Fans of Chinese and Mandarin
肏 has always stuck me as a bit disturbing. It means fuck. This is a compound ideograph. The top part 入 means to enter. The bottom part 肉 means flesh. It creates a disturbing image. I think a lot of people find the character a bit off putting as well. It isn’t used much. If you … Read more
As an exchange student in Beijing, I’m currently preparing for HSK 4 of Chinese proficiency test. I was writing my practice exam when came across this question. What I want to say is LEARNING CHINESE is not HARD, but EXTREMELY HARD. Like learning other languages, you need to practice making sentences and telling stories in … Read more
In Northern China, this surname originated from Henan Province and Shaanxi Province. For instance, on the Wikipedia, you would find that this surname is used by “descendants of Bai Gongsheng, the son of a crown prince of the State of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period.” The place where Bai Gongsheng was granted a … Read more
La Yan Jing (辣眼睛, Là yǎnjīng), literally spicy eyes, is a common internet slang word in China. It generally refers to the symptoms of discomfort to the eyes. La Yan Jing describes a person’s weird appearance and the feeling that we’d want to close eyes when we’d see it. In Internet terms, it is used … Read more
I haven’t seen that answer it in the comments yet so: to me the closest thing to WTF in mandarin would be “什么鬼” (Shénme guǐ). It could literally be translated as “What ghost” or “What monster”. You could hear someone say “这是什么鬼”(Zhè shì shénme guǐ) for “WTF is that”. One day I was wandering in … Read more
中华人民共和国新疆维吾尔自治区伊犁哈萨克自治州察布查尔锡伯族自治县奥依亚依拉克乡奥依亚依拉克村村民委员会古且末国历史文化遗址申报联合国教育科学文化组织世界非物质文化遗产工作领导小组办公室 this is a name of a office which comes from the Internet and I don’t know whether it exists or not…This word seems to be very complicated for its numerous modifiers.I try to offer a translation as accurate as I can: People’s Republic of China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture … Read more
Awsl is an abbreviation. The full form is À Wǒ Sǐ Le (啊我死了). You can understand it this way: 啊我死了 (À Wǒ Sǐ Le): Ah I’m dead/ oh I’m dead Awsl is often used to describe the excitement of seeing something cute. However, awsl can also indicate something too cute (太萌), too scary (太可怕), too distressing (太痛心).
Not really! Chinese grammar seems easy for simple communication. If you want to reach the professional level, the grammar would not be “so easy”. Further, complexity of grammar is just one aspect of the language. There are numerous other issues that make Mandarin learning difficult to the foreigners. A few examples. Characters: there are thousands … Read more
1. Chinese language is most difficult on its tones Tones are most likely the first hurdle foreign learners come across in Chinese learning. Intuitively, it became the most complained element of the Chinese language. People often think that the native speakers spend a lot of energy on dealing with tones when we speak. It’s not … Read more
This is a Chinese idiom. Understanding a Chinese idiom requires understanding the corresponding characters and words. Characters: 耍 (shuǎ): play, display 嘴 (zuǐ): mouth 皮 (pí): skin Words: 嘴皮/嘴皮子 (zuǐ pí/ zuǐ pí zi): lips (of someone who indulges in an insincere and shallow talks) 皮子 (pí zi): skin 耍嘴皮 (shuǎ zuǐ): pay lip service … Read more