Hanbridge Mandarin Chinese Online Learning

Whether you come to China for study or travel on official business, you probably will not leave in short time. Therefore, it’s better to learn how to rent an apartment in China unless you can afford high hotel costs. Maybe you could say that I can book it on the Internet, but to be honest, Those registration procedures are enough to give you a headache. Firstly, Let’s get to know some new vocabularies: Real estate - 房产 fáng chǎn Agency - 中介 zhōng jiè Apartment - 公寓 gōng yù Rental - 租金 zū jīn Decoration - 装修 zhuāng xiū Square meter - 平方米 píng fāng mǐ Luxury - 豪华 háo huá Ordinary - 普通 pǔ tōng Bedroom - 室 shì Living - 厅tīng Be close to - 靠近 kào jìn Nearby - 附近 fù jìn Give a call to Real estate agency. A:nǐ hǎo ！zhè lǐ shì shēn zhèn fáng chǎn zhōng jiè。 　你好！这里是深圳房产中介。 　(Hello, this is Shenzhen Real Estate Agency) B:nǐ hǎo ！wǒ xiǎng zū yī tào fáng zǐ。 　你好！我想租一套房子。 　(Hello, I would like to rent an apartment.) 　wǒ zài shēn zhèn nán shān qū gōng zuò...

Hello everyone, after studying the basic words such as ‘你好’（nǐhǎo）,’谢谢’（xièxiè）‘再见’（zàijiàn）and verb ‘是’（shì）‘不是’（bùshì）question word ‘吗’（mɑ）, Let’s learn two new words to express like and dislike in Chinese.that is ‘喜欢’（xǐhuān）and ‘爱’ (ài). How to use it，let’s make few sentences. 1. like ---喜欢（xǐhuān）,爱(ài) ① I like you. wǒ xǐ huān nǐ 。 我喜欢你。 wǒ ài nǐ 。 我爱你。 ②I like beer. wǒ xǐ huān pí jiǔ。 我喜欢啤酒。 wǒ ài pí jiǔ 。 我爱啤酒。 ③I like Beijing. wǒ xǐ huān běi jīng。 我喜欢北京。 wǒ ài běi jīng。 我爱北京。 ④I like blue. wǒ xǐ huān lán sè。 我喜欢蓝色。 wǒ ài lán sè 我爱蓝色。 So here we can use ‘喜欢’（xǐhuān） or ’爱’(ài) to express like some person, object, places or something else, and we also can use ’喜欢’（xǐhuān）+to do sth. For example: ⑤I like painting. wǒ xǐ huān huà huà。 我喜欢画画。 wǒ ài huà huà。 我爱画画。 ⑥She likes to run. tā xǐ huān pǎo bù。 他喜欢跑步。 tā ài pǎo bù。 他爱跑步。 ⑦He likes to cook. tā xǐ huān zuò fàn。 他喜欢做饭。 tā ài zuò fàn。 他爱做饭。 2. Negative ‘ 不bù + 喜欢x...

“两”and “二” are numerals that denote numbers, and they refer to the same number-“2”.However, the usage is not exactly the same. In daily communication, you often hear people who can't tell the difference between“两”and “二”. Today we are going to learn the usage of them. The meaning of “两”and “二” 1.the basic meaning of “二” 1）The number of nouns-2: 1+1=2 (in the notes and documents, commonly used in the capital "II" generation).eg. 一百零二（102）；贰（2） 2）pairs：独一无二（the only one） 3）others：二话不说（Without demur）；不二价（one-price） 2.the basic meaning of“两” 1）The number of nouns-2：Generally used before measure word and “个(unit)、半(half)、千(thousand)、万(ten thousand)、亿(billion)”.eg.两本书（twobooks）；两个杯子（two cups）;分成两半（Divided into two halves）；两千块（two thousand rmb） 2)both sides:马路两边（Both sides of the road） 3）Weight-50grams：四两饺子（200 grams of dumplings） 4)Indicates an indefinite number:有两下子（have real skill） The difference between“两”and “二” 1. when read as numbers or in mathe...

Are you an experienced traveler when living in China? In a trip, the most important part is to book travel tickets and hotels . Do you know how to book them in Chinese? In this article, you will learn how to buy travel tickets and hotels in Chinese! Let’s begin with some basic words and expressions. First, the most important is to know how to express the time and the date. 年nián: year 月yuè: month 号hào (日rì): date 星期xīngqī: week We just need to add numbers after “星期xīngqī” , And from Monday to Saturday, we followed the same rule as “星期 xīngqī +numbers” . Then we could know “星期一xīngqīyī ” is Monday, “星期二xīngqīèr” is Tuesday. However, “星期七xīngqīqī” is not correct, instead, we say “星期天(日)xīngqītiān(rì)”. 点diǎn: o’clock 分fēn: minute 今天jīntiān: today 明天míngtiān: tomorrow Please be aware that the order of time words is from the long one to the short one. Here are some examples: 2017年nián 6月yuè 28日rì 星期三xīngqī sān 8点diǎn 30分 fēn 今天jīntiān 10点diǎn 45分 fēn ...

There is a famous children’s rhyme or songs in China which is played in kindergarten or primary school to help Chinese kids to learn some easy English words. And it goes like ‘来lái is come, 去 qù is go, 我 is I，你 is you’. Also some Chinese learners found it easy to follow and helpful to remember the Chinese words. But do you know that 来 (lái) is so much more than ‘come’, and 去qù doesn’t just mean ‘to go’? Let’s have a look! How to use 来lái properly? 1. First of all, the most common meaning is ‘to come’, just as it’s sung in the children’s rhyme. A: Mǎlì lái gōngsī le ma ？ 　玛丽来公司了吗？ 　Did Mary come to the office ? B: Tā yǐjīng lái le. 　她已经来了。 　Yes, she already came.   2. Also 来lái can be placed before or after another verb. -when it is before another verb； Wǒ lái kàn nǐ. 我来看你。I (will come to) visit you. Wǒ lái bāng nǐ. 我来帮你。I (will come to) help you. In these cases, actually we don’t need to translate the word 来 as ‘come’, and it indicates that the action will...

As individuals in the society, it’s difficult for us to deal with all affairs without any help. Especially in China, people take pleasure in helping others with a long period’s tradition. Hence, when you meet some problems or difficulties that cannot be solved by yourself, it’s better to ask for people’s help, which is the fastest way to figure out your problems. It will be much easier to be accepted that asking people for help with a polite and gentle way, or it seems that you may not only fail to get what you want, but also get snubbed in the end, considering if you are in China. Here we present 3 basic steps when asking strangers for help in Chinese direction: 1. Greetings to whom you asking: 　 nín hǎo, xiān shēng, bào qiàn dǎ rǎo yí xià。 　您好，先生，抱歉打扰一下。 　 (Hello, excuse me, sir.) 2. Introduce yourself briefly and explain your problems with polite ways: A: wǒ shì yì míng měi guó jiāo huàn shēng, qǐng wèn hàn qiáo xué xiào zěn me zǒu? 　 我是一名美国交换生，请问汉桥学校怎么走？ 　 ...

In the course of climbing the corporate ladder, or of just managing the little corner of the world you occupy, you have to communicate with people. Especially in a Chinese business occasion, how to successfully leave your potential customer a good impression and it is very important to have a good start. Here are some expressions may be helpful in starting a nice business conversation in Chinese: First, let's learn some basic Chinese business vocabulary: 您好！nín hǎo！ ——an polite way to say hello 公司 Gōnɡ Sī ——company 经理 Jīnɡ Lǐ ——manager 总经理 Zǒnɡ Jīnɡ Lǐ ——general manager 秘书 Mì Shū ——secretary 先生 Xiān Shenɡ ——Mr./sir 小姐 Xiǎo Jiě ——Miss. 叫 jiào —— to be named 请问 Qǐnɡ Wèn —— may I ask 贵姓 ɡuì xìnɡ ——an polite way ask family name 名片 mínɡ piàn ——name card 打电话 dǎ diàn huà ——make a phone call 电话号码 diàn huà hào mǎ ——phone number 多少 Duō Shǎo —— how many/how much 很高兴见到你！hěn ɡāo xìnɡ jiàn dào nǐ ！ ——nice to meet you! 终于 Zhōnɡ Yú ——finally 初次 Chū Cì...

There are many websites on the internet to help Chinese learners to learn Chinese freely. Here are four useful websites for you to learn Chinese characters online free. I’ve heard so many complaints about how difficult Chinese characters are. When I really realized that Chinese characters are difficult to foreigners is after I started to learn Korean. I found that you can read all the Korean characters after learned the 21 vowels and 19 consonants while in Chinese, you can’t. Also, you can guess how to spell the word after hearing the pronunciation of an English word. However, for Chinese, you have to study the Pinyin, what’s more, you can’t write out Chinese according to its pronunciation for there has no connection between the sound and character. If you are also being frustrated by writing in the process of Chinese learning, I hope these websites can help you: http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/e-book/chinese_characters This website, creating by Hanbridge Mandarin, offers various ...

To wish someone well is very important in our daily life. It is vital to build and maintain social relationships. It makes people feel happy and warm. This article will show you how to wish someone well in Chinese. First, you could start with “ 祝你 zhù nǐ ” when wishing someone well, which means “I wish you...”. For example, “ 祝你生日快乐 zhù nǐ shēnɡrì kuàilè ”. And here are some types of wishing situations. Wishing a Happy Birthday 生日快乐 Shēnɡrì kuàilè：Happy birthday If it is an elder’s birthday, we usually wish them a long life and good health. 身体健康 Shēntǐ jiànkānɡ：Wish you good health 长命百岁 Chánɡmìnɡ bǎisuì：Wish you longevity 福如东海 Fú rú dōnɡhǎi：May your happiness flows like the endless water of the Great Eastern Sea “ 福如东海 Fú rú dōnɡhǎi ” comes from an old story. Long time ago, one of years in Hainan Island, there was a serious drought and terrible famine sweeping all around the village. A boy with kindness lived in this village named Ahan coincidentally helped the third...

Father’s Day (父亲节-fu qin jie) is the third Sunday in June, this year Father’s Day falls on June the 18th, a day to thank all of the grate fathers of the world. There are 52 countries who celebrate Father’s day, although it is not officiated by the government, Chinese people celebrate it every year, because it is a kind of traditional ethic which is to respect elderly and our parents. There are some useful Chinese vocabulary and phrases to celebrate Father’s Day: Father’s Day (父亲节—fù qīn jié) Father （父亲—fù qīn） Dad （爸爸—bà ba） Happy Father’s Day （父亲节快乐—fù qīn jié kuài lè） Gift （礼物—lǐ wù） Greeting card （贺卡—hè kǎ） I love you, Dad. （我爱你，爸爸—wǒ ài nǐ ，bà ba） Here are some questions: nǐ zěn me ɡuò fù qīn jié ？ 你怎么过父亲节？ How do you celebrate Father’s day? nǐ xiǎng sóng bà ba shé me lǐ wù ？ 你想送爸爸什么礼物？ What gift would you like to give to your father? sóng tā yī tiáo lǐng dài？yī kuài shǒu biǎo？zì jǐ gěi bà ba zuó yī dùn fàn ？ 送他一条领带？一块手表？自己给爸爸做一顿饭？ Give him a tie? a ...

Has your house in China already been decorated? Is it well-content for you? Or do you plan to do some decorations? If you do so, it's a goood choice to know some Chinese expressions about interior decoration because good communications are really necessary when dealing with the interior decoration. If you couldn’t communicate well with the designers, your house may become the last place you want to stay. But please don’t worry. I’m right here preparing to help you. In this article, we will learn some expressions about interior decoration. And I will tell you something interesting about when Chinese decorate their house. First, let’s learn some basic words. 室内shìnèi : interior 装修zhuāngxiū : to decorate, decoration 平面图píngmiàn tú : ground plan 层céng : floor, storey Here we often use “第dì” , a word used before the numbers . “第dì+ number” is ordinal number. For exmaple, “第一dìyī” means “the first”. So“第一层dìyīcéng” means “ground floor”. 墙qiáng : wall 窗chuāng : windows ...

This year Mother’s Day (母亲节 – mǔ qīn jié) falls on May 14, a day to celebrate all of the wonderful moms of the world. However, this is a fairly recent celebration, and there is a saying, "Mother’s Day” is the day you go back home.” Even though it originated in the United States, Chinese people accept Mother’s Day without hesitation because it is in line with the country’s traditional ethics – respect for the elderly and filial piety towards parents. To help you celebrate Mother’s Day in Chinese, here’s some useful vocabulary and phrases: Mother’s Day (母亲节 – mǔ qīn jié) mother (母亲 – mǔ qīn) mom (妈妈 – mā mā) Happy Mother’s Day (母亲节快乐 – mǔ qīn jié kuài lè) gift (礼物 – lǐ wù) I love you (妈妈, 我爱你. – māmā, wǒ ài nǐ) Then, here come the questions: How do you celebrate Mother’s Day? 你怎么庆祝母亲节？ Nǐ zěnme qìngzhù mǔqīn jié? What gift would you like to give to your mom? 你想送给妈妈什么礼物? nǐ xiǎng sòng gěi māma shénme lǐwù? 一束康乃馨？一盒巧克力？请妈妈吃晚饭？ yī shù kāngnǎixīn? y...

Have you been a guest at a traditional Chinese wedding? Even if you are married to a Chinese person, here are some fun facts and vocabulary about weddings in China. Before the introduction of Chinese wedding rituals, let’s have a look at these basic words related to a wedding: hūnlǐ 婚礼 wedding ceremony jiéhūn 结婚 to get married xīnniáng 新娘 bride xīnláng 新郎 groom bànniáng 伴娘 bride’s maid bànláng 伴郎 best man of a wedding Ex: Xiǎo Wáng hé Lì Lì yào jiéhūn le, tāmen de hūnlǐ zài xiàge yuè. Xiǎo Wáng qǐng wǒ dāng tāde bànláng, Lì Lì yě qǐng tāde mèimei dāng bànniáng. 小王和丽丽要结婚了，他们的婚礼在下个月。小王请我当他的伴郎，丽丽也请她的妹妹当伴娘。 Xiao Wang and Lili are getting married, and their wedding is next month. Xiao Wang has invited me to be his best man, and Lili also has asked her younger sister to be her maid of honor. There are eight major steps for a traditional Chinese wedding: the proposal, birthday matching, marriage divination, betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, the dowry, welcoming...

What is a homophone? Don’t be scared by the technical term! It is simply two or more words that share the same Chinese pronunciation but with different meanings. Since Chinese is a tonal language which has only about 400 phonetic syllables, it is fairly common to encounter words with similar pronunciation, but with different meanings and different characters. Today, let’s take a look at the interesting ones. We’ll start with the funny numbers homophones, which are frequently used when people are sending a message on their phone or online. And some of the number homophones might seem a bit odd and you’ll probably think ‘that number doesn’t sound anything like it’, but most of them are interesting and also useful. 1. Two: 2 (èr) -- 爱 (ài): the number two -- 2 (èr) sounds a little bit like ài 爱, which means love, so when you say 520 (wǔ èr líng), it means "I love you" in Chinese as 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ). 2. Three: 3Q (sān q) – 3 is pronounced as sān and has a similar pronunciati...

I believe I am Born as the bright summer flowers Do not withered undefeated fiery demon rule ——Tagore Could you hear the sound of fascinating voice with who stepping on the amazing samba, which comes a pretty lady named Summer (夏天-xià tiān). Summer is a season full of passion and vigor as the bright summer flower blooming even on the edge. There are thousands of works to praise the summer created by numerous grand authors and poets all around the world. Chinese people also enjoy themselves during the summer time even though bearing the high temperature. Given that you may would like to have a further mind of summers in China, here presented some Chinese vocabularies and phrases about summer. Firstly, here are some words to describe feelings about summer: hot: 热（rè） cool: 凉爽（liáng shuǎng） sweating: 流汗（chū hàn） suntanned: 晒黑（shài hēi） air-condition: 空调（kōng tiáo） fan: 风扇（fēng shàn） Then let’s see some flowers and kinds of food in summer: lotus: 荷花（hé huā） sunflowe...

Hi there, I know you are a busy businessman or businesswoman who wants to make the best of your time and doesn’t want to waste it by reading some boring and meaningless article. Then, this text is specially written for you! Let’s check it out how to talk about working arrangement with people in Chinese! First things first: you need to know these key words and expressions: Company - gōngsī 公司 Supplier - gòngyìngshāng 供应商 Assistant - zhùlǐ 助理 General manager - zǒng jīnglǐ 总经理 Schedule - rìchéng biǎo 日程表 Email box- yóuxiāng 邮箱 To check email - kàn yóujiàn 看邮件 Supplier - gòngyìngshāng供应商 Assistant - zhùlǐ助理 General manager - zǒng jīnglǐ 总经理 Schedule - rìchéng biǎo 日程表 Email box- yóuxiāng 邮箱 Email - yóu jiàn邮件 To check email - kàn yóujiàn看邮件 To have a meeting - kāihuì 开会 To meet a client - jiàn kèhù 见客户 To visit a factory - cānguān gōngchǎng 参观工厂 To invite a client to eat - qǐng kèhù chīfàn 请客户吃饭 To sign a contract - qiān hétóng 签合同 Do remember, when you t...

Today, we focus on one of the challenges for Thai students learning Chinese: tone problems. Below we offer some solutions. Chinese is a tonal language. Tone is one of the phonetic units, and its proper use can distinguish word meanings. The four tones are the most important phonemes of the Mandarin speech system, so understanding the significance of tones is one of the first steps in learning to speak Chinese. Thai is also a tonal language, and it has five tones. So the tone is not unfamiliar to Thai students. However, Chinese people's pitch range is relatively large, whereas Thailand's pitch range is relatively small. This may also be related to the Thai culture, as speaking softly is considered polite. The tone errors that Thai students typically make are tone one and tone four errors, where the first tone is not high enough, and the forth tone too long. 1)Yin ping (55): it is easy for Thai students to pronounce the first sound, but the tone pitch is between 3 and 4. It i...

Chengyu, also called “set phrases,” is a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression , most of which consist of four Chinese characters . Chengyu were widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in writing and spoken language. There are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language. The idioms came from Chinese classical books and records and folk colloquial language. Chinese idioms, most of which are made of four characters, can tell or explain a fact, an argument or a metaphor. Chinese idioms are short but can convey deep thoughts, so they will, if used properly in a conversation or literature, make the words more persuasive and vivid. The meaning of a chengyu usually surpasses the sum of the meanings carried by the four characters. As chengyu are often linked with an ancient myth, story or historical fact and do not follow the usual grammatical structure and syntax of the modern Chinese spoken language, they increases the difficulty of complete understanding and pro...

There are two ways to express your mood: facial expression and spoken language. Whether you feel happy or angry, it’s important to speak it out to share your happiness or express your anger. Now, let’s learn some words to express your mood in Chinese together! Modern psychology divides mood into four types: 快乐、愤怒、悲哀、恐惧。 kuài lè 快乐: Pleasure gāo xìng 高兴: Pleased kāi xīn 开心: Joyful huān lè 欢乐: Delighted yú kuài 愉快: Pleasant The meaning of these words are similar for they all are used to describe someone feeling happy. But ‘欢乐’ and ‘愉快’ are more frequently used to describe that a subject or an event is pleasant. wǒ jīn tiān hěn kāi xīn ，yīn wéi jīn tiān shì wǒ de shēng rì 。 我今天很开心，因为今天是我的生日。 I feel so happy today because today is my birthday . hěn gāo xìng néng gòu zài shēn zhèn hé nǐ men jiàn miàn 。 很高兴能够在深圳和你们见面。 It’s a pleasure to meet you in Shenzhen. wǒ men dù guò le yī gè huān lè de liù yī ér tóng jiē 。 我们度过了一个欢乐的六一儿童节。 We had a fun and delightful Children's Day...

Proper pronunciation is key in language learning. So, today, we focus on some common challenges faced by Korean learners of Mandarin and offer some solutions. 1．Consonants A). The two sounds "p" and "f" are confusing, such as "eat" (chī fàn) read as (chī pàn), "fat" (fā pàng) read as (pā pàng) or (fā fàng) and so on. B). "Z, c, s" "and zh ch sh" are easily confused, such as "sleep" (shuì jiào) read as (suì jiào), passport "(hù zhào) is read as (hù zào), and get up (qǐ chuáng) is read as (qǐ cuáng). C). "R" and "l" are easy to confuse, such as "Japan" (rì běn), is read as (1ì běn). D). "F" and "h" are also easily confused, as in "like" (xǐ huān) but read as (xǐ fuān). E). "X" and "j" are easy to mispronounce, such as "school" (xué xiào), read as (xué jiào). 2. Vowel problems A). When "j, q, x, y" and ...

Today, we focus on the challenges that Thai students face in learning Chinese and suggest some solutions. In the Chinese vowel system, except for the zero initials, the other finals only appear after initials. But in the Thai language, vowels can occur in front of, behind, above, and under initials. In addition, the Thai language also includes short and long sounds. So, Thai speakers’ problems in learning Chinese speech occur mainly in two areas. The first area is made up of the consonants “Zh, Sh, R, Z, C.” These sounds do not exist in the 42 consonants of the Thai language, so the sound is very strange for Thai students; to grasp this kind of sound is very difficult. The second problem is comprised of the vowels “ü[y], ei[ei], and ie[iε].” These three finals also do not exist among Thai vowels, so Thai speakers often make mistakes in learning these vowels. 1. Problems with finals 1)1)When Thai students learn Chinese, they often misread “ua and uo.” Sometimes they read ua as uo, ...

Today, we focus on the consonants problems of the Thai students in learning Chinese and put forward some specific solutions. The Chinese language in Thailand has got more and more wide application in all walks of life. learning Chinese language has been clearly affirmed and vigorously promoted by the Thai government. more and more people are learning Chinese in Thailand now. However, when Thai people speak Chinese, they form a kind of different pronunciation features, which is influenced by the mother language. Today, we will learn the difference between Chinese and Thai, then to analysis the errors. 1. The Chinese and Thai consonants comparison (A)The same sounds (Chinese has, Thai has, 14) (B)The different sounds (Chinese has, Thai doesn’t have, 8) 2. The errors of initial （A）Pronounce the Chinese voiceless into voiced. Pronounce b[p] into [b]; d [t] into [d]. eg. pronounce大家dà jiā[tĄ4 tɕiĄ 1]into[dĄ4 tɕiĄ 1]; 青岛 qīng dǎo [tɕʻ iŋ1 tɑu3 ] into [tɕʻ iŋ1 dɑu3 ]. (B)prono...

With 145 million online shoppers, it is projected that China will become the world’s most valuable e-commerce market within four years. The forecast is that by 2017 Chinese people will each be spending $2,000 a year, about twice what Americans spend online now. So the market is booming, and lots of companies are starting e-commerce and trying to expand their online market share. Today’s article will teach you some words on this topic! E-commerce E-commerce involves several steps before you seal the deal, so these are the words you may see and use: E-commerce 电子商务 diàn zǐ shāng wù function 性能 xìng néng internet 网络 wǎng luò quality 质量 zhì liàng web page 网页 wǎng yè        wholesale price 批发价 pī fā jià payment 付款 fù kuǎn retail price 零售价 líng shòu jià credit card 信用卡 xìn yòng kǎ client 顾客 gù kè enter account 输入账号 shū rù zhàng hào profit 利润 lì rùn to wire the money 汇款 huì kuǎn cost 成本 chéng běn purchase 购买 gòu mǎi to negotiate 谈判...

Unlike English or other alphabetic languages, Chinese words and phrases sometimes cannot be translated as their literal meaning indicates because many Chinese characters carry more than one meaning. So I believe this is somehow frustrating when you first learn Chinese. But no worries! There is only a small number of them! And today, I will show you the five most interesting ones with no English equivalent. 1. 老外 lǎo wài When you arrived in China, this word might have been the most common Chinese word that Chinese people said when they saw you. The literal meaning of “lǎowài” is “old outside.” This word was first believed to carry a negative meaning when describing foreigners. But as time goes by, it has turned out to be a more and more positive and common word, even a cute nickname for foreigners. So next time, when Chinese people call you lǎowài, don’t get mad! 2. 吃醋 chīcù If you have a Chinese girlfriend or boyfriend, then this word might be very useful! The literal mean...