What is the Chinese character 寅?
The original meaning of this character is “respect.” However, this meaning is rarely used today. Nowadays, it’s mainly used for recording time and divination. “寅” …
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If 读 means to read，why is 看 used so often instead?
The cause of your confusion stems from the behavioral change in reading Chinese during the past centuries. The dominant modern reading behavior is a silent …
How many Chinese characters do I need to know to know Chinese?
As a language, Chinese is largely monosyllabic and doesn’t have a fixed grammar, so learning it is really quite easy — easier than English. If …
Why is it common to ask “Have you eaten yet?” in China?
Very common, especially in Beijing Hu Tong (胡同, small alley) culture. Old Beijing (老北京) people ask “吃了吗” (have you eaten yet?) as we say “how …
Can I learn speaking in Chinese through only Pinyin without characters in China?
of couse. but I would show you the shi shi shi story again. shī shì shí shì shǐ shí shí shǐ shì shì, shǐ shī, …
What is (yànyǔ) in Chinese?
諺語 諺：(形声。从言, 彦声。本义:谚语) 同本义 [aphorism; proverb; saying; adage] 谚, 传言也。字亦作喭。——《说文》 There is 諺語，成語 and there is 箴言，these are all “sayings” but there are those which …
What does this Chinese expression mean, “这是什么鬼”?
It means “What the hell is this?” “这是什么鬼” can be regarded as a short form of “这是什么鬼东西”. The “鬼”, literally means ghost or monster, is …
Is there a reason why Chinese characters are written vertically?
I am not a scholar, but on this question I am 100% certain that I am correct. First of all, I am Chinese, deeply familiar …
What language was used in China during the Shang and Han dynasties?
When someone asks what language Chinese people speak? The locals will answer: I speak Beijing (Mandarin_Jurzhen) or Cantonese-Cantonese, Hakka (Hakka-He), Hokkien (Fujian)… Give them a …