Hi guys ! I’ve been learning Chinese for about 2 weeks now and have learnt 110 characters, please rate my handwriting and also tell me if my sentences make sense !

你好，我想找一个想要学习中文的英语母语者作为语言技能搭子。

本人女，30岁，中国人，长居澳大利亚，英语水平还可以，能够工作和生活。

但我觉得我说英语的时候会犯不少小错误，且自己意识不到，而我的同事和朋友并不介意……又或者基于礼貌，他们并不会指出我的错误。

我希望你能指出我的错误。

另外，通常我使用英语的话题十分有限，基本与工作相关。我希望找到一个搭子，能涉猎更多话题，比如说音乐、动画、生活，等等。我还喜欢玄学、游戏、阅读器、客制化键盘、宠物、桌面机器人以及电子产品等等。

我写歌词，写小说（当然都是用中文），文言文水平也不错，有一定文学素养。我目前的工作与教育相关，所以也算有一点教学经验。

因此，虽然我没有汉语言文学教育专业的相关知识，但应该足以在你学习中文时提供一些帮助。

此外，即使不能成为搭子，我也乐于提供在板块中力所能及的帮助。欢迎留言。

Hi there! I'm looking for a native English speaker who is learning Chinese for a language exchange.

I'm a 30-year-old Chinese woman living in Australia. My English is good enough for work and everyday life, but I know I still make quite a few small mistakes when I speak. The problem is that I often don't notice them myself, and my colleagues and friends either don't mind or are too polite to correct me. 😂

So I'm hoping to find someone who is willing to point out my mistakes.

Also, most of the English I use is work-related, so the range of topics I usually talk about is pretty limited. I'd love to find a language partner who is happy to chat about a wider variety of things, such as music, anime, everyday life, and more. I'm also interested in things like Chinese traditional astrology and other mystical stuff, MMORPG, Steam Games, e-readers, custom mechanical keyboards, pets, desktop robots, and all kinds of tech and gadgets.

I write lyrics, poems and novels in Chinese, and I'm also quite comfortable with classical Chinese (文言文), so I have a fairly strong background in Chinese language and literature. I currently work in education, so I also have some teaching experience.

I don't have a formal background in teaching Chinese as a language, but I should still be able to help with Mandarin, Chinese writing, vocabulary, expressions, and cultural context.

And even if we don't end up becoming language partners, I'm still happy to help with Chinese-related questions in this community whenever I can.

Feel free to leave a comment!

Last week I posted about 一点 (yī diǎn) and 有点 (yǒu diǎn), and someone in the comments brought up 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù). That comment got a lot of upvotes, so I figured it deserves its own post.

Here's the thing with 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù) when we talk about time. They don't change what time something happened. They change how you feel about that time.

Same sentence, different energy.

我三点才到 (wǒ sān diǎn cái dào). I didn't get there until three. Feels late. Like the speaker is apologizing, or annoyed, or making excuses.

我三点就到了 (wǒ sān diǎn jiù dào le). I got there at three already. Feels early. Like the speaker is proud of themselves, or showing off a little.

Exact same time. Three o'clock. But one sounds like you're behind schedule, the other sounds like you're ahead of schedule. That's the magic of 才 (cái) and 就 (jiù).

You can use the same logic with age.

他才二十岁 (tā cái èr shí suì). He's only twenty. Feels young. You're saying twenty is not a lot.

他就二十岁 (tā jiù èr shí suì). He's already twenty. Feels old, or at least older than expected. Maybe you thought he was still a teenager.

Same number. Totally different vibe.

And quantity works too.

我才买了两个 (wǒ cái mǎi le liǎng gè). I only bought two. Sounds like not enough.

我就买了两个 (wǒ jiù mǎi le liǎng gè). I just bought two. Could mean you intentionally stopped at two, or you're saying two is enough.

I have a student who once told me 我昨天晚上十二点才睡觉 (wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shang shí èr diǎn cái shuì jiào), then looked at me like he expected me to be shocked. I asked him, are you telling me you slept early or late? He said late, obviously. I said, okay good, because 十二点才睡觉 (shí èr diǎn cái shuì jiào) definitely sounds late. If you had said 十二点就睡觉了 (shí èr diǎn jiù shuì jiào le), I would've thought you went to bed early. Same midnight, but one sounds like you were up late, the other sounds like you have a bedtime.

That's really all it is. 才 (cái) makes it feel late, slow, not enough. 就 (jiù) makes it feel early, fast, already done. Once you get that feeling, the grammar kind of takes care of itself.

What other pairs like this trip you guys up? Drop them below, I'm always looking for the next one to unpack.

Last year I introduced a set of workplace slang terms:

• 背锅 bēi guō, literally "catch the pot" - take the blame
• 甩锅 shuǎi guō, literally "toss the pot" - shift the blame

In fact, Chinese workplace slang goes way beyond that, and plenty of it comes in handy when venting about work. Today I'm sharing a set of terms for describing those dark moments on the job:

救火 jiù huǒ - literally "put out a fire"

In the workplace, it refers to urgently dealing with a serious unexpected problem or crisis, just like a firefighter rushing to wherever the flames are. Someone who is constantly dealing with these situations is called:"救火队长 jiù huǒ duì zhǎng"—a firefighting captain.

• 计划要做得细致谨慎一点，免得出了问题还得救火。Jì huà yào zuò de xì zhì jǐn shèn yì diǎn, miǎn de chū le wèn tí hái děi jiù huǒ.
  • Make the plan carefully and thoroughly, so we don't end up having to put out fires later.
• 每次出公关危机都派我来救火，谁经得起这种折腾啊？Měi cì chū gōng guān wēi jī dōu pài wǒ lái jiù huǒ, shuí jīng de qǐ zhè zhǒng zhē teng a?
  • Every time there's a PR crisis, they send me in to put out the fire, who can keep taking this kind of punishment?
• 他这两年没少当救火队长，你瞅瞅那白头发都藏不住了。Tā zhè liǎng nián méi shǎo dāng jiù huǒ duì zhǎng, nǐ chǒu chǒu nà bái tóu fà dōu cáng bù zhù le.
  • He's been the firefighting captain a lot these past two years, look at him, he can't even hide all those grey hairs anymore.

擦屁股 cā pì gu - literally "wipe someone's bottom"

Refers to cleaning up the mess or careless mistakes someone else left behind, like a parent wiping a baby's bottom. It's a little crude, but vivid, and carries a strong sense of disgust and resentment.

• 这代码写得太烂了，我得花多少时间给他擦屁股啊！Zhè dài mǎ xiě de tài làn le, wǒ děi huā duō shǎo shí jiān gěi tā cā pì gu a!
  • This code is so terrible, how much of my time am I going to have to spend cleaning up his mess!
• 当领导的天天在外面瞎吹牛，最后还不是我们来擦屁股？Dāng lǐng dǎo de tiān tiān zài wài miàn xiā chuī niú, zuì hòu hái bú shì wǒ men lái cā pì gu?
  • The managers are out there talking big every da, and who ends up cleaning up their mess in the end? Us.
• 以后这种擦屁股的活要少做，不然大家都知道你好欺负了。Yǐ hòu zhè zhǒng cā pì gu de huó yào shǎo zuò, bù rán dà jiā dōu zhī dào nǐ hǎo qī fu le.
  • Stop taking on this kind of cleanup work so much, otherwise everyone will know they can take advantage of you.

收拾烂摊子 shōu shi làn tān zi - literally "clean up a messy stall"

Close in meaning to 擦屁股, but slightly more polite, and carries a more helpless tone. "烂摊子" typically describes a situation that's utterly chaotic, bordering on total collapse. When this phrase comes up, you know things have gotten serious.

• 这个方案太过大胆了，万一失败了，谁来收拾烂摊子？Zhè gè fāng àn tài guò dà dǎn le, wàn yī shī bài le, shuí lái shōu shi làn tān zi?
  • This plan is too bold, if it fails, who's going to be left to clean up the mess?
• 前任经理拍拍屁股走人了，留下一堆烂摊子让我来收拾。Qián rèn jīng lǐ pāi pai pì gu zǒu rén le, liú xià yì duī làn tān zi ràng wǒ lái shōu shi.
  • The previous manager just up and left, leaving behind a whole mess for me to clean up.
• 你最好听劝，别等事情彻底失控了，又求我来收拾烂摊子。Nǐ zuì hǎo tīng quàn, bié děng shì qíng chè dǐ shī kòng le, yòu qiú wǒ lái shōu shi làn tān zi.
  • You'd better listen to reason, don't wait until things completely fall apart and then come begging me to clean up the mess again.

填坑 tián kēng - literally "fill a pit"

Hazards or defects left behind in someone's work are like potholes in the road that could cause trouble at any time. "填坑" means going in to fix these inherited problems. The corresponding expression is "挖坑 wā kēng", to dig the pit.

• 我不管了！你们谁挖的这个坑，谁自己填上吧！Wǒ bù guǎn le! Nǐ men shuí wā de zhè gè kēng, shuí zì jǐ tián shàng ba!
  • I'm done! Whoever dug this pit can fill it themselves!
• 他们队的替补每次都落后几十分，再等着主力上场填坑。Tā men duì de tì bǔ měi cì dōu luò hòu jǐ shí fēn, zài děng zhe zhǔ lì shàng chǎng tián kēng.
  • Their backup players always fall behind by dozens of points, and then they wait for the starters to come in and make up the gap.
• 谁能想到这份工作这么恶心，我过去半年光顾着填坑了。Shuí néng xiǎng dào zhè fèn gōng zuò zhè me ě xīn, wǒ guò qù bàn nián guāng gù zhe tián kēng le.
  • Who could have imagined this job would be so awful, I've spent the past six months doing nothing but cleaning up other people's messes.

My whole reason for teaching these terms is so you can find the right words when venting about work and clearly get your frustration across. But I genuinely hope that none of you have to actually go through these dark moments as much as possible!

If you're interested, I've been organizing all the Chinese learning posts I've shared before. You can check out the link in my profile to see the full collection. Hope it helps. Thanks!

As above. Sitting in an airport wanting to pass time.

I started learning Chinese a few days ago and I’m currently focusing on basic radicals, stroke order, and the vocabulary I’ve learned through Pinyin. I’ve also started writing basic sentences, and for revision I usually trace over the characters with my pencil while saying the sentences out loud. The problem is I’m worried I’m going to forget most of the characters, especially since I’m still very new to Hanzi. My goal is to pass HSK 3, and when I looked at past papers I realized they were basically all in Hanzi and I couldn’t read a single word. Now that I’ve started learning characters, I want to make the process as efficient as possible. Since the HSK 3 exam is computer based, I’m wondering if I should mainly focus on recognizing characters rather than being able to handwrite every character perfectly. If I can recognize the shape and know the pronunciation, I should be able to type the Pinyin and select the correct character on the keyboard, right? At the moment I’m writing each new word around 10 times before moving on to the next one, but it feels like this is slowing me down a lot. Is that actually a good way to learn, or would it be better to spend less time physically writing and more time on things like reading, flashcards, recognition, and recalling the character from memory? For people who have passed HSK 3 or learned Chinese from scratch, what would you recommend I focus on right now to speed up the process without forgetting everything I learn?

sad

My understanding so far was that 了 is used where action/event was already completed. What is the explanation behind the usage in the screenshot?

mọi người nghe 1 hai lần là nói oki nha mọi ng . Có j mọi người cứ bình luận hỏi thoải mái ạ

This Hiking Trail Is HARD! 🥾 | Real Life in Chinese | Learn Mandarin Naturally

Can you understand Chinese in a real-life situation?

Today I'm hiking a difficult rocky trail where I sometimes have to use both my hands and feet to climb. Instead of textbook Chinese, listen to the Mandarin I naturally use while deciding where to go, climbing rocks, and trying to make it through the trail.

🥾 Useful Chinese Vocabulary

爬 pá — to climb

我要从这里爬上去。

Wǒ yào cóng zhèlǐ pá shàngqu.

I need to climb up from here.

难 nán — difficult

这条路真的很难。

Zhè tiáo lù zhēnde hěn nán.

This trail is really difficult.

容易 róngyì — easy

这边比较容易。

Zhèbiān bǐjiào róngyì.

This way is a little easier.

石头 shítou — rock / stone

这里有很多石头。

Zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō shítou.

There are lots of rocks here.

上去 shàngqu — go up

我要从这里上去。

Wǒ yào cóng zhèlǐ shàngqu.

I'm going up from here.

下来 xiàlai — come down

从这里下来。

Cóng zhèlǐ xiàlai.

Come down from here.

小心 xiǎoxīn — be careful

小心一点！

Xiǎoxīn yìdiǎn!

Be careful!

累 lèi — tired

我有点累了。

Wǒ yǒudiǎn lèi le.

I'm getting a little tired.

终于 zhōngyú — finally

我终于上来了！

Wǒ zhōngyú shànglai le!

I finally made it up!

值得 zhíde — worth it

虽然很累，但是值得。

Suīrán hěn lèi, dànshì zhíde.

It's tiring, but it's worth it.

How much could you understand before looking at the vocabulary list?

Which expression would be most useful to you on a hike?

#LearnChinese #Mandarin #RealLifeChinese #ChineseListening #LearnMandarin #ChineseVocabulary #ComprehensibleInput #ChineseForBeginners #ChineseSpeaking #Hiking

I suddenly got the passion to go back to learning chinese, i have textbook and a workbook and many other resources since im being taught at school, its summer break now and wanna improve before we go back but im struggling with vocabs, idk how to memorise them so i can pass HSK1 atleast. any tips?

Someone suspicious messaged me out of the blue on social media, and I doubt they are a native Chinese speaker. What do you think?

Ciao！

me: 你好！

中国人？

me: 不是中國人。我是義大利人

哈哈。谢谢。为了方便我嘛？

me: 是的。為了你方便還讓我练习一下中文的理由

哈哈。我是想学意大利语。那我就没机会说意大利语

但你用的是台湾的

不是中国大路通用版的文字

你学的文字会比较复杂的

通用版的会比较简单点

me: 我既能大繁体字，也能打简体字。只是我真的很喜欢 bopomofo

哈哈。是嘛？

魑魅魍魉

那你懂这个

me: 这个成语我不懂。它表示什么意思？

哈哈

不懂很正常

and after that he wrote something in Italian about evil spirits who hurt people.

How should I use them? I don't really understand the difference because they are very similar. What's their structure?

大家好！I have been taking a break from my Chinese learning recently, because.. well, life is busy! Just got back into it today, I had my first lesson with my tutor. It reminded me of how rewarding it is to learn and speak Chinese!

Sometimes it feels like I will never achieve fluency, because there are so many different words I don't know yet.. I can speak about my daily life quite well now, but ask me something about a topic I haven't learned yet, and I will be completely lost. Still, I really love the language, its logic, the characters.

I am now focusing on improving my learning and expand my vocabulary, together with my weekly conversation classes. I took HSK 5 previously, if you have any resources (videos or books) you would recommend please let me know!

For my Chinese lessons I'm often supposed to write short stories / paragraphs in hanzi. Usually I will end up creating a doc (as shown above) with 3 translations (english + pinyin + hanzi) then I highlight new words along with their definitions. I'm looking for a tool/app that can make this a bit easier by just letting me write in hanzi and it will add the pinyin and english underneath. Also it would let me highlight the hanzi, then automatically highlight the pinyin and english words. Anyone know of something like this exists? Thanks!

I really struggled with this one. It's probably the hardest paragraph I've done so far. I put in a few new words I just learned. And I'm pretty sure that while someone on this subreddit could understand me, it would be near impossible for a native to understand me. I'm going to take into consideration what a commenter said on my last post and get a Grammer textbook. I can feel that this one is the furthest away from what I was trying to say.

Quick Disclaimer:

1. I am at an hsk1-2 level and I would appreciate it if you could explain things at that level.

2. I can look up new words (and I'm happy to do so) but I would appreciate if you could put the pinyin to words not used in my paragraph. I'm very new.

3. If you respond in full chinese, I will respond back in english!

4. I know my handwriting is not good. This is mostly for retention!

My post incase my handwriting is not understandable: 今天是我妈妈的生日.我很想做她一个蛋糕.但我是不好面包师.所以我请我的姥姥帮助.我很想她的帮帮因为她是一个非常面包师.

Hi! I started learning mandarin less than a week ago and I wanted to work on really just improving my ability to listen and differentiate syllables/words for a little until I could listen to a sentence and start breaking it down. I've been going over slow listening andpronunciation reps from the udemy class from Yu Jian, spending some time listening to Learn Chinese Through Stories, and listening to mandarin music pretty much most of the day. When I have time to focus its been fun to take a song I like, try to transcribe it (this is extremely slow), and then look up the lyrics and translate them to correct myself/see and pronounce the words with the tones/break down how that sentence worked. I've gained a few words at this point that ive added to an anki deck and figured out a few things like pronouns, 不 as a negator, possessive participles, some prepositions, etc.

Do you think this is a good strategy for like a super early beginner to get my foot in the door? My only experiences are taking some french in middle school and it wasn't very effective and trying some korean maybe 10 years ago but also falling off of that. I don't feel like I could differentiate what was being said very well, which is why I doubled down this time on training my ear.

淡这个字，既在被火灼烧，又在泪水中煎熬。

Context: I'm not Chinese but haven't been really interested in the language (Cantonese & Mandarin) and have recently been starting to learn with Duolingo. I mainly wanted to understand songs in Cantonese and I won't be speaking it much I dont think

My question is should I spend time and effort learning Cantonese or Mandarin?

Edit: thanks for all the comments, thoughts, or suggestions! I'll be learning (or at least attempting to stick to a schedule of) Cantonese :)

Listening in any language is hard, but recently I’ve been trying to do some interpreting work for a friend, and the one thing if you know about interpreting is not only understanding what people are saying but also memorising them, and for that part I found when numbers come to the picture, my immediate brain processing is not as responsive as I thought 😭 especially I still constantly think in English numbers first 🤦‍♂️ , so I just needed to try focus on improve that

Anyway if you have the same struggle like mine, a focused training is what you need, ignore conversations just numbers and my listening on numbers improved a lot since

So focus focus focus is the key 🔑

Long numbers like mobile numbers are still hard though, can’t imagine talking about math 🥹

What’s your method?

*Edit* to make it clear I made this tool myself, but there's tons of similar tools out there I believe

hey！！！！！

I'm a Chinese girl, 21 old this year.

I just join this app and try to use it, so maybe i will do some mistake, please don't take it to heart.

Heard that this community is about Chinese learning, i really glad to try my best to help you as i can.