Chinese Characters: to Challenge or to avoid?
Chinese characters are complex and difficult to handle for beginners. Many educators choose to avoid them and teach pinyin instead. However, pinyin is only an auxiliary tool for denoting the…
Chinese characters are complex and difficult to handle for beginners. Many educators choose to avoid them and teach pinyin instead. However, pinyin is only an auxiliary tool for denoting the…
Why do we need to know how to read in Chinese? There are three main reasons: to be immersed in the country’s culture through Chinese books and newspapers; to be…
There are lots of awesome resources for learning Chinese This may surprise some people but the quality and variety of resources available to Mandarin learners are really high. With the…
Songs are a great way to learn a new language as well as mandarin Chinese, because through music you can learn words and phrases from the lyrics. What is particularly…
In Part 1 of Chinese idioms and slangs, we talked about the 龙(dragon) and the 凤(phoenix, two animals that are traditional symbols of Chinese culture. But of course, they are…
Animals have always been an indispensable part of the Chinese people’s daily lives. Naturally, many Chinese words reflect the close relationship between animals and the Chinese people. For example, in…
Many people say Chinese is the most difficult language in the world. Some may not agree, but the fact is that Chinese is definitely not easy for beginners. To start…
Socializing in a Chinese business setting can be very stressful, but it's becoming more and more common for international businesses and entrepreneurs to work with Chinese corporations. Many professionals are…
Homophones can be one of the biggest enigmas learners face when it comes to the Chinese language. First, picture this: two sentences, both containing the character "花" (huā), yet discussing…