Freezing “to death?” – Adjective/Verb+死+了
It has been very cold in Beijing recently, and out on the streets, you might hear some Chinese people saying: “冷死了(lěng sǐ le, I’m freezing).” "死 (sǐ)" literally means “to…
Chinese Characters about Body Parts
As in many other languages, Chinese has multiple words that each have multiple meanings, also known as polysemy. These polysemantic words convey several concepts at once, and can mean one…
Chinese Characters Containing the Radical “口”!
Last time we discussed the radicals of some Chinese characters. While learning how to write Chinese characters, it is sometimes helpful to group them by ones containing similar meaningful parts.…
Basic Verbs that are Different in Chinese and English Part II
Although I always know Chinese and English were poles apart, I didn't realize how much simple differences between the two languages could create problems for learners until I started developing…
Recognize Chinese Characters by Radicals
This week, I have picked a set of Chinese characters that may be easily confused by beginners. In the picture below, you will see six pairs of characters. The symbols…
4 Common Chinese Measure Words – 个/只/支/头
Many people have trouble understanding which “measure word” they should use in different situations. If you don’t know what a measure word is – it’s a word that is used…
10 ways to use 点 (diǎn)
点 (diǎn) is one of those characters in Mandarin that pops-up all over the place. In the dictionary, there are multiple meanings given, including “dot”, “point”, a “small amount”. In…
Learn The Chinese Tones With Morse Code?
I want to share a teaching cue I’ve been using with my students recently that’s been great for learning how to actually produce the tones. When it comes to learning…
How to Get the Tones in Chinese Right, and then Fix Them in Your Head!
The first thing that most beginners learn in Chinese are the four tones – how the meaning of a sound changes depending on whether you say it in a flat…