In the English language, and other Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian, etc…) the phonetic and writing systems are tied together. Each letter in a word represents one of its sounds. It is often difficult for speakers and readers of English to learn to read Chinese because Chinese writing is a pictographic system. Chinese uses Han…
Update added by Du Chinese in May 2020: How do you say “please” in Chinese? When using it in a sentence you would use 请qǐng. When you want to say please in the sense of “please, I beg you” you could do it by saying 拜bài托tuō. In many cases where you would say please in…
Writing a story in Chinese is a great way to practice your communication skills. Storytelling dates back to cave drawings. People have always wanted to share their stories with others. There were oral histories that were passed down through generations, often through song. Eventually written language developed, of which Chinese is one of the oldest….
Have you ever wondered why they serve hot tea in the Chinese restaurant, even though it’s the middle of summer? Surely the best way to cool off would be an ice-cold drink. And have you ever questioned yourself: why do Chinese people all love drinking hot water? Why do Chinese drink hot water? There’s not…
How do Chinese parents choose a name for their child? Traditionally, Chinese names consist of two, three of even four characters. Three is most common. The first character (or first two) is your family name or surname. The next character could be decided by your generation in the family. There would be a family pattern…
Introduction How do you practice reading at an HSK 2 reading level? You read as much as you can with characters and use pinyin and translations as needed. Lucky for you, we have just what you need right here. In this HSK 2 reading practice we’re going to look at a conversation between a hotel…
Introduction In this HSK level 6 reading practice we’ll take a look at some ways to say “I” and “You” in Chinese. In everyday life you can certainly get by with the usual “我 ” and “你,” but by learning these additional words you can be more respectful or modest in your conversations. Jump into…
The 12 animals of the Zodiac are represented by Chinese zodiac characters. These characters represent the Chinese zodiac animals. Below, we’ll explain each animal and its character. We’ll also show you a popular and often slightly unusual idiom for each zodiac animal. Chinese Zodiac Characters The Chinese Zodiac are referred to as 生肖 (shēng xiào)….
Introduction In this HSK level 1 lesson we’re going to practice reading some simple phrases you can use when talking about family. The practice sentences in this blog are taken from a longer reading practice that you can find on the Du Chinese app or in the link at the end of this post. Lili…
Introduction Considering the number of people in China, it may be surprising that many people share the same name. In this HSK 5 reading practice we will discuss a bit about common Chinese names. Many names come from descendants of Emperors from various dynasties. Honorable surnames are quite popular. Where does your own name come…
