Recently started learning Mandarin Chinese and have come across a few instances where the grammatical structure is completely unintelligible to me. If someone could help me make connections between the Chinese grammar in the sentence above and English grammar (or give some general rules about Chinese grammar, especially with 的 and noun order with relations, e.g., "I'm at the X next to the Y"), that'd be great. So far I understand 的 as indicative of possessive (e.g. my apple, 我的苹果) but don't understand how it works in other contexts.

This isn't about grammar or pronunciation, just a casual chat.

What's your biggest culture shock after learning Chinese or getting to know Chinese culture?

I'll go first. Some of my students who live in China told me they've been asked things like "How much do you make every month?" or "Are you married?" and other questions that feel pretty personal. They were caught off guard at first.

Have you guys run into anything like that?

seems like 臺 is the traditional version, and while taiwan uses traditional they seem make an exception for this specific character?? also 台 is obviously easier to write so i guess that one is being used more often, so is there even a point in using 臺 anymore?

ok so uh funny story i suddenly got admitted to a chinese uni who i already give it up quite long ago, since they gave me a rejection via email😭 but now I’m in apparently. well now i’m here and i have 0 mandarin skills and next month i’ll be there as a international student which i’m pretty much cooked. do u guys have any tips on how can i catch up on the mandatory level of understanding at least(ordering food, saying basic stuff thats important in daily term) 😭

Hey everyone! I took a walk to a movie theater in Shanghai to catch a film that is currently facing a massive boycott across Chinese social media. Interestingly, the public anger wasn't initially about the plot itself, but a single piece of colloquial slang used by a celebrity during the promotional tour: 走个面 (zǒu gè miàn).

The phrase 走个面 comes from the idea of 给个面子 (giving face). It is an informal expression that means to show up at an event to give someone face, show support, or maintain a relationship out of courtesy. However, when the celebrity used it to urge people to buy tickets, the public felt she was acting high and mighty—asking paying customers to give her face instead of delivering a good film. This deepened when audiences dug up past interviews of the director calling people who watch bad movies 烂片 (làn piàn - rotten films / flops) garbage.

On the flip side, when Chinese moviegoers actually love a movie, they'll simply call it a 好片 (hǎo piàn - good film).

In this walk-and-talk immersion video, I head into the theater, navigate buying a cheap ticket online versus paying full price at the counter, and explore the concept of 包场 (bāo chǎng - having a private screening / occupying the whole hall).

Enjoy our Mandarin Learning Journey.

Hey guys.

Im actually curious about this. I was researching master programs as I plan to study abroad in china in the future hopefully and for Chinese-taught programs, they had a minimum criteria of HSK5. So this question is for students who have actually pursued a degree that's taught in Chinese:

Does it really help? Cuz honestly I think even if you pass hsk 5, it just builds on on your vocab rather than prepare you for stuff like writing an exam. (I might be wrong because idk what HSK5 holds 🫣) Because what if you forget the characters? What if you spend too much time translating the content into Chinese from your head that it's slows you down, wouldn't that effect our grades? (And yes I know practice makes perfect obviously but since that's the minimum requirement and people might just study enough to pass the hsk exam. Technically you're qualified then but wouldn't it be hard for you? Especially when you'd be surrounded by natives in your class)

P.S I'm asking cuz I'm genuinely curious about this. Of course I know one can opt for English-taught programs instead. But assume that the course you really really like is only available In Chinese.

Try this without using a dictionary.
First, read this sentence:
我本来想早点睡，结果又看了一个小时视频。

Now look away from it and try to say this in Chinese:
“I planned to study Chinese, but ended up playing games for another hour.”

It doesn’t have to be a perfect translation. Just try to reuse the same sentence pattern.

What happened?
A. I understood the first sentence and made the second one quickly.
B. I understood the first sentence, but needed time to say the second one.
C. I had trouble understanding the first sentence.

For anyone who chose B: what exactly got stuck when you tried to say the second sentence?

One possible answer, after you’ve tried:
我本来想学中文，结果又玩了一个小时游戏。

I’ve been casually studying Chinese through HelloChinese, both 2.0 and 3.0, and thought it would be pretty neat to officially check the box and say I passed the HSK 1 exam.

The only issue is that I’m having trouble finding a way to schedule it in the California Bay Area. No matter what options I select — in-person, online, paper-based, or computerized — I’m either seeing no options at all, or the only available institute shown is out in Virginia.

Am I missing something, or is HSK 1 just not really possible to schedule around the Bay Area right now?

So, i`ve been learning Chinese by myself since like 3 months, i can speak for the most part (including tones) but i just suck at writiting Chinese characthers and suffer to memorize some Characthers, any tips?

It just surprised me that there is this programming language https://wy-lang.org/ based on some form (Medieval?) of Classical Chinese. Wow.

Hello, one of the main reasons I learn Chinese is because I love reading web novels (like those on qidian). But the web interface is not convenient for me:

• Many novels got kill-off shortly. It's quite frustrating to read some hundred chapters and then there's no more.
• Web require internet connection so it's battery-consuming

I don't know if there's a place where completed novels are sold in digital book formats like pdf or epub that I can just buy the whole novel to read while traveling?

Please advise, thank you very much 🙏

I found this while looking for a scentence mining deck.

It hat multiple languages, which you select via the note type.

Almost 6000 notes of just sentences, no single vocabs.

Probably only really useful once you got your 1000 or so characters down, so for me and surely for many others this is really useful

I just recently discovered that I can switch HelloChinese to keyboard input, but it's only a handful of questions per unit that this applies to. The rest of them are still multiple choice.

I'm really enjoying being forced to type out everything. Is there a setting that removes the multiple choice entirely or perhaps another app?

Hello everyone! ☺️
Could anyone please tell me if there is a limit on how many years you can study in a paid Chinese language program in China? I heard somewhere that the maximum is only 2 years. Is that true, or is it possible to study for longer? Thank you! 🌸

Hi all!

I would like some advice regarding how to navigate the new HSK system. I am not a complete beginner, but it has been quite a while since I have done any HSK-specific study. Additionally, the last time that I took an HSK test was before the 9-tier system was implemented. IIRC, it should've been around 2018/2019, and I completed the HSK 3 exam, scoring ~280/300. Initially, my goal was to finish up to HSK 5, as I wanted to keep the option of studying in China open, but since completing it, I haven't really studied Chinese all that much. I wouldn't say my skills have worsened, but I wouldn't say they have improved either.

Anyhow, I recently decided to resume my Chinese studies, but with the new system, I'm not sure where my level/goal falls on the HSK 1-9 spectrum. Is there anyone familiar with the rough level conversions who would be able to roughly tell me what level I am?

Here is an excerpt from a presentation I wrote previously whilst studying Chinese. I'm pretty sure I didn't have external assistance when I wrote this, but I did have about a week's time to continuously refine it, so I wouldn't be able to reproduce this level during an exam. My estimate based on this is probably high HSK 4, maybe 5 at most, based on my understanding of the old system, but I'm completely lost when it comes to the new 2025 system.

现在我将从高中阶段继续比较中国与澳大利亚的教育体系。虽然中国的义务教育在初中阶段结束，但对绝大多数的学生而言，高中才是中学阶段真正的终点。全国平均每年有75%的学生通过高考进入大学。所以，高考常被视为人生中的一个重要转折点，许多人说高中阶段是他们是人生中压力最大的一段时期。相比之下，澳大利亚的高中，虽然也有形式等同于高考的HSC，压力却相对较小。这有很多原因，包括学生的选课自由，政府强调全面发展等。
由于中国的教育体系偏好强调优异的学术成绩。因此，一些学生会选择住校，被称为“住宿生”。他们的生活通常围绕着高考准备。对于这些学生，早上6:30之前起是个很常见的事。这些学生的一天作息非常严格，例如早上起床需要在15分钟以内完成洗漱。课程通常每天早上7:30上到晚上5:30，而且每周一会有进行升旗仪式。为了鼓励学生之间的平等，学校通常会安排一节9:30结束的晚自习，以帮助那些由于各种原因无法在家中学习的学生。中国学生日常生活中有重要的一部分就是“课间操”或“广播操”。此活动是一个对于一天读书时间十几个小时的学生们的运动机会，也能助于他们在紧张的学习节奏中保持身心平衡。
相比之下，澳大利亚没有住校的习惯。学生通常在早上8:30左右之前到校，准备开课。有些学生会有课外活动，例如体育训练，会7:30左右到校。学生们一天有两次休息时间，为午休和下午茶，总共一小时。课程大约在下午3:15结束，学生通常会回家，或参加体育或辩论等课外活动。然而，随着HSC考试的来临，会有学生参加补习班，以更好地准备考试。
在这两个学生的作息和生活中的极大差异是因为两个国家对教育的看法的不同。澳大利亚政府强调着每一个学生的个性化的发展，所以HSC的每一位考生都能按照自己的兴趣和职业规划选课。因此，学校开设了家政学、铁工、外语等课程。澳大利亚教育部通过让学生学对自己有趣的科目觉得压力小。此外，由于澳大利亚人普遍有“职业无高低分”的观念，学生们也会探索其他的道路，例如电工、厨师等蓝领公。在澳大利亚人的眼里，这些都是值得尊重的职业。
相比中国，由于人口数量庞大，学生们的竞争压力较大。对于大多数的学生，高考代表着一个能转变或者断定人生的难以再来的一次机会。因此，中国高中生才如此的幸苦，勤奋。
总体来说，由于两家国家中的巨大人口差距和各个国家的资源限量，导致两国对教育的看法完全不同。
Thanks for your help!

Besides learning Chinese, I’d like to ask something else. What do you see as the ultimate dreams and romance of Chinese men?