Mandarin Weekly #54




Tone myths

You’ve heard that tones are important. But not everything you hear about tones is true:

Living-room vocabulary

This posting shows a living room full of objects… and they’re all labeled In Chinese, along witih sample sentences that can give you a better idea of how to use each term:

Picking up

The term “pick up” means different things in English. In this article, we learn about the differnet ways to use “pick up” in Chinese:

Twitter: @DigMandarin


Can’t do something? ChinesePod will tell you how to describe that in Chinese, asking for permission to do it:

Twitter: @ChinesePod

The winner is…

Want to improve your Chinese? Want to watch more television? You can do both at the same time, by watching the Chinese game shows:

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Farm vocabulary

Even if you only spend time in Chinese cities, you’ll likely need or want to use some agricultural terms. In this article from DigMandarin, we get a list of useful farm-related vocabulary:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Speaking with grandparents

Want to improve your Chinese, and appreciation of Chinese culture? Consider speaking with, watching, or participating with Chinese grandparents, who take part in a variety of activities. This article introduces some useful vocabulary, and describes some of the activities you can expect to see:

Twitter: @SpeakUpChinese

More character bites

Chris is back with “Chinese character bites” — this time, with 之 (zhī) and 过 (guò):

Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Poetry lesson

LearnChineseNow teaches a classical Chinese poem, Ascending Stork Tower:

Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Breakfast food

What sorts of foods do people eat in China? This blog post describes some of them, with appropriate vocabulary (and even a quiz):

Twitter: @ECLSchool


Want to order food in a Chinese restaurant? Here are some sentences and vocabulary you’ll need in order to succeed, ensuring that your food will contain the appropriate level of spiciciness:

Twitter: @DuChinese

Yes, yes

One of the first things you learn when studying Chinese is that there isn’t a single word for “yes.” Why is this the case? And when do you use each version of “yes”?


Listen to this song, presented along with the words, Pinyin, and English translation:


What are some common animals in Chinese? DigMandarin has provided us with a list:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Making a long-term plan

You can’t learn Chinese quickly; you’ll need a long-term plan. In this posting from FluentU,we learn what you can and should do to create such a plan, and what aspects are less likely to be useful:

Twitter: @FluentU

It’s late out

What’s the difference between the characters 夜(yè) and 晚 (wǎn)? Both mean “night,” more or less, but can they be used interchangeably?

Using and pronouncing 着

What does the 着 character sound like, and what is its function?

Measure word for a pizza

Does pizza use 个 or 张? An interesting debate and discussion about measure words:

I’m so sorry

How do you indicate you’re sorry in Chinese?

Chinese continents

How do you say the names of the continents in Chinese? And are they classified the same in Chinese and in English?


If you make a mistake in Chinese, what do you say? “Oops” is a good term in English, but does it translate?


How can you describe being online, or watching an online video?

The strangest character

What’s the strangest Chinese character? It’s not a competition, but there are a lot of options to choose from:

Mandarin Weekly #53

Mandarin Weekly #53




Sentence structure


Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Chinese nouns


Twitter: @MandarinWManu

The two uses of 让 (ràng)


Twitter: @DigMandarin

Character bites


Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Animal sounds


Twitter: @FluentU

Office vocabulary


Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Hungry? Or full?


Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Exceptionally hungry? Or exceptionally full?


Twitter: @ChinesePod

On the other hand…




It’s all about the children (radical)


Snowman in summer


Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

The most difficult characters


Twitter: @SkritterHQ

Turbocharge your Chinese learning


Twitter: @Lingholica

The Force is still getting up


Twitter: @DuChinese



地 and 的


Using 吧 at the end of a sentence


The envelope, please


Another use for 是


More, please


Components of 你



Mandarin Weekly #52




Du Chinese released


Twitter: @DuChinese

Asian country names


Twitter: @ChineseLanguage

Harps and cows


Twitter: @ECLSchool

Because… therefore


Both this … and that


Remembering witih mneumonics


Twitter: @ChineseBoost

Freezing to death


Twitter: @DigMandarin

Using flashcards


Survival Chinese




Watching variety shows


Twitter: @DuChinese

Chinese character bites


Twitter: @Fluent_Mandarin

Brush your teeth


Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

Order a pizza!


Twitter: @chineseclass101

Confucius says…


Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Not feeling well?


Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

10 favorite words


Twitter: @chineseclass101

Talking to the mountain


Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

Apple watch


Twitter: @ChineseWithEmma

Fun signs in China


What does the neutral tone sound like?


Guessing the meaning


Oohs and aahs


Don’t do that!


Most of the time


Non-phonetic place names


Genderless, singular “they”


Choosing a Chinese name


If you’re called a “Laowai,” is that bad?


Mandarin Weekly #51




Tones are not optional

You know, tones are those things that you kinda sorta remember to tack on when you’re speaking Chinese, right? Well, they shouldn’t be; they are as important to the correct pronunciation, and thus to people understanding you, as vowels, Olle Linge argues in this posting:

Twitter: @HackingChinese

Tone changes

Now that you’ve learned (or been reminded) that tones aren’t optional, enjoy this video from LearnChineseNow, which not only introduces the tones, but how they interact with one another:

Twitter: @LearnChineseNow

The mouth radical

Noticing the mouth radical in many characters can help to provide its meaning. Oksana from DigMandarin provides some examples and explanations:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

English phrases in Chinese

Chinese isn’t known for bringing in many words and phrases from English, but there are some. In this article, we learn about some such phrases and their possible origins:

Twitter: @ECLSchool

Improve your Chinese, with Netflix!

Want to improve your Chinese? This article provides instructions for how to use Netflix to improve your Chinese, along with some suggested Chinese movees:

Twitter: @FluentU

No wonder!

SpeakUpChinese describes how you can say “no wonder!” in Chinese, in two different forms:

Twitter: @SpeakUpChinese

Set your goals for 2016

Planning to improve your Chinese in 2016? (If not, then why are you reading this?!?) You should try to set some goals for the year, and then for each month, as described by Hollie from Written Chinese:

Twitter: @WrittenChinese

Happy New Year!

Happy 2016! It might be a smidgen late, but here are phrases having to do with the new year, both in general and how it’s celebrated in China:

Twitter: @learnchinese88

New Year blessings

Here are some more phrases for the start of 2016, emphasizing the blessings and best wishes you can give to people in Chinese:

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

The Little Mermaid

The classic children’s story, in Chinese (spoken, with characters and pinyin) to help you improve your listening:

Twitter: @ChineseAtEase

Body parts

Here are some basic body parts that you should probably know in Chinese, along with the characters and some basic explanations for why they (might) look like they do:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Another one

When should you use 另外 (lìng wài), and when should you use 另 (lìng)? The distinction is made clear in this article from DigMandarin:

Twitter: @DigMandarin

Are new characters created?

If Chinese needs a new word, is a new character created for it? Or are existing characters combined to form that new word? Or both? A short, but interesting, discussion:

Correct tone for 为 (wei)

Is it 2nd tone, or 4th? The answer is that it’s both, with different meanings:

Who decides on the sounds of characters?

Who decides on such things? The answers here are complex, but interesting:

The school bus is coming

What verb ending is appropriate to translate this idea into Chinese? The discussion here is good for anyone who is confused between 过 (guò) and 着 (zhe).