Many would consider this an odd sight, it is a sweltering 40°C day and the sun is beating down, you reach for your bottle only to find it filled with boiling hot water. This might seem odd to those from Europe or America, but for those from China this is simply business as [...]
They bring the whole spectrum of 酸甜苦辣(Suāntiánkǔlà; joys and sorrows) to your day in the space of your 15 minute commute. 一)The 奶奶 Her bike can be traced back to the 1960s. Riding with a surrounding metallic resonance, she manages to cycle slower than the local commuter walking on their ‘rush’ to work. [...]
One of the things that makes life in China so interesting is the sheer diversity of people you meet on a daily basis. If you've spent any amount of time in China, you've undoubtedly run into one or more of these colorful characters... Beijing Taxi Driver 北京的哥侃爷 Hometown: Beijing Favorite Drink: Cheap green [...]
You Call it Lurking, I Call it Web-Based Learning Note: This article is the second in a two-part series. If you haven't seen part 1, we suggest you read that first. Hopefully, we've convinced you that if you're learning Chinese, all that time you spend staring at pictures of other people's avocado toast [...]
Essential Chinese Phrases for the Social Media Addict Admit it: you checked your newsfeed this morning before you even got out of bed. You pick your meals based on how good you think they'll look on Instagram. And yes, you even browse Twitter when going number 2. If these symptoms sound familiar, your [...]
Meet Market with Chinese Characteristics A mention of the Shanghai People's Park marriage market, known in Chinese as the Rénmín Gōngyuán Xiāngqīn Jiǎo 人民公园相亲角, is likely to elicit more than a few raised eyebrows from foreign visitors. After all, amidst all the international brands and skyscrapers, the whole idea seems rather anachronistic. In fact, it's [...]
Don't Homophone It In Last week we introduced you to the occasionally frustrating but always fascinating world of Chinese homophones. This week we're back with five more funny, sassy and potentially embarrassing Chinese homophones you definitely need to know! And of course, our helpful suggestions for how to ensure you don't get them mixed [...]
Conquering your Homophone-phobia Let's face it, learning Chinese is a constant lesson in humility. While studying a foreign language is never easy, Chinese sometimes appears to have been specifically designed to trip up hapless foreigners. And when it comes to spoken Chinese, one of the most difficult aspects is undoubtedly homophones, or words that [...]
Every Dog Has Its Day...and Year! Are you a Dog (Person)? First, a quick refresher. The Chinese zodiac (shēngxiào, 生肖) is a system where one of twelve animal signs is assigned to each year. In turn, each person is said to possess some of the characteristics of the animal from their birth [...]
Oh, What A Wonderful Web Okay, so let’s start this off easy with things you probably can't find on Amazon, but definitely can find on Taobao. After that, it will get increasingly weird so don’t say you weren’t warned. (The items were kept PG13 and relatively SFW - trust us when we say [...]
