When Can “的(de)” Be Omitted?
Which of the following is incorrect? Wáng Míng: Nà shì shéi? 王 明： 那 是 谁？ Wang Ming: Who is that? Lì Li: Nà shì____. 丽 丽：那 是_____。 Li Li: That is my sister. A. 我的姐姐(wǒ de jiějie)
B. 我姐姐(wǒ jiějie)
C. 我姐姐的(wǒ jiějie de)…
Mandarin Essentials
“马上有(Mǎshàng yǒu)”-Make Wishes for the Year of the Horse!
The Year of the Horse is approaching! 2014 is the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. When the Chinese begin celebrating the Chinese New Year, they will be sending more and more New Year wishes and blessings to their friends, colleagues, …
Answer to the Exercise on the Customs of Spring Festival
Answer: C Spring Festival is the most important festival for Chinese people. It is when all family members get together, similar to Christmas in the West. Generally, there are a series of customs Chinese people follow when celebrating Spring Festival. The lively atmosphere not only …
Answer to the Exercise on Chinese Grammar-Sentences with an Adjectival Predicate
Answer: B In Chinese, sentences with an adjectival predicate use an adjective to modify the subject. The structure is: Subject + Adjective. Here, adjectives can be used as predicates just like verbs. The one thing that must be kept in mind is that the to …
“贵(Guì)”- Show Your Respect (in Chinese Way)
In China, when people talk about price, “贵(guì)” is a word that you will often hear. The basic meaning of “贵(guì)” is “expensive,” and it has the antonym “便宜(piányi) cheap.”
Examples
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yígè LV de bāo, dànshì tài guì le. 我 想 买 …
Should “是(shì)” Be Used in This Sentence?
Zhānɡ Wěi: Liú Lì, nǐ máng ma? 张 伟：刘 丽，你 忙 吗？ Zhang Wei: Are you busy, Liu Li? Liú Lì: ____ 刘 丽：____ Liu Li: I’m very busy. A. 我是很忙。(Wǒ shì hěn máng.)
B. 我很忙。(Wǒ hěn máng.)
C. 我是忙。(Wǒ shì máng.)
…
Learn the Word Order of Time Words in the Chinese Language
Wáng Lì: Nǐ zuótiān zài jiā ma? 王 丽: 你 昨天 在 家 吗？ Wang Li: Were you at home yesterday? Zhāng Míng: Bú zài, ________ 张 明: 不 在，________ Zhang Ming: No, I went on a blind date yesterday. Which of the following sentences …
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?)…