Welcome to SDC’s Chinese level test. Before you start, it’s important that you read the instructions closely so that the test is as accurate as possible. This test has been created in collaboration with the Chinese school EsChina Space. Fill out the form to start the test! Instructions Test for levels HSK1, HSK2 and HSK3: […]
To out emphasis on a small quantity, you can insert one of the following three adverbs: 只(zhǐ), 就 (jiù) and 才(cái), translatable as “only”. Here are a few examples: 今天上课的人很少，就/只/才十一个人。 jīntiān shàngkè de rén hěn shǎo, jiù/zhǐ/cái shíyī gèrén. Today there were few in class, only eleven people. 我才/只/就睡了两个小时。 Wǒ cái/zhǐ/jiù shuìle liǎng gè xiǎoshí.
This article is a collection of all the articles on Chinese grammar that we’ve published here on this site. General characteristics of the Chinese language In this article we’ll explain what counts as so-called “Mandarin Chinese”, how many dialects are spoken in modern China, what the Chinese writing is and the word in Chinese; how
Directional verbs In Chinese, to express movement there are essentially two ways of doing so: 1. Introducing the place with a preposition (state, movement, and so on), to then insert the appropriate movement verb: Preposition + place + movement Here are a few examples: 我到中国去。 dào zhōngguó qù. I go to China. 你到哪儿去了？ Nǐ dào
Directional complements, verbs and prepositions in the Chinese language Read More »
Contrasting conjunctives Contrasting conjunctives express a contrast, an impediment. The most used conjunctions are: 可是 (kěshì) “but, nevertheless”，可 (kě) “but, yet”，不过 (buguò) “but, however”，但是 (dànshì) “but, nevertheless”，但 (dàn) “but, yet”，不然 (bùrán) “otherwise”，要不然 (yàoburán) “else”，否则 (fǒuzé) “otherwise”. Let’s see a few examples: 他想吃披萨，但是要减肥。 Tā xiǎng chī pīsà, dànshì yào jiǎnféi. He wanted to eat pizza but
With this article I want to give you an extremely succinct idea of the general characteristics of Chinese lnaguage and grammar. The objective is to provide you with a starting point for studying this wonderful language. Enjoy the read! The Chinese language Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world thanks to the
General characteristics of Chinese language and grammar Read More »
Introduction One of the most important aspects that we can learn about the endless Chinese culture has to do with a fundamental part of everyone’s life: taking care of one’s health. The way that Asian populations, and especially the Chinese, have developed their approach to everything connected to the body’s well-being and curing sickness is
What markets and supermarkets are there in Bangkok? In the first part of this article I will explain to you which are the most important and visited markets in Bangkok, where you can buy clothing, food, souvenirs, and many other things for a modest price: Jatujak Jatujak Green Prathunam Patpong Rot Fai (also called the
Directional complements In the Chinese language, there are verbs of motion that, besides movement, also express direction. These verbs can be used transitively and intransitively, and are conventionally divided into two groups: The first group is made up of the verbs 来 (lái) “to come” and 去 (qù) “to go” Here are some examples: 老师来了。
A complementary resultative specifies the result or outcome produced by a phrase’s verb. As a verbal complement, the result is made up of characters that are firmly bound to the right of the verb of the main clause, specifying the outcome. Eventual particles or direct objects are positioned to the right of the complementary resultive.
Going to the doctor in China is a unique experience. If you don’t have a proper health insurance, it’s also pretty expensive. Today I want to share with you the story of my last visit to a Chinese public hospital. The most stupid accident in the world Thursday, 9 p.m. My house is a mess
Disclaimer: This article is an opinion article based on contrasting information and personal experience. The comments section is open to discussion. However, just like with any article on SDC, any comments considered to be clearly offensive or insulting will be deleted. Lately, we received a wave of insulting comments against Chinese people, and strangely on
We all have had those days – when no one seems to understand a thing we say in Mandarin, everything is chaos, and it seems like the universe is out to get you somehow. This is what my friends and I call having a ‘China day’; a day when living in China is excruciatingly frustrating
Tips for Overcoming Daily Frustrations of Living in China Read More »
Boasting a continuous history of thousands of years, China has collected an extensive catalogue of rules – explicit and implicit – that govern social habits: the so-called Chinese etiquette (o 礼节). In the past, almost every aspect of Chinese life was regulated by what Master Confucius called 礼 (“li”, rites); failure to observe one of
Introduction The book I Ching, also called “Zhouyi” or “the book of changes” is irrefutably and unanimously considered as one of the deepest and determining roots of the Chinese culture. The origins of the concepts that it contains are lost in the depths of time to the point of founding itself with mythological figures who,
In June, like every other year, throughout all of China the famous Gao Kao (高考) was held. As you may already know, it is an annual national exam that allows young high school students to be able to enroll in universities. I don’t want to bore you too much with the data, numbers or methods
This article is a practical travel guide for visiting the Qinghai province, one of the most interesting provinces in China due to its natural beauty and cultural diversity. In it, you will find: Basic information on the Qinghai province; Reasons to visit Qinghai; When to visit Qinghai; Places to visit in Qinghai; Suggestions for visiting
Traveling to Qinghai: China’s Ethinc Melting Pot Read More »
Idiomatic expressions in the Chinese language (习惯用语, xiguan yongyu), literally “common use expressions”, are widely used in the spoken Chinese language. In this article we’ll only see a few of them. Besides giving you the “exact” definition of single expressions, I will also insert the literal translation, which is not unusually more suitable than the
According to my personal experience, the Chinese numeric system is one of the most complicated aspects of the Chinese language, especially when it comes to numbers greater than 10,000. For this reason I decided to write this article in the hopes that I can help those poor students of the Chinese language that are facing
In this article, we’ll seek to illustrate the main prepositions used in the modern Chinese language. Prepositions that indicate the beneficiary of an action carried out by someone else 给 (gěi) “for” 他给我买了一本书。 Tā gěi wǒ mǎi le yī běn shū. He bought a book for me. 爸爸给我买了的书，我很喜欢。 Bàba gěi wǒ mǎi de shū, wǒ
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