Speaking Chinese - What kind of ke4 are you?

Welcome to speaking Chinese series, today’s topic is “ke4”. If you had any experience of taking a public vehicle in China, you would have heard words from stewards or vehicle broadcasting, “亲爱的乘客们……”(qin1ai4de5 cheng2ke4men5 – dear passengers). As well when you step into a store, stop assistants will say “顾客你好”(gu4ke4 ni3hao3 – hello, customer ). So what do these “ke4” mean?

In Chinese, “客” refers to a person who is doing something or a role someone is playing. For example to learn to speak Chinese, if someone call you “乘客”, either you are in a vehicle right now or you are going to get in one. You are now playing a role of a person need to go somewhere by public vehicles, and when you step into a store, you become a “顾客” because you are supposed to be someone who is about to buy something there - “顾”(gu4) has the meaning of patronizing.

With the development of science and society, the word “客” is more widely used because many new kind of “ke4” is coming up. A well-known example is “黑客”(hei1ke4 - hacker), which actually comes from the English word “Hacker”. “黑客” refers to people who make destroy with computer virus. By the way, “黑客” is not exactly the same with hacker; I think it is more like “Cracker” - a vicious branch of hackers, and how the meaning went different is another story.   

There are other new “ke4”s in Chinese coming up in recent years, for example “威客”(wei1ke4) -  who shares knowledge, information and experience in web to earn money, or “群租客”(qun2zu1ke4) – people who cannot afford their rents so to share rooms and rents with a group of people.

So what kind of ke4 are you right now, a “乘客” in a bus, a “顾客” in a store, or secretly a “黑客” in internet?  Isn’t it enjoyable and funny to speak Chinese, or it is a little different for you? Welcome to visit my blog to learn to speak Mandarin.

Source: http://tubsir.canalblog.com/archives/2014/12/24/31194979.html

Speaking Chinese, speaking popular Chinese!

I have a confession to make, I surf the internet really a lot. Every day I don’t sleep until I finish checking my blog, my Wechat and Qzone. I chat with friends in language which people speaking Chinese but 10 years elder than me cannot understand, so do most of young people in China. “么么哒”(me1me1da1), “造吗”(zao4ma5) and so on are words you cannot find in any books, but if you want to learn to speak Chinese, you need at least know what Chinese young people are talking about.

Firstly, “么么哒” is quite normal in conversations. “me1” sounds like the voice of a big kiss, so at first we say “me1me1da1” to someone when we want to show we like them and want to kiss them. Then this word got more and more popular and the meaning generalized. Now people use this word to show fondness, appreciation, or happiness. For example, “我想你，么么哒”(wo3 xiang3 ni3, me1me1da1 – I miss you), “明天见，么么哒”(Ming2tinan1 jian4 - see you) I think it is a little like the phrase “XOXO”, and by the way girls say this more than boys.

Secondly, “造吗”(zao4 ma5) refers to “知道吗”(zhi1dao4 ma5 – Do you know?). When someone says “zhi1dao4 ma5”really fast, he may pronounce it unclearly and sounds like “zao4 ma5”. Young people think that is funny and tend to say “造吗”? Now you can have a try and see if you would pronounce “zhi1dao4 ma5” as “zao4 ma5”.

Thirdly, “心塞”(xin1se4) is the abbreviation of “心肌梗塞”(xin1ji1geng3se4 - myocardial infarction). Of course it doesn’t mean you are as painful as you have a myocardial infarction. It generally means someone feels uncomfortable, it can be unhappy, stressed and so on. “我好心塞”(wo3 hao3 xin1se4 ) means I am really unhappy, upset, sad, it also can express that I am really regretful about something stupid I did.

Now, since you have known some of the popular words, when you speak Chinese with Chinese young people you can use them and they would be surprised!   

Want to learn to speak mandarin? Just visit my blog!
Source: http://happbucket.jigsy.com/entries/chinese-class/speaking-chinese-speaking-popular-chinese!

Learning Chinese language - How to distinguish these “望”s!

The other day a friend of mine who came from Indonesia asked me: what is the difference between “期望”(qi1wang4）and “希望”(xi1wang4)? That reminded me of several very similar words that even a lot of Chinese may cannot tell the differences. They are “愿望”(yuan4wang4), “渴望”(ke3wang4), and the two words I mentioned before. You may say, how could there be so many “望”s! Yeah, but if you want to learn Mandarin Chinese, you need to face to these difficulties. But don’t worry; let’s have a look of them one by one.

First of all, the character “望” means looking for something, so all of these words express an idea that someone wants something or hopes something to happen. But among the four words, “愿望” alone cannot be used as a verb. It can only be used as a noun. Here is an example for learning Chinese language, you can say “我的愿望”（wo3de5 yuan4wang4-means my wish）, but “我愿望……” do not make any sense. On the other hand, “我希望……”, “我期望……”, and “我渴望……”  is all right. The word “希望” is undoubtedly most widely used, and it is not that much intensive. For example, “我希望明天不下雨”(wo3 xi1wang4 ming2tian2 bu2 xia4yu3 – I hope it won’t rain tomorrow.) is a everyday sentence. If you said this and then the next it rained, you would not feel very upset about it. Compared with “希望”, “期望” is more intensive. Chinese often tell kids, “别辜负了你父母的期望”(bie2 gu1fu4 ni3 fu4mu3de5 qi1wang4 - Don’t let your parents down). This line implicates that your parents have a great “期望” for you, namely they really want you to be someone, so don’t let them down.

Among these words, “渴望” is the most intensive one. It means someone wants something eagerly. Let’s see the character “渴”(ke3). “渴” is a adjective which means someone is thirsty. You must want to grab a cup of water and don’t want to wait for one second when you are thirsty, right? So if you say you “渴望” to learn Mandarin language, you must really like it!

Please check my blog if you want to learn Chinese online free.

Source: http://gctc2310.blog.com/2014/12/15/learning-chinese-language-how-to-distinguish-these-%E2%80%9C%E6%9C%9B%E2%80%9Ds/

Learn Chinese chengyu(means idiom): hu2lun2 tun1zao3

Today, let’s learn Chinese chengyu(means idiom): 囫囵吞枣(hu2lun2 tun1zao3). In the Chinese idiom "囫囵吞枣 (hu2lun2 tun1zao3)", "囫囵 (hu2lun2)" means "the whole;" "吞 (tun1)" means to "swallow", "枣 (zao3)" is "date" This idiom means "to eat the date whole."

Putonghua online learning via this online Chinese idiomatic story:

A long time ago, a person who considered himself clever went to a friend's party. Everyone was chatting together while eating fruits. A guest among the group said, "It is hard to have the best of both worlds. Let's take eating fruits as an example. Pears are good for our teeth, but they harm our stomachs if we eat too many of them. Likewise, dates are good for our stomachs, but bad for our teeth." The others agreed with the guest. The man who considered himself clever continued the conversation by saying, "This problem is easy to solve. We can discard the pulps when eating pears in order to avoid hurting our stomachs, and we can also eat the dates whole in order to protect our teeth."

In jest, a fellow guest at the party remarked, "You really 囫囵吞枣 (hu2lun2 tun1zao3) eat dates whole!” Following this incident, Chinese people often use this idiom to point out when a person accepts information without digesting and analyzing it.

There is an example from online Putonghua learning:

Du2shu1 bu4neng2 hu2lun2tun1zao3, er2yao4 cong3zhong1 xi1qu3 zi4ji3 xu1yao4 de3 dong3xi.
读书       不能         囫囵吞枣，     而要     从中         吸取  自己 需要   的   东西。

Do not read books without analyzing the content; each person must take from a text the parts that are important to him or her.

There are many Chinese language knowledge can be found on the internet so that e study Chinese become more and more popular. More Chinese idioms story are waiting for you in my blog, see you next time!

Source: http://peacebucket.buzznet.com/user/journal/20465741/learn-chinese-chengyu-means-idiom/

Some advices about HSK level practice

There is a past HSK exam questions I picked from Chinese test HSK online:

Which of the following expression is wrong?

A 在家人的照顾下，他很快恢复了健康。

B 保持好的心情，关键是要有一个好的心态。

C 商业广告显然不同于公益广告，因为它带有明显的功利色彩。

D 为了防止今后不再发生类似的事件，有关部门及时完善了管理措施。

Have you got the answer? Maybe it is difficult for foreigners. But if you have some tips you will find there is a way to do the exam right. This is a question made for testing knowledge of double negative. In the option D, “防止” means “prevent”, “不再” means “not any more”. So “防止以后不再发生...” means “prevent somebody from doing something not any more” equal to “ensure somebody do something”. So the option D is wrong.

As above question, every Chinese exam question has its testing knowledge. Double negative, disguised replacement of concept, changed subject, etc. all of above situation may be tested in one exam. So tidying and classifying all puzzles you met have huge benefits to help you pass the exam (HSK tutor always emphasize the important of problem classifying).

Before you take part in HSK, HSK level practice is essential. Practice can help you focus on what you haven’t mastered. For doing Chinese listening well which is an important part of HSK, You also can take Skype HSK exam preparation. Hope it helps.

Source: http://happybucket.weebly.com/blog/some-advices-about-hsk-level-practice

“Haste makes waste”: live online Chinese class for minutes

It was a winter during the early Qing dynasty, the Shunzhi years. A scholar on his way to a town with his livehand(a boy serving in a scholar’s study) whom many books on his back. It was dusk when they got down out of a ferry. They asked the ferryman that “Can we arrive to the town before the gate of town has been shut?” The ferryman replied that “The gate will open if you walk slowly, or close if you walk urgently.” When the scholar heard that, he was angry. He thought the ferryman is teasing him. Thereupon, he and his livehand walked urgently until the rope tied books have broken. He and his livehand had to tidy books and rope it again so that they were late when they reached the front of the gate. At that time, the scholar began to realize the words of the ferryman(wonderful story from ib 中文老师).

From this story we can see something different from common things, there is an idiom include similar meaning from ancient China named “欲yu4速su4不bu4达da2”. “欲yu4” refer to “want”. “速su4” refer to “speed”. Even if you just take live online Chinese class for minutes you may know what does “不bu4” means. Yeah, it means “no” “达da2” means “achieve”. So “欲yu4速su4不bu4达da2” is similar to “Haste makes waste”.

Nowadays vanity became the most prominent character of many people gradually. With the development of social media, the superior became love to show their advantage to more people, poor people love to discuss the superior’s life as if his own life all the day, the struggling people want to reach the level of superior more faster so that do something harmful. Just like < seven habits of highly effective people> said, “People all focus on how to crash rather than improve themselves”

In my opinion, hard working step by step is the shortcut to everywhere. When you are learning Chinese, whether take online IB Chinese course or Learn mandarin online live from Beijing, you should accumulate Chinese language knowledge gradually, use it to anywhere in your power, and you’ll master this mystical language.

Source: http://happybucket.kinja.com/haste-makes-waste-live-online-chinese-class-for-minu-1665564531

Mandarin teaching online about “chi1”

For many people, eating may be the best thing in the world. This kind of people love to try the new restaurant regardless of how long he/she need to queue, look for delicious food regardless of how far between himself/herself and the tasty and even eat more and more regardless of what a fat man he/she is. Hey! I’m not gonna to tell you something delicious in my Mandarin teaching online. I’ll tell you how the word “吃chi1(means eat)” can be used in China.

Of course, we use “eat” to express “吃chi1” mostly. “吃chi1饭fan4(means dining)”、 “吃chi1水shui3果guo3(means eat fruit)”、 “吃chi1面mian4包bao1(eat bread)” are examples(from general Chinese language curriculum). But if you have taken mandarin chinese online classes ap you may know following words: “吃chi1亏kui1(means suffer losses)”、 “吃chi1力li4(means strenuous)”、 “吃chi1板ban3子zi”.

Although “吃亏” refer to suffer losses, but there was a version been told “Suffer losses is a luck” in Chinese. Some Chinese believe that the things you suffer loss will back to you in other ways. The word “吃” of “吃力” refer to use, “力” refer to strength. So “吃力” translates literally as “use strength”. But in Chinese, the word only has been used in the context of hard situation. “吃” also can be passive in form sometimes, like “吃板子”. When I was young, I usually “吃板子” after play a trick on somebody. So what means “吃板子” ? Let me give you a hint, “板子” refer to “plank”. Now you may know, “吃板子” means “be hit by plank”.

As the mystery of Chinese, there are lots of polysemous words in Chinese just like “吃”. So if you have a strong desire to China or you need to use Chinese for job or you just like challenge as Mark Zuckerberg do, you need master Chinese. I hope I can hear your self introduction just like Chinese student self introduction(students always start to study with self introduction in China).

Learn Chinese chengyu(means idiom): zhi3 lu4 wei2 ma3

Today I’ll tell you a funny but meaningful story to help you learn Chinese chengyu(means idiom). The name of this idiomatic story is "Deer or Horse?"

In Qin dynasty, there was a powerful and evil counselor named Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao wanted to rebel, but he didn't know how many people in the court would stand by his side. So he worked out a way to test the people. He presented a deer as a tribute to the emperor in front of the court, and said that it was a swift horse. The emperor not accepting his statement said, "This is obviously a deer." Then, Zhao Gao took this opportunity to ask the court, "Is this a deer or a horse?" In the court, those who didn't dare to go against Zhao Gao agreed with him and said that it was a horse, those who dared to go against Zhao Gao said that it was a deer. Later, Zhao Gao remembered the counselors who didn't agree with him and persecuted them to solidify his power. This story is still popular even today. People use this idiom to describe someone who calls white black.

Although this story maybe a little ridiculous, but it also present a period of history of ancient China. Zhao Gao used an absurdity as a political tool to realize which side the court stood, and then cut opponents to enhance his power. As above, there are many Chinese idioms full of amusing stories you can find via online Putonghua learning.

Nowadays, more and more people realized the beauty of Chinese language, e study Chinese also became more improved. So what are you waiting for? So join us to do Putonghua online learning now!
Source: http://amusingbucket.tumblr.com/post/103960471911/learn-chinese-chengyu-means-idiom-zhi3-lu4-wei2

Learning Chinese language—abundant meanings of “yi4si1”

In general, when you hear of “yi4si1”, you’ll think about its common meaning---“implication or meaning”. For example, “qing3 ni3 jie3shi4 yi2xia4 zhe4ge4 ju4zi3 de1 yi4si1” (please explain the meaning of this sentence.) or “zhe4pian1 wen2zhang1 de3 yi4si1 ni3 nong4dong3 le1 mei2you3?” (Do you figure out the implication of this article?). This meaning of “yi4si1” is the same at many countries. However, in China, you’ll see meanings of “yi4si1” are much more than that. Then, let’s start learning Chinese language—abundant meanings of “yi4si1” in China.

---A: zhe4jian4shi4 ni3wen4guo4 ta1 le3 ma1? ta1 shi4 shen3me0 yi4si1?  (Have you asked him about this? What’s his idea?)

---B: wo3wen4guo4le1. Ta1de3 yi4si1 shi4 ta1 bu4 tong2yi4 zhe4me1 zuo4.  (Yes. He disagreed to do so.)

We can see “yi4si1” in that dialogue means” wish or idea”. Another example, “wo3men0 gen1ta1 you3 he2zuo4 de3 yi4si1”  “yi4si1” in that sentence is also means idea.

The second meaning is temperament or interest. For instance, “zhe4ge4 gu4shi4 hen3 you3 yi4si1” (This book is very interesting.)

It also can express a kind of feeling or a trend. “wo3 kan4 Tom you3dian3 xi3huan1 ta1” (In my perspective, Tom kind of likes her.)

There is another meaning when “yi4si1” is combined with the form of ABAB—like yi4si1yi4si1. For example, “zhe4shi4 wo3de1 yi4dian3 xiao3 li3wu4, yi4si1yi4si1, qing3 shou1xia4 ba0” (This is my little gift for you, please receive it.) “yi4si1” contains the meaning that gift represent my mind in that sentence. It’s widely used in Chinese daily life.

Here comes the last meaning---shows a person’s unhappy or dissatisfied emotion. You can say “ni3 zhe4shi4 shen3me0 yi4si1?” to present your angry.  It is a tone of questioning. Have you dizzied by these meanings? Just a word can present six meanings, which is a universal phenomenon when you learn Chinese language.

So, how to recognize different meanings in sentences?  You need to relate the word with context or tone to help you understand the meaning. You may have to practice Chinese listening to be familiar with these words. Also, you can do some online Chinese learning and search more words like “yi4si1”.

Source:  http://amusingbucket.tumblr.com/post/101743621671/learning-chinese-language-abundant-meanings-of-yi4si1

How to let a person who just learns Chinese words be a real native speaker immediately?

You must have already watch or at least heard of the movie---‘Titanic’. Do you remember a plot which Caledon (Rose’s fiancé) invited Jack to have dinner in the grand banquet in order to make a fool of himself? Jack - a poor boy that never seen such a magnificent scene, not only coped with it successfully, but also deeply impressed everyone at present. This is a kind of wisdom in social intercourse. You may don’t need to say or do too much. It will make you polite and friendly that you just fit in the group of people and do what they usually do. Also, you can learn Chinese language in that way. There are many common sayings in China. They are always very easy and brief. So studying Chinese common sayings is a perfect way to learning Chinese language for beginners.

 A foreigner just need to learn Chinese words can speak many common sayings fluently, which can make you feel like a native speaker. What’s more, it will give you a big sense of achievement. For example, Chinese people are thought to be say “ni3 hao3” when they meet. Actually, that is a very official way that we only use in the formal occasion. We usually greet our friends with a question “ni3 chi1 fan4 le3 ma1”, which means “have you had meal?” We often say “yi2 lu4 zou3 hao3” when we leave our friends.

 You can search a lot of common sayings likewise. It’s a funny way to learn Chinese language online. After searching them, please remember to practice them often. Speaking more and it will be your own words.
Source: http://amusingbucket.tumblr.com/post/101320872711/how-to-let-a-person-who-just-learns-chinese-words-be-a