What would my Chinese name be if my name is Mary?
Mary is usually written as 玛丽 in Chinese. Sometimes, it could be written as 玛莉 in Chinese. There are well-known people who share this name …
Does Mandarin pronounce its ‘R’s the same as English?
They are very similar and sometimes overlap. The most common pronunciation of English /r/ is as a labialized postalveolar approximant, [ɹ̠ʷ]. Some North American, Irish, …
What does “对牛弹琴” mean?
Dui Niu Tan Qin (对牛弹琴) is a well-known Chinese idiom/Chengyu. The idiom is very easy to understand, provided you know the corresponding 4 simple Chinese …
Is Chinese arguably the toughest language in the world for a westerner to master?
Is Chinese arguably the toughest language in the world for a westerner to master? To speak, read & write in it as good as a …
Why is “Nintendo” in Chinese called “任天堂“ (Ren tian tang) and not “宁天多” (Ning tian duo)?
In Chinese language, if Japanese have original name or brand written in kanji/Chinese characters, usually Chinese no need to change their name based on Chinese …
Is it difficult for a native Malay speaker to learn Mandarin Chinese?
1 in 5 Chinese school kids in Malaysia aren’t even Chinese Non-Chinese students comprised 18% of Chinese-language primary schools in 2016, according to Malaysia Education …
Why are Chinese characters the only extant example of a logographic writing system?
While there have been notably successful logographic writing systems, there are specific reasons why the non-phonetic Chinese characters have survived while overall the “phonetic revolution” …
What’s the difference between a modern day Chinese name and an ancient Chinese name?
The wife of the Guangwu Emperor (5 bce – 57 ce) of the Eastern Han was named 陰麗華 Yin Lihua (family name Yin, Lihua, beautiful …
How come China did not evolve to use phonetic writing systems like most other languages?
Mistaken* premise. Chinese writing *IS* phonetic (mostly), but on a syllabic level: each character simultaneously stands for an entire syllable and a complete morpheme (minimal unit of …
“She has gone to New York many times.” Is this a correct sentence?
Correct in grammar but not in phraseology. The more authentic English phraseology is:— She has been to New York many times. — (For having visited there) She has gone to …