About Eng Chan

Eng Chan is a Finance and Business Operations professional, with a passion for language learning and writing on the side. As a Canadian-born Chinese, whose first language is English, she became interested in learning Mandarin during university. Since then, her passion for learning the language took her to Taiwan, where she credits most of her Mandarin fluency. Eng is an avid traveler, who loves to experience different cultures and cuisines. Her favourite ChinesePod lesson is Meditation 冥想 -- a hobby that she recently took up.

Posts by Eng Chan:

How do you say “Road Rage” in Mandarin?

How do you say “Road Rage” in Mandarin?

It happens to the best of us. Biking, walking, driving; No matter what form of transportation we opt for, we can’t escape it that feeling of frustration that grows inside of us, that is, none other than Road Rage. In Mandarin, this is called lù nù ｜路怒.  However, the term road rage typically describes irrational frustration and anger as a driver of a vehicle. In this blog, I’d like to discuss situations when you have road rage resulting from other bad drivers –literally and simply rage while being on the road.

Read More

5 Exotic Animals You Need to Meet in Taiwan

Taiwan has become world-famous for its delicious mouth-watering night market snacks (xiǎochī | 小吃), cheap shopping, and friendly well-mannered locals. But visitors to the island usually end up discovering one other excellent word to describe Taiwan: CUTE. Taiwanese people love cute things. And what could be cuter than furry, cuddly animals, both of the stuffed and real variety? In Chinesepod’s lesson on rare and exotic animals (xīyǒu dòngwù | 稀有动物), we learn how to discuss in Mandarin our favorite furry friends, from extinct dinosaurs (kǒnglóng |恐龙) to fierce bears (熊). But you may be wondering, what exotic animals can you actually find in Taiwan? During my recent trip to Taiwan, I encountered a few animals, albeit some real and some fictional, which really stood out during my visit. Below I will introduce 5 “exotic animals” of Taiwan that you need to meet.

Read More

How Do You Define Chinese New Year?

How Do You Define Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year means many different things to different people around the world. It’s a time when
kids get excited for the fattest hóngbāo｜红包; a time of grand feasts consisting of dumplings, fish, and sweet glutinous rice soup (tāngyuán｜汤圆). Perhaps most importantly, it’s a time of family reunions, marking the world’s largest migration every year as hundred of millions of people return to their hometowns scattered across the Chinese mainland. As we officially close off this New Year’s celebrations with the Lantern Festival (Yuánxiāo jié｜元宵节), I encourage you to think about what defines Chinese New Year for you. Reflect back to your most memorable Chinese New Year and what exactly made it so memorable. In sharing mine with you, I’d like to rewind back five years ago to Taiwan, which in many ways still feels like yesterday.

Read More

3 Ways Chinese Parents Show Us “I love you” is Over-rated

3 Ways Chinese Parents Show Us “I love you” is Over-rated

My parents have never told me they love me…

Before you start feeling sorry for me, let me tell you something else. Most likely, if your Chinese friends, co-workers, or classmates were born before the 1990s, they too were unlikely to have heard these three simple yet profound words from their parents. Now, before you start feeling sympathetic for the whole Chinese race, let me clarify. Traditionally, Chinese parents don’t say I love you. It’s that simple. “Wǒ ài nǐ｜我爱你” just sounds awkward and strange and overly mushy.

Read More

Why Pinyin Just Isn’t Enough

Why Pinyin Just Isn’t Enough

Learning Chinese is hard. I’d be hard-pressed to find someone who disagrees.

You have 4 tones and over 3,000 modern Chinese characters. Now, add on the complex question of whether to learn simplified versus traditional characters … or both. It’s enough to make some of us want to give up learning Mandarin altogether. So you might wonder: Why bother learning characters at all? Don’t all Mainland Chinese people know pinyin? If I write down an address in pinyin to a taxi driver, they will surely understand. Why bother at all?

Read More

1 2 3 4