Chinese Language Blog

One of the first words I (and many other foreigners, for that matter) learned in China was “Cheers!” (干杯 – gān bēi). It’s no secret that drinking is a big part of the culture here. Whether you’re a 中国人 or a 老外, glasses are raised and clinked all the time in the Middle Kingdom. Things…

A year after getting involve in a tax evasion scandal, Fan Bingbing (范冰冰, 38), China’s most famous actress, announced that she is breaking up with her partner. On 2014, Fan Bingbing starred in a Chinese television series named The Empress of China (武媚娘传奇). Based on events from the Tang dynasty, the drama focused on the romance (恋情…

Learning Chinese names can be tricky, especially when you’re new to the language. We’re here to help! I already wrote a post about understanding Chinese names of people and I even wrote one about the Chinese names for all 30 NBA teams as well as for 50 famous companies. This post will be about understanding…

Whenever Yu Juan, my Yunnanise friend, recalls her time in Beijing she’s pouting. She graduated from a famous university, but didn’t enjoy her stay in the capital city. “The food there is not spicy enough, and the people are so different”, she explains. “Different?”, I ask, and she elaborates: – 北方人脾气凶暴 (běi fāng rén pí…

Tomorrow is the first day of summer (夏天 – xià tiān). Many students are getting ready to go on summer vacation (暑假 – shǔ jià), so lots of families plan to take a vacation (假期 – jià qī) in the coming months. All over China, people are excited for what the summer months bring. Learn…

Smoking (吸烟 xī yān) is a bad habit (坏习惯 huài xí guàn). Cigarettes appear to have originated in Mexico and Central America around the 9th century in the form of reeds and smoking tubes. In the 19th century, the cigarette had crossed into Europe and received the name cigarette (香烟 xiāng yān). Nowadays, the adverse health…

This Friday is the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 – duān wǔ jié), a traditional holiday that’s celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. While many know this Chinese festival for its exciting dragon boat races, it actually came about to honor a poet named Qu Yuan (屈原 – qū yuán). While we’ve…