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How to Learn Chinese Characters
Learning Chinese characters may seem intimidating, but I have a secret technique! The key is to learn the WAY to learn Chinese Characters. I know that may sound complicated...but it’s really not! Consider this... There are two main components to learning any language: Figuring out what to do, and then...
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ChinesePod’s Founding Story
In celebration of our 15 th anniversary, we want to take a moment and look back on our origins and accomplishments. Because ChinesePod launched in 2005, many of you may not know our story. Let’s look back at how the longest-running Chinese learning platform came to be. ChinesePod’s origin is...
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What's Your Plan for Earth Day?
Happy Earth Day! At ChinesePod we are doing our share to Save the Planet by offering online lessons - no books, no paper, no waste! What are you doing for #EarthDay2019? It will be the 49th Annual Earth Day since the event was founded in 1970 and the theme this...
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Popular Chinese Cuisine: Szechwan
Sichuan cuisine, is also known or spelled as Szechwan cuisine , or Szechuan cuisine (/ˈsɛʃwɒn/ or /ˈsɛtʃwɒn/) and it is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. We will use the contemporary spelling: Sichuan If Cantonese style cooking is the most popular in the United States, Sichuan is...
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What Exactly is Chinese Pinyin?
For anyone studying the Chinese language, who has been to China or indeed has any interest in China or the Chinese language, pinyin is something that you will definitely come across. It is vital to language learning for anyone who is not a native Chinese speaker, and a life-saver for...
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Customs When Visiting a Chinese Family
In order to get the most out of visiting a Chinese family, the first thing you want to do is bring a digital translator. Next, observe the local customs , and then prepare some good questions to ask. You should then have a valuable inter-cultural encounter, providing a deeper insight...
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So Who is This Grace Wong? And Why Are We Seeing Her All Over ChinesePod?
I am Grace Wong, and I’m thrilled to be with you here on ChinesePod! I work mostly in the customer service area, but recently several people have suggested I take a more active role and even try to get in front of the camera. So, I have decided to get...
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Chinese Humor vs American Humor, and How to Be Sarcastic Using 看起来
China is very attached to its ancient roots, and, as a result, certain cultural practices can be, at the very least, disorienting for foreigners and language learners. Chinese humor is excellent in illustrating this very point! Many Westerners find Chinese humor rather difficult to understand. Some even speculate that the...
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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...
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Pet ownership: Controversy and the 'new normal'
Animals are all over the internet in many different forms such as cute photos, memes, news stories and so on. We love these furry hair balls SO much that we even invite them into our homes to live with us! Pets are universally loved, and even though the headlines are...
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Colorful Language: meanings of colors in Chinese
Language learning is always an exercise in cultural understanding. Recently, as I was listening to various Qing Wen episodes, I began to get a better sense of the importance of the concept of colors and their various representations in Chinese! white red black yellow and green , This helped me...
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Funny & Weird Stories from the Mid-Autumn Festival
For every festival in China, you are sure to find a bounty of folk tales claiming origin to the day. Mid-Autumn Festival, coming up this weekend, is no exception -- it is considered the most important of Chinese Holidays, in addition to Chinese New Year and Spring Festival -- so...
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The Eight Culinary Traditions of China & the Dishes You Have to Try
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...
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Adding Your ChinesePod RSS feed to iTunes: Step-by-Step guide
You can study your ChinesePod lessons on the web , on our iOS and Android apps, or you can add an RSS feed to your favourite RSS reader such as iTunes. In this step-by-step guide, I will explain how you can study your lessons on iTunes and the Official Podcast...