Serious Mandarin Chinese Learner: The Comparison Trap
“Reader be warned: at the time of writing, I’ve only completed six months of formal Chinese language instruction. I’m still a beginner, perhaps verging on intermediate, so my thoughts on…
The Best Chinese Picture Books for your Kids
If you're raising your child to be bilingual in Chinese and you don't have the benefit of living in China, then one fantastic way to practice with your Children would…
Mastering the Different Ways to Say “Because” and “So” in Chinese
If you want to say "because" or "so" in Mandarin Chinese, we can help. You might know "because" as "因为" (yīnwèi) and "so" as "所以" (suǒyǐ), but there are other…
How to “Think” in Chinese: Understanding the Differences Between 想, 觉得, 认为 and 以为
When Chinese learners reach the intermediate or advanced stage, they encounter synonyms and have to navigate the nuances between them. Differentiating between these words is crucial to improving mastery of…
Finding the Hidden Keys to Unlocking Chinese Compound Words
A huge bulk of the words in Chinese are compound words, consisting of two or more characters put together. Even if you’re already aware of the fact that Chinese characters…
The Different Learning Methods for Beginner and Advanced Chinese Learner
You may be wondering, as someone studying Mandarin, if there is any difference in the learning methods of beginners and advanced students? If we use the same methods from the…
Comparing 4 Chinese Words that Mean “the Future”
A real question many Chinese learners will encounter early is how to express future events. In Chinese, we have a series of time words to address that: “将来”(jiānglái), “未来”(wèilái), “以后”(yǐhòu)…
6 Common Chinese Chengyu For Life and Success
Chinese Chengyu (成语, Chéngyǔ) plays an important role in Chinese culture. They are the collected wisdom from ancient Chinese people; and they contain deep insights into human life. Behind the…
Making a Clean Sweep of all Basic Associated Constructions in Chinese
You may have hit a wall in the study of Function words in Chinese. Maybe you have mastered Function words like “着”, “了”, “过”, but the next step is to…