The Duanwu or Dragon Boat Festival (端duān午wǔ节jié) is a traditional Chinese holiday occurring on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar (June 9th in 2016). The focus of most celebrations involves eating zongzi ( 粽zòng子zi), drinking realgar wine (雄xióng黄huáng酒jiǔ), and racing dragon boats (龙lóng舟zhōu). ORIGINS There are many legends about…
In China the Chinese zodiac is the most famous, but many young people are also interested in the astrological signs as well, so it can be a good topic of conversation when you are making new Chinese friends. In this blog, we will learn how to ask for someone’s astrological sign in Chinese, and also…
Surely everyone who likes Disney dreams of taking a stroll around Disneyland. But for Chinese people it is not that easy, because there is no Disney resort in mainland China. The closest ones are in Japan and Hong Kong, but Chinese netizens need a permit to go to either of these places. For Japan you…
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:…
