Tag Archives: Chinese
Telephone Interpreting Resources — Low-English Alphabet for Chinese Speakers
I have been taking a lot of telephone interpreting jobs lately. One thing I have had difficulty with is spelling English names, addresses, etc. for Chinese speakers with low English proficiency. For people with good English, we would simply use the International Phonetic Alphabet — or our own system — to spell over the phone […]
Useful Sentence Structures for Chinese Academic Writing
More sentences will be added as they are conceived. [Note that 本章 (this chapter) can be replaced with 本文 (this article/paper), 本研究 (this research), 该调查 (this study), or any other subject as you so desire.] 本章概述X的研究状况，指出Y。This chapter is an overview of the state of research for X, and points out Y. 本章对X研究进行梳理。This chapter presents an […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 13: 吧 ba, another common particle
Listen and download Lesson 13 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 13: 吧 ba, another common particle Literally: No equivalent in English. Usage: Used to give a suggestion, or to express a speculation. It can also be used to concede a point when used with 好 hǎo as in 好吧！hǎo ba (“all […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 12: 不 bù, a negating word
Listen and download Lesson 12 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 12: 不 bù, a negating word Literally: No exact equivalent in English. Usage: Used as a negating word. Put before a verb or adjective, or on its own, as similar to English “no”. There is another negating word 没 méi that […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 11: 来 lái, “to come”
Listen and download Lesson 11 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 11: 来 lái, “to come” Literally: “to come”. Usage: Used to attract the attention of the other person; in Chinese culture, directly saying “come” to someone is not considered rude but warm and considerate of others. Examples: 1) 来来来，吃饭。 Lái lái […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 10: 高兴 gāoxìng, “pleased”
Listen and download Lesson 10 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 10: 高兴 gāoxìng, “pleased” Literally: “pleased”. Meaning: Used to express one’s pleasure when interacting with others. Examples: 1) 认识你很高兴。 Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng. Pleased to meet you. Note: Can also be expressed as 很高兴认识你 hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. 2) 我们很高兴为您服务。 Wǒmen […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 9: 休息 xiūxi, “to rest”
Listen and download Lesson 9 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 9: 休息 xiūxi, “to rest” Literally: “to rest”. Meaning: “To rest; to take a break”. Can also infer “to sleep” or “to take break from work; to go on holiday” depending on the context. Examples: 1) 今天忙了一天，大家辛苦了。赶紧回家休息吧！ Jīntiān mángle yītiān, dàjiā […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 8: 加油 jiāyóu, “to add oil”
Listen and download Lesson 8 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 8: 加油 jiāyóu, “to add oil” Literally: “Add oil!” Usage: Used to encourage someone to make extra effort, to do better or to cheer someone on. Can also be used as a verb, “to work hard”. Near-equivalent in English: “You can […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 7: 哪 nǎ, “where, which”
Listen and download Lesson 7 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 7: 哪 nǎ, “where, which” Literally: “where” or “which” depending on context. Examples: 1) 哪 + 儿 = 哪儿 nǎr (“where”) 请问，厕所在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn, cèsuǒ zài nǎr? Excuse me. Where is the toilet? Note: 哪儿 nǎr can also be expressed as 哪里 […]
Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 6: 等 děng, “to wait”
Listen and download Lesson 6 of Basic Spoken Chinese Basic Spoken Chinese – Lesson 6: 等 děng, “to wait” Literally: “to wait”. Examples: 1) 请稍等，我帮您看看他在不在。 Qǐng shāo děng, wǒ bāng nín kànkan tā zài bù zài. One moment, I’ll see if he’s here. 2) 我要等多久？我已经等了半天了。 Wǒ yào děng duōjiǔ? Wǒ yǐjīng děng le bàntiān le. […]
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