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20 Questions Posted by sasha on Mar 14, 2012
We’ve already covered how to introduce yourself here on the Chinese blog (click here for the written post, and check out the video here), so now it’s time to equip you with some questions that you will certainly come in handy when you meet people in China: 1. 你叫什么名字? (nǐ jiào shén me míng zì)…
Hangzhou (杭州) – Part One – West Lake Posted by sasha on Mar 7, 2012
The capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou is a beautiful city famous for its massive West Lake scenic area. You can take a stroll around the lake, with its many gardens, temples, and pagodas, or rent a boat to take you around. By night, there’s tons of delicious food available in a local night market, making…
Swear Words in Chinese Posted by sasha on Mar 6, 2012
Normally, we try to keep it pretty PG around here on the Chinese blog, but the readers have spoken, and people want to learn how to say bad words (坏语 – huài yǔ) in Chinese. That should come as no surprise, since I’m sure most of us would admit that we always seek out the…
What’s in a Chinese Character? (Vol. 2) Posted by sasha on Mar 3, 2012
It’s been a while since we talked about Chinese characters (find Vol. 1 here), so let’s look at a few more examples. Last time, we looked at the character for person (人 – rén), so now let’s take a closer look at a person. Take a look in the mirror at your beautiful face (面…
Shanghai (上海) Posted by sasha on Feb 29, 2012
You can get from Beijing to Shanghai in just 5 hours now with the high-speed railway. As such, we took a short trip there during the National Holiday (国庆节) in 2011, which is a busy but exciting time to travel. Check out the Yuyuan Gardens, the view of the Bund, and some delicious Shanghai dumplings…
Introduce Yourself in Chinese (Video) Posted by sasha on Feb 25, 2012
Last month I made a post about how to introduce yourself. In a follow-up to that, here’s a video you can use to follow along with my basic self-introduction. Use the video to practice making sentences about yourself, and before you know it you’ll be confidently introducing yourself to new friends in Chinese. 自我介绍 –…
Harbin – China’s Winter Wonderland Posted by sasha on Feb 24, 2012
Harbin (哈尔滨 – Hā ěr bīn) is the capital of Heilongjiang province (黑龙江省 – hēi lóng jiāng shěng), located in the area of China known as Dongbei (东北 – dōng běi), or the Northeast. The city’s name comes from a Manchu word meaning “a place for drying fishing nets.” A city with thousands of years…