017-03-13-02-27-51

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Don’t be so smug

Intermediate A short story that reminds us to plan ahead, rather than concentrate on what we’re doing right now:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/2784-2017-03-17-07-27-59

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Using 让 (ràng)

Intermediate The term 让 can mean either “allow” or “ask,” which can lead to some ambiguity when translating from Chinese into English:

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23077/what-is-the-meaning-of-%E8%AE%A9

Mandarin Weekly (每周中文) #113, 2017-March-13

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #113, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

More than 13,000 people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly.  If you enjoy Mandarin Weekly, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

If you offer products or services aimed at students of Chinese, consider sponsoring Mandarin Weekly; contact Reuven (the publisher) for more details, at reuven@lerner.co.il.

What not to say on International Women’s Day

Intermediate March 8th was International Women’s Day, known in Chinese as 三八妇女节 (sān bā fù nǚ jié). Why is this term so bad, and what other words should you avoid using on this day?

https://chinesepod.com/blog/international-womens-day-doesnt-need-these-two-words/

Twitter: @ChinesePod

International Women’s Day

Intermediate In honor of International Women’s Day, ChinesePod.com interviews Patricia Smith from the Australian Office in Taipei, with whom they speak about the female side of Chinese characters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snHoINI8-_U

Twitter: @ChinesePod

Referring to foreigners

Beginner Foreigners in China are often referred to as 外国人 (wài guó rén), but other terms are also common. What’s the difference?

http://answers.echineselearning.com/questions/2017-03/10/115746191DPMAZEWM.html

Buying groceries

Beginner Want to go shopping for groceries in Chinese? Here are some useful phrases and sentences for you:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/buying-groceries-in-chinese/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Numbers, and their connotations

Intermediate You might think that numbers are simple. But in China, this isn’t true: While counting in Chinese is straightforward, many numbers have connotations beyond their numeric meanings:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/03/06/do-you-know-what-these-chinese-numbers-really-mean/

Computer talk

Intermediate Want to discuss computer-related subjects with your Chinese colleagues and friends? Here’s a rather long list of terms you can use to talk about software, hardware, and everything in between:

https://www.writtenchinese.com/stop-being-n00b-learn-computer-words-chinese/

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Postpartum rest

Advanced After giving birth, Chinese women rest for a month, an ancient practice known as 坐月子 (). Here is a short story explaining what’s involved:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/2777-2017-03-09-03-41-18

Twitter: @imandarinpod

And… what else?

Beginner One of the first characters Chinese learners encounter is 和 (hé), which means “and.” But it turns out that 和 means much more than that:

http://www.digmandarin.com/and-he-in-chinese.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Poor Haha

Intermediate A cute joke (cartoon) in Chinese:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/158298550676/allaboutchinese-%E5%98%BB%E5%98%BB%E5%93%88%E5%93%88-xixi-and-haha

Hungry for dessert?

Beginner Here are some sweet things to have after (or in between) meals, in Chinese:

http://allaboutchinese.tumblr.com/post/158219869419/allaboutchinese-%E7%94%9C%E5%93%81-sweets

Internet slang

Intermediate It’s time for yet another list of hot Internet slang in Chinese! Notice that many of the words and phrases here come from other languages, and have been absorbed into Chinese:

https://www.asianlanguageschool.com/chinese-internet-buzzwords/

Twitter: @AlsSydney

Native Chinese podcasts

Advanced Want to listen to material in Chinese that’s meant for natives, and not for learners? Here is a list of podcasts in Chinese that will challenge you, and hopefully interest you, as well:

http://www.fluentu.com/chinese/blog/2017/03/08/native-chinese-podcasts/

Twitter: @FluentU

Traditional Chinese music

YoyoChinese.com brings us this interview and introduction to traditional music with Ma Jie, a Chinese musician who plays the pipa:

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

Twitter: @YoYoChinese

Comprehension-based learning

Intermediate In this third and final post about “Comprehension-based learning,” we get some suggestions for how to apply this technique in our own learning, to accelerate the process of gaining fluency:

http://www.hackingchinese.com/students-guide-comprehension-based-learning/

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Long-lasting love

Beginner A simple story about celebrating 50 years of marriage:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/2778-2017-03-10-02-52-02

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Exploring 大芬 (dà fēn)

Intermediate Dafen has more than 1,000 stores selling art. Listen to some conversations about this place, and learn what makes it special:

https://mandarinhq.com/2017/03/describing-places-in-chinese/

Twitter: @MandarinHQ

Tomb-Sweeping Day

Advanced Tomb-Sweeping Day is coming up soon. Here is a short story in Chinese about it, teaching vocabulary and the holiday’s history:

http://mychinesereading.com/tomb-sweeping-day/

Little Pig’s house

Intermediate Little Pig has to fix his house. A short video for children, or adults who enjoy children’s stories:

http://nihaohello.blogspot.co.il/2017/03/chinese-story-little-pig-fixing-his.html

Learning to read, for Chinese speakers

Beginner Many people grew up speaking Chinese with their parents, but never learned to read characters. What’s a good strategy for such people to learn to read (and write) Chinese?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Chinese/comments/5xjgd5/best_way_to_learn_to_chinese_characters_for/

You did what, for how long?

Intermediate It’s common to want to say, “I did X for Y,” where Y is an amount of time. How can you express this in Chinese?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/23019/three-ways-to-say-i-danced-for-three-hours

Mandarin Weekly (每周中文) #112, 2017-March-6

大家好! (Hi, everyone!) This is Mandarin Weekly #112, a free newsletter with links and information for those of us learning Chinese.

More than 13,000 people from around the world now subscribe to Mandarin Weekly.  If you enjoy Mandarin Weekly, please share it with your teacher and/or fellow students.

To receive Mandarin Weekly in your e-mail inbox every Monday, just use the box on our Web site, at MandarinWeekly.com. Or follow us on Twitter, at @MandarinWeekly! We’re also on Facebook, at http://facebook.com/MandarinWeekly, and Medium, at http://medium.com/@mandarinweekly.

Full archives are at http://MandarinWeekly.com, as is our list of discounts for students of Chinese.

If you offer products or services aimed at students of Chinese, consider sponsoring Mandarin Weekly; contact Reuven (the publisher) for more details, at reuven@lerner.co.il.

Going shopping

Beginner Going to the store? Here is a list of typical grocery items (as well as some clothing) that you might want to buy when you go to the store, in China or elsewhere:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/chinese-grocery-list/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

English in Chinese

It’s not unusual for a language to “import” terms from another language. However, it does stick out a bit when Chinese speakers do this, especially when the English word is written down. When does this happen, and where are some examples of it?

http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2017/03/02/the-english-that-feels-weird-in-your-chinese

How to..

Beginner Planning to do something fairly common in China, such as buy airline tickets or a cup of coffee? Here are 10 common tasks, along with vocabulary and instructions for how to do them in Chinese:

http://blogs.transparent.com/chinese/10-awesome-how-to-chinese-posts/

Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

What is Bitcoin?

Intermediate Bitcoin is a digital currency. Want to learn more about it? Here is a short introduction, in Chinese:

http://mychinesereading.com/what-are-bitcoins/

Emphasizing the negative

Intermediate The word 并 (bìng) doesn’t make a sentence negative, but emphasizes the negative aspect:

https://themandarincornerblog.com/2017/03/04/emphasising-negative-with-bing%E5%B9%B6/

What a beauty!

Intermediate There are many ways to compliment females on their looks in Chinese; here is a collection of them:

http://www.e-putonghua.com/zone/index.php/2017/03/04/how-to-say-14/

Twitter: @eputonghua

Learn Chinese fast

Beginner Let’s face it: Learning Chinese (and any other language) takes time. But what are some good strategies for speeding up your progress, and getting it fluent as quickly as possible?

http://www.digmandarin.com/how-to-learn-chinese-fast.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Proverbs about life

Intermediate Chinese is full of proverbs and sayings. Here are some of them that have to do with life — deep thoughts about getting throug life, and its most important aspects:

http://www.digmandarin.com/chinese-proverbs-about-life.html

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Visiting Hangzhou

Hangzhou has a reputation as one of China’s most beautiful cities. And indeed, I was just there last week, and enjoyed scenic views around the lake. Here is a complete guide to Hangzhou, starting with how to get there:

http://www.saporedicina.com/english/travel-to-hangzhou/

Three bears

Intermediate A short story about three bears and their money:

http://mychinesereading.com/the-3-bears/

Starting somewhere

Intermediate Where do you start? At the very beginning, of course! A short story:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/2772-2017-03-02-13-00-16

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Waking the insects

Beginner Each traditional Chinese season has a name; we’re now starting “waking the insects,” when things start to get a bit warmer:

http://teresarainsegna.blogspot.co.il/2017/03/il-risveglio-degli-insetti-waking-of.html

Numbers in Chinese

Advanced Numbers in Chinese aren’t just numbers; they also have some meaning from ancient times. Here are some insights into some of these meanings:

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/13-2009-12-02-23-35-40/2768-2017-02-27-07-25-46

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Keep it down!

Beginner A short story about loud music (and being polite):

http://www.imandarinpod.com/hoola/index.php/podcasts/14-2009-12-02-23-37-05/2767-2017-02-27-07-19-24

Twitter: @imandarinpod

Setting expectations

Intermediate The word “expect” is used in many ways in English. How can you express those many ideas in Chinese?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22960/what-are-a-few-alternative-ways-to-say-to-expect

Stand back!

Beginner How do you ask someone to stand back, or just to let you through when you want to get by?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5wtyza/how_do_you_say_stand_back_or_step_away_in_mandarin/

You must

Intermediate There are different ways to indicate that “you must” do something. How do we decide which to use?

http://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/22009/what-is-the-difference-between-%E5%BF%85%E9%A1%BB-%E5%BE%97-and-%E9%9C%80%E8%A6%81

Preparing for HSK 5

Advanced What are some hints and tricks for those preparing to take the HSK5 exam?

https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/5w1wq6/how_to_prepare_for_hsk_5/