Chinese Language Blog

We love talking about Chinese food on the Chinese blog, and for good reason. Chinese cuisine is one of the most famous around the world and it’s definitely one of the most delicious! I recently described my perfect day of Chinese food, but I forgot one important thing – street food (街头食品 jiē tóu shí…

Learning Chinese is a complex task. The tones, the sounds, the characters, the syntax, are all new for most learners. But Chinese wording is sometimes very simple, and provides us great ways to express ourselves. Here are five of my favorite short phrases for different situations in daily life. There are many ways to express…

Just like English, Chinese is a language with countless idioms. Studying Chinese idioms not only helps you improve your language skills, but it also provides insights into a rich culture that is thousands of years old. They aren’t exactly always easy to incorporate into your day-to-day life, but it’s still fun to learn some Chinese…

When learning a language, any language, some basic related vocabulary is necessary. Learners need vocabulary that can help them approach the process of learning the new language. I, for example, found myself using the words 词典 (cí diǎn dictionary), 汉字 (hàn zì character), and 意思 (yì si meaning), on a daily basis as early as…

I really like eating Chinese food. How about you? (我真的很喜欢吃中国菜。 你呢？Wǒ zhēn de hěn xǐ huān chī zhōng guó cài. Nǐ ne?). Sampling the local cuisine is definitely one of my favorite things to do when traveling around China, whether it’s some mouth-numbing hot pot (火锅 huǒ guō) down in Sichuan, a hearty dim sum…

洗 (xǐ) is one of Chinese basic verbs. The character’s radical is the Three Drops of Water radical. Many Chinese radicals hold information about the character’s meaning. The Three Drops of Water radical usually implies the character is somehow related to water or liquid. The verb 洗 can mean several things: to wash, to rinse, to clean…

Fall is the best season in Beijing (秋天是北京最好的季节 qiūtiān shì běijīng zuì hǎo de jìjié). Winter is too cold (冬天太冷了 dōngtiān tài lěngle). Summer is too hot (夏天太热了 xiàtiān tài rèle). The pleasant fall weather is a welcome relief from the summer heat and a prelude to the chilly winds of winter. In my many…