Politeness in Chinese: Saying ‘Please’ the Right Way

As already explained in the post “Your Welcome in Chinese”, being polite in Chinese is quite easy. Chinese people are very direct when compared with their Korean or Japanese counterparts, and they don’t get offended very easily. Saying “please” in Chinese is actually less complicated than in English. English uses many expressions like “would”, “could”, … Read more

The Chinese Way of Welcome: ‘You’re welcome’ in Mandarin

When compared to Koreans and Japanese, Chinese people tend to be very open and direct. This is why (contrary to what some people may think) Chinese language doesn’t have as many polite forms and elegant words to express respect and gratitude as for example Japanese. In fact, being polite in English is sometimes harder than … Read more

Ask the Right Questions: Learning to Say ‘Why’ in Chinese

“Why” seems to be a very simple word, yet Chinese is such a complex language that it has many ways of saying it. The biggest difference here is between spoken and written Chinese. Since you have already started learning this language, you might have heard about it already: Chinese has a very rich formal language … Read more

Celebrating the Holidays: How to Wish ‘Merry Christmas’ in Chinese

Despite the fact that Christmas is not an officially celebrated holiday in East Asia, you can definitely see its cultural influence on Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Celebrating Christmas is not part of Chinese tradition; however, many Chinese people seem to adore the Christmas spirit, especially the Christmas trees, lights and shopping for gifts.  … Read more

The Art of Apology: Six Ways to Say ‘Sorry’ in Mandarin Chinese

Apologizing plays a crucial role in all the cultures. In Chinese culture, apologies not only used to express regret and sympathy, but it also is a way to save face and keeps relationships intact. Therefore, apologize is important. Whether we’ve just accidently stepped on someone’s shoe, arrived late for a meeting or heard a bad … Read more

Saying ‘No’ in Mandarin: A Foundation for Resistive Communication

The word ‘no’ is another important phrase that every Chinese learner should grasp and thus should be covered in the early stages of learning. Knowing how- to say ‘no’ will help protect your best interests and keep you safe during travelling or working in China, as is the case in every country. Similar to the … Read more

5 Best Chinese Roku Channels in 2023

Roku is a great streaming device that changed the way we use TV by just connecting it to Wi-Fi. Roku added multiple features on our old good TV that allow us to adapt other streaming services like YouTube or Netflix, as long as other channels from all over the world.  Learning Chinese is very easy … Read more

Affirmation in Mandarin: How to Say ‘Yes’ in Chinese

One of the most important words to grasp when starting a new language is of course the word ‘yes’. You will find it can be applied to various scenarios, becoming a go-to phrase to give an affirmative response to a question, comment, or statement, or simply to keep the conversation going. One may find it … Read more

Tune in to Learn: 2023’s Top 5 Chinese Learning Podcasts

Learn Chinese like a native! In order to successfully learn a language, you must make it a part of your life. This is because we learn languages faster when we need them.Therefore, being immersed in language speeds up your learning process very effectively. Regularly listening to Chinese podcasts may give you just that: by often exposing yourself … Read more

Game On: 2023’s Top Games for Mandarin Learning

Efficient learning is based on stimulating interest of the learners. To learn a few new words every week during the class will have little impact on our learning progress. If we can maintain a high level of interests in learning Chinese and keep learning new words every day, it will have significant impacts on the … Read more