Mandarin Essentials
顺风耳 (shùnfēng’ěr) Clairaudient (Advanced)
顺风耳 (shùnfēng’ěr) Clairaudient
The character “顺 (shùn)” means in the same direction; “风 (fēng)” means
wind and “耳 (ěr)” means ear.
Example:
Zài Fēngshénbǎng lǐ, Gāo Jué shì yí gè shùnfēng’ ěr, tā néng tīngdào qiān lǐyǐ wài de shēngyīn. 在封神榜里，高觉是一个顺风耳，他能听到千里以外的声音。
In The Legend of …
千里眼 (qiānlǐyǎn) Clairvoyant (Advanced)
千里眼 (qiānlǐyǎn) Clairvoyant
The character “千 (qiān)” means thousand; “里 (lǐ) is mile and” 眼 (yǎn)”
refers to eyes.
Example: Zài Fēngshénbǎnglǐ, Gāo Míng shì yí gè qiānlǐyǎn, tā néng kàndào qiān lǐ yǐ wài de dōngxi. 在封神榜里，高明是一个千里眼，他能看到千里以外的东西。 In The Legend of Deification, Gao Ming …
上学歌 On the Way to School
Tàiyáng dāng kōng zhào, 太阳 当 空 照， The sun is shining in the sky.
Huāér duì wǒ xiào, 花儿 对 我 笑， The flowers are smiling to me,
Xiǎoniǎo shuō: “Zǎo! Zǎo! Zǎo! 小鸟 说： “早！ 早！ 早！ The little birds are talking …
旱鸭子 (hàn yāzi) Non-swimmer (Advanced)
旱鸭子 (hàn yāzi) Non-swimmer
The character “旱 (hàn)” means dry or drought; “鸭 (yā)” means duck and “子
(zi)” is used as a suffix here.
Example:
Wǒ mèimei búhuì yóuyǒng, dàjiā dōu jiào tā hàn yāzi. 我妹妹不会游泳，大家都叫她旱鸭子。
My sister cannot swim, so we all call …
呆若木鸡 (dāiruòmùjī) Transfixed/ Dumb as a wooden chicken (Advanced)
呆若木鸡 (dāiruòmùjī) Transfixed/Dumb as a wooden chicken
The character “呆 (dāi)” means dull or stupid; “若 (ruò)” means like or as; “木 (mù)” refers to wood and “鸡 (jī)” refers to chicken.
Example:
Nà gè nánhái dāiruòmùjī dì zhànzhe, xià dé lián qì dōu bùgǎn …
落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī) Completely Soaked (Advanced)
落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī) Completely Soaked
“落汤鸡 (luòtāngjī)” is the phrase for “Soaked.” The character “落 (luò)” means drop or decline; “汤 (tāng)” means soup and “鸡 (jī)” means chicken. Example:
Tā zhèngzài lùshang zǒuzhe, tūrán xiàqǐ le dàyǔ, jiéguǒ lín de xiàng gè luòtāngjī yíyàng. 他正在路上走着，突然下起了大雨，结果淋得像个落汤鸡一样。…
纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ) Paper Tiger (Advanced)
纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ) Paper Tiger
“纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ)” is the phrase for “Paper Tiger.” The character “纸 (zhǐ)” means paper; “老 (lǎo)” means old and “虎 (hǔ)” means tiger. Example:
Bié pà tā, tā zhǐshì zhǎngxiàng bǐjiào xiōng’ è, qíshí shì gè zhǐlǎohǔ. 别怕他，他只是长相比较凶恶，其实是个纸老虎。
Do not be …
乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ) Big Mouth (Advanced)
乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ) Big Mouth
“乌鸦嘴 (wūyāzuǐ)” is the phrase for “Big mouth.” The character “乌 (wū)” means dark; “鸦 (yā)” means crow and “嘴 (zuǐ)” means mouth.
Example:
Wǒ zhèng xiǎng yóuyǒng ne, nǐ jiù shuō ” xiǎoxīn yānzhe, ” nǐ shìbúshì yě tàiwūyāzuǐ le. …
夜猫子 (yèmāozǐ) Owl/ A Person Who Goes to Bed Late (Intermediate)
夜猫子 (yèmāozǐ) Owl/ A Person Who Goes to Bed Late
“夜猫子 (yèmāozǐ)” is the phrase for “Owl/ A person who goes to bed late.”
The character “夜 (yè)” means night; “猫 (māo)” means cat and “子 (zi)” is used as a suffix here.
Example:
Chén …
大腕 (dàwàn) Top Notch (Advanced)
大腕 (dàwàn) Top Notch
“大腕 (dàwàn)” is the phrase for “Top notch.” The character “大 (dà)” means
big or great and “腕 (wàn)” means wrist. Example: Chéng Lóng shì yǎnyìjiè de dàwàn. 成龙是演艺界的大腕。
Jackie Chan is a top notch star in film industry. Got questions?…
A Glimpse of China’s Real Estate Market: A KFC Story
Key Learning Points (Preview):
超出……接受范围 (chāochū…jiēshòu fànwéi) Go beyond/be out of the acceptable range of…
闹市区 (nàoshìqū) Downtown area
核心竞争力 (héxīn jìngzhēnglì) Core competitiveness
Recently, KFC restaurants are reported to have to move frequently in some areas of China. Why does such a fast-food giant …
Windows 7 in China
Windows 7 in China
Windows 7 was released in China on October 23rd. Because of the incompatibility problems, its preceding edition Vista was questioned and 戏称(xìchēng) jokingly called 围死它(wéi sĭ tā) besiege it to death by some Chinese users. The pronunciation of Vista sounds like …
How to Become a Rockstar Chinese Writer
Nowadays more and more people are beginning to learn Chinese. For the most part, they are only focusing on learning how to speak Chinese. But concerning using this language, they also need to learn Chinese writing. Writing can reflect …
Colors
CHINESE / MANDARIN VOCABULARY – COLORS/ 颜色/yán sè
(Click in the arrow to listen how to pronounce the word in Mandarin)…
Practice: Chinese Writing
Bă cíyŭ zŭchéng jùzi, zài jiāshàng biāodiăn. 1. 把 词语 组成 句子，再 加上 标点。 暑假 愉快 你 祝 __________________________________ 下午 时间 有 吗 你好 __________________________________ 你们 荣幸 见到 我 非常 感到 __________________________________ 欢迎 北京 你 __________________________________ 高兴 您 认识 很 你好 __________________________________ 第 奥运会 北京 …
Technology-百度 (bǎidù) Baidu VS谷歌 (gŭgē) Google
百度(bǎidù) Baidu VS 谷歌(gŭgē) Google
The competition between search engines 百度(bǎidù) Baidu and 谷歌(gŭgē) Google is always a hot topic. As the most popular Chinese search engine in the world, 百度(bǎidù) Baidu recently published its new platform concept-框计算(kuàng jìsuàn) Box Computing, which obviously challenges the …
iPhone is Popular in China!
iPhone is increasingly getting popular among young people in China. Recently, China Unicom is negotiating with Apple Computer in a deal that intends to introduce iPhone to the China market. It is estimated that if the deal goes through, iPhone’s sales in China is expected …
点菜 (diăn cài) Order Dishes
Beginner Level / 初级chūjí
Fú wù yuán: Xiānsheng, nínhăo, nín xūyào diăn shénme? 服务员：先生， 您好， 您需要点什么？ Waiter: Sir, can I help you please?
Gù kè: Wŏ yào yí fèn niúpái. 顾客：我要一份牛排。 Customer: I’d like a steak.
Fú wù yuán: Hăo de, qĭng shāoděng. 服务员：好的，请稍等。 Waiter: …