Chinese Language Blog

A caesarean section (剖腹产 pōu fù chǎn) can effectively prevent maternal and newborn mortality. But several studies have shown that high cesarean section rates could be linked to serious conditions for both maternal and child health. Since 1985, the World Health Organization has considered the ideal rate for caesarean sections to be between 10-15%, and…

Beijing is the capital of China (北京是中国的首都 – běi jīng shì zhōng guó de shǒu dū). This huge city is home to over 20 million people, making it the 2nd biggest city in China behind Shanghai. Beijing is China’s political, economic, and cultural center (北京是中国的政治经济和文化中心 – běi jīng shì zhōng guó de zhèng zhì jīng…

A useful way to practice your Chinese is to talk about daily activities and objects. Like clothes and dressing. Here are 5 dressing verbs to use in your daily conversations. 穿 (chuān) means to wear, to put on a clothing. It is mainly used with clothes. 穿衣服 (chuān yī fú, means to wear clothes) is…

When visiting China it is so tempting to go shopping. Every item I buy bears memories from another delightful trip in The Middle Kingdom. 买东西 (mǎi dōng xī) is a general phrase (verb + object) that literally means to buy things. It is a useful phrase, referring to almost any kind of shopping. I use…

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. From dressing up and going trick-or-treating as a youngster, to wild parties that seemed to last all weekend in college, to awesome Halloween concerts, to scaring the crap out of unsuspecting Beijingers on the subway, I’ve always had fun on October 31st. Although Halloween isn’t exactly…

Have you ever seen that movie “Lost in Translation”? It’s a great movie starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson where the two often experience culture shock (文化冲击 – wén huà chōng jí) in Tokyo. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had plenty of experiences with culture shock. This was especially true during my first…

A national flag (国旗 guó qí) is an important symbol of a country (国家 guó jiā), serving as an international representative. 国旗是国家的象征。 Guó qí shì guó jiā de xiàng zhēng. The national flag is a symbol of the country. The national flag of China is a five starred red flag (五星红旗 wǔ xīng hóng qí)…