租房子 (zū fángzi) Rent a house
Conversation: 租房子 (zū fáng zi)Rent a house
Beginner Level / 初级水平 (chū jí shuĭ píng)：
A: Qĭngwèn nín zhè tào gōngyù duōshăo qián yígè yuè? A: 请问 您 这 套 公寓 多少 钱 一个 月？ A: Excuse me, how much is the apartment a month?…
三 (sān) Three, 六 (liù) Six, 北 (bĕi) North
Chinese Character Series (Part II)
Basic strokes
In the previous issue(Jun 10, 2009), three kinds of basic Chinese character strokes were introduced: 撇(piĕ) left-falling stroke, 竖(shù) vertical stroke and 捺(nà) right-falling stroke. In this issue, another three kinds of strokes will be introduced: 横(héng) horizontal …
忽悠 (hūyou) Hoodwink & 吃醋 (chīcù) Jealous
流行词语 (liúxíng cí yŭ)Popular words
忽悠 (hū you)
Hoodwink
Where does it originate?
忽悠(hū you) is an often-used word in northern area of China and it originates from the word 胡诱(hú yòu), which means recklessly misleading. It became popular from a witty skit “selling crutches” …
填字游戏 (tián zì yóu xì) Chinese Crossword Puzzle
填字游戏 (tiánzì yóuxì ) Chinese Crossword Puzzle
Can you complete the Chinese words by filling in the blanks marked with numbers?
Hints:
Horizontal:
①&②every movement and every action ③news ④name
Vertical:
①&④world-famous ②sports ⑤dictionary
The answer key will be in the next issue.
Answer keys
… 汉字：你 (hàn zì:nĭ) Chinese Character: you
Learn to Write Chinese Character 汉字：你(hànzì: nĭ) Chinese Character: you
Chinese Character:
你(nĭ) You
拼音(pīnyīn) pin yin: nĭ
笔画(bĭhuà) number of strokes: 7
含义(hányì) meaning: you
笔顺(bĭshun) stroke order:
词源(cíyuán) Etymology: The right part “尔 (ĕr)”of this character is the old form for “you”. 常用词语(chángyòng …
讲价 (jiăngjià) Bargaining
讲价 (jiăngjià) Bargaining
Beginner Level / 初级chūjí
Gùkè: Qĭngwèn zhè tiáo kùzi duōshăo qián? 顾客：请问 这 条 裤子 多少 钱？ Customer: Excuse me, how much are these pants?
Shòuhuòyuán: Yībăi sānshí yuán. 售货员： 130 元。 Shop Assistant: 130.
Gùkè: Yŏu zhékòu ma? 顾客：有 折扣 …
儿童绕口令 (értóng ràokŏulìng) Tongue Twister for Children
Listen to the tongue twister. Nánnán yŏu gè lánlán， 南南 有 个 篮篮， Nannan has a basket,
Nánnán yŏu gè lánlán, 南南 有 个 篮篮， Nannan has a basket.
Lánlán zhuāng zhe pánpán, 篮篮 装 着 盘盘， A plate is in the basket.
Pánpán …
Chinese Version of “American Idol”-超级女声 (chāojí nǚ shēn) Super Girl
超级女声 (chāojí nǚshēng) Super Girl
Super Girl is one of the most popular TV shows in China and is quite similar to the American Idol show in the U.S. The program is a 真人秀(zhēn rén xiù) reality competition to discover new music talent. Super Girl …
成龙 (chénglóng) Jackie Chan
人物：成龙 (rénwù: chéng lóng) People: Jackie Chan
His devotion to his career
成龙(chéng lóng) Jackie Chan is one of the top 功夫(gōngfu) kungfu stars in the world. As an actor, he is respected for his 敬业(jìngyè) high professional devotion. In movie shooting, he never uses …
啃老族 (kĕn lăo zú) Parent-dependent Adults & 草根 căogēn Grass Roots
啃老族 (kĕn lăo zú) Parent-dependent adults
What does it mean?
啃老族(kĕn lăo zú) refers to a group of adults who have a common feature: They stay at home instead of searching for jobs. This group is also called NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) …
数字歌 (shù zì gē) Number Song
Listen to this song now:
Yī èr sān sān èr yī, 一二 三 三 二 一， One two three three two one,
Yī èr sān sì wǚ liù qī, 一二 三 四 五 六 七， One two three four five six seven,
Wŭ liù qī …
我的神啊 (wŏ de shén a) My God & 你太有才了 (nĭ tài yŏu cái le) You are too talented
我的神啊 (wŏ de shén a)
Where does it originate?
“我的神啊”(wŏ de shén a) first became popular from a hot Chinese TV series 武林外传(wŭ lín wài zhuàn “My Own Swordsman”)as a pet phrase of Tong Xiangyu, the owner of Tongfu tavern. Then it has been widely …
乘公共汽车 （chéng gōng gòng qì chē） Take a bus
Qĭngwèn, qù Zhōngguāncūn ma? A: 请问， 去 中关村 吗？ Excuse me, does the bus go to Zhongguancun? Dào, Shànglái ba. Nĭmen cóng tĭyù dàxué xiàchē, ránhòu zài huàn chē. B: 到， 上来 吧，你们 从 体育 大学 下车，然后 再 换 车。 Yes. Please aboard! You can …
Learn Chinese Pinyin-Consonant
Chinese Pinyin is a Roman-letter based system that China now uses to mark the pronunciation of Chinese characters. With four tones and pinyin, any Chinese characters can be pronounced precisely. In many cases, Pinyin is quite intuitive to English speakers with only a few …
填字游戏 (tián zì yóu xì) Chinese Crossword Puzzle
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
Horizontal lines:
①celebrate the Spring Festival on the first lunar month ②a greeting used when people meet in the morning ③things like cakes or deserts
Vertical lines:
⑴breakfast ⑵an auspicious greeting during the Spring Festival ⑶memorial days or traditional …
对面的女孩看过来 (duì miàn de nǚ hái kàn guò lái ) A girl standing opposite me looks over here
Imagine this: A beautiful and cool girl is standing opposite a young man. He puts on his new clothes, plays his guitar and sings his favorite songs to attract her attentions. Here is a song expressing a boy’s loneliness and complex feelings in this situation. …
People: Kobe Bryant and His Interview with Chinese Media
Kobe is one of the best-known NBA players in China. In 2009, he started writing his Chinese blog on Sina.com, the most popular internet portal in China (disclosure: eChineseLearning is also the only Chinese language provider for Sina). He recently wrote: Zhōngguó zhēn de shì …
Conversation – 端午节 (duān wŭ jié)
端午节(duān wŭ jié)
The Dragon Boat Festival
A: Nĭ zhīdào liăngtiān hòu shì shénme rìzi ma? A: 你 知道 两天 后 是 什么 日子吗？ Do you know what the day after tomorrow is?
B: Wŭ yuè èr shí bā ya, zěnme le? B：五 月 二 …
Popular Words-金融危机(jīn róng wēi jī) Financial Crisis
During the financial crisis (金融危机 jīn róng wēi jī), millions of people are suffering from the psychological problems caused by losing jobs (失业shī yè), and bankrupcy (破产pò chăn) .Ever since the financial crisis, we have seen an increasing amount of unemployment (失业人员shī yè rén yuán). …
Quotations from NBA Star 姚明(yáo míng) Yao Ming
You may never doubt the excellence of Yao Ming on the basketball court. In fact, his wisdom and humor off the court are also quite impressing. His Wisdom When he was asked by a Chinese reporter: “are you worried about one day you will be …