Mandarin Essentials

Talking about the Weather in Chinese

C is the correct answer.

Analysis:

“是(shì)” is an equative-verb which equates two nouns (or nominal expressions) as in:  “我是美国人(Wǒ shì měiguó rén), I am American.” “下雨(xiàyǔ), to rain” is not a noun. In this case, “今天是下雨(Jīntiān shì xiàyǔ)” is not a correct sentence. “雨(yǔ), rain” is a natural phenomenon, which cannot be equal to ”今天(Jīntiān), today.…

“七上八下(qī shàng bā xià)” and Why Do Chinese Hate It?

While learning Chinese, we have become familiar with the numbers “七(qī) seven,” “八(bā) eight,” and the two verbs “上 (shàng) up,” and “下 (xià) down.” Such as, “七天 (qī tiān) seven days, ” “八点(bā diǎn) eight o’clock,” “上楼 (shànglóu) go upstairs,” and “下山 (xiàshān) go down the hill.” …

How to Use “以前(yǐqián)” And “以后(yǐhòu)” in Chinese

Answer: A In the Chinese language, “前(qián)” means before, and “后(hòu)” means after. Both “以前(yǐqián)” and “以后(yǐhòu)” can be used to indicate a period of time. They are similar in usage. In this text we will introduce three situations for using these two words.

Situation 1:

“以前(yǐqián)” can be used after a time word to express before or ago.…

“零钱(língqián)” – Zero Money or Small Change?

“零(líng), 0” in Chinese is known as zero, such as “零分(língfēn), a score of zero” “2014 年(èr líng yī sì nián), the year 2014,” etc.

Example:

Jīnnián shì èr líng yī sì nián. 今年     是   2014          年。 This year is 2014.

However, if you hear someone say “零钱(língqián)”, do you know what this means?…

The Difference Between “还是(háishì)” and “或者(huòzhě)” in Chinese

Correct Answer: A In the Chinese language, both “还是(háishì)” and “或者(huòzhě)” can be used to connect two words or phrases that represent different alternatives or choices. Both words can be translated in to “or” in English. However, “还是(háishì)” is usually used in questions to present a choice.…

“潮男(cháonán)”— Wet or Fashionable?

“潮(cháo),” literally means “tide,” and is typically used in phrases related to the tide, such as “潮水(cháoshuǐ) tide” and “涨潮(zhǎngcháo) rising tide” etc.

Examples

Qiántángjiāng de cháoshuǐ hěn yǒumíng. 钱塘江             的  潮水        很   有名。

The tide of Qiantang River is very famous.

Zhǎngcháo de shíhou yóuyǒng hěn wēixiǎn.…

Ask Questions in Chinese

Answer: B In the Chinese language, there are several ways to ask questions. We will introduce three ways to ask questions in Chinese today. First, we can ask questions in Chinese using the interrogative particle “吗(ma).” To form a question, simply add “吗(ma)” to the end of a declarative sentence without changing the word order.…

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