Posts from March 2009

Today is March 8, which means it’s 国际妇女节 (International Women’s Day).  Don’t forget to send a message to your 女性 (female) friends.  Incidentally, 三八 (literally – “3 8″ means gossipy/b*&%^) is a term used for referring to women which has two meanings- neither one is very flattering.  女人手撑半边天 (women hold up half the sky) is the famous saying favored by Mao Zedong.  三个女人一台戏 (essentially – there is drama if there are 3 women in the same place)  is another common Chinese saying.  Let’s take a look at some of the words that have a female character radical in them.  (good) is a good one, as it has a mother and child together.  (peace) is another good example, as a woman is under a roof.  My next post may have a little more to say about Visas, as it’s about that time again!

Words

国际 guo2ji4 – international
妇女 fu4nv3 – women
节 jie2 – holiday
女性  nv3xing4 – female
三八 san1ba1 – b#$%@ or gossipy
撑 cheng1 – hold up
好 hao3 – good
安 an1 – peace
台 tai2 – stage
戏 xi4 – drama/performance

Byki Chinese for iPhone and iPod Touch

Byki iPhone apps have been gaining momentum since we introduced the first apps in January 2009. Thousands of people have downloaded our language learning software onto their iPhone or iPod Touch.  Now, we’ve got a new addictive application: Byki Mandarin Chinese.

So, now you can spend 10 minutes increasing your  Chinese vocabulary. Byki for iPhone includes approximately 1,000 Chinese words and phrases – so you can learn wherever and whenever you want! Just like its computer-based counterparts, Byki for iPhone uses research-backed memory-locking techniques designed for adults learning second languages. All three modes, Preview It, Recognize It, and Produce It are active, plus there’s an excellent new quiz mode for those of us who have a penchant for testing ourselves!

Some of the things that make Byki a killer iPhone application:

  • It’s just $7.99, (introductory price) and you get access to over 75 premium Byki lists in your language
  • 3 learning modes plus the new quiz mode
  • SlowSound technology to slow down audio playback of words and phrases
  • Search your wordbank using the iPhone keyboard, turning iByki into a portable phrasebook
  • Fast to use—jump into learning within seconds
  • It’s very pretty, and we’ve added all the trademark iPhone finger-slidin’ functionality you’d expect from a slick new app!

Try it out, and if you like it, leave a comment on the iTunes store and let the rest of the world know there’s a premium language-learning application out there. Plus, keep your eye out for more languages!

Visit Transparent Language (that’s the name of our parent company) on the Apple App Store

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