The expressions “高高兴兴” and “高兴高兴” both come from the same word: “高兴,” or “happy.” Despite this, they are still different in both meaning and in the way they’re used.
0 comments - 1632 views - Sun, nov 08 11:28 2009
If you go to your friend’s home and find that it’s really tidy and clean, you may say something like “你家太干净了!” Be careful not to forget that little “了” on the end, though (“你家太干净!”), as doing so would change your praise into a complaint.
0 comments - 1336 views - Fri, oct 23 19:08 2009
Industrious people？
Conceited people？
0 comments - 1155 views - Fri, oct 23 19:00 2009
At times, it can be hard to know whether to use “常常” or “往往,” as both words can be used to describe something that happens frequently or often.
0 comments - 1964 views - Fri, oct 23 18:22 2009
"偷偷 (tōutōu)," "悄悄 (qiāoqiāo)," and "暗暗 (ànàn)" are all adverbs used to describe an action you want to keep to yourself or not let others know about.
0 comments - 1216 views - Fri, sep 25 17:22 2009
When two words have similar meanings it can be easy to mix them up. Sometimes this makes no difference and won't change the meaning of a sentence. Other times, mixing up two words can change the meaning entirely and leave the speaker in a rather embarrassing situation.
0 comments - 748 views - Fri, sep 25 17:16 2009
In some cases the words “感动 (ɡǎn dònɡ)” and “激动 (jī dònɡ)” can be easily confused.
0 comments - 949 views - Thu, aug 27 13:36 2009
Knowing what to say and saying the right thing is important when communicating. A slight mispronunciation in Chinese could result in expressing something opposite of what you want to say. Don't Let This Happen to You highlights some of the common pronunciation mistakes that people make.
1 comments - 784 views - Tue, aug 11 10:10 2009
Knowing what to say and saying the right thing is important when communicating. A slight mispronunciation in Chinese could result in expressing something opposite of what you want to say. Don't Let This Happen to You highlights some of the common pronunciation mistakes that people make.
0 comments - 776 views - Fri, jul 31 13:44 2009
Idioms and Slang
喝西北风
"喝西北风" literally means to breathe the northwest wind. This phrase describes a straitened circumstance where there's nothing to eat but the wind. There are different stories attributed as the origin of this habitual phrase: one story suggests that "喝西北风" advocates the ideal state of a Taoist: living solely by breathing air; another story suggests that in China, the northwest wind is the most frigid wind during winter, breathing this wind while having nothing to eat further exacerbate the pain of hunger and cold.
Functional Expressions
Forms of Addres...
Within families, adults are rarely referred to by their given names. Rather, the relationship is stressed, so each member is known by this connection. Thus, there is big sister, second sister, third sister and so on. These connections are also distinguished by what side of the family they are on. Generally speaking though, the family title is only used when the relative being called is older than caller. It is considered highly inappropriate and sometimes extremely offensive if a person from a younger generation calls someone from an older generation by his/her given name. Younger relatives are normally only called by their relational title in formal situations. Children can be called by their given name, or their parents may use their nickname.
Language Arcade
Auspicious Chin...
In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious because their pronunciation is similar to auspicious words. As a result, numbers that have similar pronunciation as auspicious words are viewed by people as lucky numbers that can bring them good fortune.
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