They say you can learn a lot about a person from their handwriting. Graphologists suggest that they can interpret emotions, mindsets and even environments, just from studying someone’s scrawl. So what about writers of Chinese? Is the same true for them? We’re more about the language and less about the writing if we are being(…)
17 Translated Signs Gone Wrong
Since us native English speakers have decided that English is the most important language in the world, you would think we would be a little kinder to those choosing to learn our language. When instead, we titter, mock, and joyfully repeat every single mistake learners make for the amusement of ourselves and other natives—or take(…)
Why Does it Seem Like My Mandarin Gets Better After a Few Drinks?
Based on anecdotal evidence from popular media, it’s widely believed that alcohol improves the ability to speak in a foreign language, ostensibly due to the anxiety-reducing effects of booze itself. Based on personal experience, a couple of drinks goes a long way toward loosening my tongue no matter what language I’m speaking. I’m currently on(…)
Taipei Night Markets 101, Part 1: A Brief Introduction
Depending on your perspective, Taipei’s night markets are either popular tourist destinations or mundane features of everyday life. The stereotypical Taipei night market (yèshì 夜市) is a combination of North American farmer’s market, flea market, and low-budget amusement arcade, while sharing similarities with a souk (Arabian Peninsula), bazaar (Middle East), mercado (Spain), tianguis (Mexico), and/or palengke(…)
4 Great Reasons to Learn Chinese
You may have already heard that Chinese is taking over the world! With over a billion people speaking Chinese all around the globe, this is an incredibly widespread tongue. When even Mark Zuckerberg decides to try his hand at learning Chinese, you know there must be something to it. After all, Chinese is quickly becoming(…)
Difficult Languages, Big Payouts
In today’s economy, it’s difficult to get any kind of edge in the job market. It seems like the only way to get some experience is to get a job, and the only way to get a job is to have a tonne of experience. While trapped in your grandma’s basement, waiting for your ship(…)
How Many Chinese Languages Do You Speak? Wait, What?
To complete our introduction to Chinese, our final article about this fascinating language is concerning Chinese dialects. Mandarin is spoken by around 955 million people the world over. That is an astonishing amount of people all speaking the same tongue. Compare that to English, which is often thought to be the most spoken language in(…)
Chinese: A Brief History
你好! 你好吗? (Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ hǎo ma? Or if you prefer pinyin, the Romanisation of standard Chinese, or Mandarin). We are of course saying hello, how are you? With the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and an ever increasing amount of Chinese investment overseas, is it any wonder that the number of schools in(…)
5-Minute Guide to Beijing
Since hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing has soared to a top destination for pleasure travel. Additionally, in the last decade the Chinese capital has become an important city for international business due to the growing Chinese economy and its political power. Beijing is a massive city with more than 12 million inhabitants and a(…)
10 Things You Should Know Before Studying Abroad In China
You may be nervous about studying abroad in China, thanks to the vastly different language and culture. But don’t let that stop you! These days, there are so many opportunities to study in China, and your experience living in this growing world power will open up many doors for your future. Not least, the ability(…)
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