Learn a little Chinese every day
Grammar Point: The adverb 白 bái doesn’t mean white, but rather it signifies an action “with no effect” or “in vain,” similar to the concept of white having no color. It is typically used to modify an action verb and indicates the meaning of doing an action that ultimately yields no result. Structure 白 +…
幸虧/幸亏 xìngkuī grammar幸虧/幸亏 xìngkuī is an adverb that introduces a situation where due to something happening, a negative result has been averted. It’s commonly translated into luckily or fortunately in English. 要不然 yàobùrán or 否則/否则 fǒuzé usually follows. Structure 幸虧/幸亏 + Lucky Incident，要不然 + Negative Result 要不然 yàobùrán means otherwise. 我不知道要坐這麼久的船，幸虧我已經吃了暈車藥，要不然我一定會吐我不知道要坐这么久的船，幸亏我已经吃了晕车药，要不然我一定会吐Wǒ bù zhīdào yào zuò zhème…
The preposition 趁 chèn refers to seizing an opportune moment for the implementation of an action. It is followed by a short phrase or a clause explaining the situation the person seeks to take advantage of. And this grammar of 趁 chèn is usually not natural to be translated into English. Structure 趁 + noun phrase…
Coffee Selections Espresso shots義式濃縮义式浓缩咖啡Yì shì nóngsuō kāfēi Americano美式咖啡Měishì kāfēi Cold brew coffee冷萃咖啡Lěng cuì kāfēi Café Latte拿鐵铁 NátiěExcept Taiwan Starbucks…. We call it 拿堤(Nátí) Mocha摩卡 Mókǎ Flat White澳白 àobái Starbucks: 馥芮白 (Fù ruì bái) Caramel Macchiato焦糖瑪玛奇朵Jiāo táng mǎ qí duǒ Frappuccino星冰樂乐Xīng bīng lè Affogato阿芙佳朵Ā fú jiā duǒ Size Normal coffee shop Small 12 oz. 360ml 小杯…
Let’s talk about the delicious food beef and steak in Chinese. Steak is not Chinese food, but hotpot is! If you have a chance to eat hotpot here, you will see all the different choices you get in selecting beef. Here I am going to introduce you 10 different cuts of beef in Chinese. Cuts…
The chicken is a very interesting animal in Chinese culture. The rooster is also regarded as a symbol of “good fortune,” because the word for chicken in Chinese, jī, has a similar pronunciation to the word meaning “auspicious.” For this reason, in some places in Eastern China’s Shandong Province, hens are used as part of wedding…
Grammar Point: Equative verbs connect two equal nouns or nominal expressions, such as “I am a teacher” or “He is John.” The three most common equative verbs in Chinese are 是 shì, 叫 jiào, and 姓 xìng. If you want to negate an equative verb, you should always use 不 bú. 是 shì Is, am,…
Grammar Point:The particle 過过 guò is used to talk about something you have or haven’t experienced in the past. It always goes right after the verb. Structure S + V + 過过 guò + O 我wǒ去qù過guò中國Zhōngguó我wǒ去qù过guò中国ZhōngguóI have been to China. 你nǐ看kàn過guò這zhè部bù電影diànyǐng嗎ma？ 你nǐ看kàn过guò这zhè部bù电影diànyǐng吗ma？ Have you seen this movie before? 我wǒ見jiàn過guò他tā我wǒ见jiàn过guò他tāI have met him before. 我wǒ說shuō過guò嗎ma？？我wǒ说shuō过guò吗ma？？Have I said that before?…
Grammar Point:As you may already know, comparisons in Chinese are typically expressed using 比 bǐ. However, in this article, we’ll explore how to express preferences in Chinese—similar to saying “would rather… than…” in English. Additionally, we’ll introduce three more formal ways to construct comparison sentences in Chinese. Structure – Showing Preference 與与其 + Option A，(S) +…
Grammar Point:To express “even if” in Chinese, we need to use 就算 jiùsuàn or 就是 jiùshì and usually followed by the second clause 也 yě. In this pattern, the first clause is a supposition, which is then struck down as impossible by the statement’s second clause. Structure 就算 + ···，也 + ··· It is an…