Mandarin

A 2021 Review of Youdao’s Language Translator Device Multilingual Dictionary Pen

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Youdao’s Dictionary Pen 3 is the most modern iteration of a smart way to increase your Mandarin learning. When I started this article a few days ago, the Dictionary Pen 2 was the only one you could actually get in the US without specially importing it. That said, either way, you can run a “pen” across a page and have a modern translation of text as well as dive into each character, word, and phrase in the block of text.… Read the rest

A Review of Zhou Xiaogeng’s “Essentials of Chinese Lexicology”

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Zhou Xiaogeng’s Essentials of Chinese Lexicology is a great vocabulary book for learning Mandarin. It focuses primarily on the rules and forms of word formation. This isn’t just a vocabulary book, and it isn’t a linguistic analysis of word formation, but it’s somewhere in between with a focus on practical learning. It’s a great tool for students of Mandarin at all levels.… Read the rest

Learning Chinese: Using the HSK

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The Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试, HSK) is a standard language test in the PRC for testing levels of standard Mandarin. While the test is largely accepted, it still has its critics and criticisms (such as being too standard). Even if you don’t bother learning for the test, knowing how the test is put together and what the levels mean can make a massive difference for learning Mandarin.… Read the rest

A Review of Paul Rouzer’s: A New Primer of Literary Chinese

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Paul Rouzer’s A New Primer of Literary Chinese is pretty much the best book of its class that I’ve seen. It covers literary Chinese for English speakers looking to learn in a self-contained package. The book does not build on any specific series and is completely standalone. By being standalone, it is suitable for pretty much any learning path. It also covers the Japanese Kanbun pronunciations as well as Korean Hanja pronunciations.… Read the rest

Common Chengyu – Part 2

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I had previously written about a couple common Chengyu (成语) and decided to follow up with some more which I have heard more commonly in speech. I plan to keep going with this series and add a few more literary Chengyu as we progress.

对牛弹琴

对牛弹琴 – dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2

This Chengyu literally translates as “playing a lute to a cow” or metaphorically in English as “casting pearls before swine”.… Read the rest

Common Chengyu – Part 1

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What Are Chengyu?

Chengyu (成语 – Cheng2 yu3) are fixed phrases used in Chinese which typically (but not always) consist of 4 characters. Most of these phrases are based on stories from literature or history. Chengyu tend to be literary or classical Chinese rather than modern Chinese which can make them a little bit harder to understand or remember when starting out.… Read the rest