2019 is here! Time flies, doesn’t it? Last year was full of good and bad news. How many of them do we still remember? The internet brought us lots of funny stuff to laugh at. What is more, there’re lots of internet slang was born, spread and used by all of us! Chinese internet community...

As shopping plays such an important role in Chinese people’s daily lives, it’s not surprising that there are several ways to say “shopping” in Chinese. In this article, we take a look at 4 most popular Chinese words and phrases related to shopping!   Chinese Shoppers These days, tourists from China can be seen everywhere...

In this article, we will have a look at three common ways to say “change” in Chinese.   Chinese Paronyms In any language, a paronym is a word which shares the same root with another word. To a certain extent, paronyms could be considered as synonyms since they are linked to each other by similarity...

Chinese learners often struggle with polyphones – characters with two or more pronunciations. In this article, we will look at 5 common Chinese polyphones.   Chinese Polyphones: One Character, Two Meanings In simple words, polyphones are Chinese characters which, depending on the context, have two or more pronunciations. Chinese polyphones often make a sentence (or even the...

Why is it so important to learn Chinese characters when you study Chinese? Some people say it’s not important. For them, being able to hold a decent conversation is more rewarding than writing and memorizing the characters. No doubt, all people have different goals. But this week, we’ve found you 10 reasons to learn Chinese characters – and explain why it...

Very often in Chinese, you will come across words that share the same pronunciation, but are written using different characters – the so-calles Chinese homonyms. In this article, we are going to take a look at 4 pairs of homonyms, which are frequently used in both daily conversations and in academic topics.   Same Sound,...

Sometimes, you can create two different words by putting two of the same Chinese characters into a different order.  In this article, we are going to take a look at 5 examples of reversible Chinese words.   Same Characters, Different Meaning It’s believed that a Chinese learner should master around 3500 frequently-used Chinese characters to be able to...

A modal or exclamative particle is an important grammatical concept in Chinese. Adding different exclamative particles at the end of your sentences can help you make your speech more vivid – and consequently, make conversations more effective. Using appropriate Chinese exclamative particles, combined with correct intonation, is an essential way to share your feelings with other people. In...

If you had a chance to talk to many Chinese locals, you might have noticed that people from different regions speak Chinese with different accents. Mandarin Chinese in the South and North can be slightly different sometimes. On one hand, it’s a relief – you don’t have to worry too much if don’t understand some...

Even if you started to learn Chinese yesterday, you must have already picked up the famous Chinese greeting which means “hello”: 你好 nǐ hǎo. Well, if we take a look at these two characters separately, it turns out that 你 nǐ means “you”, and 好 hǎo means “good”. As the literal meaning of 你好 nǐ hǎo is “you good”, it can be...

In this article, we will take a look at some of the typical and most common Chinese radicals. Importance of Learning Chinese Radicals Unlike in European languages, in Chinese, words are represented by characters. Statistically, there are around 3500 commonly-used Chinese characters. And from time to time, Chinese learners get “awe-struck” when facing some of...

If you’re learning Chinese, it’s very likely that at some point, you are going to take an HSK test (汉语水平考试 Hànyǔ shuǐpíng kǎoshì). And you’ll need to prepare for it well. In this post, I share my experience passing HSK Level 6, and give you some tips, applicable to all levels✌   Time Frame First, let’s take a look...

Studying Chinese isn’t just about learning the language itself, it’s also about acquiring knowledge of the Chinese culture as language and culture are inseparable from each other. Therefore, if you want to master Chinese, it’s very important for you to have an insight into the Chinese culture, and know more about Chinese people’s daily life...

Sometimes after a long and busy day, you just can’t be bothered to do any cooking or clean your room. In China, it’s very popular among foreigners to hire an “阿姨ā yí”(which means cleaner) to help with their housework. Firstly, it’s not very expensive if you would like to ask a cleaner to come clean...

Our life is full of uncertainties and surprises, therefore it’s always good to learn how to express your own feelings in words when you feel surprised about something. Today we will teach you for simple words that may come in handy when you feel “shocked”.   1. 天啊(tiān a): Oh god! “天(tiān)” means “sky” or...

As China moves toward modernization in the recent years, it has become more tolerant towards foreign cultures. Many aspects of the western cultures have been adopted and adapted into local versions. Some of these can be seen/heard in the colloquial Chinese language, such as “脱口秀(tuōkǒuxiù)” sounds like and means “talk show” and “黑客(hēikè)” means “hacker”....

1. 泡吧 pào bā to kill time in a bar Let’s break it down: 泡(pào): to soak 吧(bā): bar “泡吧(pào bā)” literally means “to soak yourself in a bar”. This word is often used to describe a person who likes to kill time in a bar. Examples: Young people like to kill time in bars....

1. Loser 屌丝 Diǎo sī Loser Let’s break it down: 屌 (diǎo): male genital organ 丝 (sī): silk (in this case it means “fur”) 屌丝 (diǎo sī) is the opposite of the famous phrase “高富帅(gāo fù shuài)”, which means “tall, rich, handsome”. It’s commonly used to describe a man as “short, poor, ugly”. In general,...

[cmsmasters_row data_width=”boxed” data_padding_left=”3″ data_padding_right=”3″ data_top_style=”default” data_bot_style=”default” data_color=”default” data_bg_position=”top center” data_bg_repeat=”no-repeat” data_bg_attachment=”scroll” data_bg_size=”cover” data_bg_parallax_ratio=”0.5″ data_padding_top=”0″ data_padding_bottom=”50″][cmsmasters_column data_width=”1/1″][cmsmasters_text animation_delay=”0″] So you’ve decided to come to China. The next step is to find out how to obtain a Chinese visa to enter and stay in the country legally. In this article, we will discuss two types of Chinese...

打 (dǎ) in this case means “to pump up”. 鸡血 (jī xuě) means “chicken blood”. Put together, the phrase 打鸡血 (dǎ jī xuě) is often used to describe a person who is pumped up about something.