Tag Archives: Essential Chinese

Language Acquisition or Whatever

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Meg

Me taking HSK practice exams: Yeah! 加油! Go me! I’m so good at Chinese! Me listening to native Mandarin at natural speed: Uh, what?  慢说. 我说的不好。   Right now, I’m studying the vocabulary for the HSK 1 exam. A lot of … Continue reading →

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Essential Chinese: He Has Already Paid

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Meg

I’ve started working a couple days a week at a Chinese restaurant near my house. Now, I’ve complained a great deal about how freaking slow everything is in the south, but that’s working in my favor as I earn endless praise for being mildly efficient … Continue reading →

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Essential Chinese: Fruit Infusions

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Meg

My room doesn’t have a refrigerator or a watercooler, which is pretty rough in such a hot summer.  My school has both, so I fill my water bottle there with drinking water and slices of orange or lemon, and stick it in the … Continue reading →

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Essential Chinese: Get Online

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Meg

Most people in the bars and coffeeshops of Yangzhou have been able to understand combinations of internet, password, and various question-words and point me to the wifi password. (Special thanks to the lady at Sir Coffee who understood my extra-awful Wang lu zai nar?, and … Continue reading →

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Essential Chinese: Frappuccino

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Meg

I recently learned that xing bing le  is Chinese for Starbucks’ frappuccino. This is pretty exciting because I recognize each character from another context, so I feel like I actually understand the whole, as language and branding, not just as sounds … Continue reading →

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