Mandarin Essentials
富与贵（Fù yŭ guì）Rich and Expensive
Lăoshī: Sānzhōngquánhuì hòu, zhōngguó zuì dà de biànhuà shì shénme? 老师: 三中全会 后， 中国 最 大 的 变化 是 什么？ Teacher: What was the greatest change in China after the Third Plenary Session? Xuésheng: Sānzhōngquánhuì hòu, zhōngguó zuì dà de biànhuà shì nóngmín yuè lái …
Riddles about Chinese Characters 字谜 （Zìmí）
Yì jiā shí yì kǒu (Dǎ yí gè hàn zì)
1. 一家 十 一 口 （打 一 个 汉 字）
There are eleven mouths in a family. (Guess a Chinese character)
Chī yí bàn, ná yí bàn (Dǎ yí gè hàn zì) 2. 吃 一半， …
Technology-Microsoft’s Search Engine: Bing 必应 (bì yìng)
Microsoft’s Search Engine: Bing “必应(bì yìng)”
Bing is a search engine launched by Microsoft recently to replace the Live Search. Microsoft has claimed that this search engine will come out with a completely new look to bring a new revolution. In Chinese, Bing is translated …
Polular Words-房奴(fángnú) Mortgage Slave 闪 (shăn) to act quickly
房奴(fángnú) mortgage slave
Where does the phrase originate from? In Shenzhen, a southern city in China, it’s always very costly for common workers to buy an apartment or a house. A 32 -year-old Shenzhener surnamed Zhou from Futian complained that over half of his monthly …
Sports-Shaquille O’Neal Visited少林寺 (shàolínsì) Shao Lin Temple
Shaquille O’Neal became the first NBA star who visited “少林寺(shàolínsì)” Shao Lin Temple in Henan Province in China on July 13th, 2009. Although it was raining in that morning, he said he was extremely excited as he is always interested in Chinese martial art, so …
推特 (Tuītè) Twitter
Technology
推特(tuītè) Twitter
Twitter is translated as 推特(tuītè) in Chinese language. Twitter is a kind of 微型博客(wēixíng bókè) micro-blog, allowing users to send the 最新动态(zuì xīn dòngtài) latest developments and ideas in the form of a short message, to their followers. All Twitter messages are …
春雨(chūnyǔ) The Spring Rain
Dīdā dīdā, xià xiǎoyǔ le. 滴答 滴答，下 小雨 了。 Drip, drip, it’s raining.
Zhǒngzi shuō, xiàba xiàba, wǒ yào fāyá. 种子 说， 下吧 下吧，我 要 发芽。 The seeds say: “Please rain, please rain I want to sprout.”
Líshù shuō, xiàba xiàba, wǒ yào kāihuā. 梨树 …
Answer to Tricky but Essential Grammar: “把(bǎ)”
Correct Answer: A For most Chinese learners, “把(bǎ)” seems like one of the most difficult sentence structures in Chinese Grammar. However, it is also one of the most often-used terms in our daily lives, so it is essential to learn the “把(bǎ)” structure well. With …
Tricky but Essential Grammar: “把(bǎ)”
Please choose the correct answer to fill in the blank. Tā _____ shū juān gěi le pínkùn shānqū de háizi. 他 _____ 书 捐 给 了 贫困 山区 的 孩子。 He donated his books to the children in the poverty-stricken areas. A. 把(bǎ)
B. 用(yòng)…
静夜思 (Jìng yè sī) Night Thoughts
静夜思 (Jìng yè sī) Night Thoughts
by 李白(Lĭ Bái) Li Bai Chuáng qián míng yuè guāng, 床 前 明 月 光， I wake and moonbeams play around my bed, Yí shì dì shàng shuāng. 疑 是 地 上 霜。 Glittering like hoar froast to my …
Chinese Tongue-twister 汤圆 (Tāng yuán) Sweet dumplings
汤圆 (Tāng yuán) Sweet dumplings
Guò nián, guò nián, nuò mĭ zuò tāng yuán. 过 年, 过 年, 糥 米 做 汤 圆。 Celebrate the spring festival, celebrate the spring festival, Use glutinous rice to make dumplings. Zuò de tāng yuán yòu bái yòu yuán, …
Chinese Idiom: 鹤立鸡群 (hèlìjīqún) A Crane Standing Among Chickens
Jìncháo shí, yŏu yí gè rén jiào Jī Shào. Tā zhăng de yíbiăotángtáng, érqiĕ cáinéng chūzhòng, dānrèn Jìn Huìdì de shìcóngguān. Yí cì, yŏu rén qīnfàn jīngchéng. Jī Shào gēnsuí Huìdì qiánqù zhēngtăo pànluàn, búliào dă le bàizhàng, suíxíng de guānyuán、jiànglĭng yĭjí shìwèi sĭshāng wúshù, …
狐假虎威 (Hújiăhŭwēi) To Bully Others by Flaunting One’s Powerful Connections
Zài sēnlín lĭ, láohŭ shì zuì xiōngmĕng de yĕshòu. 在森林里，老虎是最凶猛的野兽。
The tiger is the most ferocious animal in the forest.
Yì tiān, tā zhuōdào yì zhī húli, jiăohuá de húli jiù shuō:”Nĭ zĕn me găn chī wŏ? Wŏ shì tiāndì rènmìng lái guánlĭ suóyŏu yĕshòu …
春晓 (Chūn xiăo) A Spring Morning
春 晓（Chūn xiăo）A Spring Morning
作 者：孟浩然 Meng Haoran（Zuò zhĕ: Mèng Hàorán）
Chūn mián bù jué xiăo, 春 眠 不 觉 晓， I awake light-hearted this morning of spring,
Chù chù wén tí niăo. 处 处 闻 啼 鸟。 Everywhere round me the singing …
掩耳盗铃 (Yăn’ĕr dàolíng) To Cover One’s Ears When He Steals the Bell
(Get familiar with Chinese culture and you will get a deeper understanding of idioms.)
Listen to This Story And Practice Your Chinese Pronunciation.
Yŏu gè xiăotōu kànjiàn fànshì jiālĭ yŏu yì kŏu míngguì de dàzhōng, tā xiăng bă zhōng qiāo suì , ránhòu zài fēnbié …
打草惊蛇（Dăcăojīngshé）To stir the grass and startle the snake
The Story:
Long long ago, a county magistrate named Wang Lu worked in present Anhui Province, east China. Wang Lu was very greedy and took many bribes. One of his secretaries was equally corrupt, and often schemed for Wang Lu’s deeds.One day a man went …
悬梁刺股（Xuánliáng cìgŭ）To work hard
Sūn Jìng, shì hàncháo yŏumíng de zhèngzhìjiā, mĕitiān cóng zăo dào wăn dúshū. 孙敬，是汉朝有名的政治家，每天从早到晚读书。
Yŏushí huì píjuàn dé zhí dă kēshuì, tā biàn zhăo le yì gēn shéngzi, yì tóu băng zài fángliáng shàng, yì tóu 有时会疲倦得直打瞌睡，他便找了一根绳子，一头绑在房梁上，一 头
shù zài tóufa shàng, dāng …