Tag: mandarin chinese

Giving Directions in Chinese

Some of the most important vocabulary to prepare before going to a Mandarin-speaking country is phrases and words for asking directions. Especially when traveling through a Mandarin-speaking country, you will need to be able to ask for and understand directions.

Continue Reading →

Laoban – Daily Mandarin Lesson

Titles are important in Chinese culture, and they are used more frequently than in most Western countries. One good example of this is that titles can be used to address people, which you might be familiar with from your Mandarin class where you can call the teacher 老師 (lǎoshī). While that can be done in English too, it's usually reserved for younger kids and not as common as in Mandarin Chinese.

Continue Reading →

Neng, Keyi, Hui

There is a quiz associated with this lesson. One of the difficulties when translating from one language to another is that certain words can have more than meaning. The English word can is a good example.

Continue Reading →

Best reasons to answer that Why Study Chinese?

Some surprising facts Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar. Unlike French, German or English, Chinese has no verb conjugation (no need to memorize verb tenses!) and no noun declension (e.g., gender and number distinctions). For example, while someone learning English has to learn different verb forms like “see/saw/seen,” all you need to do in Chinese is just to remember one word: kan. While in English you have to distinguish between “cat” and “cats,” in Chinese there is only one form: mao. (Chinese conveys these distinctions of tense and number in other ways, of course.)

Continue Reading →

Using the Telephone

The conventions for making and answering phone calls in Mandarin Chinese are similar to English. The main difference is that calls are usually answered with ►wèi, which is a way of saying “hello” used only on the phone.

Continue Reading →