A homophone or 谐音 (xié yīn) in Chinese is two or more words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings, origin, or spelling. There are plenty of homophones in the English language, but since Chinese uses tones to indicate the meaning of the spoken word, there are even more ways to create both spoken… Read More
It will only take [est_time] to read this post! Even if you’ve had Chinese lessons to prepare you for coming to China, there’s one thing these classes probably didn’t prepare you for: the various accents, dialects and local slang that REAL Chinese speakers use day-to-day. But don’t panic! It was always going to be different,… Read More
This week our question comes from Matthew, who asks us “What are the origins of chicken feet, the popular Chinese delicacy?” If you want to ask us a question just go to our voicemail page and leave us your question! In This Episode, We Talk About… Nora’s fact about the gaokao exam Man Accidentally Pays… Read More
有点儿 (yǒu diǎnr) and 一点儿 (yī diǎnr) basically both mean the same thing: ‘a little’. The key thing is to learn how to use them correctly in a sentence. Below, I’ll explain the basics of using 有点儿 and 一点儿. First, I’d like to look at the 点 character and its meaning. The character’s general meaning… Read More
This week our question comes from Corey, who asks us “Can you suggest a budget for 1 month in Shanghai and do you know any massage courses I might join?” If you want to ask us a question just go to our voicemail page and leave us your question! In This Episode, We Talk About…… Read More
In Chinese, there are two kinds of comparative sentences: A comparison of two or more things that do not appear at the same time in a sentence, but the speaker is aware that both arguments exist. A comparison between 2 or more things that are both in the sentence. Let’s look at the first type… Read More
