If you are a fan of Chinese street food, there’s one Chinese breakfast item that you must know about: jianbing (煎饼 /jiānbing/), or Chinese-style breakfast crepe. And today, in the form of a short Q&A from our students, let’s explore jianbing’s past and present. Q: What’s a jianbing? A: Jianbing are pretty similar to […]
Last week, we already looked at some Chinese idioms with a “dog” character. Are you ready for 4 more? Let’s see which idioms we missed! 1. 狐朋狗友 (Hú Péng Gǒu Yǒu) 狐 (hú) is “fox”; 朋 (péng) means “friend”; 狗 (gǒu) is “dog”; 友 (yǒu) is another word for “friend”. So, this idiom literally […]
There’re so many chengyu (成语 chéngyǔ), or idioms, in Chinese language! Even if you study the language for several years, there’re still so many idioms you still don’t know. Today, we are going to look at four chengyu that have one thing in common: they all use dogs as a metaphor! Ready? Let’s explore! 1. […]
Today, let’s look at the original Chinese names of popular Western movies. Translating Movie Titles into Chinese Sometimes, it can be difficult to translate a movie title into another language. There’re lots of things you have to keep in mind: you might come across a catch-phrase, a set expression or a reference that people […]
There’re so many types of face shapes! Round, square, oval, diamond, heart… Today, let’s look at the names of 7 most common face shapes in Chinese. 1. 蛋型脸 (Dànxíng Liǎn), or Egg-shaped Face Egg-shaped pace is also known as 瓜子脸 (guāzǐliǎn), or oval-shaped face, where 瓜子 (guāzǐ) means “melon seeds”. It’s viewed to be […]
It’s time for the next part of “Chinese Characters in Marvel Comics”! Get ready! Jade Dragon Jade Dragon hails from China and is a mutant who can become a flying, fire-breathing dragon. Real name: Dei Guan Gender: Male First Appearance: Alpha Flight #59 (June, 1988) Origin Dei Guan is an orphan, the only child […]
It’s time for the next part of “Chinese Characters in Marvel Comics”! Let’s see who is on our today’s agenda! Thunderer The immortal teacher of the legacy of Iron Fist. Real name: Lei-Kung Gender: Male First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #16 (July, 1974) Origin Lei-Kung was the immortal martial arts master of K’un-Lun. K’un-Lun’s most valued and […]
In the second part of Chinese Internet Slang 2018 series, let’s look at 5 more slang words and phrases that became viral on the Chinese Internet in 2018. 1. 官宣 (Guānxuān) 官宣 (guānxuān) means “official announcement”. This word became popular among netizens in October 2018, when two celebrities posted it on their Weibo account to […]
The year 2018 has brought us so many things to smile and laugh at! And so much new internet slang was created in 2018 by the Chinese internet community. Let’s have a look at 4 most popular Chinese internet slang words and phrases. 1. 锦鲤 (jǐnlǐ) 锦鲤 (jǐnlǐ)’s exact meaning is “carp”, “koi”. But […]
It’s time for the second part of “Top Chinese Dating Apps”! Last time there were two most popular dating apps and today we have two more to introduce. But they are not typical dating apps, like Tinder, they have some REALLY specific features. Let’s have a look at them. 1. 请吃饭 “Let’s have a meal” […]
It’s so much easier to learn Chinese if you have Chinese friends! It’s always fun to explore another culture by chatting with native speakers. So today, we’re going to help you find Chinese friends online. It’s Top Chinese Dating Apps. 1. 陌陌 Using Momo, you can meet new people in your city or area. […]
Do you like music? What are your favorite bands? Some people say, a sure way to know more about country and its culture is through music! And we are not talking about old folk songs you might’ve imagined by now – but about some modern, popular rock-bands! Chinese themselves think of them as “best of […]
Are a you a horror movie fan? Have you watched the movies we recommended last week yet? Because this week, let’s look at Top Chinese Horror Movies, part two! 1.诡丝 / Guǐsī (2006) 诡丝 (Guǐ sī) exactly means “strange string” and was translated as “silk”. The string that plays an important role in this movie […]
Do you like horror movies? Halloween is still far away, but who says we must have a proper occasion just to feel creeps from a good horror story! Today, we are going to look at 3 Modern Chinese horror movies you can enjoy in the late evening with the curtains closed 😉 1. 僵尸 […]
Last week, we looked at a few Modern Social Groups in China. Today, let’s have a look at five more! H族 The name H族 (zú), or “H family” refers to the free, unrestrained, comfortable and healthy lifestyle of the H-generation. This lifestyle appeared in 2012, and has now has become a new fashion. The […]
A few weeks ago, we already talked about modern social groups in China – from the perspective of one talented Chinese artist. But to tell you the truth, there are so many more “social groups” or “labels” (族 zú) in modern China! Lots of them already made their way into Chinese textbooks (for example, 蚁族 […]
Are you a fan of the Marvel Universe? In this article, we’ll look at the first few Chinese characters in Marvel comics. Chinese Characters in Marvel Comics Nowadays, Marvel attracts more and more fans – not without the help of their cinematographic achievements. But some marvel fans started to love these stories long before they […]
The times are changing – and so is the Chinese society. One Chinese artist tried to express what modern social labels in China look like. We already had a look at it two weeks ago in the post Social Labels 2.0, Part One. This week, it’s time for Part Two! 6. 鸡血系养生派 (Chicken Blood Health Group) 鸡血系养生派 Jī Xiě Xì […]
A few years ago, some social labels in China became so popular, they even made their way into Chinese language textbooks. Almost everyone who studies Chinese came across one or two of them: 白领族 báilǐngzú (white collars), 啃老族 kěnlǎozú (adults still living with and depending on their parents), 蚁族 yǐ zú (“ant tribe”, college graduates who are forced to live in […]
It’s no secret how valuable it is to watch Chinese movies to improve your Mandarin. But did you know that Western actors sometimes speak Chinese in Western movies, too? In our previous post, we looked at Keanu Reeves, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale speaking Chinese in The Day the Earth Stood Still, Limitless, and […]
For the past two weeks, we’ve been exploring Mandarin Chinese spoken by actors and actresses in Western TV Shows. Some of them turned out to speak Chinese really well! So today, we’re going to turn to movies – and explore Mandarin Chinese in Western movies. The questions are the same: What phrases did the characters use? How good […]
Last week, we began exploring the exciting topic of Mandarin Chinese in Western TV Shows. Let’s continue our journey into the world of non-Chinese actors and actresses who attempt to speak Chinese. There are two TV shoes on our today’s agenda: Castle and Marvel’s Iron Fist! 1.Mandarin Chinese in Castle Castle (灵书妙探 Língshū miàotàn, […]
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