What is the best thing to know when starting to learn Chinese?

September 30, 2023 0 Comments

It’s a different ballgame. You didn’t mention your native language, so I don’t know your starting point. But first, with Chinese, there are no verb conjugations, no plurals, no tenses, and a lot of the things you are probably used to do not exist. A lot of things you are not used to do exist: …

What is the longest word in Mandarin Language?

September 29, 2023 0 Comments

Unfortunately, we don’t have the ” longest” word in China, because all our characters are individual. However, we have the most complex word. This one is “Biang”. It is the name of a kind of noodle. And we still have this one, called “da”. That means a lot of dragons fly together. BTW, I am …

Why is there no “V” in Chinese?

September 27, 2023 0 Comments

There is a V sound in some Chinese dialects, such as Hakka. If you listen to northern Chinese speak, sometimes they use a V sound. But as to why there is no V sound in Mandarin, first, languages can be pretty arbitrary. English has words beginning with shr, such as shrapnel, shrink, shroud, and others, …

Why does it seem that Mandarin Chinese grammar isn’t well-researched?

September 24, 2023 0 Comments

Grammar is useful for Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, and other highly structured languages, but isn’t really that necessary for Chinese. There are no verb conjugations. A noun is just as happy to be a verb. There are no tenses. What do you need a rigorous study of grammar for? or rather, Who do you need it …

Why do ancient Chinese 1-yuan bills have “壹” and not ”一”?

September 23, 2023 0 Comments

The character “壹” is how the number 1 is written in financial numerals. The financial numerals are still being used today in both China and Taiwan, so it’s not really ancient. To prevent fraud, all numbers on financial instruments and documents like cheques, currency notes, contracts etc must be written in “Upper Case” characters. These …

What is the meaning of “傻逼” in Mandarin Chinese?

September 22, 2023 0 Comments

傻逼 contains two Chinese characters, 傻(Sha): stupid 逼(Bi): an insulting word ,that contains female genitalia and the meaning of bastard Exact Translation: stupid bastard. This is a slang word, not an official and written word.

Why did China switch from traditional to simplified characters?

September 20, 2023 0 Comments

You have to know a little known history. Today’s China was established in 1949, and its founders were Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China. When they founded their country in 1949, the war had been going on for decades and the country was in ruins. They wanted to build this country, but found …

I wish to be fluent enough in Chinese to be able to speak in professional gatherings. Where do I start and how?

September 14, 2023 0 Comments

Live in a coercive language environment where only standard putonghua or Mandarin is spoken. You will need at least 2 years to get up to speed, just to get by with the day to day. If you want to speak in a professional capacity, that requires learning the written word, and watching plenty of Chinese …

Is 慧莲 a bad Chinese name?

September 13, 2023 0 Comments

No, it’s not a bad name. However, in my humble opinion, when people look at this name Huilian, or 慧莲 in Chinese, they would associate it with a Dharma name, or 法号 in Chinese, for a Buddhist nun. Since the first Chinese character, 慧, which could mean wisdom and discernment, is often seen in the …

Is Chinese writing in China inferior to English since English is easier to read and write?

September 12, 2023 0 Comments

Both languages have their benefits and drawbacks. English is a phonographic language, more or less. Each letter represents a distinct sound, and words are made up of multiple letters based on their pronunciation. Mind you, the standardization of spelling means that the way a word is written and the way a word is pronounced don’t …