Mandarin Essentials

逛街 (guàngjiē) Go Window-shopping/ Go Shopping (Beginner)

逛街 (guàngjiē) Go Window-shopping/ Go Shopping

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The character “逛 (guàng)” means to stroll around or to roam; “街 (jiē)” means street.

Example:

Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshàng qù guàngjiē le. 我昨天晚上去逛街了。

I went window-shopping last night. Got questions? // // HSK Test General Chinese (Beginner Level) General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

Mini-test Answer: 手机 (Beginner)

Beginner Level 初级 (chūjí)

Correct answer: A

Analysis:

A. “手机 (shǒujī)” is the Chinese phrase for “cell phone.”

      The Chinese character “手 (shǒu)” refers to hand and “机 (jī)” refers to machine.

B. “手套 (shǒutào)” is the Chinese phrase for “glove.”

       The Chinese character “手 (shǒu)” refers to hand and “套 (tào)” refers to a cover.…

Mini-test Answer: 乱七八糟 (Advanced)

Advanced Level 高级 (gāojí)

Correct answer: B

Analysis:

A. “七上八下 (qīshàngbāxià)” means an unsettled state of mind. The Chinese character “七 (qī)” refers to seven; “上 (shàng)” refers to up;   “八 (bā)” refers to eight and “下 (xià)” refers to down.

B. “乱七八糟 (luànqībāzāo)” means disordered or be in a mess.…

“说曹操,曹操到(shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào) Speak of the Devil and He Appears”

“说曹操,曹操到 (shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào) Speak of the Devil and He Appears” 

Origin

The story about “说曹操,曹操到 (shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo dào) speak of the devil and he appears” was from《三国演义(sānguó yǎnyì)》The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

汉献帝 (Hàn Xiàndì) Han Xiandi (an emperor in the Han dynasty) was attacked by 李傕 (Lǐ jué) Li Jue and 郭汜(Guō Sì) Guo Si.…

去网吧 (Qù wăngbā) Go to an Internet Cafe

去网吧 (Qù wăngbā) Go to an Internet Cafe   

Beginner Level 初级 (chūjí) 

      Dărăo yí xià, qĭngwèn “Internet Cafe” yòng hànyŭ zěnme shuō?    A:打扰   一下,请问    “Internet Cafe”   用    汉语    怎么    说?        Excuse me, how to say “Internet Cafe” in Chinese?   Ò, zhège ya, wŏmen jiào wăngbā.  B:哦,这个呀, 我们   叫    网吧。                 Well, we say “wăngbā.”…

寒假 (hánjià) Winter Vacation (Beginner)

寒假 (hánjià) Winter Vacation

The character “寒 (hán)” means cold and “假 (jià)” means vacation or holiday.

Example:

Wǒ dǎsuan lìyòng hánjià zài wǎngshàng xuéxiào xuéxí zhōngwén. 我打算利用寒假在网上学校学习中文。 I plan to learn Chinese through online Chinese school during winter vacation.

Got questions? HSK Test General Chinese (Beginner Level) General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

开窍 (kāiqiào) Be enlightened/ Begin to understand (Advanced)

开窍 (kāiqiào) Be enlightened/

Begin to understand

  

The character “开 (kāi)” means to open and “窍 (qiào)” means aperture.

Example: Wǒ gěi tā jiěshìle hěnduō biàn, tā zhōngyú kāiqiào le. 我给他解释了很多遍,他终于开窍了。

I explained it to him many times. Finally, he became to understand it.

Got questions?…

无所谓 (wúsuǒwèi) Don’t care (Intermediate)

无所谓 (wúsuǒwèi) Don’t care 

The character “无 (wú)” means not; “所 (suǒ)” means that and “谓 (wèi)”

means to say. Example:

Zhōumò shuí qù cānjiā jùhuì duì wǒ dōu wúsuǒwèi, yīnwéi wǒ xiǎng huíjiā. 周末谁去参加聚会对我都无所谓,因为我想回家。

I don’t care who will go to the party over the weekend, because I want to go home.…

Popular Daily Chinese Word: “雷 (léi)” & “山寨 (shānzhài)”

“雷 (léi)” & “山寨 (shānzhài)”   

 

“雷 (léi)”  

What does this word mean? 

It has been one of the most popular Internet words since 2008. With the original meaning of thunder, the word “雷 (léi)” has been given another meaning on the web. Now it means that one is shocked by some bold actions, or by strange or even embarrassing things.…

辞旧迎新 (cíjiùyíngxīn) Ring out the Old Year and Ring in the New (Intermediate)

辞旧迎新 (cíjiùyíngxīn) Ring out the Old Year and Ring in the New

The character “辞 (cí)” means to bid farewell; “旧 (jiù)” means old or

former; “迎 (yíng)” means to welcome and “新 (xīn)” means new. Example: Háizimen fàng biānpào lái cíjiùyíngxīn. 孩子们放鞭炮来辞旧迎新。

The children are setting off fireworks to see the old year out and welcome the new one.…

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