During the financial crisis (金融危机 jīn róng wēi jī), millions of people are suffering from the psychological problems caused by losing jobs (失业shī yè), and bankrupcy (破产pò chăn) .Ever since the financial crisis, we have seen an increasing amount of unemployment (失业人员shī yè rén yuán). These people suddenly suffered the fear of job loss (失业恐慌shī yè kŏng huāng) and they couldn’t find a solution to the problem in a short period of time.…
In the past few months, the H1N1 virus has made news headlines around the world. The virus was originally referred as 猪流感(zhūliúgǎn) “swine flu.” To help you learn these three Chinese characters, we’ll introduce 猪流感(zhūliúgǎn) word by word.
With the basic meaning of “pig,” “boar” or “swine,” 猪(zhū) conveys a deep cultural connotation in Chinese.…
(liúxíng cíyŭ) Popular Words
靠谱 (kàopŭ) Reliable; To be trusted
“靠谱 (kàopŭ)” originated from a northern dialect in China, and became quite popular in recent years. The meaning is reliable and to be trusted. When you pronounce it, it’s best to add a retroflex sound “儿 (ér)” at the end of “谱(pŭ),” just like “靠谱儿 (kàopŭr).”…
The word 秀(xiù) comes from the transliteration of the English word “show.” Literally, it means handsome and elegant. But now it is more commonly used as the verb “to show.”
Tā yòu zài xiù zìjĭ de xīn fāmíng.…
淡定(dàndìng) Be Calm
It is said that the phrase 淡定(dàndìng) first appeared in the work 空山灵雨•银翎底使命(kōngshān língyŭ•yín líng dĭ shĭmìng) 许地山(Xŭ Dìshān): “Only several wild flowers in front of us are 淡定(dàndìng) enough to look at the fish thrashing in the stream, which eat their residual petals.”…
In ancient China, most houses are oriented north and south. There is a drawing room in the middle with two seats placed to the east and to the west. The host usually seats the guest at the western seat before taking the other seat to the east.…
厚道(hòudao) Honest and kind; Decent and magnanimous
The origin of the word
The word 厚道(hòudao) comes from a sentence “做人要厚道(zuòrén yào hòudao) one should be honest and kind.” a famous line from the movie Cell Phone 手机(shŏujī) in 2003. Since the movie was released, the word has been widely used in China.…
If you are not sure where to go on vacation, go check the Internet to find the most “人气(rénqì)” scenic spots. If it’s time to update your music selection but you are not sure what to listen to, just search for a list of “人气(rénqì)” songs to get the latest hits.…
All kinds of colors (color words in Chinese)
make our world vivid and beautiful. Like in English, there are also many color words in Chinese, and “黑(hēi)” is one of them. “黑(hēi)” is an adjective that can be used to describe something that is literally black in color such as“黑珍珠(hēi zhēnzhū) black pearl” and “黑色(hēisè) the color black.”…
If you ask your Chinese friends what the hottest Chinese reality show is nowadays, they will probably answer, “爸爸去哪儿(Bàba Qù Nǎr) Where Are We Going, Dad?” The show features some of the most popular Chinese celebrities and their children, putting them to the test to see how or if they can handle various survival tasks in new environments.…
1. Wang Li met a “奇葩(qípā)” on her way home. That means ___.
A. Wang Li is acquainted with the person
B. Wang Li dislikes the person
C. Wang Li loves the person
2. Zhang Wei’s friends often call him “奇葩(qípā)” ironically. What does it mean?…
In the Chinese language, the basic meaning of “门(mén)” is “door.”
Example
Qǐng guānmén! 请 关门！
Close the door, please!
But in some words although they contain the character “门(mén),” the meaning of the word has nothing to do with “door,” such as “热门(rèmén)” and “冷门(lěnɡmén).”…
Recently, the word “土豪(tǔháo)” has become wildly popular in China.
Since September this year, there have been more than 100 million references to the word “土豪(tǔháo)” on social media sites.
Literally, “土(tǔ)” means earth and “豪(háo)” means rich. So it seems that “土豪(tǔháo)” means rich earth.…
“亲 (qīn) dear” is short for “亲爱的(qīn’ài de) dear.” “亲 (qīn) dear” originated from the online conversation between sellers and buyers on Taobao.com, which is the Chinese version of eBay. The word “亲 (qīn) dear” helps the sellers create a friendly image, and some customers may call the sellers “亲 (qīn) dear” back.…
Key Learning Points (Preview):
K歌 (K gē): v. to sing karaoke
麦霸 (màibà): n. karaoke master
If you’ve been to China before, or just know a lot about modern Chinese culture, then you have probably heard of “K歌 (K gē)” or Karaoke TV, the most popular form of entertainment in China.…
Key Learning Points (Preview):
裸婚 (luǒhūn): n. getting married with no car, no house, and no wedding
结婚 (jiéhūn): v. to get married
The new hit TV series “裸婚时代 (Luǒhūn shídài) Getting Married with No Car, No House, and No Wedding” has stimulated many passionate discussions since its release.…
Popular Chinese Word 涨 (zhǎng)
Chinese character “涨 (zhǎng)” is made up of the radical “氵” relating to water and the remaining part “张 (zhāng),” which is a character usually used for a surname. “涨 (zhǎng)” has two basic meanings in Mandarin language. First, it means the river rises and is related to water, such as “涨水 (zhǎngshuǐ) freshet” and “涨潮 (zhǎngcháo) rising tide.”…
流行词语 (liúxíng cíyǔ) Popular Chinese Word (Intermediate)
赞 (zàn) Marvelous
“赞 (zàn)” originally means “to praise.” For instance, “赞美” and “称赞” both mean to praise. We also have a popular Chinese expression starting with “赞,” that is “赞不绝口 (zànbùjuékǒu) to praise profusely.” For example: 他对你赞不绝口 (tā duì nǐ zànbùjuékǒu) He speaks very highly of you.…
