Four Words that Mean “latest” in Mandarin
Do you have the latest iPhone? What’s the latest on the U.S. presidential election campaign? Did you see the fashions on display at the Shanghai Fashion Week? Daily conversation so…
Secrets of Saying Sorry: “对不起”’s Correct Use
If you’ve ever learned even a little Chinese, you probably know the phrase “对不起(duì bù qǐ)”. In most textbooks, “对不起(duì bù qǐ)” is translated to mean “sorry,” or “I’m sorry.”…
5 Common Mistakes Chinese Learners Make
Having taught Chinese for a while, we’ve noticed a lot of common errors that English speakers make when learning Chinese. This is understandable, as Chinese has very different grammatical rules…
How to Master Tones without Using Tone Marks
I’ve been learning Chinese for over 10 years and one thing I’ve seen countless students struggle with is the tones. Why is it that so many Chinese language students struggle…
All about The Word 就(jiù)
The Mandarin particle 就(jiù) is a very common word in Chinese with a ton of different uses. Depending on the context, it can be a verb, adverb, preposition, or even…
How to use “and” in Chinese
No matter which textbooks you use to learn Chinese, the word “and-和(hé)” is always one of the first few words that you learned. It’s not a difficult word, so even…
Describing Actions with “得(de)” in Chinese: Tips and Examples
In English, you can describe an action using an adverb, for example, "I run quickly" or "I get up early." However, describing verbs with adverbs in Chinese is more complex.…
3 Sets of Similar Chinese Words…or are they?
Chinese is a rich language with a vast vocabulary - every nuance of a given concept or object is expressed by its own word. This can get confusing, as there…
Using “很 (hěn)” with Adjectives
“How do you describe something in Chinese?” This is a question that our tutors often encounter in our Chinese classes for beginners. It sounds like a basic grammar rule, but…