Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Proverbs: Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other (諺語) Posted by Stephen on Aug 7, 2011
Proverbs or 諺語 (yànyŭ) provide invaluable insight into understanding both a language and a culture. They are a window into the very history and nature of language. Our euphemisms, insults, lessons and catch-phrases are all part of the immense dialogues that have progressed and lasted for decades, centuries, (and in Chinese’s case) millennium. Count the number…
上 and 下 – Two Crucial Characters to Learn Posted by sasha on Jul 4, 2011
These are two very important (重要的 – zhòng yào de), very useful (有用 – yǒu yòng) characters when learning Chinese – 上 (shàng) and 下 (xià). In Chinese, you will encounter these two characters very, very often, as they both have many meanings. Let’s take a look at some of the many uses of these…
Chinese Idioms Vol. 3 Posted by sasha on Jul 1, 2011
It’s time for another installment of Chinese idioms! 痴人说梦 – chī rén shuō mèng – “A fool tells about his dreams” Basically, this idiom means to talk complete nonsense. The story behind it talks of a rich family who had a very foolish son. One day, he awoke to see the maid in his room…
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…
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!
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…
Making Chinese Words Posted by sasha on May 31, 2011
While the thousands of Chinese characters can be scary at first, it’s helpful to know that once you know a few, you can easily start building your vocabulary. In this short video lesson, learn how to make words by combining two or three different characters.