I get asked all the time by my students the same question: What books are really gonna help me get ahead in Chinese? There are many, many Mandarin Chinese textbooks out there. It can be a gamble to choose which one is going to be …
In a recent lesson, I shared with you some of my classroom tips for practicing your Mandarin Chinese pronunciation. In today’s lesson, I will do the same, but with another essential aspect of the Chinese language, the enriching act of writing Chinese characters. Usually, …
One of the speaking topics that I love to explore, and that is never dull, in my Mandarin Chinese classes is the endless conversation on dating and relationships. Students enjoy comparing the behavior of men and women between cultures and are always curious about how …
Answer: D
“你换发型了。(Nǐ huàn fàxíng le.) You’ve changed your hairstyle.” Most of the time, your wife or girlfriend would feel happy if you found some little changes about her. That means you care and pay more attention to her.
1. B 2. D
Answer Analysis: 1. Ronald, at age 50, is a mature learner. He enjoys talking about news headlines (answer A) and using the new words in a sentence (answer D). He is also at the stage where the teacher is …
Although our students enjoy private, personalized 1-to-1 Chinese classes, each individual student is not alone in being part of the eChineseLearning team. We have a team of teachers from around China and an alumni of tens of thousands of students from over 100 countries (and …
Sometimes a reason to keep learning Mandarin is to take a good look at well-known people who have learned it, and study the way they achieved fluency. Let’s take a look at these famous people who have taken the time to learn how to read, …
Mandarin Chinese is definitely a foreign language for Westerners and even Easterners alike. But what are some of the most common misconceptions that Mandarin Chinese Learners have? We explore the top four below:
Not true! When I …
Answer: C “你在哪儿？(Nǐ zài nǎr?) Where are you?” is a general question not a greeting expression.
<<Back to “The Most Common Misconceptions of Chinese by Mandarin Learners”…
“明天见你 (Míng tiān jiàn nǐ)” means “See you tomorrow.” 见你明天 (Jiàn nǐ míng tiān) and 明天你见 (Míng tiān nǐ jiàn) are wrong expressions.
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I have been teaching Chinese for over 12 years. And I have seen my Chinese language-learning students every Chinese language mistake in the book! But I have noticed over the years that there are some mistakes almost everyone makes. Chances are you are making them, …
“你吃饭了吗 (Nǐ chīfàn le ma) Have you eaten yet?” is a traditional way of greeting others. One day, one of my students tried to use this Chinese sentence to greet others before we started the class. It came as quite a shock when he …
Answer: B
In Chinese, a syllable is composed of an initial consonant, a vowel and a tone. The very beginning of a syllable is called the initial, and the rest of parts are called finals. For example, in the syllable “hǎo”, “h” is …
1. About Learning Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan. There are many versions of Chinese spoken throughout China; including Cantonese (spoken in Guangdong province), the Beijing dialect and the Shanghai dialect; but Mandarin Chinese is most common dialect …
Everyone likes to take a break from the books. One of the best ways to keep learning without taxing your brain too much is to watch a movie. Don’t worry, a little relaxation won’t hurt. And after all, what’s the use of learning Chinese without …
Chinese is distinctive for its characters. When people think of China, they think of thousands upon thousands of symbols, normally amazed that people can memorize so many different icons for their language. For some it’s the characters that make them want to learn Chinese, and …
It depends on your gift for language-learning as well as the time you are able to dedicate to learning it. If you study a few hours every day you’re going to learn a lot faster than someone who only spends one day a week. For …
Correct Answers: 1. A 2. D
Zhèlǐ jìnzhǐ tíngchē! 这里 禁止 停车！ No parking here！
Bówùguǎn jìnzhǐ pāizhào. 博物馆 禁止 拍照。 You can’t take pictures in the Museum.
Seen regularly around town, many foreigners will notice signs featuring the Chinese characters “禁止 (jìnzhǐ).” From street signs near buildings and public offices, or even on the side of the road these characters are very important to know! They may even save your life one …
