The traditional Chinese culture is very family oriented with an individual’s family being of the utmost importance. The character for family or home is 家 pinyin: jiā. The construction of this character is quite interesting. Over the top of the character is a roof. The rest of the character is 豕 pinyin:shǐ which is a…
中文与日文 (zhōng wén yú rì wén) Achieving fluency in a foreign language is no easy task. Achieving fluency in an Asian language is particularly difficult if you are a westerner. If you have decided to study an Asian language, strong arguments can be made for studying Chinese and/or Japanese. Since the time investment required to…
Chinese Pinyin English 我不明白 Wǒ bù míngbái I don’t understand. From the title of this blog you may wonder whether this blog is about understanding the Chinese language or understanding the Chinese people. In English the word Chinese could refer to either. It is unclear. 不清楚 (Bù qīng chǔ). Actually, to really understand the people…
While an app like Du Chinese is great for when you need to learn to read Chinese, there are not as many apps available for those who want to learn to write. Chinese characters can be very difficult to write even if you know how to read them because one small mistake can make your…
Considering getting a Chinese tattoo? 小心 – xiǎo xīn – Be careful Written Chinese can be quite beautiful. In fact, Chinese calligraphy is one of the four great arts that were required anciently of accomplished Chinese scholar-gentlemen. Usually spoken of together they are: 琴棋書畫 – qín qí shū huà Chinese Pinyin Meaning 琴 qín qín…
Fall and Winter means that a lot of big holidays are coming up in Western countries, and in this global day and age, a lot of those holidays are also celebrated in Chinese-speaking countries now as well. The first big holiday coming up in November is Thanksgiving. You may be wondering, why is there a…
One of the hardest things for non-native Chinese speakers is learning to read, not only because of the need to memorize characters, but because of the differences between spoken and written Chinese. There are only two written forms, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Both are character-based writing. While there is a whole lot we could…
學習閱讀中文並不難 Xué xí yuè dú zhōng wén bìng bù nán Learning to read Chinese is not difficult. I know this statement will strike some as outrageous, but I stand by it. It really is not difficult. (Which is not to say that it is easy). Admittedly, at first glance Chinese writing can be very intimidating….
When you’re learning a new language, one of the first things that you need to learn to do is to ask questions. Asking questions in about anything is one of the best ways to learn, and if you’re learning something new you are definitely going to have a lot of questions! In Chinese there are…
The following is a guest post from eChineselearning Quintessential Customs of Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 (chóng yáng jié) The date of “重阳节 (chóng yáng jié)” is September 9th of the Lunar Calendar, and in English which it is called the Double Ninth Festival. As shown in previous articles, Tomb-sweeping day, New Year’s Eve, Zhongyuan Festival…
