Chinese idiom (Intermediate)
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Brief:
Learn two Chinese idioms: zhao san mu si (朝三暮四) and sai weng shi ma (塞翁失马).
课文：
Zhāo sān mù sì 朝 三 暮 四 Three in the morning, four in the afternoon. Sài wēng shī mă 塞 翁 失 马 the old …
Mandarin Essentials
Colors (Intermediate)
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Brief:
Learn to talk about the most fashionable color of the year in Chinese.
课文：
Jīn nián de liúxíng sè shì shénme? A: 今 年 的 流行 色 是 什么？ What color is in this year? Hóng sè，nĭ zuì xĭhuān shénme yánsè? B: …
Beverage (Intermediate)
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Brief:
Learn to talk about your favorite non-alcohol beverage in Chinese.
课文：
Nĭ zuì xĭhuān hē shénme yĭnliào? A: 你 最 喜欢 喝 什么 饮料 ？ What is your favorite beverage? Bù hán jiŭjīng de. B: 不 含 酒精 的 。 Non-alcohol drinks. …
当男孩爱上女孩 (dāng nánhái ài shàng nǚhái) When a Boy Loves a Girl
当男孩爱上女孩(dāng nánhái àishàng nǚhái) When a Boy Loves a Girl
Beginner level/ 初级 chū jí
Man: Wǒ hěn xĭhuān hé nĭ zài yìqĭ. Man: 我 很 喜欢 和 你 在 一起。 Man: I like to be with you very much.
Woman: Zhēn de ma? Woman: …
迈克尔.杰克逊 (mài kè ěr. jié kè xùn) Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
中国人的迈克尔·杰克逊记忆 ( zhōngguórén de mài kè ěr·jié kè xùn jìyì) Chinese Memories of Michael Jackson
The death of Michael Jackson has shocked his Chinese fans around the world. On June 26, 2009, Chinese students from Beijing held a vigil in memory of Michael …
宅 (zhái) To Stay at Home All Day
宅(zhái) to stay at home all day
Where does it originate from?
The saying of “宅(zhái)” refers to a group of people who indulge in something excessively, such as computer games, and cartoons. These people would rather stay at home than go out.
What does
… 变形金刚2(biàn xíng jīn gang2) Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen
变形金刚2(biàn xíng jīn gang2) Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen
Last week in China, Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen became “火爆(huǒbào)” explosively popular. The Transformers finally has surpassed Ice Age and became NO.1 on Friday. But on the weekend Billboard charts, they “并列(bìngliè)” stood …
抬杠 (táigàng) Argue & 放鸽子 (fàng gēzi) Fail to Keep an Appointment
抬杠(táigàng) to argue for the sake of arguing
Where does the phrase originate from?
In the north of China in early times, there existed a custom called “抬杠会(táigànghuì)” argue meeting. On the day of Lantern Festival, some strong men carried the bamboo “杠(gàng), ” on …
如何学中文 (rúhé xué zhōngwén) How to Learn Chinese (VI)
Tips to Learn Chinese
Learn Chinese Tip (VI): If a student wants to know her Chinese level, the best way is to take a Mandarin Chinese Proficiency test. There exist several authoritative Chinese tests such as AP Chinese exam, HSK, etc. For foreign …
当男孩遇上女孩(dāng nánhái yùshàng nǚhái) When a Boy Meets a Girl
当男孩遇上女孩(dāng nánhái yùshàng nǚhái) When a Boy Meets a Girl
Beginner Level / 初级chūjí
Man: Nĭhăo! wŏ juéde nĭ tĭng tèbié de, néng zuò gè péngyou ma? Man: 你好！ 我 觉得 你 挺 特别 的，能 做 个 朋友 吗？ Man: Hello! You are really special. …
章子怡 (zhāng zĭ yí) Zhang Ziyi
Wúlùn shì guójiā háishì gèrén, zhĭyŏu jiāndìng xìnniàn, míngtiān cái huì gèng měihăo. “无论 是 国家 还是 个人，只有 坚定 信念， 明天 才 会 更 美好。” “No matter whether concerning countries or individuals, as long as they continue to keep the faith, all of them will …
碰壁 (pèngbì) Be Rebuffed & 恶搞 (ègǎo) Mischievous Distortion
碰壁(pèngbì) Be rebuffed
In this word, 碰(pèng) means “bump” and 壁(bì) means “wall.” The whole word 碰壁(pèngbì) literally means “run up against a wall.” But people usually use it to describe a situation in which you are turned down or rebuffed. In Chinese feudal times, …
结婚纪念日(jiéhūn jìniànrì) Wedding Anniversaries
The phrase “金婚(jīnhūn)” has become more popular ever since the release of the TV series (learn Chinese through movies and TV programs) “金婚(jīnhūn)” in 2006. As the title suggests, it is a story about an ordinary couple’s fifty-year marriage from 1956 to the …
填字游戏 (tián zì yóu xì) Chinese Crossword Puzzle
Instructions: Fill in the blanks
Hints:
Horizontal:
⑴ a cadre ⑵ life ⑶ strength ⑷ quantity, amount
Vertical:
① work on something ② be angry with something ③ power ④ mathematics
The answer key will be in the next issue.
Answer keys to the crossword
… 龟兔赛跑 (guī tù sàipăo) The Race Competition between Rabbit and Tortoise
A rabbit and a tortoise decide to hold a race competition, and the winner will win the ticket to the Forest Concert. (Want to take part in a concert and listen to some beautiful songs.)
Wèi le yíng dé sēnlín yīnyuèhuì de ménpiào, xiăo
… 校内网(xiào nèi wăng) -中国的Facebook Xiaonei.Com-Chinese Version of Facebook
Xiaonei.com, widely believed to be the Chinese version of facebook, was set up in December, 2005 and was the earliest Social Networking site for universities in China. 校内(xiào nèi) means “within campuses, within universities.” At Xiaonei.com, only those who have specific university IP addresses could …
我的女朋友在哪儿? (Wŏ de nǚpéngyou zài năr) Where is My Girlfriend?
Situation:
Carl has promised his girlfriend May to have dinner with her after work in a new restaurant. But the taxi driver dropped him off at a wrong place and he had troubles in finding the restaurant.
Beginner Level / 初级(chūjí)
Nĭhăo! Néng sòng wŏ
… “吃”的不同用法 (“chī” de bùtóng yòng fă) Different Usages of Chinese Character “eat”
Chinese Character: 吃 (chī) Eat
拼音(pīnyīn) pin yin: chī
笔画(bĭhuà) number of strokes: 6
含义(hányì) meaning: eat
笔顺(bĭshùn) stroke order:
用法(yòng fă) Usages:
1) eat; take
吃早饭(chī zăofàn): have breakfast
吃奶(chīnăi): take milk from mother
2) live off
吃父母(chī fùmŭ): live off one’s parents
坐山吃山(zuò …
吃闭门羹 (chī bìméngēng) To Be Denied Entrance & 月光族 (yuè guāng zú) Moonlight Group
吃闭门羹 (chī bìméngēng) To be denied entrance Wáng xiānsheng hé tā de péngyŏu chăojià hòu, měicì xiăng qù héjiě dōu huì chī bìméngēng. 王 先生 和 他 的 朋友 吵架 后，每次 想 去 和解 都 会 吃 闭门羹。 Ever since the quarrel between Mr. Wang …
Basic Strokes & 吧 （ba） A Modal Particle
Basic Strokes
Chinese character is one important part to learn Chinese. In the previous issues(June 10, 2009 & June 17, 2009), six kinds of basic Chinese character strokes were introduced: 撇(piĕ) left-falling stroke, 竖(shù) vertical stroke, 捺(nà) right-falling stroke, 横(héng) horizontal stroke, 点(diăn) dot …