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Beginner’s Guide to Chinese eBook Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 25, 2016
If you’re a fan of this blog, you’ll love our new Beginner’s Guide to Mandarin Chinese. Here on the Chinese blog, we post a variety of content for learners of all levels. For the beginners among us who haven’t combed through our archives, you may be missing some of our older, but extremely useful introductory…
Resource Alert: You’ll Want to “Wolf Swallow Tiger Gulp” These Common Chinese Idioms Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 13, 2013
Wait, what? Did I just tell you to “wolf swallow tiger gulp” something? Yes I did. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you should watch this quick clip: Does it make sense now? The Chinese idiom “wolf swallow tiger gulp” is similar in meaning to the English expression “to wolf something down”…
Mandarin Numbers 1 – 20 Posted by Transparent Language on Oct 19, 2012
We’ve put together this table of Mandarin Chinese numbers 1 – 20 for any language learners new to studying Chinese. We’ve also included a video below with voice pronunciation. Try listening to it a few times, maybe when you’re on the computer doing other things, and you’ll pick up the words in no time! Make…
Strategies During Currency Revaluation Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 23, 2010
Careful investors are watchfully waiting to see what will happen with the RMB over the next couple of months. As the Chinese government is the largest holder of US T-bills (there was a recent news article indicating otherwise, but by combining holdings between the Mainland and the Special Administrative Regions, it still is the largest holder) as…
Dragon Boating Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 21, 2010
Last week was 端午节 (duan1wu3jie2 – Dragon Boat Festival), the holiday which 纪念 (ji4nian4 – commemorates) commemorating the passing of 屈原 (qu1yuan2 – Qu Yuan), a patriotic poet who had been 放逐 (fang4zhu2 – exiled) from his country, the kingdom of Chu. He is commemorated because of his loyalty to the people of his country. …
Group Purchasing Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 17, 2010
While on the train to the Shenzhen border from Hong Kong, I saw a group of 12 people 手忙脚乱 (shou3mang2jiao3luan4 – lit. hand busy foot chaotic, “rushing”) to fit some objects into their bags. I had seen this sight before. There’s an interesting phenomenon in China called 团购 (tuan2gou4 – group purchasing), where large groups…
Career Exams Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 14, 2010
Numerous 毕业生 (bi4ye4sheng1 – graduates) in China are faced with 就业焦虑 (jiu4ye4 jiao1lv4 – stress about starting [their] careers), and are desperately seeking a 切入点 (qie4ru4dian3 – entry point) into their desired industry. Save for those who choose to 读研 (du2yan2 – attend graduate school), one eventually has to become part of the 上班族 (shang4ban1zu2…