Marriage in China Posted by Ayana on Aug 5, 2019
For the Qixi festival, the Chinese Valentine’s Day that is celebrated this year on August 7th, I delved into some Chinese marriage vocabulary. Marriage in China has undergone changes during the last century. In this post we’ll take a closer look at different Chinese marriage practices. 爱是婚姻的基石。 Ài shì hūn yīn de jī shí. Love…
How to Handle Drinking in China Posted by sasha on Jul 17, 2019
One of the first words I (and many other foreigners, for that matter) learned in China was “Cheers!” (干杯 – gān bēi). It’s no secret that drinking is a big part of the culture here. Whether you’re a 中国人 or a 老外, glasses are raised and clinked all the time in the Middle Kingdom. Things…
China’s most famous actress announces split with fiancé Posted by Ayana on Jul 15, 2019
A year after getting involve in a tax evasion scandal, Fan Bingbing (范冰冰, 38), China’s most famous actress, announced that she is breaking up with her partner. On 2014, Fan Bingbing starred in a Chinese television series named The Empress of China (武媚娘传奇). Based on events from the Tang dynasty, the drama focused on the romance (恋情…
Understanding the Names of Places in China Posted by sasha on Jul 8, 2019
Learning Chinese names can be tricky, especially when you’re new to the language. We’re here to help! I already wrote a post about understanding Chinese names of people and I even wrote one about the Chinese names for all 30 NBA teams as well as for 50 famous companies. This post will be about understanding…
China’s Stereotypical Distinction between North and South Posted by Ayana on Jul 1, 2019
Whenever Yu Juan, my Yunnanise friend, recalls her time in Beijing she’s pouting. She graduated from a famous university, but didn’t enjoy her stay in the capital city. “The food there is not spicy enough, and the people are so different”, she explains. “Different?”, I ask, and she elaborates: – 北方人脾气凶暴 (běi fāng rén pí…
Talking About Summer in Chinese Posted by sasha on Jun 20, 2019
Tomorrow is the first day of summer (夏天 – xià tiān). Many students are getting ready to go on summer vacation (暑假 – shǔ jià), so lots of families plan to take a vacation (假期 – jià qī) in the coming months. All over China, people are excited for what the summer months bring. Learn…
Talking about Smoking in Chinese Posted by Ayana on Jun 17, 2019
Smoking (吸烟 xī yān) is a bad habit (坏习惯 huài xí guàn). Cigarettes appear to have originated in Mexico and Central America around the 9th century in the form of reeds and smoking tubes. In the 19th century, the cigarette had crossed into Europe and received the name cigarette (香烟 xiāng yān). Nowadays, the adverse health…