Mandarin Essentials
Learn Chinese with Chinese Tennis Player, Li Na
Are you familiar with Li Na, a world famous tennis player? She was not only the world tennis champion, but was also glad to teach other foreign athletes how to speak Chinese. Please watch the video below to check out what Li Na has to …
Answer to the exercise on Battle of the “还 (hái)” Phrases: “还有(háiyǒu)” vs. “还是(háishì)”
Correct Answer: B
Two Chinese words that often pop up in Chinese conversation are “还有(háiyǒu)” and “还是(háishì).” Although “还有(háiyǒu)” and “还是(háishì)” share the same adverb, “还(hái),” the meanings and usages of the two words are quite different from each other.
还有(háiyǒu)
In the Chinese language, …
Battle of the “还 (hái)” Phrases: “还有(háiyǒu)” vs. “还是(háishì)”
Judy: Wǒ zhèlǐ yǒu chá, ___ kāfēi. Nǐ hē chá ___ hē kāfēi? Judy：我 这里 有 茶， ___咖啡。你 喝 茶 ___ 喝 咖啡？ Judy: I have tea and coffee. Would you like to drink tea or coffee? Lǐ Míng: Wǒ hē chá, xièxie! 李 明： …
Answers to the Exercises on Is There Any Difference between “哪里(nǎlǐ)” and “哪儿(nǎr)”?
Answer: C
Just as in other languages, Chinese people Talk like a native Chinese speaker using Erhua. Take a FREE 1-on-1 onliput their own local touch on their language. If you listen to them carefully, you will find that for some words, people pronounce them …
Is There Any Difference between “哪里(nǎlǐ)” and “哪儿(nǎr)”?
Please choose the option which has two words whose meanings are not the same. A. 那里(nàlǐ)；那儿(nàr)
B. 花(huā); 花儿(huār)
C. 女孩(nǚhái)；女儿(nǚ’ér)
Answer to the Exercise on “好(hǎo)” – A “Very” Versatile Word
Correct Answer: B
In the Chinese language, “好(hǎo)” is usually used as an adjective meaning “good,” such as “好书(hǎoshū) good books, ” “好人(hǎorén) good person,” etc.
Examples
Nǐ shì yígè hǎorén! 你 是 一个 好人！ You are a good person!
Richard: Nǎinai, nín zuìjìn shēntǐ …
“好(hǎo)” – A “Very” Versatile Word
Helen: Zhè jiàn yīfu hǎo piàoliang! Helen：这 件 衣服 好 漂亮！ Lǐ Lì: Shì a, yě hǎo guì. 李 丽：是 啊，也 好 贵。 What can we know from this dialogue? A. This dress is of good quality. B. This dress is very expensive. C. This …
没门儿 (Méiménr)-Turn Someone Down in Mandarin!
Please fill in the blank with the correct answer. Lǐ Míng: Lǎopo, wǒ néng wán huìr yóuxì ma? 李 明： 老婆， 我 能 玩 会儿 游戏 吗？ Wáng Lì: ___! 王 丽：___！ A. 有门儿(yǒu ménr)
B. 没门儿(méiménr)
C. 走后门儿(zǒu hòuménr)
“哥们儿(gēmenr)”- Bros Are Like Brothers
What is the meaning of the following sentence? Wáng Míng hé tā de gēmenr yìqǐ hējiǔ qù le. 王 明 和 他 的 哥们儿 一起 喝酒 去 了。
A. Wang Ming went out for drinks with his brothers. B. Wang Ming went out for drinks …
Expressing Strong Feelings in Chinese
Please fill in the blank with the correct answer. Zhāng Huá: Xià zhōu wǒmen qù Hǎinán lǚyóu ba? 张 华： 下 周 我们 去 海南 旅游 吧？ Jim: Búqù, nàr ___ yuǎn le! Jim：不去，那儿___ 远 了！ A. 很 (hěn)
B. 太(tài)
C. 特别(tèbié)
D. 非常(fēicháng)…
Were You A “学渣(xuézhā)” at School?
Nǐ xiāngxìn ma? Tom shàngxué de shíhou shì gè “xuézhā!” 你 相信 吗？ Tom 上学 的 时候 是 个 “学渣”！
From the sentence above, we can know that: A. Tom often got excellent scores on exams when he was in school. B. Tom thought that …
Answer to the exercise on Were You A “学渣(xuézhā)” at School?
Correct Answer: C
Translation of the Dialogue:
Nǐ xiāngxìn ma? Tom shàngxué de shíhou shì gè “xuézhā!” 你 相信 吗？ Tom 上学 的 时候 是 个 “学渣”！ Can you believe it? Tom was a study slacker when he was in school! <<Back to “Were …
Answer to the exercise on 没门儿(Méiménr)-Turn Someone Down in Mandarin!
Correct Answer: B
Translation of the Dialogue:
Lǐ Míng: Lǎopo, wǒ néng wán huìr yóuxì ma? 李 明： 老婆， 我 能 玩 会儿 游戏 吗？ Li Ming: Dear, can I play computer games for a while? Wáng Lì: Méiménr! 王 丽：没门儿！ Wang Li: No way! …
Answer to the exercise on Expressing Strong Feelings in Chinese
Correct Answer: B
Translation of the Dialogue:
Zhāng Huá: Xià zhōu wǒmen qù Hǎinán lǚyóu ba? 张 华： 下 周 我们 去 海南 旅游 吧？ Zhang Hua: Shall we take a trip to Hai Nan next week? Jim: Búqù, nàr tài yuǎn le! Jim：不去，那儿 太 …
Answer to the exercise on “哥们儿(gēmenr)”- Bros Are Like Brothers
Correct Answer: C
Translation of the Dialogue:
Wáng Míng hé tā de gēmenr yìqǐ hējiǔ qù le. 王 明 和 他 的 哥们儿 一起 喝酒 去 了。 Wang Ming went out for drinks with his buddies. <<Back to “’哥们儿(gēmenr)’- Bros Are Like Brothers”
Answer to the Exercise on “This Is Better Than That: Basic Comparisons in Chinese“
Correct Answer: B In the Chinese language “比(bǐ)” means “to compare.” People often need to make comparisons to explain that something is better, faster, stronger, and so on. So how can we do this in Chinese? Read on to learn some typical sentence structures used …
This Is Better Than That: Basic Comparisons in Chinese
Please choose the correct answer to fill in the blanks. Bǐ qǐ Běijīng, tā ___ xǐhuan Shànghǎi. 比 起 北京，他 ___ 喜欢 上海。 Compared to Beijing, he likes Shanghai more. A. 最(zuì)
B. 更(ɡèng)
C. 还(hái)
D. 多(duō)