What’s the difference between 華人 and 漢人?

華人is a term that describes all people that has Chinese heritage,including Taiwanese,Hong Kongniese,some Singaporean and Malaysian,Chinese who immigrated to America,to Europe,to all over the world,but we just use American華人to describe them,which is美籍華裔,etc.One of the most important factor that you can use to determine who is a華人is that they know Chinese,Cantonese,or any other Chinese dialect.However,華人is a … Read more

Why do Chinese people like dragons?

This is a culture misunderstanding or translation miss. In fact, the Chinese dragon and wester dragon are 2 completely different creatures if they do exist. Chinese dragon, or loong 龙 is a symbol of strength, power, fortune…it is said to have alligator’s head, dear’s horns, eagle’s claws, snake’s body, bull’s eyes…a combination of all the … Read more

What is the most politically correct translation of Chinatown in Mandarin?

The literal translation of Chinatown in Mandarin is 中国城. Another commonly used name, 唐人街, literally means Tang People Street. However, the term Chinatown itself may not be politically correct, as it suggests a “country within a country”, or a “colony of China”. In the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where I live, there is a … Read more

How many characters does the average Chinese person know?

Some foreigner friends of mine think that Chinese characters are “impossible” to master. What? 50000 characters? The truth is, as other answers have stated, there are only 3500 common characters. As an average Chinese speaker, I had mastered all common Chinese characters before I graduated from primary school, in terms of writing and reading. (You … Read more

Private Mnemonics for Remembering Chinese Characters

To avoid confusing 左/右 as a beginner, I associated the falling fourth tone of 右 yòu / yow and the very last falling stroke of 口 with the meaning “right”: definite, correct and straight to the point. The constantly changing stroke direction of 左 zuǒ / tzuoo is more convoluted (similar to navigating a maze: right, left downward slash, right, down, … Read more

Did Chinese people use 我, 你, and 他 before the New Culture Movement?

This is an interesting question, from the perspective of non-Mandarin speakers prior to the advent of Modern Standard Chinese. This is a page from the boxing manual《虎鶴雙形拳》Tiger-Crane Boxing written by 林世榮 Lam Sai Wing. Lam was a Cantonese from 南海 Nan Hai, a student of the famed 黃飛鴻 Wong Fei Hung. The years of his life … Read more