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My Apartment (我的公寓) Posted by sasha on Jun 25, 2012
Learn how to talk about your home in Chinese with this easy to follow video that teaches you useful vocabulary such as the names of different rooms and furniture. This is my apartment. 这是我的公寓 – zhè shì wǒ de gōng yù In my apartment, there is a storage room… 公寓里有一个储物间 – gōng yù lǐ yǒu…
Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) Posted by sasha on Jun 22, 2012
Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, which is known in Chinese as the Duanwu Festival (端午节 – duān wǔ jié). This holiday is celebrated every year on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, and although it has only been an officially recognized public holiday in mainland China since 2008, it has been celebrated…
Xian (西安) – Terracotta Warriors (兵马俑) Posted by sasha on Jun 15, 2012
Certainly the most famous place in Xi’an, the Terracotta Warrior army is a sight to behold. Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of a united China, had these thousands of sculptures buried with him to protect him in the afterlife. Stumbled upon by a group of farmers back in the 70’s, this archaeological wonder is…
Chinese Idioms (Vol. 6) Posted by sasha on Jun 12, 2012
It’s time for another installment of Chinese idioms. Today, we’ll look at a few very common idioms that you’ll encounter in your daily life here in the Middle Kingdom. 马马虎虎 – mǎ mǎ hǔ hǔ – “so-so”; “careless” This everyday Chinese idiom literally translates to “horse horse tiger tiger.” As with most Chinese idioms, there’s…
My Family Posted by sasha on Jun 7, 2012
When chatting with people in any language, the subject of family is bound to come up. In order to help you understand how to talk about your family in Chinese, here’s a short post about mine, all in Chinese characters: 我家有九口人。爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。 在我家里，我是老大. 我今年二十六岁。 第一个妹妹 － 我比我妹妹大两岁。她住在我的老家。她跟她的好朋友一起住。她是大学生。她也有兼职工作。她在一个餐吧工作. 我第一个弟弟比我小四岁。以前他在美国海军陆战队工作。现在他也是大学生。他非常喜欢说唱音乐。 第二个弟弟 － 他今年二十一岁。他刚大学毕业，他的专业跟我一样。过了夏天以后，他打算搬到北京找工作。 第三个弟弟 － 他刚高中毕业，明年他也要去我另外一个弟弟上的那所大学上学。他的爱好是唱歌，他唱歌唱的特别好。 第二个妹妹 －…
Xi’an (西安) – Huaqing Hot Spring (华清池) Posted by sasha on Jun 5, 2012
Take a day trip out of Xi’an to the historical site of Mt. Lishan and the Huaqing Hot Springs in this short video. This mountain resort provided R&R for countless Chinese Emperors, with plenty of natural hot springs and beautiful scenery. For more modern history, you can see the place where Chiang Kai-shek hid from…
The Middle Kingdom Posted by sasha on Jun 3, 2012
So you want to learn Chinese, huh? Well, if you’re going to learn a language, you might as well learn something about the country, too. I’m going to be ripping off Stephen Colbert and his “Better Know a District” segment a little bit, as I roll out “Better Know a Province,” a new series here…