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/


Also published on Medium.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *