Tag Archives: nouns

14 Nouns That Are Countable in Chinese (But Not in English)

The following is a list of words that are countable in Chinese but not in English. I think this article will be beneficial for both learners of English and Chinese. Enjoy!   1. 信息 (news) Chinese example sentence: 我有个好消息要告诉你。 Literal translation: I have a good news to tell you. Idiomatic translation: I have some good […]

50 Skills and Abilities in Chinese

Lately I’ve noticed that Chinese has many words to describe skills and abilities that English lacks. While some like 杂技 and 想像力 are easy to translate, others are notoriously difficult In particular I found 内功, 号召力 and 悟性 real challenges. Here’s the list I’ve compiled. Note that there are four main suffixes that describe skills […]

An Introduction to Criminal Law Terms in English and Chinese (+ Glossary)

The following is an introduction to commonly used terms in criminal law (刑法) that I’ve collected over the years of translating and teaching interpreting. The focus is mainly on vocabulary common in Australian and British law. At the end of this post is a glossary of all the terms mentioned (150 in total!) Disclaimer: I […]

Random Word Trivia #9 – Marriage

See how many of these random words you can guess the English and Chinese for! This week’s topic is “marriage”! Enjoy! (Note: some of them do not have English equivalents!) 1. Getting married to someone you have only just met. (Chinese) 2. Getting married to someone without having first bought a house, car, or wedding […]

104 More Common Erhuayin Words in Mandarin

This is a follow-up to my previous post about 128 Common Erhuayin Words in Mandarin. 天儿 tiānr: 1. day 今天是什么天儿?What’s the day today? 2. weather 聊天儿: to chat 大白天儿说梦话:to talk in a delusional fashion; to speak as if one’s head is in the clouds; to sound as if one is daydreaming 影儿 yǐngr: shadow 电影儿: […]

128 Common Erhuayin Words in Mandarin

The following is a list of 128 most common 儿化音 (erhuayin, erhua) words in Mandarin. For the uninitiated, erhuayin is when you add 儿 on the end of a word. Simple examples include 好玩儿 (hǎowánr, “fun”) and 画画儿 (huàhuàr, “to paint; to draw”). Note that I haven’t included incidences where erhuayin is added on the […]

Random Word Trivia #8

Now it’s time for another Random Word Trivia Quiz! Which of these can you guess the Chinese and English for? Answers are at the bottom! (Don’t peek until you can figure them out!) You have a big belly, possibly from too much eating or drinking (noun) You know someone who has a huge vocabulary and […]

Verb-Object Collocations in Chinese

Both students of Chinese and English alike have probably heard of the term “collocation” (固定搭配), the idea that certain words are more commonly used together than others. What we’re essentially talking about is a relatively “fixed” combination of two or more words. It does not seem terribly difficult to come up with collocations in English. […]

Random Word Trivia #7

And now, another round of the Random Word Trivia Quiz… Which of these can you guess the Chinese and English for? Answers are at the bottom!   1. You’re in class when all the sudden you lose your concentration. (verb) 2. Your hungry stomach is making some noises. (verb) 3. After you brush your teeth […]

Random Word Trivia #6 – Education

See how many of these random words you can guess the English and Chinese for! 1. You choose not to attend class. (verb) 2. You are a student who is always sucking up to the teacher. (noun) 3. You did something wrong. The teacher puts you in… (noun) 4. Your parents found out. They punish […]