My name is Nick Norton and I am a university student, as well as a fellow Poddie. In so many ways ChinesePod has been an invaluable resource to my Mandarin learning journey. Read my blog post to find out my top three reasons why ChinesePod has helped me master Mandarin. Keep Reading!
Anyone who does business in China will come across the word “Guanxi” ［关系／關係］ sooner than later. Guanxi is one of those words in Chinese that can only be explained conceptually — it does not translate directly to the English language. It essentially refers to the interpersonal networks of people one builds that helps them succeed in business. There is a saying in Chinese: duō yīgè péngyǒu, duō yītiáo lù; this means ‘to have one more friend, to have one more way’.
Read more for a brief cultural explanation and five tips on how to achieve the elusive Guanxi. Read More
For those who don’t know — a Reddit AMA is an open “Question and Answer” session that takes place on Reddit (AMA=Ask Me Anything). Two weeks ago, we opened up our laptops and held our own AMA on the Chinese Language subreddit. The questions ranged from “How does one improve listening skills?” to “How do you pronounce Gwilym?” It was a great opportunity for us to directly communicate with the Chinese language learning community and we plan to continue these AMA sessions monthly… subscribe to our Facebook Events to get notifications on when a session is coming up!
In the meantime, read more for our six favorite questions from the session with extended answers for this blog! Also, don’t miss the exclusive Promo Code for a free month of our Annual Premium Subscription on ChinesePod at the end of the post. Read More
Chinese cuisine has a history that is steeped in tradition. These traditions vary as you move across the land; influenced by the diverse geography and available resources. China being as big as it is has nearly infinite options for what you may find, even on a village-to-village basis. Even with so many different traditions, eight stood above the rest and today are classified as the Eight Cuisines of China. Read more to find out key information about each cuisine, useful vocabulary words and, of course, a delicious recipe for you to have a go at these delicious traditions.
Chinese cinema is often overlooked by Westerners and this is a serious mistake — the film industry in China is humongous, and offers up options on par with some of your favourite Hollywood movies. Furthermore, watching a movie in Mandarin Chinese is a great way to brush up on your language skills (check out this great post by FluentU on how to learn Mandarin from watching movies). Analyzing the dialogue with the subtitles is an easy way to find colloquialisms that you might use everyday in English, but have no idea how to say in Chinese. We have put together a must-watch list of seven essential movies that you have got to watch… we have also included some Chinese keywords for each film so you can come up with a sentence describing the film.
Write a sentence about your favorite film from the list in Mandarin Chinese in the comments — We will respond with corrections!
Read more to check out the list of 7 Movies in Chinese You Have to See Before You Die.
