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Top 8 Words for Qingming Festival, the Tomb Sweeping Holiday in China

By on March 26, 2013 in Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

This year’s Qingming Festival (清明节 － qīng míng jié) falls on April 4th, 2013. For those of you unfamiliar with the 2,500 plus years of tradition behind this holiday, it’s all about tomb sweeping, spring outings and kite flying. Check out this video & you’ll learn more. What distinguishes this festival from the others is [...]

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Top 8 Valentine’s Day Phrases List

By on February 13, 2013 in Beginner Chinese, Chinese Vocab Word Lists, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Oh that time where no matter where you go, you see red hearts, chocolate and flowers! Well, whether it makes you smile and excited or ready to curl into bed with some ice cream, you can’t be caught without these must know phrases for Valentine’s Day.   Check it out!   8. 丘比特 (qiū bǐ tè): [...]

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The 14 Chinese Heart Phrases With No Valentine’s Day Expiry Date

By on February 11, 2013 in Beginner Chinese, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Have you realized how many phrases have “heart” in them? Know something by heart, wear you heart on your sleeve, get to the heart of the matter .. just to name a few. Though in these expressions “heart” isn’t meant literally (as in the organ), it’s quite interesting how it can be used in so [...]

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6 Snake Phrases for the Year of the Snake

By on February 7, 2013 in Essential Chengyu, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

2013 is the year of the Snake (蛇 – shé)!   Contrary to western belief, the snake in Chinese culture doesn’t represent trickery, deceit or evil. Instead, astrologically speaking, the snake is the yin to the dragon’s yang, the PB to the dragon’s J. The snake represents elegance, grace, wisdom and beauty. It is a lucky sign that carries good fortune [...]

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Top 10 Chinese New Year’s Words

By on February 4, 2013 in Advanced Chinese Vocab, Beginner Chinese, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

The year of the snake will be slithering our way as the year of the dragon comes to an end! There are all these customs: wearing red, eating dumplings and giving and receiving red envelopes.   Why wear red? Well, it brings good luck and wards off evil. That’s why the envelopes, decorations and signature color of Chinese [...]

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New Year’s Words

By on December 29, 2012 in Beginner Chinese, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Bring out the party favors, noise makers and prepare for the countdown on New Year’s Eve. 2012 was quite a year and to celebrate the new one (since we all made it – take that Mayans!), I’ve put a list together of the top phrases you’ll need to know for New Year’s (元旦). Besides knowing the [...]

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Gobble Up Fire Chicken & Potato Dirt: Top 8 Thanksgiving Phrases

By on November 21, 2012 in Beginner Chinese, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese

Hungry for some fire chicken? Or, are you craving delicious potato dirt with gravy on the side? While teaching about Thanksgiving (感恩节) in Shenzhen, I had many students tell me turkey was “fire chicken” and that mashed potatoes were “potato dirt!” Needless to say these kids had some creativity in trying to communicate to me [...]

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The Hot New Sacrifice for Tomb Sweeping Day: Paper iPhone

By on April 2, 2012 in Hot on Weibo

It’s almost April 4th, meaning that 清明节 (qīng míng jié), aka “Tomb Sweeping Day” is almost upon us. This is the holiday when Chinese people go back to their ancestors’ graves to pay their respects. Traditionally, people burn sacrificial offerings (祭品 - jì pǐn) — like paper money, paper houses, or even paper cars — so that their [...]

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Valentines Day, aka “Catch Your Lover Day” in China

By on February 13, 2012 in Advanced Chinese Slang

A Valentines Day billboard has Shijiazhuang residents talking: “Don’t get off track on Valentines Day — Let love return home (不要出轨情人节，让爱回家 – bú yào chū guǐ qíng rén jié ，ràng ài huí jiā).” Apparently, Valentines Day is a special day for people in monogamous relationships, but not necessarily for the reason you would expect: many [...]

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7 Chinese Idioms for the Year of the Dragon

By on January 9, 2012 in Essential Chengyu

2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Do you know what the dragon symbolizes for Chinese people? The dragon has been a sacred creature since ancient times. It is the king of beasts and represents strength, wisdom, rule, and unlimited potential. Chinese people still consider themselves descendants of the dragon. How about 7 commonly used [...]

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