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helpful Chinese language learning tips and resources

Chinese New Year: Popular Greetings

A popular greeting to bring in the new year, which is equivalent to “Happy New Year”, is 新年快乐 (Xīnnián kuàilè). I have often heard my Chinese friends say, 元旦快乐 (yuándàn kuàilè), which means the same thing. Another popular greeting is 恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái), which translates are “Congratulations and be prosperous”. There is a very popular Read the full Post…

Chinese New Year: Customs and Practices “风俗习惯“（fēng sú xí guàn)

If you plan on staying in China during the Chinese New Year, it is helpful to be aware of some very common customs and practices, called 风俗习惯（fēng sú xí guàn) in Chinese. Understanding the Chinese tradition will make one’s experience celebrating Spring Festival much more enriching. FOOD Food is a very important part of any Read the full Post…

Embarassing Underwear Story

During the winters in China, it is very common (almost necessary) to wear long johns or long underwear. Being a foreigner, I’m not used to wearing long johns, but there was one day when the weather was as cold as -20 C. It would have been crazy not to have been wearing long underwear that Read the full Post…

What’s the Deal with 的

Read this sentence aloud: 我带我的太太和我的小孩儿去我的朋友的家吃他做的饭 wǒ dài wǒ de tài tɑi hé wǒ de xiǎo hái ér qù wǒ de pénɡ you de jiā chī tā zuò de fàn Does this sentence read funny? Does it sound funny when read out loud? Try it again: 我带我的太太和我的小孩儿去我的朋友的家吃他做的饭 wǒ dài wǒ de tài tɑi hé wǒ de Read the full Post…

1on1 Class vs. BLCU language programs

I’ve been considering the pros and cons of learning Chinese through language programs in a university classroom setting compared to small 1-on-1 language schools like 1 on 1 Mandarin. Consider BLCU. It is widely known that their curriculum is world-class and that many of their foreign students come out of their programs with a great Read the full Post…

Chinese Pronunciation: Vowel Combinations

Last time we looked at pronunciation of vowels. This time we will look at how to pronounce a combination of consonants and vowels. In Chinese pronunciation, basic vowels can form vowel combinations with each other or with a nasal consonant. Here are there pronunciations: ai like eye an sounds like “ah” with an emphatic “n” Read the full Post…

Chinese Pronunciation: Vowels

Last session we looked at the pronunciation of consonants. This session pronunciation of vowels will be covered. There are 6 simple vowels. They are: a, o, e, i, u, ü. Here are their pronunciations: a as in mama o as in drop e as in earn I as in sit U as in look ü Read the full Post…

Chinese Pronunciation: Consonants

Last session we covered tones. This lesson we will look at pronunciation of consonants. The following session we will look at pronunciation of vowels, and pronunciation of consonants and vowels combined. There are 24 consonants in pinyin which are pronounced a lot like in English: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, Read the full Post…

Mandarin Tones

When first studying Mandarin, Chinese language learners will be very anxious to simply plow ahead and start talking without having mastered tones and other vital pronunciation parts. It is very important to emphasize that good tones and proper pronunciation is vital to laying a solid foundation. Take for example the word “ma”. Said with each Read the full Post…

Choosing Your Curriculum I

Once you have evaluated your goals, finalized options of where to study, whether to study in a 1on1 setting or in a group setting, and at which school, it is now time to decide on a curriculum to follow. Most foreigners, when arriving to China and starting language study, are very ambitious about surviving in Read the full Post…

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