Is there a way to learn Chinese quickly?
The Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State expects you will reach “General Professional Proficiency” in Chinese (either Mandarin or Cantonese) in 88 …
chinesespeaking
What are the positives of Chinese characters?
One positive is that modern Chinese people can read and understand Chinese text from practically every dynasty in history. One misconception of non-Chinese speakers is …
Is the Chinese character 月 as a first name feminine, masculine, or unisex?
This Chinese charater 月 could mean moon, moonlight and month. In the Chinese culture, moon could symbolize reunion, longing, purity and beauty. People usually use …
Chinese characters seem very complex to write. Can Chinese students who hand write essays or exams write quickly?
I’ll break it down: Chinese characters seem very complex to write. Indeed, the Chinese characters are generally complicated, for example, some characters require over 40 …
In the Chinese language, is 江智 (Jiāng Huì) a valid name?
Yes, 江智 is a valid Chinese name. However, The Pinyin version of 江智 is written as Jiāng Zhì. The surname 江 could mean river. There …
Why can Chinese people read Chinese texts up to 2,000 years old while English-speakers can only read English texts up to 500 years old?
Because Chinese is written in ideograms (hanzi) while English is written in phonetic symbols (Latin alphabet). Each Chinese character represents an idea – a noun, an adjective, a …
Do the people in China text in English or Chinese characters?
They are called Latin or Roman characters. It were the Romans who invented the alphabet English uses, and they used it to write Latin. The Chinese …
Why is the name “Confucius” unlike other Chinese names?
It’s been Latinized Confucius is one of the most influential Chinese philosophers. His philosophy, Confucianism, forms the basis of much of what we think of …
How do people in mainland China feel when they read traditional Chinese?
My pastor and his wife are from Guangdong and immigrated to the US about 10–12 years ago. They speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, and he …
Is there any language that is harder than Mandarin Chinese, excluding Cantonese?
I studied Russian for three years in high school. By the time I had done that, I could kind of patch together a shaky Russian …