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杀人(shārén): v. kill/murder

Examples:

shārén fànfǎ
杀人犯法。
It’s illegal to kill.

tā shārén le.
他杀人了。
He killed someone.

Given the popularity of the game 王者荣耀(wángzhě róngyào) in recent years, there’s a large chance you’ve heard the announcement, “双杀(shuāng shā) Double kill!” or “三杀(sān shā) Triple kill!” blare from someone’s phone when multiple enemies in a row were killed. However, even though the announcement is in English, Chinese characters are what popped up on the screen.

双杀(shuāng shā): double kill

三杀 (sān shā): triple kill

Example:

wǒ yóuxì zhōng dì yī cì shuāngshā le, wǒ zhēnshì tài kāixīn le.
我游戏中第一次双杀了，我真是太开心了。
I got my first in-game double kill, I was so happy.

“杀” is also found in other contexts. The word also means to put an end to something, like a film sequence or project, e.g. The expression used in Chinese is, “杀青(shāqīng)”, which could be colloquially translated as “to wrap up”.

杀青(shāqīng): v. wrap up

Example:

zhè bù piānzǐ jìhuà xià zhōu shāqīng.
这部片子计划下周杀青。
The movie is scheduled to wrap up next week.

Over the years, new expressions and usages of “to kill” have emerged, with connotations that are quite different from the English meanings.

For example, phrases like, “眼神杀(yǎnshén shā)”, “摸头杀(mōtóu shā)”, and “侧颜杀(cèyán shā)”; the “killing” here is charming, rather than alarming, and even tongue-in-cheek depending on the situation.

眼神杀(yǎnshén shā): killing with one’s eyes

This expression is mainly used when referring to an actor’s eyes during a performance – it means that the acting is superb, and totally convincing.

摸头杀(mōtóu shā): killing with a head touch

This refers to a gentle touch of a girl’s head by a boy, and has been popularized in soap operas and anime. The actual gesture is a combination of gentle rubbing while touching, and is said to be able to capture the heart of a girl at once.

侧颜杀(cèyán shā): killing with one’s profile

This is used to refer to those who look amazing, and it is mostly used for celebrities. It means that a person’s profile is very, very beautiful, almost to an unbearable degree.

Have you used any of the above Chinese expressions about “killing”?

Please read the dialogue and answer the question.

Tina: This movie is finally finished.
Tom: Congratulations, now you can rest for a while!

The above dialogue describes ______ .

A. 杀青(shāqīng)

B. 杀人(shārén)

C. 眼神杀(yǎnshén shā)

See Answer Analysis

You May Want to Learn More :
In Chinese, looks can kill – and it’s a good thing!”
“Food, Virus, and “A Little Soldier””
“An “Interesting” Explanation of “有趣(yǒuqù)” and “有意思(yǒuyìsi)””

“有趣(yǒuqù)” and “有意思(yǒuyìsi)” both mean “funny” or “interesting” in English. Are their usages exactly the same? Let’s find out today.

(1) When expressing something that arouses curiosity or affection: 有趣(yǒuqù) = 有意思(yǒuyìsi)

Examples:

zhège rén hěn yǒuqù/yǒuyìsi.
这个人很有趣/有意思。
This person is funny/interesting.

tā shuōhuà hěn yǒuqù/yǒuyìsi.
他说话很有趣/有意思。
He speaks in a very funny/interesting way.

(2) “有意思(yǒuyìsi)” can also mean that there are feelings between men and women, but “有趣(yǒuqù)” can’t.

Example:

tā duì tā yǒuyìsi.
他对她有意思。
He is interested in her.

Structure: sb.+ 对(duì) + sb. + 有意思(yǒuyìsi)

Please select the correct words and fill in the blanks

A.有趣(yǒuqù)

B.有意思(yǒuyìsi)

1.wǒ juédé zhè běn shū hěn ______ .
我觉得这本书很 ______ 。

2.tā duì wǒ jiějie ______ .
他对我姐姐 ______ 。

3.tīng shuō zhè ge huódòng hěn ______ .
听说这个活动 ______ 。

See Answer Analysis

Challenge Yourself to Identify More Similar Chinese Words:
“What Do a 感染 (gǎn rǎn) and 传染 (chuán rǎn) Have in Common? Only This Chinese Quiz Will Tell”
“How to Properly Use 以前(yǐqián) and 从前(cóngqián)? Take the Quiz!”
Do you have 微信(Wēixìn) or 威信 (Wēixìn)?Confused?Take This Quiz!”

HSK Test

General Chinese (Beginner Level)

General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

Often if you are a Westerner learning Chinese, you are not able to be around Mandarin 24/7. You are not hearing it in the streets everyday, or at home. You are mostly surrounded by your native language, whether that be English, French, Spanish, etc.

So how do you improve your Chinese tones, your natural Chinese speech when you are isolated in a non-Chinese environment? Here are four tips I give and which are guaranteed to work, as long as you use them consistently over a period of six months:

1. Create a Mandarin-Immersed Environment

You can start by creating your own sense of immersion in your daily life. This can be done by watching Chinese-language dramas and movies, listening to music or podcasts.

You can do this by finding some Chinese DVDs or watch Chinese films online. This is an easy, entertaining way to get a feel for the sound and structure of the Mandarin Chinese. Repeat what a TV says, or a recording, read a book out loud or quietly while listening to someone read it to you on CD, talk to mirror. Or you can read Chinese words or short stories aloud to reinforce your memory. Record yourself and play it back later, and ask yourself, “How does it sound?”

2. Find a Language Partner

Make Chinese friends at school:
Are there peers who speak Mandarin at your school or university? Then make them your friends! Take every opportunity to speak with Chinese people. You will know you’re doing well when you can make yourself understood by a native speaker.

Do a language exchange:
Find a native speaker to help you practice your speaking. Visit some Chinese webs and forums. There are lots of Chinese who want to improve their English, so consider doing a language exchange with them.

3. Get Professional Instruction

Learn Chinese from professional Chinese teachers: there are some excellent online Chinese schools that offer customize 1-on-1 online live lessons with high standard Chinese teachers and the most important is that the teachers can arrange each lesson based on your pace, level, and specific needs, you can make progress faster by taking the Chinese lessons.

4. Tips for Practicing Tones

Chinese tones are crucial for speaking Mandarin Chinese, however they are usually quite challenging for the beginning Mandarin learner. Here are some suggestions to help you master Chinese tones:

First of all, memorize, memorize, and memorize. Try to remember the Chinese tones as much as possible. The tone chart helps you remember how four tones are pronounced. Then practice, practice, and practice. Try to practice the Chinese tones as much as possible. You can practice your tones by listening to yourself using a recorder on your phone or tablet. It’s just like watching a video of yourself attempting to perfect a dance, or a sport. You can assess where you’re really at. Find out where you may need to improve and do targeted exercises.

Quiz:

What tones correctly correspond to the Chinese word “中文”？

A. 1 (ˉ), 2 (ˊ)
B. 4 (ˋ), 3 (ˇ)
C. 1 (ˉ), 3 (ˇ)

See Answer Analysis

— Written by Jennifer Zhu —
Jennifer Zhu is a professional Chinese teacher from eChineseLearning. She has many years of Chinese language teaching experience and received her B.A. and M.A. in “Teaching Chinese as a Second Language”.

General Chinese (Beginner Level) 

General Chinese (Intermediate Level) 

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Fri, 20 Apr 2018 00:04:27 +0000 jennifer.zhu https://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8004066

Learning Mandarin Chinese is different from learning other languages such as Italian or French. It is nearly impossible to self-study Mandarin Chinese or learn through books and audio/video resources alone. To effectively learn Mandarin Chinese, you need to immerse yourself into a learning process with a native-speaking Chinese teacher. If possible, the opportunity to study in China is a fabulous way to learn the language and motivate and inspire yourself culturally, as well as make friends and memories to last a lifetime.

Many of my Chinese students began learning Chinese back in their home countries before arriving here in China to study further. Many of the learners were Mandarin Chinese majors in college, took classes in the evening at local community schools, or learned one-on-one through online lessons. Some, but not many, got their start with Chinese by watching videos or reading textbooks. One thing all of them have in common is that they were looking for scholarships to study in China. Why not? Free money for a life-changing experience? Sign me up!

However, the application is not as easy as simply signing up. Before being considered for the scholarship, you must show that:

• You have scored adequately on standardized Mandarin Chinese tests;
• You have a purpose for studying;
• You have the proper credentials and application prerequisites.

One well-known scholarship I would like to introduce today is the “孔子学院奖学金 (kǒngzǐ xuéyuàn jiǎngxuéjīn) Confucius Institute Scholarship.” There are many “levels” of which scholarships are available:

• Scholarship for Master’s Degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages
• Scholarship for Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages
• Scholarship for One-Academic-Year Study
• Scholarship for One-Semester Study
• Scholarship for Four-Week Study

Each level of the scholarship comes with its own unique qualifications. However, one consistent requirement is to take the HSK test. After checking the qualifications, you may know HSK is a very important factor. Getting a good score in HSK will definitely increase the probability of success in any of the scholarship categories you choose to pursue. Learning along with a native-speaking Chinese teacher with experience in HSK test preparation will go a long way in this stage, as well as enhancing your Chinese skills all-around.

You must also consider your application timeline and for which time you plan on applying for.

1. April 20th (for those commencing in July)
2. June 20th (for those commencing in September)
3. September 20th (for those commencing in December)
4. December 20th (for those commencing in March 2019)

The application dates are staggered for those who plan on beginning their study at various times throughout the year.

In addition to paying close attention to the timeline, you may need to check which host institutions you can apply for study in. You can view the list here. Remember, the cities and regions of China can be quite different and there are some cities that are considered the best to study in.

Once you’ve decided on your dates and your chosen school, you can set up an account and apply for the scholarship online.

New Chinese words related to scholarships and applications:
1. 学院 (Xuéyuàn) = a noun, meaning college; academy; institute.

Examples:
Jack zài fǎ xuéyuàn dúshū.
Jack 在  法  学   院   读 书。
Jack is at law college.

Tā shì yì suǒ zhōngwén xuéyuàn de xuéshēng.
他  是 一 所     中     文    学  院    的   学  生。
He is a student in a Chinese academy.

2. 奖学金 (Jiǎngxuéjīn) = a noun, meaning scholarship; exhibition; fellowship.

Examples:
Lily huòdé le qù hāfó dàxué dúshū de jiǎngxuéjīn.
Lily  获 得 了 去  哈佛 大 学   读 书  的   奖   学  金。
Lily has been awarded a scholarship to study at Harvard.

Nǐ nádào jiǎngxuéjīn le ma?
你  拿 到     奖   学 金 了 吗？
Have you won the scholarship?

So, don’t hesitate! Stay organized with application materials, improve your Chinese, prepare for and take the HSK Chinese test, and apply for the “孔子学院奖学金 (kǒngzǐ xuéyuàn jiǎngxuéjīn) Confucius Institute Scholarship” this year. Begin changing your life for the better today!

Quiz:

1. To apply for the “孔子学院奖学金 (kǒngzǐ xuéyuàn jiǎngxuéjīn)” you must do all of the following to prepare, except:

A. Live in China for more than one year
B. Practice for and take the HSK Chinese exam
C. Write your purpose for learning and improving your Chinese language
D. Stay organized on the dates of the application
See Answer

―Written by Becky Zhang―
Becky Zhang is a teacher at eChineseLearning.com. She has over eight years of experience teaching Mandarin Chinese to foreign students and promoting Chinese culture. She lives in Beijing but loves traveling to ancient Chinese villages. One day she’d like to be a tour guide in China!

Chinese Culture

HSK Test

General Chinese (Beginner Level) 

General Chinese (Intermediate Level) 

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Sun, 08 Apr 2018 02:09:52 +0000 jennifer.zhu https://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8004047

Quite often, I receive messages from parents outside China who would like some guidance and suggestions on how to motivate their children to learn Mandarin Chinese and what goals to set. While standardized tests may only motivate some students, I do find that the AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam is an excellent way to cap off a teenager’s Mandarin language progress and also save money and time on college classes, since it gives students a head-start at university. Whichever score they do receive, there is no doubt that the process of studying for this exam is beneficial to their overall learning.

“AP Chinese”, as it’s often called, is short for Advanced Placement Chinese Language and Culture which is a course offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United States. The AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam is approximately three hours in length. The test assesses interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational communication skills in Mandarin Chinese, along with knowledge of Chinese culture. Although the test originates from the USA, about 90% of Canadian universities and 20 other countries now recognize the scores. It can help reduce the cost of university education, and shorten the duration of university education for students who take the exam. The AP Chinese examination scores is a very important factor for applying for universities.

So, you’ve decided to take the AP Chinese exam. Good decision! How do you begin to study?

First, you can purchase some books to help you prepare and to take mock-up tests. You can buy these, new or used, online with sites such as Amazon. These texts will help you become familiar with the structure of the test, which is:

Listening: 25%, 45 mins
Reading: 25%, 45 mins
Writing: 25%, 45 mins
Speaking: 25%, 45 mins

This AP Chinese exam is an internet-based test. Therefore, it’s best that you practice your inputting speed on a computer. Make sure you have become familiar with Chinese pinyin and phonetic symbols when inputting them on the computer. You don’t want technical errors to affect your score!

Once you’ve become familiar with the layout and content of the exam, it’s time to refine and clarify your skills, strengths and weaknesses before the test. It’s time to work with a native-speaking, qualified professional tutor familiar with the AP Chinese exam.

The exam itself is not a piece of cake. Even some native Chinese speakers may fail it! Every year, the exam materials change, so a taker must be prepared to improvise and be confident in their abilities. Writing is also a hurdle for many examinees. Sometimes, students try to write what they want to express in Chinese, but they usually didn’t tell a full story as needed. Also, grammar mistakes may lower their score. A professional teacher can give your detailed feedback for your daily practice and give you useful tips how to self-study. A student will need to know a lot about Chinese culture and history to thoroughly answer the exam questions. A qualified native teacher familiar with the AP Chinese exam is absolutely your best resource when preparing for the AP Chinese exam. Your teacher will help you develop a method on how to take the test, not just cram for it with self-study.

Overall, goals, motivation and your chosen study method will be your stepping stones as you work towards the top score on the exam. You cannot cut corners, get off on the right food! The Chinese AP exam is a worthwhile milestone in a young person’s Mandarin Chinese progress; a doorway to a more exciting and lucrative future ahead.

―Written by Becky Zhang―
Becky Zhang is a teacher at eChineseLearning.com. She has over eight years of experience teaching Mandarin Chinese to foreign students and promoting Chinese culture. She lives in Beijing but loves traveling to ancient Chinese villages. One day she’d like to be a tour guide in China!

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Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:08:26 +0000 jennifer.zhu http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8001980

There are over 80,000 Chinese characters, but most of them are seldom used today. So how many Chinese characters do you need to know? For basic reading and writing of modern Chinese, you only need a few thousands. Here are the coverage rates of the most frequently used Chinese characters:

Most frequently used 1,000 characters: 90% (Coverage rate)
Most frequently used 2,500 characters: 98.0% (Coverage rate)
Most frequently used 3,500 characters: 99.5% (Coverage rate)
Chinese characters are far more intricate than western letters and the composition of the main Chinese characters can be described in three ways:

1. Pictographic Method
This is the earliest method to create the most original Chinese characters. Examples: “日(rì) sun,” “月(yuè) moon,” “水(shuǐ) water,” “火(huǒ) fire” and so on, which take the shape of each term. These pictographic Chinese characters changed the original characters of the physical into subsequent founder fonts after gradual evolution, and some reduction in the number of strokes and some strokes added by the rules have become irregular fonts.

2. Associative Law
It’s easier to see the creation of truth through pictographic Chinese characters, but they should not express an abstract meaning. The ancients would have created another law known as the “ideographic law” in which they used different symbols or borrowing pictographic characters to add some symbols to express an abstract meaning. For example, the Chinese character “明(míng)” is made up of “日(rì) sun ” and “月(yuè) moon ,” which means bringing bright.

3. Pictophonetic Law
Ideographic characters and pictographic characters can be seen from the shape on the meaning of the words, but they are not allowed to deliver voice. Therefore, people created sound law-shaped characters to express the sound of voices and the meaning of the side next to match the shape. A lot of new words came into being. For example, the Chinese character “爸(bà) father ” is made up of phonetic character “巴(bā) bar ” and meaning character “父(fù) father .” According to statistics, pictophonetic characters account for about 90% of Chinese characters. The formation and development of Chinese characters became an important tool for the exchange of ideas that adapted to

In a recent newsletter, we introduced the key Chinese phrases you will need to the needs of human social life.

For an English word, the Chinese translation (or the Chinese ‘word’) often consists of two or more Chinese characters. You should use them together and read them from left to right. If you want to arrange them vertically, the one on the leftmost should go to the top. See an example for the word ‘English’ below:

英语

As you can see, there are two Chinese characters for English (the language), which are yīng yǔ in Pinyin. Pinyin is the international standard romanization scheme for Chinese characters, which is useful for learning the phonetics of Mandarin. There are four tones in Pinyin and we use the numbers here, i.e., 1, 2, 3, and 4, to depict the four tones. If you want to learn Mandarin (or pǔ tōng huà), you have to master the four tones of the language. However, one pinyin usually represents many Chinese characters. For example, han4 can depict the Chinese characters for sweet, drought, brave, Chinese, etc. Thus you have to learn the Chinese characters to master the language. Chinese is not alphabetic so the writing is not related to its phonetics. We don’t translate the Western alphabet since the letters have no meaning, and we do use the letters in writings, especially in scientific writings.

There are many styles of Chinese writing. Some of the styles are more ancient than others. In general, there are large differences among the styles, even though some of the styles are quite close. Different styles of Chinese characters are naturally used according to the purposes of the writing, such as Xiaozhuan mainly used for seal carving now. Besides the different styles, there are also two forms of Chinese characters, the simplified and the traditional. The simplified is the standard writing form employed in the mainland of China and the traditional form is mainly used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. There are total 2,235 simplified characters contained in the ‘Simplified Character Table’ published in 1964 by the Chinese government, so the majority of the Chinese characters are the same in the two forms, though the count of commonly-used Chinese characters is only about 3,500.

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Tue, 24 Mar 2015 06:49:37 +0000 jennifer.zhu http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8001981 Mandarin, like most Chinese dialects, is a tonal language. This means that tones, just like consonants and vowels, are used to distinguish words from each other. Many foreigners have difficulties mastering the tones of each character, but correct tonal pronunciation is essential for intelligibility because of the vast number of words in the language that only differ by tone (i.e. are minimal pairs with respect to tone). The following are the 4 tones of Standard Mandarin:Tone name Yin Ping Yang Ping Shang QuTone contour 55 35 21 (4) 51
Tone number 1 2 3 4
First tone, or high-level tone (陰平/阴平 yīnpíng, literal meaning: yin-level): a steady high sound, as if it were being sung instead of spoken.
Second tone, or rising tone (陽平/阳平 yángpíng, literal meaning: yang-level), or linguistically, high-rising: is a sound that rises from mid-level tone to high (e.g., What?!)
Third tone (low tone, or low-falling-raising, 上聲/上声 shǎngshēng or shàngshēng, literal meaning: “up tone”): has a mid-low to low descent; if at the end of a sentence or before a pause, it is then followed by a rising pitch.
Fourth tone, falling tone (去聲/去声 qùshēng, literal meaning: “away tone”), or high-falling: features a sharp downward accent (”dipping”) from high to low, and is a shorter tone, similar to curt commands. (e.g., Stop!)

Neutral tone
Also called Fifth tone or zeroth tone (in Chinese: 輕聲/轻声 qīng shēng, literal meaning: “light tone”), neutral tone is sometimes thought of incorrectly as a lack of tone. The neutral tone is particularly difficult for non-native speakers to master correctly because of its uncharacteristically large number of allotone contours: the level of its pitch depends almost entirely on the tone carried by the syllable preceding it. The situation is further complicated by the amount of dialectal variation associated with it; in some regions, notably Taiwan, neutral tone is relatively uncommon. Despite many examples of minimal pairs (for example, 要是 and 钥匙, yàoshì if and yàoshi key, respectively) it is sometimes described as something other than a full fledged tone for technical reasons: namely because some linguists have historically felt that the tonality of a syllable carrying the neutral tone results from a “spreading out” of the tone on the syllable before it. This idea is appealing intuitively because without it, the neutral tone requires relatively complex tone sandhi rules to be made sense of; indeed, it would have to have 4 separate allotones, one for each of the four tones that could precede it. Despite this, however, it has been shown that the “spreading” theory inadequately characterizes the neutral tone, especially in sequences where more than one neutrally toned syllable are found adjacent.
The following are from Beijing dialect. Other dialects may be slightly different.
Tone of first syllable Pitch of neutral tone Example Pinyin English meaning
1 2 玻璃 bōli glass
2 3 伯伯 bóbo uncle
3 4 喇叭 lăba horn
4 1 兔子 tùzi rabbit
Most romanizations represent the tones as diacritics on the vowels (e.g., Pinyin, MPS II and Tongyong Pinyin). Zhuyin uses diacritics as well. Others, like Wade-Giles, use superscript numbers at the end of each syllable. The tone marks and numbers are rarely used outside of textbooks. Gwoyeu Romatzyh is a rare example where tones are not represented as special symbols, but using normal letters of the alphabet (although in a very complex fashion).

The shape of the 3rd tone when before 1st, 2nd and 4th tonesPronunciation also varies with context according to the rules of tone sandhi. The most prominent phenomenon of this kind is when there are two third tones in immediate sequence, in which case the first of them changes to a rising tone. This tone contour is sometimes described incorrectly as being equivalent to second tone; while the two are very similar, many native speakers can distinguish them (compare 起码 and 骑马, pinyin qĭ mă and qí mă respectively). In the literature, this contour is often called two-thirds tone or half-third tone. If there are three third tones in series, the tone sandhi rules become more complex, and depend on word boundaries, stress, and dialectal variations.

Related Post:

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You’ll Blush with Embarrassment if You Use These Wrong Tones!

General Chinese (Beginner Level) 

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Tue, 24 Mar 2015 06:28:34 +0000 jennifer.zhu http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8001979 According to the official standards set by the People’s Republic of China, standard Mandarin Chinese uses:
The phonology or sound system of Beijing. A distinction should be made between the sound system of a dialect or language and the actual pronunciation of words in it. The pronunciations of words chosen for standard Mandarin Chinese do not necessarily reproduce those of the Beijing dialect. The pronunciation of words depends on the standardization and occasional standardization differences (not accents) do exist, between putonghua and guoyu, for example.
In fluent speech, Chinese speakers can easily tell the difference between a speaker of the Beijing dialect and a speaker of standard Mandarin Chinese. Beijingers speak standard Mandarin Chinese with elements of their own dialect in the same way as other speakers.
The vocabulary of Mandarin Chinese dialects, in general, excludes all slang and other elements deemed “regionalisms”. In addition, the vocabulary of all Chinese dialects, especially in more technical fields like science, law, and government, are very similar. (This is similar to the profusion of Latin and Greek words in European languages.) This means that much of the vocabulary of standardized Mandarin Chinese is shared with all varieties of Chinese. In other words, slang as well as many colloquial words found in the Beijing dialect are not found in standard Mandarin Chinese, and may not be understood by people who are not from Beijing.
The grammar and diction of exemplary modern Chinese literature, such as the work of Lu Xun, collectively are known as “Vernacular Chinese”. Vernacular Chinese, the standard written form of modern Chinese, is in turn based loosely upon a mixture of northern (predominant), southern, and classical grammar and diction. This gives formal standard Mandarin Chinese a slightly different feel from that of the common Beijing dialect.
An example of standard Mandarin Chinese versus the Beijing dialect would be: standard men (door) compared with Beijing pronunciation, menr.
In theory the People’s Republic of China defines standard Mandarin Chinese differently, though in reality the differences are minor and are concentrated mostly in the tones of a small minority of words.
Although Chinese speakers make a clear distinction between standard Mandarin Chinese and the Beijing dialect, there are aspects of the Beijing dialect that have made it into the official standard. Standard Mandarin Chinese has a distinction between the polite and informal versions of “you” that comes from the Beijing dialect. In addition, there is a distinction between “zánmen” (we including the listener) and “wŏmen” (we not including the listener). In practice, neither distinction is commonly used by most Chinese.

Chinese Culture

HSK Test

General Chinese (Beginner Level) 

General Chinese (Intermediate Level) 

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Tue, 24 Mar 2015 06:20:49 +0000 jennifer.zhu http://www.echineselearning.com/blog/?p=8001978 Standard Mandarin language – also known as standard Chinese, standard Mandarin language or standard spoken Chinese – is the official language of the People’s Republic of China.
“The phonology of standard Mandarin language is based on the Beijing dialect, one of Mandarin’s most popular dialects, which is part of a large and very diverse group of Chinese dialects spoken across northern and southwestern China.” The vocabulary is largely drawn from this group of dialects. The grammar of standard Mandarin language is based on the body of modern literary works written in Vernacular Chinese, which in practice follows the same tradition of the Mandarin language group of dialects with some notable exceptions. As a result, standard Mandarin language itself is usually just called “Mandarin” in non-academic, everyday usage. However, linguists use “Mandarin” to refer to the entire group of dialects. We will adhere to this convention for the remainder of this article.
Standard Mandarin language is officially known in the People’s Republic of China as Pǔtōnghuà (Simplified Chinese: 普通话; Traditional Chinese: 普通話, literally “common speech”), in the Republic of China (Taiwan) as Guóyǔ (Traditional Chinese: 國語; Simplified Chinese: 国语, literally “national language”), and in Malaysia and Singapore as Huáyǔ (Traditional Chinese: 華語; Simplified Chinese: 华语, literally “Chinese (in a cultural sense) language”). All three terms are used interchangeably in Chinese communities around the world.

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