Learning Chinese - Archived

www.gochengdoo.com — It's been noted that in China—especially prior to Chairman Mao's national push for standardization of language—you could go a few kilometers to the next village and not be able to communicate with the locals.

www.gochengdoo.com — The origins of the Chinese zodiac, much like their Western counterparts, remain largely a mystery to the layperson. In ancient China, a system of "heavenly stems" and "earthly branches" were used to record the passing of time.

www.fluentflix.com — For 49 year-old billionaire Long Liyuan, it was just a lunch to talk business and eat cat meat.

Little did he know that it would be his last.

www.fluentflix.com — We all love people who are 厉害 (lì hai – awesome).

China also has a long history of monarchic rulers.

And so, some Chinese slang combines the two — along with three activities that take up a lot of time for young people: test-taking, interviewing, and karaoke.

chinesehacks.com — Learn how to use this fun phrase to call someone a "jinx" for bringing bad luck or being negative

english.eastday.com — This was one of two possible meanings in the ad campaign in which the company "played" with Chinese word "set" vs. "ejaculate" to get the customers' attention.

www.mandmx.com — That’s when I found this American classic in Chinese. When I put it into Google Translate and put it into English again, OH MY! Text in English, Chinese, Chinese pinyin romanization and the Google Translated version. Also Download a 5 page PDF of this post to print out and read at Christmas to your friends and family!!

twoguysthreehundredpoems.blogspot.com — Max and Matt are translating, one at a time, the three hundred poems of the 唐诗三百首. We try to include enough information that regardless of one's knowledge of Chinese, there's something to learn about the poem or about China generally. We often digress into attendant history, folklore, linguistic and literary issues.

www.fluentflix.com — One of our readers shares their most embarrassing moments while learning Chinese.

I'll be amazed if this never happened to you!

www.gochengdoo.com — Vocabulary list and advice column for those who try to stay clean in China.