The greater than comparative In Chinese there are two ways to form a greater than comparative. The first, quite simply, is by inserting adjectives with an opposite meaning in a phrase. In this case, the adjectives have an intrinsic comparative value. When using this form of comparative, the intensifier 很 (hěn) – or any other …
Comparitives of greater than, equal to and less than in the Chinese language Read More »
Have you just started learning Chinese and have often heard about “Traditional Chinese” and “Simplified Chinese” and want to know what the difference is? Do you already know the language rather well and want to know more on this particular aspect of writing? Do you want to know how and when Chinese characters came to …
Simplified Characters and Traditional Characters: Differences, History and Use Read More »
As we’ve often said, to learn a foreign language it’s important to watch lots of films and listen to many songs in the original language, rather it would be better to memorize and sing them. Unfortunately, many don’t like Chinese language songs because they’re quite different than Western tastes. Fortunately for those learning Chinese, now …
Click here to discover what Chinese courses that we recommend at the moment! I have been thinking for a long time on the topic of my first article about Chinese learning. Finally I decided to make an interview to one of the first Chinese people I meet in Beijing. I’m talking about Luna, a Chinese …
Teaching Chinese to white devils: Interview to Luna Read More »
The Chinese language has a vast gamut of auxiliary modals and it isn’t at all rare to find characters that can be translated in the same way but possess shades of meaning and context and slightly different ways of use. To fully master the Chinese language it is good to examine it in detail, even …
Auxiliary modals time-related expressions in Chinese Read More »
What is the Confucius Institute? The original Chinese name for this institute is Kongzi Xueyuan, 孔子学院. The Confucius Institute is an entity that concerns itself primarily with the dissemination and promotion of the Chinese language and culture in the world through Chinese language courses, through calligraphy, through taiqi, through martial arts, as well as supplying …
Certainly one of the most curious things about the Chinese language is the writing system, with complex characters that are fascinating, often mysterious and almost magical. If you are in some degree familiar with this language you’ll have heard this question quite often – how do you write my name in Chinese? You will have …
The complement of company The complement of company indicates the person or inanimate being with which one finds in a specific circumstance or with whom one does or undergoes an action. The complement of company is introduced by the prepositions 跟 (gēn) “with”, 和 (hé) “and/ together with”. Here are a few examples: 我不跟他说了。 Wǒ …
Complements of Company, Means, Tools, Topics, and Directions Read More »
Phrases with 把 (bǎ) represent a peculiar characteristic of the Chinese language. The function of the character 把 is directly derived from classical Chinese where it had the meaning of “to take”. Now this character is used for the verb “to take” and as a classifier for objects that can be grasped or objects with …
Chinese structures with 把 (bǎ) in Chinese grammar Read More »
Which are the best Chinese language dictionaries? What type of dictionaries are available? How do you use them? If you’ve ever asked any of these questions, this article is for you! Why learn how to use a Chinese paper dictionary? We’ll speak about Chinese paper dictionaries, an indispensable tool for those learning Chinese (at least …
How to Use Chinese Paper Dictionaries – Our Guide Read More »
The topic-comment structure The topic-comment structure is perhaps one of the most difficult peculiarities of the Chinese language to master for those who aren’t Chinese. In short, the Chinese phrase can also be structured according to a sequence that is conventionally called “topic-comment”. The topic, located at the initial position of the phrase, is a …
The Topic-Comment Structure and the Direct and Indirect Objects in Chinese Read More »
In recent years, in many “western” schools teaching Chinese has been initiated and I have been fortunate to be one those who have had the chance to teach it in high schools (in Italy). I confess that I found myself taken aback since I didn’t have even a minimal idea of how to teach this …
In this article you’ll find grammatical constructions, the most important expressions and the most useful words that will help you pass the HSK exam level 4. The HSK 4 exam’s structure You’ll surely be more comfortable knowing how the exam is laid out. The HSK 4 exam is divided into 3 smaller sections: 45 listening …
In this article, after a brief introduction, you’ll find a table with 150 characters that will help you begin learning Chinese on the right foot. Stephen Krashen, an American language teacher appreciated throughout the world and also in China (Chinese name: 史蒂芬·克拉申), famous mainly for the affective filter theory and for the hypothesis on acquisition …
150 most commonly used characters to begin learning Chinese Read More »
Welcome to SDC’s Chinese level test. Before you start, it’s important that you read the instructions closely so that the test is as accurate as possible. This test has been created in collaboration with the Chinese school EsChina Space. Fill out the form to start the test! Instructions Test for levels HSK1, HSK2 and HSK3: …
To out emphasis on a small quantity, you can insert one of the following three adverbs: 只(zhǐ), 就 (jiù) and 才(cái), translatable as “only”. Here are a few examples: 今天上课的人很少，就/只/才十一个人。 jīntiān shàngkè de rén hěn shǎo, jiù/zhǐ/cái shíyī gèrén. Today there were few in class, only eleven people. 我才/只/就睡了两个小时。 Wǒ cái/zhǐ/jiù shuìle liǎng gè xiǎoshí. …
This article is a collection of all the articles on Chinese grammar that we’ve published here on this site. General characteristics of the Chinese language In this article we’ll explain what counts as so-called “Mandarin Chinese”, how many dialects are spoken in modern China, what the Chinese writing is and the word in Chinese; how …
Directional verbs In Chinese, to express movement there are essentially two ways of doing so: 1. Introducing the place with a preposition (state, movement, and so on), to then insert the appropriate movement verb: Preposition + place + movement Here are a few examples: 我到中国去。 dào zhōngguó qù. I go to China. 你到哪儿去了？ Nǐ dào …
Directional complements, verbs and prepositions in the Chinese language Read More »
Contrasting conjunctives Contrasting conjunctives express a contrast, an impediment. The most used conjunctions are: 可是 (kěshì) “but, nevertheless”，可 (kě) “but, yet”，不过 (buguò) “but, however”，但是 (dànshì) “but, nevertheless”，但 (dàn) “but, yet”，不然 (bùrán) “otherwise”，要不然 (yàoburán) “else”，否则 (fǒuzé) “otherwise”. Let’s see a few examples: 他想吃披萨，但是要减肥。 Tā xiǎng chī pīsà, dànshì yào jiǎnféi. He wanted to eat pizza but …
With this article I want to give you an extremely succinct idea of the general characteristics of Chinese lnaguage and grammar. The objective is to provide you with a starting point for studying this wonderful language. Enjoy the read! The Chinese language Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world thanks to the …
General characteristics of Chinese language and grammar Read More »
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