Character of the day is rú. If you use Heisig, it is character 104. It has a few meanings but the one we are concerned with today is the verb “be like” or “be similar to”. Here is today’s sentence. It’s interesting to note that 一切 means ‘all’, ‘everything’ or, in this case, ‘the whole thing’. We…
Tag: chinese
Learning resources, 2018
For me, studying Chinese has things in common with exercise. When you are in a routine of doing it every day, it is relatively easy to keep on doing it. The easiest time to go to the gym is when you just went yesterday. If you lapse and let the hours in your day fill…
My baboon has a new balloon.
我的狒狒有一个新的气球 Wǒ de fèifèi yǒu yīgè xīn de qìqiú. 狒狒 fèifèi, baboon. fèi – hamadryad, a mythical being that lives in a tree (lol). 气球 qìqiú, balloon. qì – gas. qiú – sphere. 新 xīn, new. 的 The possessive particle 的 de is used as an attributive. It connects the adjective 新 new to the noun 球 balloon. New-balloon,…
Behold the majesty of my Chinese desk.
Look, it is huge. I have somewhere for all my books and study materials. Imagine how much I will get done.
Chinese: New Horizons
I went to school and earned 1 Chinese point. I think I am going to change my learning style for a while and get a private tutor, perhaps in a reciprocal Chinese/English tuition arrangement. I’m starting to realise that learning Mandarin Chinese is something that takes several years, not just a couple or a few,…
Happy New Year! Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni.
Happy Chinese New Year! Here is a traditional song with a kick-ass rhythm and a catchy tune. I strongly encourage you to sing along. ‘Gong xi’ means ‘congratulations’ or ‘wishing you joy’. Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni ya, gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni. With the words in Pinyin, so you can…
Fifty American Kids Sing ‘I’ll Bring You Home’ In Chinese
Awww. This is lovely! I have been looking around for songs that might help a person learn Chinese, and this one was written by a Chinese teacher and is performed by him and his students at a Chinese language immersion camp. Check it out! The full story is here. I bet I could learn this…
Write about how someone in your family has changed.
I am staying in on a Saturday night, doing my homework. Part of this week’s Chinese homework is to write a couple of sentences on a given topic. Last week the topic was weather and I wrote a very boring story about snow. So let’s try to liven things up this week. The set topic…
Dà gē shì Lǎowài Style.
A lǎowài is a foreigner and ‘dà gē’ literally translated means ‘big brother’ but perhaps more colloquially reads as ‘this guy’. Jesse Appell: Laowai Style (2012) Photo by Pawel Janiak on Unsplash
Have you eaten?
I’m claiming three Chinese points for one class plus two homework sessions, one of which was a huge amount of study this evening. I’m only stopping now because I’m too tired to go on. Here’s some evidence of what I’ve been doing: Photo by Sharon Chen on Unsplash Nǐ chī le ma? Have you eaten? Hěn…
The Hanyu You Want 