Mandarin Essentials
Answer to the Exercise on the Word Order of Time Words in Chinese Sentences
Answer: A In the Chinese language, time words like “昨天 (zuótiān), yesterday” “今天 (jīntiān), today” “这星期 (zhèi xīngqī), this week” “现在 (xiànzài),” now etc., are not usually positioned at the end of a sentence as commonly occurs in English. They are used in two places …
What does the Chinese idiom “big hands big feet” mean?
Generally the word “大(dà)” means big.
Example
Wǒ tīngshuō Zhāng Wěi xǐhuan nàgè dà yǎnjīng de nǚháir. 我 听说 张 伟 喜欢 那个 大 眼睛 的 女孩儿。
I heard that Zhang Wei likes that girl who has big eyes.
However, on some occasions when the …
Answer to the Question on Placement of Question Words in Chinese Sentences
Answer: B Questions words like “谁(shuí), who,” “什么(shénme), what,” “哪里(nǎlǐ), where,” and “哪个(nǎgè), which” are often used to form questions in Chinese. And the placement of question words is actually a little easier than it is in English, because in the Chinese language we don’t …
“热门(rèmén)” vs. “冷门(lěngmén)”-Who is More Popular?
In the Chinese language, the basic meaning of “门(mén)” is “door.”
Example
Qǐng guānmén! 请 关门！
Close the door, please!
But in some words although they contain the character “门(mén),” the meaning of the word has nothing to do with “door,” such as “热门(rèmén)” and …
How to Ask Questions in Chinese
Mike: ________ Who’s that? Liú Wěi: Nàshì xīn lái de tóngshì, Lǐ Míng. 刘 伟 ：那是 新 来 的 同事， 李 明。 Liu Wei: He is Li Ming, our new colleague. Please choose the correct answer to fill in the blank. A. 谁是那？(Shéi shì nà?)…
Answer to the Exercise on the New Year’s Greetings in Chinese
Answer: C As a greeting on New Year’s Day, Chinese people usually say, “‘新年好！(Xīnnián hǎo!),’ or ‘新年快乐！(Xīnnián kuàilè!)’ Happy New Year.”
Example1
Zhānɡ Wěi: Xīnnián hǎo, Lǐ Hóng. 张 伟: 新年 好， 李 红。
Zhang Wei: Happy New Year, Li Hong. Lǐ Hóng: Xīnnián hǎo, …
“新年计划 (Xīnnián jìhuà)” – New Year’s Resolutions in Mandarin!
As 2013 draws to a close, the New Year 2014 is approaching. During this time, people will not only look back to the past, but will, more importantly, look forward to the upcoming year. It’s a time to reflect on the changes we want or …
Learn Mandarin with Sheldon
In one episode of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon was learning Mandarin with the help of his friend and made a fool of himself in the process. Now let’s pick up two practical learning points from this video about how to introduce oneself and the …
Heart “软(ruǎn)” vs. Hand “软(ruǎn)” vs. Mouth “软(ruǎn)”
On different occasions, the word “软(ruǎn)” has different meanings. In general, the original meaning of “软(ruǎn)” is soft or flexible, and is the opposite of “硬(yìng) hard.” Example Zhè kuài bù hěn ruǎn. 这 块 布 很 软。
The cloth is so soft. But when …
Greetings: “你好！(Nǐ hǎo!)” or “你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma)?”
Please choose the correct answer to fill in the blank. Annie: ___ Zhāng Lì: Wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxie! 张丽: 我很好，谢谢！ Zhang Li: I’m fine, thank you!
A. 你好！(Nǐ hǎo!)
B. 你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma?)
C. 您好！(Nín hǎo!)
You May Want to Know More
Video …
Answer Key – Greetings: “你好！(Nǐ hǎo!)” or “你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma)?”
Answer: BIn the Chinese language, “你好！(Nǐ hǎo!)” means Hello! and “你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma?)” means How are you? While they both can be used as greetings, there are some differences between them.“你好！(Nǐ hǎo!)” is a statement, which is commonly used as a greeting where the reply
… Santa Claus vs. Chinese “母老虎(mǔlǎohǔ)-Tigress”
On any happy occasion such as Christmas Eve, if there is a “母老虎(mǔlǎohǔ), tigress” in your party, then you have to be careful. The happy atmosphere might be ruined because of the presence of a “母老虎(mǔlǎohǔ), tigress.”
Literally, “母老虎(mǔlǎohǔ)” means female tiger. As we all …
How to Express Age in Chinese?
In the video, the little girl was introducing herself in Chinese with the help of her mother. She said: “我现在是四岁了。(Wǒ xiànzài shì sì suì le.) I’m 4 years old now.” She was doing great, and only made a small mistake. In the Chinese language, to …