Learning Chinese as an Adult VS as a Child
When I first came to China, I knew all of two words, “nǐ hǎo” (你好, “hello”), and “xièxie” (谢谢, “thanks”). It took me over three years to get from there…
How To Start Speaking Mandarin Chinese Very Quickly – An unconventional fast-track model to cut your time to fluency by 50%
About 13% of the world’s population speaks Mandarin Chinese. Have you ever wished you could speak fluent Chinese with a native speaker? You might be thinking, “I’ll memorize some Chinese…
Mastering Chinese Prepositions: When to Use 从, 离, 向 and 往
If you've been learning Mandarin for over a year, you've probably come across a situation where you have to choose between using 从(cóng) or 离(lí), or 向(xiàng) or 往(wǎng) when…
8 Tips to Guide You Bargaining in China
One of the many things China is famous for is the many different types of markets all over the country. From gorgeous silk scarves and fashionable clothes, to designer bags…
10 Chinese Travel Superstitions
In the immortal words of Hans Christian Andersen, "to travel is to live." But the question then becomes, where do you live when you travel? A hotel? A hostel?? A…
Mandarin Café Review: The Online Class Experience
When it comes to formal language study, a classroom led by a dedicated teacher is hard to beat. Having such a teacher is the ideal, formal way to learn, but…
Mastering When to Use 一点儿 and 有一点儿
Learning a new language can be challenging, especially when it comes to mastering the nuances and subtleties of everyday conversation. As a Chinese teacher, I often notice my students using…
China Survival Tips: How to Hail a Shanghai Cab
The subtitle for this article was going to be “why won’t the taxi stop when the light is on and my hand is clearly waving in the air as if…
Top Tips for Learning Chinese through Language Exchange
Imagine if you could have your own private Mandarin Chinese tutor, completely for free. Sounds impossible, right? Actually, there is a way you can have a lesson like this -…