-
New Chinese Learning App Roundup!
There’s been quite a few great new apps released for both iOS and Android recently that would make a great addition to any Chinese learner’s toolbox. So in this post I wanted to highlight a few of them and share with everyone to take a look at! I’ve also included screenshots at the very end…
-
“You sold me out!”
A staple of any good mafia movie is when one of the guys rats out someone for fun and/or profit. And guess what? Chinese has an awesome phrase for a situation like that, too! 你出賣我!(nǐ chūmài wǒ) 出賣 is actually a set phrase which, aside from meaning quite literally “to sell”, also means “to sell…
-
The Skritter Android Beta is Out!
Good news for Skritter users with Android devices–the Skritter Beta for Android is out! Check out the post below for a few screenshots and brief overview. Also, learn how to get a three-week free trial (instead of the usual one week) to test out the app!
-
Performing a little surgery
So recently I had the opportunity to perform a bit of surgery on an iPhone. A relative had accidentally dropped their iPhone 4, smashing the screen into a web of glass that even Spiderman would be proud of: Getting it fixed by Apple meant buy a new phone. Other repair guys were giving us estimates…
-
Android, wash up and go to sleep! Android 可以洗洗睡了
I came across this phrase in the title of an article from TechOrange (a super great Chinese language tech news website by the way. You should bookmark it now!). 洗洗睡(xǐxǐshuì)is a fun Chinese internet slang term, which means something like “wash up and get to bed” or “don’t waste your energy”. Check out the…
-
Release the stationary!
Seen at work: Let’s break this down! 文具 (wénjù): stationary 解放區 (Jiěfàngqū): liberation area 解放區 解放 (Jiěfàngqū): liberation 區 (Jiěfàngqū): area/district Historical tidbit! 解放區 can also refer to cities liberated by the Chinese Communists during the Chinese civil war. While the stationary itself is saying「快讓我重見天日!」 快讓我重見天日! 快 (kuài): quick 讓 (ràng): let/allow 我 (wǒ): me 重見天日 (chóngjiàntiānrì):…
-
A Quick Look at “Learn a Chinese Phrase”
I was recently contacted by the Learn a Chinese Phrase team from Wayne State University about a video series they put together. I must admit this was pretty surprising, considering I went to school in Michigan and had friends at Wayne State University, too. So I was quite curious to see what they had put…
-
Have a Nice Trip!
Spotted at the airport: In Chinese: 祝大家旅途愉快 祝 zhù wish 大家 dàjiā everyone 旅途 lǚtú journey/trip 愉快 yúkuài happy/cheerful Or, in English, 🙂 Have a nice journey (or trip)! It’s also easily adapted wishing, say, you friend or family to have a nice trip! Just switch out the 大家 for 你 or 你們: 祝大家旅途愉快 =…
-
A Crash Course in Chinese Numbers
This is a pretty simple post, but hopefully it’ll give you a quick and easy introduction to Chinese numbers–which can be rather intimidating at first the larger they get! But as you’ll see, it’s pretty easy to figure out once you know a simple little trick.
-
Addressing an Envelope in Taiwan – Horizontal
Now that we’ve looked at how to address envelopes in the more traditional vertical style, let’s take a look how to address horizontal envelopes! Horizontal As for the horizontal envelopes, the post office yet again gives us some great instructions: 收件人地址、姓名書於中央偏右,寄件人地址、姓名書於左上角或信封背面。郵遞區號書於地址上方第1行,郵票貼於右上角。 Breaking this down, we get the address and name of the recipient (收件人地址、姓名) in…