How does it feel like to live in China when you barely speak Chinese?
When I first came to China I was 17 years old and ready to embark on the journey of college life. In the beginning, it …
Mandarin Chinese (language): How are 帅哥 (shuaige) and 美女 (meinü) used in mainland China today?
I think the word “帅哥” (Handsome guy) and “美女” (pretty girl) are similar to American people using “honey” and “sweetie” to address strangers. They’re socially …
How did you successfully learn Chinese being a non-Chinese speaker?
Yesterday I was waiting for the elevator in the office building with my manager and a few other managers. My manager was excitedly telling me …
Why was the pinyin form of the Chinese language adopted in 1979 replacing the Wade-Giles system?
China adopted the Pinyin system in 1958 as the system for representation of pronunciation tone for Putonghua, which is Mandarin. Prior to this, Mandarin pronunciation …
Why is the Chinese language gaining global appeal?
Yes, you are right. I live in Johannesburg and can see more and more people around me learn Chinese language. They have different purposes. Some …
What are some easy-to-remember Chinese characters?
Build upon the basic elements that people already taught you. Almost everything can be understood as a combination of elements. 林 – two trees = …
Do Chinese people’s names really have a meaning?
The answer is yes. Chinese, unlike many other language, doesn’t have some names so you can choose. When parents in China named the babies, they …
Is Chinese (Mandarin) very difficult to learn?
In my experience, no. At least, not compared to learning other languages as a second or other language. Mandarin has no gender, no case, no …
What do you think about Mandarin?
Well, Mandarin is the standard spoken Chinese language. And when Chinese people from different regions talk together, they could use Mandarin as the bridge of …
How can I start learning Mandarin? What are some free resources?
I started learning Mandarin few years ago myself and have found these resources to be quite helpful: Learning Chinese Online Page – a great website with …