Click here to download the MP3 audio of the video 中国人早餐一般喜欢吃什么？ Zhōngguórén zǎocān yībān xǐhuān chī shénme? What do Chinese people normally eat for breakfast? 早上中国人一般喜欢吃一些热的食物，比如说最受欢迎的粥类： Zǎoshang zhōngguó rén yībān xǐhuān chī yīxiē rè de shíwù, bǐrú shuō zuì shòu huānyíng de zhōu lèi: In the morning, Chinese people generally like to eat hot foods, such as porridge, which is the most popular: 大米粥，小米粥，熬得比较粘稠，早上吃会比较舒服。 dàmǐ zhōu, xiǎomǐ zhōu, áo dé bǐjiào niánchóu, zǎoshang chī huì bǐjiào shūfu. rice porridge or millet porridge, thick, and nice to eat in the morning ..read more

 Click here to download the MP3 audio 哪个季节最适合来中国旅游? Nǎge jìjié zuì shìhé lái zhōngguó lǚyóu? Which is the best season to travel in China? 大家都知道，中国的地域非常广，所以你可以在不同季节到中国的不同地区，去领略这个季节所带来的美景。 Dàjiā dōu zhīdào, zhōngguó de dìyù fēicháng guǎng, suǒyǐ nǐ kěyǐ zài bùtóng jìjié dào zhōngguó de bùtóng dìqū, qù lǐnglüè zhège jìjié suǒ dài lái de měijǐng. Everybody knows that China is very large, so you can go to different regions of China in different seasons to appreciate
the scenery in that season. 有一些地区，是四个季节都适宜来旅游的，比如说云南，广西还有海南岛。 Yǒu yīxiē dìqū, shì sì gè jìjié dōu shìyí lái lǚyóu de, bǐrú shuō Yúnn ..read more

http://www.fluentinmandarin.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/01-benefits-of-studying-chinese.mp3 Click here to download the MP3 audio 学习中文有什么好处？ Xuéxí zhōngwén yǒu shénme hǎochù? What are the benefits of learning Chinese? 首先，学习中文可以帮助你更方便地来中国旅游，体验中国的美食，美景。 Shǒuxiān, xuéxí zhōngwén kěyǐ bāngzhù nǐ gèng fāngbiàn de lái zhōngguó lǚyóu, tǐyàn zhōngguó de měishí, měijǐng. First of all, studying Chinese will make it more convenient for you to travel in China, and experience China’s fine cuisine and beautiful sights. 另外，很多人对中国文化很感兴趣，学习中文可以帮助你更深入了解中国的文化。 Lìngwài, hěnduō rén duì zhōngguó wénhuà h ..read more

In this video, I outline the basics of writing Chinese characters. In fact, there are only a handful of strokes that are used to write all the characters in Chinese. Check out the video above to find out what these basic strokes are and practise writing a few characters yourself. And if you have any questions, just leave me a comment below ..read more

People ask me all the time why I wanted to learn Chinese. Living in China, I also get this question a lot when I first start talking to people, and I often just give answers like: “Because I’m interested in the culture.” “Because I’m interested in foreign languages.” “Because I wanted to get the chance to travel the world and experience a different culture.” But when I really think about why I wanted to learn Chinese, this answers actually only scratch the surface. I was interested in the culture, and I was interested in the language itself from an academic point of view. In particular, Chines ..read more

There are a few words in Chinese that can be translated as ‘think’. I’ll explain them in this post. Some of the time, 想 (xiǎng)，觉得 (juéde) and 认为 (rènwéi) can be used interchangeably, but they do have slightly different meanings 想 means ‘think’ – referring to a thought/idea (想 also means ‘to want to’ do something or ‘miss’) 觉得 means ‘feel’ – referring to a feeling 认为 means ‘to believe that’ – referring to an opinion 我想你是对的 Wǒ xiǎng nǐ shì duì de I think you are right. 我觉得你是对的 Wǒ juéde nǐ shì duì de I feel that you are right. 想 xiǎng means ‘think’ – referring to a thought or idea 我想这件事很重要 Wǒ x ..read more

看 (kàn) can mean ‘look at’ 让我看看 Ràng wǒ kànkan Let me have a look 人老了，眼睛看不清楚了 Rén lǎo le, yǎnjīng kàn bu qīngchu le When people get old, they can longer see clearly 看 (kàn) also means ‘watch’ (sports games/TV/plays) 我喜欢看足球比赛 Wǒ xǐhuan kàn zúqiú bǐsài I like watching soccer/football games. 你看过《星球大战》吗？ Nǐ kànguo xīngqiú dàzhàn ma? Have you seen Star Wars? 看 (kàn) also means ‘read’ (books) 你喜欢看什么书？ Nǐ xǐhuan kàn shénme shū? What books do you like to read? 你看过韩寒的书吗？ Nǐ kànguo Hánhán de shū ma? Have you read any books by Han Han? 看 (kàn) can also means ‘visit’ (often friends/relatives ..read more

‘Can’ or ‘be able to’ is an easy verb to translate in many languages, but in Chinese it is not so simple. There are 4 words/ways to translate the idea of ‘being or not being able to do something’ in Chinese depending on the sentence: 1. Using a verb complement 2. 会 huì 3. 可以 kěyǐ 4. 能 néng 1. Using a verb complement In this case, you normally have a verb + 得 (when you can do it) or 不 (when you can’t do it) + the result of the verb. I explain this in detail in another video. For example: 我听得懂 Wǒ tīng de dǒng I can understand 我听不懂 Wǒ tīng bu dǒng I can’t understand 2. You often use 会 to mean ‘k ..read more

想 (xiǎng), 要 (yào) and 想要 (xiǎng yào) in Chinese are confusing to a lot of people, because they do mean similar things. However, each one is used differently, so let’s clear up the differences Use 要 (yào) when you are saying that you ‘want’ something physical or an object 我要一瓶啤酒 Wǒ yào yī píng píjiǔ I want a bottle of beer. 我要那个 Wǒ yào nàge I want that one. In these situations, you can also use 想要 (xiǎng yào) ‘would like’, which is slightly ‘softer’ 我想要一瓶啤酒 Wǒ xiǎng yào yī píng píjiǔ I would like a bottle of beer. 我想要那个 Wǒ xiǎng yào nàge I would like that one. 想 (xiǎng) is used with a verb to ..read more

There are normally two words that you use for ‘know’ in Chinese, depending on the situation: 知道 zhīdào and 认识 rènshi 认识 rènshi normally means to know of a person or a place, or (be able to) recognise 你认识路吗？nǐ rènshi lù ma? Do you know the way? 你认识多少字？Nǐ rènshi duōshao zì? How many characters do you know/recognise? 你们在哪里认识的？Nǐmen zài nǎlǐ rènshi de? How do you know each other? 知道 zhīdào normally means ‘know of’, ‘know about’ or ‘know a fact 我不认识他，但是我知道他 wǒ bù rènshi tā, dànshì wǒ zhīdào tā I don’t know him, but I know of him. 你知道飞机场怎么走吗？ Nǐ zhīdào fēijīchǎng zěnme zǒu ma? Do you know how to ge ..read more