How to Form Questions in Chinese
There are a few different ways to ask questions in Chinese. One of the simplest is to take a statement and make it into a question by adding the character 吗 ma to the end of the sentence. Some...
View ArticleHow to Use Question Words in Chinese
Here are the basic question words you’ll need to know in Chinese: 什么 shénme what 哪里 哪儿 nǎlǐ/nǎr where 哪(个) nǎ (ge) which 谁 shéi or shuí who 什么时候 shénme shíhou when 为什么 wèishénme why 怎么 zěnme how 多少...
View ArticleUnderstand Chinese Measure Words in 1 Video
In English, you would say ‘a piece of paper’ or ‘a kilo of apples’ The ‘piece’ and ‘kilo’ are a bit like measure words in Chinese. In English you wouldn’t say, ‘a piece of phone’ or ‘a piece of shirt’...
View ArticleLe (了) Doesn’t Just ‘Mean’ The Past Tense: How To Use Le in Chinese
A lot of Chinese learners believe that 了 *means* the past tense in Chinese. But that’s not quite true… 了 is not a character with a tangible meaning that can be translated To say it refers to the past...
View ArticleDifficult Chinese Characters Explained Simply: 的，得 and 地
The three characters 的 得 and 地 are all pronounced ‘de’, and they’re really important in Chinese grammar. But the difference stops there. These characters became common in Chinese when the language...
View ArticleDifficult Chinese Characters Explained Simply: 就 and 才
The two characters 就 and 才 can be very confusing to Chinese learners, and they are used quite often. Let’s take a look at how to use them. In the simplest usage, 就 indicates ‘earlyness’ – meaning is...
View ArticleHow do you say ‘know’ in Chinese?
There are normally two words that you use for ‘know’ in Chinese, depending on the situation: 知道 zhīdào and 认识 rènshi 认识 rènshi normally means to know of a person or a place, or (be able to) recognise...
View ArticleHow do you say ‘want’ in Chinese?
想 (xiǎng), 要 (yào) and 想要 (xiǎng yào) in Chinese are confusing to a lot of people, because they do mean similar things. However, each one is used differently, so let’s clear up the differences Use 要...
View ArticleHow do you say ‘can’ in Chinese?
‘Can’ or ‘be able to’ is an easy verb to translate in many languages, but in Chinese it is not so simple. There are 4 words/ways to translate the idea of ‘being or not being able to do something’ in...
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How do you say ‘see’ in Chinese?
看 (kàn) can mean ‘look at’ 让我看看 Ràng wǒ kànkan Let me have a look 人老了，眼睛看不清楚了 Rén lǎo le, yǎnjīng kàn bu qīngchu le When people get old, they can longer see clearly 看 (kàn) also means ‘watch’ (sports...
View ArticleHow do you say ‘think’ in Chinese
There are a few words in Chinese that can be translated as ‘think’. I’ll explain them in this post. Some of the time, 想 (xiǎng)，觉得 (juéde) and 认为 (rènwéi) can be used interchangeably, but they do have...
View ArticleWhy I decided to learn Chinese
People ask me all the time why I wanted to learn Chinese. Living in China, I also get this question a lot when I first start talking to people, and I often just give answers like: “Because I’m...
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The Basics of Chinese Character Writing – In Under 12 Minutes
In this video, I outline the basics of writing Chinese characters. In fact, there are only a handful of strokes that are used to write all the characters in Chinese. Check out the video above to find...
View ArticleWhat are the benefits of learning Chinese?
http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/01-benefits-of-studying-chinese.mp3 Click here to download the MP3 audio 学习中文有什么好处？ Xuéxí zhōngwén yǒu shénme hǎochù? What are the...
View ArticleWhich is the best season to travel in China?
Click here to download the MP3 audio 哪个季节最适合来中国旅游? Nǎge jìjié zuì shìhé lái zhōngguó lǚyóu? Which is the best season to travel in China? 大家都知道，中国的地域非常广，所以你可以在不同季节到中国的不同地区，去领略这个季节所带来的美景。 Dàjiā dōu...
View ArticleWhat do Chinese people eat for breakfast?
Click here to download the MP3 audio of the video 中国人早餐一般喜欢吃什么？ Zhōngguórén zǎocān yībān xǐhuān chī shénme? What do Chinese people normally eat for breakfast? 早上中国人一般喜欢吃一些热的食物，比如说最受欢迎的粥类： Zǎoshang...
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