Tag Archives: Essential Chinese
Language Acquisition or Whatever
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
Essential Chinese: He Has Already Paid
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
Essential Chinese: Fruit Infusions
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
Essential Chinese: Get Online
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
Essential Chinese: Frappuccino
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
