Matt Damon and “The Great Wall”: a Chinese-American “合拍” Movie
By 2017, Chinese citizens will become the world’s largest group of filmgoers worldwide. Each year, since the films “Lost in Thailand” in 2015 and later “The Mermaid in 2016,” Chinese films are breaking box office records each year in China! However, Chinese blockbusters have had …
Answer to Tell Dates in Chinese with This HSK 2 Quiz
Answer: D
Answer analysis:
Jīntiān shì qīyuè shíèr rì, zài yǒu sāntiān jiù shì wǒ bàba de shēngrì, wǒ xiǎng sòng tā yī tái diànnǎo. 今天 是 7月 12 日， 再 有 三天 就 是 我 爸爸 的 生日， 我 想 送 他 一台 电脑。 …
Tell Dates in Chinese with This HSK 2 Quiz
Jīntiān shì qīyuè shíèr rì, zài yǒu sāntiān jiù shì wǒ bàba de shēngrì, wǒ xiǎng sòng tā yì tái diànnǎo. 今天 是 7月 12日， 再 有 三天 就 是 我 爸爸 的 生日， 我 想 送 他 一台 电脑。 Question: From the sentence above …
Be Careful When Using “西天 (xītiān),” a Common Chinese Joke
In Buddhist funerals, the idea of a place called Sukhavati, or “Western Paradise,” is considered the favorable destination for a soul that is departing Earth. Different languages have various names for this “heaven” that we hope to go to. In Chinese, we call this place …
How to Decipher Chinese Menus (Part 1): Ordering Chicken
In your quest for learning Chinese, it is likely you have come into contact with a Chinese menu. Its very possible at first glance, the menu was set aside in disbelief. What on earth do these names mean?
What are you actually ordering? In …
Answer to HSK 4 Quiz: Master this Complicated Expression!
Answer: A
Analysis:
Jenny huì tiàowǔ, dàn tiào de bù zěnme yàng. Jenny 会 跳舞， 但 跳 得 不 怎么 样。 Jenny can dance, but she doesn’t dance very well.
You know the answer is A, because “不怎么样 (bù zěnme yàng)” means “not up to …
HSK 4 Quiz: Master this Complicated Expression!
Read the sentence below:
Jenny huì tiàowǔ, dàn tiào de bù zěnme yàng. Jenny 会 跳舞， 但 跳 得 不 怎么 样。 Question: Which of the following sayings is correct from reading the sentence above? A. Jenny tiào de bú tài hǎo. A. Jenny 跳 …
The Exotic Outdoor Chinese “菜市场 Food Market”
There are many differences between life in western countries and life in China. One similarity is that we both need to eat, obviously! However, the way we go out for grocery shopping is often quite different.
Over the past 100 years, in the USA most …
HSK 2 Quiz: Practice Chinese Grammar with “已经 already”
Xiànzài shì shíyī diǎn sānshí fēn, tāmen yǐjīng yóu le èrshí fēnzhōng le. 现在 是 11 点 30 分， 他们 已经 游 了 20 分钟 了。 Wèntí: Tāmen shì cóng shénme shíjiān kāishǐ yóuyǒng de? 问题： 他们 是 从 什么 时间 开始 游泳 的？ Question: …
Answer to HSK 2 Quiz: Practice Chinese Grammar with “已经 already”
Answer: A
Analysis:
Xiànzài shì shí yī diǎn sān shí fēn, tāmen yǐjīng yóu le èr shí fēnzhōng le. 现在 是 11 点 30 分， 他们 已经 游 了 20 分钟 了。 It is 11:30 now, they have already swam for 20 minutes.
The sentence …
What do Rich Men and Gold Turtles Have in Common?
In Chinese, a rich son-in-law, or a rich husband, is often referred to as a “Gold Turtle Husband”, or 金龟婿 (jīnguīxù)” . Are you looking for your golden turtle? Does this phrase make any sense to you? Probably not. There is, however, an interesting story …
Answer to What do Rich Men and Gold Turtles Have in Common?
Answer: 1. B
Answer analysis:
A. 房奴 (fángnú) “房奴 (fángnú)” mortgage slave is used to describe those people who have to pay significant portion of their monthly salary toward mortgage payment. In order to pay off the mortgage, they dare not easily change their jobs. …
Show off your Chinese! Pronounce ‘1’ the right way
One of the first things you probably learned when studying Mandarin is how to count to 10. But did you know that the number “1” actually has another, special pronunciation?
In most cases you will just pronounce the number “1” as “一 (yī)” when wanting …
Practice Chinese with this quiz on “帮 help”
Nǐ kěyǐ _____ wǒ bān yī xià zhuōzi ma? 你 可以_____ 我 搬 一 下 桌子 吗？ Could you help me move the table? A. 帮 (bāng) B. 帮忙 (bāngmáng) C. 帮帮忙 (bāng bāng máng)