Learn a little Chinese every day
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of the three most important Chinese festivals. It is a traditional holiday to worship the moon, as on that day, the moon turns into a beautiful circle (圓圆 yuán). The full moon symbolizes perfection and satisfaction (圓滿圆满 yuánmǎn) for the harvest and family reunion…
Grammar Point:The way Chinese expresses locations is by adding a preposition 在 zài and a locative word (Fāngwèi cí.) Here are some common locative words. 方位詞词 Fāngwèi cí 上 shàng up, top, above 下 xià down, bottom, under 裡里 lǐ in 外 wài out 前 qián front 後后 hòu back, behind 左 zuǒ left 右…
Before we look up objects at home in Chinese, I want to tell you that pánzi (plate) has a new definition now. “Pánzi” in Taiwan indicates “cash cows.” We usually use it negatively. For example, if you think your friend is paying too much on one thing, you can say, “nǐ shì pánzi ma?“ (are…
Grammar Point:If we exclude particle question words, there are 9 question words in Chinese: what, when, where, how, who, which, why, and 2 variations of “how many”. However, unlike in English, these question words stay in the same position in the answer sentence, without the need to reverse the order or add an extra adverb….
“Chang’e ben yue” is a story for HSK2+ learners. Stories I shared some are Chinese folk tales, and some are my creations. This story is one of the most famous stories associated with the Moon Festival. However, there are four different versions of it, each with slight variations. So, if you hear a different story,…
Grammar Point:In Chinese, there are two words that can express the future: 會会 huì and 要 yào. While they share some similarities, they are not exactly the same. Generally, 會会 huì conveys a more passive sense of possibility, while 要 yào conveys a more active sense of intention or necessity. 會会 huì This is not…
Grammar Point:In Chinese, the way to express actions in progress is by adding the auxiliary verbs 在 zài or 正在 zhèngzài in front of the verb. 在 zài is used for both short-term and long-term progress, while 正在 zhèngzài is used to emphasize the ongoing action at that moment. In spoken language, we prefer to…
Grammar Point:There are three words in Chinese that can express the concept of ‘want’: 想 xiǎng, 要 yào, and 想要 xiǎngyào. However, they are not exactly the same and each has additional meanings attached to them. 想 xiǎng 想 xiǎng usually refers to a thought or an idea, without any definite plans or decisions made…
T.M.I Before we look up identity and family words in Chinese, I want to tell you a not important fact. There are three kinds of fans in China. The first one is 團粉/团粉 tuánfěn. It means you like the whole idol group. The second one is 唯粉wéifěn. It means you like only one specific person…
Before we look up at sushi and fish in Chinese, let me tell you a fun but sad story. There are some young people named salmon in Taiwan. Due to a restaurant in Taiwan offered free sushi to those who have salmon in their name. Hundreds of people changed their names, but Taiwan limits citizens…