Learn a little Chinese every day
Before we look up the food and color words in Chinese, let me explain one word first. “Bǐnggān” in Chinese Mandarin, can be translated into the cookie, biscuit, potato chips, cracker, and wafer.The original meaning of “Bǐng” is something shaped like a cake and usually made with flour or rice flour. “Gān” means dry. So…
玻璃心 Bōlíxīn ADJ. (Literal meaning is glass heart) Like the English word “snowflake,” it means sensitive, emotional, fragile, or vulnerable. We use it to describe people whose feelings get hurt easily. Although it looks like a noun, it is actually an adjective. Sometimes we convey the same idea in a different way. For example, instead…
The word “the” is used frequently in English, and you may wonder how to translate it into Chinese. However, there is no direct equivalent for “the” in Chinese. One common usage of “the” in English is to refer to specific nouns. In Chinese, there are three ways to express this concept. Using Topic-comment Structure In…
Before we look up the direction words in Chinese, let me tell you something. There are two different ways people tell you to turn: Southerners use the word 拐 guǎi while Northerners use the word 轉/转 zhuǎn. In Taiwan, we also use 轉/转 zhuǎn. For example, 前面左轉/前面左转 qiánmiàn zuǒzhuǎn (turn left in the front). Basic…
The Difference Between 安心 ānxīn and 放心 fàngxīn Both 安心 ānxīn and 放心 fàngxīn indicate a sense of peace or ease, but they have slightly different nuances. 安心 emphasizes a feeling of calmness that results from a sense of safety and security, and it is often used to describe a general sense of well-being. For…
What is the most common sentence order in Chinese? 📌 Time + Subject + How + Location + Action * Time words can either go after the subject or before the subject.* If you want to specify the direction, the directional word should come after ‘how’ and before ‘location’. Time Subject How Direction Location Action 去年 弟弟 坐船…
The three verbs 能 néng, 會会 huì, and 可以 kěyǐ can all be translated as “can” in English. However, each of these terms has a unique meaning, and they are not always interchangeable. At times, their meanings do overlap, but not always. 能 néng 能 néng emphasizes one’s natural ability, as opposed to learned ability….
Before we look up the location and appliance words in Chinese, let me ask you a question. Do you know that the proportion of Taiwanese over the age of twenty living with their parents is 33.5 percent, according to the latest statistics from Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior? About a million of those between 35 and…
力氣力气 lìqìlìqi and 力量 lìliàng can both be translated to power, strength, force, or energy. Both serve as nouns. So, if you are looking for an adjective like strong, please check the difference between 強 qiáng and 強壯 qiángzhuàng. 力氣 lìqì /力气 lìqi 力氣力气 lìqìlìqi generally refers to physical strength or effort, particularly the strength required for manual labor…
Before we look up the location words in Chinese, let me tell you a story. In my first year of teaching, I didn’t know much about China. One day my student asked me, “Tiffany I am going to Kenting next month to take a rest and have fun. Do you recommend any nice “jiǔdiàn” (hotel)? And…