Guizhou Province: the world’s bridge museum Posted by Ayana on Jun 15, 2020
The landlocked province of Guizhou (贵州 Guìzhōu) is situated in southwest China. The Chinese describe the province as: 天无三日晴， tiān wú sān rì qíng, 地无三里平， dì wú sān lǐ píng, 人无三分银。 rén wú sān fēn yín. The rhymed parallelism depicts it well. The first part describes the sky and indicates the weather: 天无三日晴 (tiān wú…
A Guide to Asking Questions in Chinese Posted by sasha on Jun 8, 2020
Learning how to ask questions is important in any language. Even if you can’t really understand responses very well, being able to ask questions at least gets you started conversing with locals. Today I’m going to share a guide to asking questions in Chinese that I hope will help you out. 加油! Question Words in…
How to Respond to Compliments in Chinese Posted by Ayana on Jun 2, 2020
In Chinese culture, modesty is viewed as a virtue. It is an inherent part of the Confucian beliefs which emphasize the group over the individual. One of the daily aspects in which Chinese modesty is reflected is the way Chinese receive and respond (回应huí yìng) to a compliment (赞美zàn měi). While a simple thank you…
A Virtual Tour of China Posted by sasha on May 20, 2020
I don’t know about you, but I really like traveling (我很喜欢旅行 wǒ hěn xǐ huān lǚ xíng). For us travelers, this global pandemic (全球大流行 quán qiú dà liú xíng) really stinks. That’s why I’m going to take you on a virtual tour of China (中国虚拟之旅 zhōng guó xū nǐ zhī lǚ). Hopefully this inspires you…
COVID-19 Chinese Vocabulary Posted by Ayana on May 16, 2020
Talking and reading about the COVID-19 in Chinese requires a specific vocabulary. Here is a glossary of 15 words, including related verbs and nouns. Read the sentences all regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, to practice the new vocabulary. Try to make sentences on your own, using the glossary. If you have any question leave me a…
Talking About Music in Chinese Posted by sasha on May 6, 2020
Do you like listening to music? (你喜欢听音乐吗? nǐ xǐ huan tīng yīn yuè ma). I don’t know about you, but music (音乐 yīn yuè) has always been a huge part of my life. When I was younger, I played the cello (大提琴 dà tí qín) in my school’s orchestra as well as in an after-school…
China’s Popular Epidemic Song Posted by Ayana on May 4, 2020
The song which had been written for another occasion and became one of the most popular during the pandemic. Li Kaichou (李凯稠 Lǐ kǎichóu) is a successful Chinese musician (音乐人 yīn yuè rén). Working behind the scenes, he has composed and produced many popular songs (红歌 hóng gē) over the years. Last year he composed…