In Part Two of our “counting in Chinese” series, learn how to count from 100 up to 1,000. For Part One, click here.
While you’re at it, check out our Chinese word of the day page – a new Chinese word every day!
Can you feel the love?
Throughout my time living in China, one question has managed to come up multiple times from friends and family back at home – “Is there a Chinese word for love?” While it is certainly true that Chinese people express the most complicated human emotion in different ways than Westerners, that doesn’t mean there is no love in China. Of course there is a Chinese word for love (爱 – Ài)! When most Westerners think of the word “love”, they automatically think about the all-important phrase – “I love you” (我爱你 – wǒ ài nǐ). Interestingly enough, this phrase is rarely uttered in Chinese culture – not from parents to children, not from husbands to wives, not from girlfriends to boyfriends. So, how exactly does China express its love?
Practice your calligraphy.
Growing up in the US, I became accustomed to seeing people express love in certain ways – by hugging, kissing, or expressing their love verbally. Whether it was a passionate kiss between lovers, a teary eyed hug from a mother to her child, or two guys sharing an embrace bro-mance style, it was always obvious to me when love was in the air back at home. In China, however, expressions of love are not quite as obvious.
A short video teaching you the correct way to say “I love you” in Chinese.
I love you (but I probably won't tell you).
And how about lovers in China? Well, it’s quite common for Chinese to find a boyfriend (男朋友 – nán péng yǒu) or girlfriend (女朋友 – nǚ péng yǒu) amongst classmates, although this is not really allowed until students reach university. Casual dating, in terms of a Western perspective, is something quite new to China. In the past, it was common for people to date only one person and then marry them. Often times, relationships were set up by family members. These days, however, more Chinese youth are adopting the Western custom of “playing the field.” First dates will usually be with a group of friends, and then a couple may become more exclusive and start going on dates alone if the mood is right.
Public displays of affection are not huge in China, but these days it’s becoming more and more common to see couples hug (拥抱 - yōng bào), hold hands (双手抱 – shuāng shǒu bào) and kiss (吻 – wěn, or 亲 – qīn) when out in public. Take a stroll around a Beijing park on the Night of Sevens Festival (七夕节 – qī xì jié), or Chinese Valentine’s Day (情人节 – qíng rén jié) as it’s more commonly called these days, and you’ll see countless couples and plenty of PDA. You probably won’t hear many couples saying “我爱你”, though. It’s more common to say “I like you“ (我喜欢你 – wǒ xǐ huan nǐ), or to actually use English. Seeing as how Westerners toss the word love around quite casually (“I love this restaurant!”, “I love the Detroit Tigers!”, “I love you, man!”), Chinese have also started being more casual with their “I love you”s… just not in Chinese!
Some more vocabulary related to dating.
If you’re going to learn a language, at some point you are going to have to learn how to count. Whether you’re bargaining in a market, giving someone your phone number, or paying your bill in a restaurant, this is a critical skill that you have to get down early in your studies. Learn how to count from 0-100 in Chinese with this short, easy to follow video.
Idioms or 成语 (chéng yǔ) are very prevalent in Chinese writing and even in common day sayings. Much like idiomatic expressions used in English, the Chinese equivalents are an amalgam of history, cultural influences and scholarly debate, imparted upon Mandarin and Cantonese over thousands of years. Further, because Chinese and English are the two largest vocabulary-based languages in the world, the range of idiomatic phrases and proverbs is especially vast and deep or 深刻 (shēn kè).
In ancient China, a scholar’s merits were not simply based upon what the meaning of his prose, but also based upon how he would convey it. Poetry and pictographic expressions which highlighted an artistic nature of the literature was also required for a scholar to gain recognition. As a result, these four character idiomatic expressions (which appeared balanced in written symmetry) entered vernacular language 白话，and has been spoken since (due to yet again the balance of syllables arising from a four character phrase).
Most newcomers or intermediate learners of Chinese often have trouble remembering and learning Chinese idioms because of the inherent structure of Chinese idioms. While you may understand characters or words that make up an idiom, non-natives often have trouble making sense of these truncated expressions.
The difficulty in learning and memorizing these phrases arises from the disconnect between idiomatic expressions and basic Chinese language structures. Often times, four character idioms are a collection of partial verb-object phrases that have been whittled down to one basic character and combined with three other characters following suit. Not following? Let me explain it this way:
Take the idiom “practice makes perfect” or 熟能生巧 shúnéngshēngqiǎo. 熟能 is not a normal verb-object word in Chinese, but both 熟 and 能 are partial verb-object phrases from larger words 熟悉 (to be familiar with) and 能力 (ability to do). However, taking their broader meaning together (to be familiarly able at something) the phrase starts to make sense. Further, the two character phrase 生巧 is not a Chinese word following the verb-object pattern. Yet separately, 生 means to create or give birth and 巧 means highly skilled or proficient. Now put all four together and “familiarity through doing creates high proficiency” or “practice makes perfect”.
Here’s another one with a similar meaning, 勤学苦练 (qínxuékǔliàn):
The trick is to learn your 汉字 and become familiar with basic component of words to expand your vocabulary. Once you’ve entered about 250-500 independent characters into your repertoire, you’ll be able to break down and figure out these 成语 phrases without having to turn to a dictionary or ask a 朋友.
Remember, 熟能生巧! So keep at it. I’ve provided some four character 成语 idioms to the byki list below. See how well you do at deciphering some common phrases in this post‘s Vocaulary Byki list. Click here to download free Byki learning software.
Idiom vocab:
一举两得 (yìjǔliǎngdé)–”kill two birds with one stone”
宽容待人 (kuānróng dàirén)–”live and let live”
塞翁失马 (sàiwēngshīmǎ)– literally the old frontiersman losing his horse or “a blessing in disguise”
勤学苦练 (qínxuékǔliàn) — study diligently and train hard
吹毛求疵 (chuīmáoqiúcī) –”find fault in something”
熟能生巧 (shúnéngshēngqiǎo) –”practice makes perfect”
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The Chinese language lacks a direct translation of the words “yes” and “no.” This causes a lot of confusion amongst foreigners studying the language. It’s also the source of a lot of cultural misunderstandings for people traveling or living in the country. In a follow up to Steve’s written post, this short video tries to clear the air a bit by showing some different examples of ways to answer yes/no questions in Chinese.
是 – shì - to be
你是学生吗？- Nǐ shì xué shēng ma? – Are you a student?
是 – shì – (I) am
我是学生 – Wǒ shì xué shēng – I am a student
不是 – bú shì – (I) am not
我不是学生 – Wǒ bú shì xué shēng
你是美国人吗？- Nǐ shì měi guó rén ma? – Are you American?
我是美国人 – Wǒ shì měi guó rén – I am American.
我不是美国人，我是英国人 – Wǒ bú shì měi guó rén, wǒ shì yīng guó rén – I am not American, I am English.
你知道吗？ – Nǐ zhī dào ma? – Do you know?
我知道 – Wǒ zhī dào – I know
我不知道 – Wǒ bù zhī dào – I don’t know
你会说中文吗? – Nǐ huì shuō zhōng wén ma? – Can you speak Chinese?
会 – huì – (I) can
不会 – bú huì – (I) can’t
我会说中文 – Wǒ huì shuō zhōng wén – I can speak Chinese
我不会说中文 – Wǒ bú huì shuō zhōng wén – I can’t speak Chinese
你有问题吗？ – Nǐ yǒu wèn tí ma? – Do you have a question?
有 – yǒu – have
没有 – méi yǒu – don’t have
我有问题 – Wǒ yǒu wèn tí – I have questions
我没有问题 – Wǒ méi yǒu wèn tí – I don’t have questions
你吃饭了吗? – Nǐ chī fàn le ma? – Have you eaten?
我吃了 – Wǒ chī le – I’ve eaten
我没吃 – Wǒ méi chī – I have not eaten
你去过上海吗? – Nǐ qù guò shàng hǎi ma? – Have you been to Shanghai?
我去过 – Wǒ qù guò – I have been
我没去过 – Wǒ méi qù guò – I have not been
你喜欢中文吗? – Nǐ xǐ huan zhōng wén ma? – Do you like Chinese?
我很喜欢中文 – Wǒ hěn xǐ huan zhōng wén – I really like Chinese!
There’s loads more that Transparent Chinese can do to help you build up your Chinese language abilities… just check the website.
