Archive for June, 2011
Measure Words (量词) Posted by Stephen on Jun 30, 2011
When I taught English in China, one of the easiest lectures was on English articles–simply because there are only three of them (a, an and the). However, when discussing the use of “this” 这 and “that” 那, some problems would arise. Some students would say things like: “this the ball is red” or “that a…
Confucius says… pt. 3: On studying (子曰) Posted by Stephen on Jun 28, 2011
Confucius or 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) is China’s most famous philosopher, poet and scholar who lived from 551 BC – 479 BC, and is best known for his writings and teachings on Chinese society, culture and everyday life. His impact on Chinese culture has been so profound that some 2,500 years later his teachings are still well…
Getting Gramatical: Who, What, When, Where (语法) Posted by Stephen on Jun 27, 2011
Many followers of this Blog have requested some basic grammar or 语法 (yǔ fǎ) rules with explanation, so today lets focus on the basics of a sentence: Who (谁 shéi) What (什么 shénme) When (什么时候 shénme shíhou) Where (在哪儿 zàinǎr) Let’s start with a basic sentence in English. Someone asks you what you’ve been up…
Telling Time in Chinese (Video) Posted by sasha on Jun 25, 2011
Similar to my video last month about making words in Chinese, this simple, easy to follow video will teach you some important vocabulary and sentence structure for telling time in Chinese!
Confucius says… pt. 2: Analects and Golden Rule (子曰) Posted by Stephen on Jun 24, 2011
Confucius or 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) is China’s most famous philosopher, poet and scholar who lived from 551 BC – 479 BC, and is best known for his writings and teachings on Chinese society, culture and everyday life. His impact on Chinese culture has been so profound that some 2,500 years later his teachings are still well…
Chinese Idioms Vol. 2 Posted by sasha on Jun 24, 2011
It’s time for another edition of Transparent Language Chinese Idioms! By learning Chinese idioms, we can learn something about the language, culture, and history of China all at the same time… 半面之交 – bàn miàn zhī jiāo – “A nodding acquantaince” The story behind this idiom says that there was once a man named Ying…
Confucius Says… pt. 1: Analects (子曰) Posted by Stephen on Jun 22, 2011
Confucius or 孔子 (Kǒng Zǐ) is China’s most famous philosopher, poet and scholar who lived from 551 BC – 479 BC, best known for his writings and musings on Chinese society and everyday life. His impact on Chinese culture has been so profound that some 2,500 years later his teachings are still well known and…