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While these days, there are many great smartphone apps and websites with online Chinese dictionaries, paper Chinese dictionaries are still around and still very useful. In fact, sometimes, paper dictionaries can be better than digital dictionaries because you can be more focused using them, and you don’t have the distractions of your computer or smartphone. You just have the book. Here is a list of what I think are the best paper Chinese dictionaries. Continue reading “The Best Paper Chinese Dictionaries”
Mandarinportal Now Has Social Media Accounts
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I am excited to announce that mandarinportal.com now has social media accounts. Its Facebook page is located at facebook.com/mandarinportal
The Twitter page is located at twitter.com/mandarinportal
In addition, there is a Diaspora account located at https://joindiaspora.com/u/mandarinportal
Ideas For Continuing To Study Chinese
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Learning a language can be hard, especially Mandarin Chinese. You have to continually review or be exposed to the language otherwise you might forget a lot. Even if you are not in China, you can still study Chinese, practice your Chinese with native speakers, and continue to progress in your Chinese language ability or at least maintain the level you already have. Here are some good ideas for continuing to study Chinese. Continue reading “Ideas For Continuing To Study Chinese”
Ways In Which Chinese Is Easier Than English
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In some ways, Chinese is more systematic and logical than English. Both languages of course have exceptions in grammar etc, but in some cases, Chinese is actually easier than English. This post will discuss some of the ways in which Chinese can be easier and more logical than English. Continue reading “Ways In Which Chinese Is Easier Than English”
A Bilingual Chinese-English T-Shirt
A few days ago, I went shopping. I saw an interesting bilingual t-shirt, so I took pictures of it. An example of a shirt that says very different things in different languages. The English says Tokyo. The Chinese says 紐約洛杉磯 meaning New York Los Angeles. I think this was clearly made for a “coolness” factor rather than it actually making sense.
Using Spotify To Improve Your Chinese Listening Ability
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Using Spotify can help improve your Chinese listening ability. Spotify is a fantastic and free online music streaming site. Spotify has many songs from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan, and you can create your own Chinese language radio stations with Spotify. You can even search individual artists, and listen to a few of their songs directly. Spotify has free accounts funded by ads, and paid accounts as well. Continue reading “Using Spotify To Improve Your Chinese Listening Ability”
Using Wikipedia And Baidu’s Encyclopedia To Improve Your Chinese Reading Ability
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There are some incredibly good sources on the web to help you master your Chinese reading ability for free. This article is about the two best Chinese encyclopedias on the web. Furthermore, this article will talk about how using Wikipedia and Baidu’s Encyclopedia can improve your Chinese reading ability. Continue reading “Using Wikipedia And Baidu’s Encyclopedia To Improve Your Chinese Reading Ability”
Counterfeit Foreign Food In Mainland China
I have encountered many fake foreign foods in Mainland China. You have to have a keen eye because differences between real items and counterfeits can be very subtle, but piracy and the market for counterfeit items in Mainland China flourishes. Have you ever seen a fake Red Bull can, or fake Western snack food? This article will specifically be about fake foreign food in China. I find this quite a comical topic, and try to keep track of it whenever it happens to me. Continue reading “Counterfeit Foreign Food In Mainland China”
5 Great Ways To Improve Your Chinese Writing Ability
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Chinese writing is a difficult skill to get good at just like any other skill. If you intend to become truly fluent in Chinese and be able to convey complicated ideas, you will need to know how to write in Chinese. Speaking alone will only get you so far. Chinese writing, like writing in any language, can take a while to get good at. But, your writing will certainly get better with enough practice. Here are 5 great ways to improve your Chinese writing ability. Continue reading “5 Great Ways To Improve Your Chinese Writing Ability”
Using Caveman Chinese
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Have you ever had a conversation in your own native language with a non-native speaker whose ability in your language was atrocious, but you could still understand the basic meaning of what the person was trying to say it? The point of language is to communicate, and you can get by with limited Chinese in China assuming you know ways to get around your language barriers. Many psychologists have said that the majority of communication is actually non-verbal. Are you are thinking of going to China with limited to no Chinese? Well, you probably won’t starve to death in China even with no Chinese ;). And, are you paranoid of getting your tones wrong? Although tones are important, Chinese people will probably assume what you are talking about, and give you a pass most of the time. What I call using “Caveman Chinese” is simply using many different ways of communication, including body language, that communicates what you want even if your Chinese speaking ability is not very good. This article will teach you how to get around China even with poor Chinese. Continue reading “Using Caveman Chinese”