Do you like Chinese TV dramas? I believe watching TV is a good way to practice Chinese, because not only is it fun, but you can also learn a lot about the culture. In this blog, I give my recommendation for a Chinese TV drama high in popularity right now. The drama I want to…
Recently the phrase ”友谊的小船说翻就翻 [yǒu yì de xiǎo chuán shuō fān jiù fān]”, meaning “The Boat of Friendship Suddenly Tips Over”, went viral in China and spread through WeChat's moments and friend circles. In this lesson, we learn where this phrase came from and how you can use it. The origin of the phrase is…
If you travel in China and find a beautiful spot, you might want to take a photo there together with your friends. Sometimes you want to ask someone nearby to help you take a picture. In this lesson we will learn how to do this as well as how to use a popular Chinese camera…
Taking a taxi is not as expensive in China as in many Western countries. For example, in Beijing, the 起步价 [qǐ bù jià] （starting price） for a taxi ride is around 14 yuan, and then 2.3 yuan per kilometer. So whenever you want to go somewhere, you can choose to take a taxi. In this…
We often use “有钱 [yǒu qián]” to describe someone has a lot of money in Chinese. But are there any other words to describe this? In this lesson, we will learn some popular internet buzzword used to describe the rich and the poor. 高富帅 [gāo fù shuài] “高 [gāo]” means tall, “富 [fù]” means rich,…
Do you use emojis/emoticons when you message your friends? What emojis do you like to use the most? Emoji/emoticon in Chinese is 表情符号 [biǎo qíng fú hào], or just 表情 [biǎo qíng] for short. Chinese emojis are a little different than the emojis in the west. You can ask your Chinese friends like this: In…
Can you check into a hotel using only Chinese? In this lesson, we will learn some words and phrases which come in handy when traveling in China. Check in is called 入住 [rù zhù] in Chinese, so when you enter a hotel you can tell the 前台接待员 [qián tái jiē dài yuán](front desk receptionist) this:…
He finally did it! As you have probably heard, Leonardo DiCaprio was awarded an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in The Revenant. Congratulations! Let’s grab this opportunity to learn how to talk about the Academy Awards in Chinese! In China, if you use the official name for the Academy Awards, 美国电影艺术与科学学院奖, a lot…
Do you want to make authentic Chinese food but have trouble reading Chinese recipes? In this lesson we learn some words and classifiers which often appear in recipes, to start our journey on becoming Chinese food experts! We will learn how to cook a simple Chinese dish called 西红柿炒鸡蛋 [xī hóng shì chǎo jī dàn]…
Do you know what the biggest online shopping site in China is? It’s not Amazon or eBay! It’s Taobao, or 淘宝网 [táo bǎo wǎng]! “淘 [táo]” here means “to pan” as in “panning for gold”, and “宝 [bǎo]” means “treasure”. So 淘宝 [táo bǎo] means “panning/searching for treasure”. It is operated by the Alibaba Group…
