When you’re learning Chinese, discovering 流行用语, aka Chinese slang expressions (liú xíng yòng yǔ) is a fun and interesting way to get a deeper understanding of the language and culture. However, before diving in, it’s important to know which phrases are appropriate to use in different situations. In this article, we’ll be exploring some of the most interesting, quirky, and downright wacky slang expressions in Chinese to know in 2023, along with their meanings and how to use them in context. Prepare to spice up your Chinese vocabulary with some seriously meowy slang!

1. Chinese slang: 蒟蒻 (jǔ ruò)

First up in your collection of popular words to know is 蒟蒻, a self-deprecating slang term used to refer to oneself as a noob or a newbie.

You’ll see it often used in online gaming communities and online. If you’re a new player to a game, for instance, you might say:
我是蒟蒻，还请多多关照
Wǒ shì jǔ ruò, hái qǐng duō duō guān zhào
I’m a noob, please take care of me.

Here’s how to use this slang expression in context:
A: 你打得好烂啊，是不是蒟蒻啊？
Nǐ dǎ de hǎo làn a，shì bù shì jǔruò a?
You play so poorly, are you a newbie?

B: 没错，我才刚开始学呢。
Méi cuò，wǒ cái gāng kāi shǐ xué ne
B: Yes, I’m just getting started.

Fun fact: Look up 蒟蒻 and you’ll see pictures of konjac, that calorie-free plant that was a popular noodle substitute a while back.
How did we get to “noob” from there? Konjac in Chinese (蒟蒻 (jǔ ruò) sounds like 巨[jù] 弱[ruò], which means very weak. From there, it’s easy to picture how online, especially, this came to mean “noob”.

2. 酱紫 (jiàng zǐ)

Next up is another great buzzword to know is 酱紫.

Because it sounds very similar to 这样子, it also means “like this” or “in this way”. The difference is that you will often use it playfully or sarcastically.

For example, if someone says “你怎么不去问问他呢? (nǐ zěn me bù qù wèn wèn tā ne?) which means “Why don’t you go ask him?”, you could sarcastically respond with “酱紫啊，太感谢你的好建议了” (jiàng zǐ a, tài gǎn xiè nǐ de hǎo jiàn yì le), which means “Oh, great idea, thanks so much!”

A: 今天要开会，你怎么穿得这么随便？
Jīntiān yào kāihuì，nǐ zěn me chuān dé zhè me suí biàn？
We have a meeting today, why are you dressed so casually?

B: 酱紫不行吗？
Jiàng zǐ bù xíng ma?
What’s wrong with that?

3. Chinese slang expression: 吃瓜 (chī guā)

Meaning “to eat watermelon seeds,” you’ll find 吃瓜 (chī guā) is a meowvelous slang expression to use to describe someone who is watching a situation from the sidelines without directly getting involved. It’s often used to describe people who are gossiping or watching drama unfold without participating in it themselves.

It’s purrfect to talk about bystanders or gawkers. For example, you can say:
他们两个人吵架了，我们都在一旁吃瓜看戏。
Tāmen liǎng gè rén chǎojià le，wǒmen dōu zài yī páng chī guā kàn xì
The two of them were arguing, and we were all standing by watching and waiting to see what would happen

Or
吃瓜群众看热闹。
Chī guā qúnzhòng kàn rènao.
The crowd watches the excitement with interest.

Curious to see 吃瓜 (chī guā) used in context? Here are two dialogues using it:

A: 这个新闻真扯。
Zhège xīnwén zhēn chě.
This news is sensationalized.

B: 别说了，我们只是吃瓜群众。
Bié shuō le, wǒmen zhǐshì chīguā qúnzhòng.
Let’s not say anything, we’re just bystanders watching the drama.

Here’s another way to use this Chinese slang expression:
A: 你听说了吗？ 王老师辞职了。
Nǐ tīngshuō le ma？ Wáng lǎoshī cízhí le.
Have you heard? Teacher Wang resigned.

B: 没有，怎么回事？
Méi yǒu，zěn me huí shì ？
No, what happened?

A: 不知道，我也是刚刚在微博上看到的，咱们吃瓜看热闹吧！
Bù zhīdào，wǒ yě shì gāng gang zài Wēibó shàng kàn dào de，zánmen chīguā kàn rènao ba ！
I don’t know. I just saw it on Weibo. Let’s just watch and see what happens.

4. 搞笑 (gǎo xiào)

搞笑 means “funny” or “humorous” and is often used to describe comedic content. For example, if you watch a funny video on Chinese social media, you might say “这个视频真的太搞笑了” (zhè ge shì pín zhēn de tài gǎo xiào le), which means “This video is really funny.”

A: 这个视频好搞笑啊！
Zhè ge shìpín hǎo  gǎoxiào le
This video is so funny!

B: 我也觉得，笑得我肚子疼。
Wǒ yě jué de xiào de wǒ dùzi téngI think so too, I laughed until my stomach hurt.

Think about who you’re talking to when using this Chinese-language expression: 搞笑 gǎo xiào could be considered somewhat informal and may not be appropriate in certain professional or formal settings.

5. The popular expression: 神犇 (shén bēn)

You use the slang term 神犇 (shén bēn) to describe someone extremely talented or skilled in a particular area. Imagine, if you know someone who is a talented musician, you might say to brag about them to your friends “他真是一个音乐神犇” (tā zhēn shì yī gè yīn yuè shén bēn). That means “He’s a real musical genius.”

Here’s how you can use this slang expression in context:

A: 他真的是个神犇，什么都会。
Tā zhēn de shì gè shénbēn，shénme dōu huì
He’s really a genius, he can do anything.

B: 是啊，我都有点佩服他了。
Shì a， wǒ dōu yǒu diǎn pèi fú tā le。
Yeah, I’m starting to admire him.

Fun fact: 神 means “god”. And because the character 犇 contains three times the character “牛” (cow”), and something “牛” is awesome in Chinese, this expression 神犇 took on the meaning of “十分牛”, that is to say, “extremely good”, to the point of being “god-like”.

6. Celebrate with the buzzword 撒花 (sā huā)

Want to celebrate something? Then, 撒花 (sā huā) is the expression you’ll want to use. It’s similar to saying “hooray” or “yay” in English.

So, for instance, if you’re told your friend won the lottery or another piece of good news, you might respond with 撒花 (sā huā!), which means “Hooray!”

A: 我通过了考试，撒花！
Wǒ tōngguò le kǎoshì，sāhuā！
I passed the exam, celebrate with me!

B: 恭喜恭喜，要好好庆祝一下！
Gōng xǐ gōng xǐ ， yào hǎo hǎo qìng zhù yī xià
Congratulations, we should definitely celebrate!

7. 摸鱼 (mō yú)

摸鱼 (mō yú) is a slang term you use to describe someone who is slacking off or goofing off. You’ll find it particularly handy to describe a situation where someone is not working hard or as diligently as they should be.

For example, if your colleague at work in China is taking a long break and not doing their work, you might say:
他今天一直在摸鱼
Tā jīntiān yīzhí zài mōyú
He’s been slacking off all day.

Here’s how you can use this popular expression in context:
A: 你最近在忙什么呢?
Nǐ zuì jìn zài máng shén me ne?
What have you been busy with lately?

B: 最近上班太累了，经常摸鱼。
Zuì jìn shàng bān tài lèi le, jīng cháng mō yú
I’ve been really tired at work lately, so I’ve been slacking off a lot.

8.双倍奉还 (shuāng bèi fèng huán)

双倍奉还 is an idiom in Chinese that means “to pay back twice as much” or “to retaliate with double the force.” It’s often used to describe situations where someone has been wronged or hurt and is seeking justice or revenge. For example, if someone steals from you, you might say “我一定让他双倍奉还” (wǒ yī dìng ràng tā shuāng bèi fèng huán), which means “I will make him pay back twice as much.”

This expression can also be used in a playful way, such as when someone gives you a gift or does something nice for you. In this case, you might say “谢谢你的礼物，我会双倍奉还的” (xiè xiè nǐ de lǐwù, wǒ huì shuāng bèi fèng huán de), which means “Thank you for your gift, I will repay you doubly.”

Here’s another dialogue showing you how to use this expression:

A: 你欠我的钱，什么时候还？
Nǐ qiàn wǒ de qián，shén me shí hou huán
A: You owe me money, when will you pay me back?

B: 不用急，我会尽快还你，双倍奉还。
Bù yòng jí，wǒ huì jǐn kuài hái nǐ，shuāng bèi fèng huán.
Don’t worry, I’ll repay you as soon as possible, with double the amount.

A cultural note on slang expressions in Chinese

Slang expressions are an important part of the Chinese language and culture. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, using slang is a great way to connect with native speakers, add some personality to your language skills, and maybe even score a few laughs along the way.

Just remember, these phrases can be playful and interesting, as long as you use them appropriately and stay aware of their nuances and connotations. While these phrases can be tons of fun, it’s important to be aware of their connotations and usage contexts so that you can use them with confidence and respect. When in doubt, for instance, exercise discretion, and check what setting you’re in. In professional and formal settings, particularly, it’s advisable to err on the side of caution and use more neutral language.

And once you have that in mind, especially when you’re with friends you trust, purrfect! Give these slang expressions a try in a safe space, with your friends, so they can tell you without being shocked if you screwed up using a word! Go ahead and start using these phrases in your daily life, impress your friends with your cool Chinese slang, and don’t forget to have fun with it!

On that note, there you have it, folks! We hope you’ve enjoyed this wild ride through some of the most popular and fun slang expressions in Chinese to know in 2023.

And one more thing…

If you want to continue learning Chinese with authentic and entertaining content, then you’ll love Ninchanese.

With Ninchanese, you get a complete method to learn Chinese, which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. What’s more, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there’s content your level on Ninchanese and plenty more!

Start using Ninchanese on the web, with your computer or tablet, or on your phone with the Android app.

Enjoy!

Sarah &

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

Sign up now

The post 8 Fun Chinese Slang Expressions to Impress Your Friends in 2023 appeared first on Ninchanese.

How to say Christmas in Chinese

First things first, let’s see how to write Christmas in Chinese.

圣诞节
Shèng Dàn jié
Christmas

That’s how you say Christmas in Chinese: 圣诞节 / Shèng Dàn jié.

To talk about Christmas Eve, you say:平安夜, [Píng ān Yè], which literally means: the Safe and Sound eve.
That’s also how you say “Silent Night” in Chinese. And yes, the famous Christmas Carol “Silent Night” is called 平安夜, [Píng ān Yè] in Mandarin!

平安夜
Píng ān Yè
Christmas Eve.

To write Merry Christmas in Chinese characters, you want to add the word 快乐, which means happy.

So to say Merry Christmas in Chinese language, you’ll say:

圣诞节快乐!
Shèng Dàn jié kuài lè
Merry Christmas

Celebrate Christmas in Chinese with a special world!

Christmas in China

Christmas in China is not quite celebrated the way other Christian-oriented countries celebrate it. Still, the holiday is becoming more and more popular in Chinese, so we’ve put together something special for the occasion: a Christmas-centric Mini-Course on Ninchanese!

Spend Meowy Holidays on Ninchanese!

In this special mini-world, you’ll experience how the Chinese celebrate Christmas. You’ll also learn the purrfect words and phrases you need to know to celebrate Christmas in Chinese and enjoy the holidays!

The special world dedicated to the Holidays is now available on the App and free for all Nincha learners (that can be you! Just sign up!). This Merry Holiday world is available for a limited time only: from the 20th of December 2021 to the 3rd of January 2022.

All those that will have finished these Holiday Stages by that date will earn a Nincha Holiday Badge! Make your friends and fellow Nincha learners envious with this exclusive badge! What are you waiting for? Click below to get started!

Or click here to head to Ninchanese if you can’t load the image.

You will be learning these words in Chinese for the holidays

Ooh, you want to know what you’ll be learning in these stages? Here are some of the words and phrases you’ll see:

•  节日 jié rì holiday; festival; holidays;

• 礼物 lǐ wù gift; present;

• 祝 zhù to wish; to express good wishes;

• 快乐 kuài lè happy; merry;

• 新年 xīn nián New Year;

• 圣诞 Shèng dàn Christmas;

• 圣诞节 Shèng dàn jié Christmas; Christmas season; Christmas time;

• 圣诞老人 Shèngdàn Lǎorén Santa Claus; Father Christmas;

• 节日快乐 Jié rì kuài lè  Happy Holidays;

• 圣诞快乐Shèng dàn kuài lè  Merry Christmas;

• 新年快乐 Xīn nián kuài lè Happy New Year.

Discover the rest and learn how to use these holiday words and phrases in Chinese in the Special Christmas World on Ninchanese!  It’s free!

More Christmas in Chinese Words

Want to go beyond the special Christmas Mini-World on Ninchanese? No problem! With the Nincha Decks, you can create as many vocabulary lists as you want about Christmas and the holidays in Chinese to go with it!
Learn Christmas greetings in Chinese, explore more Christmas Words in Chinese, focus on Christmas meals… The World’s your Oyster so go wild!

Here are 16 more Christmas Words to get you started – purrfect for your first Holiday-themed Nincha Deck!

Chinese Words to put yourself in the Christmas Spirit

Enjoy! And hopefully, learning these words will spark a little extra joy these holidays.

On this note,

The Nincha Team wishes you 圣诞快乐!

Have great holidays, everyone!

And one more thing…

If you want to continue learning Chinese with authentic and entertaining content, then you’ll love Ninchanese.

With Ninchanese, you get a complete method to learn Chinese which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. What’s more, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there’s content your level on Ninchanese and plenty more to discover!

So, whether you already have a background in Chinese or not, you will enjoy a way of learning Mandarin, both enjoyable and effective.

Start using Ninchanese on the web, with your computer or tablet, or, for Chinese learning in your pocket and on the go, download the Ninchanese app from the Google Play Store.

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

Sign up now

The post Christmas in Chinese and Other Purrfect Words for the Holidays appeared first on Ninchanese.

Choose your way to learn on Ninchanese.

On Ninchanese, you have access to a complete learning journey to take you to Chinese fluency. The learning content on that path is optimized for you, so you don’t have to worry about it and focus on learning Chinese. This way of learning is fantastic, but some of you told us they also wanted to learn their own vocabulary. They wanted to be able to take detours on their learning journey and learn vocabulary earlier or differently than in the courses.

That made a lot of sense, and that’s why we created the Nincha Decks! You are now more in control of what you are learning on Ninchanese. Follow the level-based learning path or create your own word lists – you decide.

Nincha Decks: Your Personalized Word Lists

What’s a Nincha deck? It’s a set of vocabulary, a list of words you can build and learn.

We created an easy way to make a clean list directly from the dictionary. The process is very simple and fast. You can make a deck in less than a minute! There are three short steps to create one: 

1. Go to your deck page, 
2. Create a new stage with a name and a description, 
3. Search for words in the dictionary, either in characters, English or pinyin, 

and boom, start making up your deck! 

You can create as many decks as you want, of up to 30 words, each with a minimum of 5 words.

Powered by SRS

Once your deck is built, you’ll learn words the same way you do in a vocabulary stage on Ninchanese. This means you’ll use the learning algorithm in the app, which is based on spaced repetition, to memorize them.

Then, the characters you’ve unlocked in your deck will be added to your global reviews. From time to time, you’ll need to review these words, just before you forget them. This ensures you keep everything fresh in your memory. With the SRS in Ninchanese, you make sure you never forget what you learn.

Like for a vocabulary stage, you can also do your reviews by deck only to focus your reviewing on that deck.

The Nincha Decks are clever

Do you know what’s cool? With the Nincha Decks, there is no risk of duplicates. So, for example, you can’t add a word twice to the same deck. There are also no risks of learning a new word more than once. If multiple decks contain the same words, you’ll only learn that word once. The same goes with words you’ve already learned on Ninchanese courses.

Don’t worry about managing words; our learning system will sort that out for you! Once you’ve unlocked a word, you won’t have to learn that word as a new word again, even if it’s in a different list or stage. You might have to review it, like all words, but that’s it!

In the same way, if a vocabulary stage in the Story Mode uses a word you’ve already learned in a deck, our system will know, and you won’t have to learn it again. Neat! 

What are the possibilities with this new feature?

Learn the Chinese vocabulary you want, when you want. You decide! What if you want to learn numbers in Chinese, but you are 5 or 6 stages away from that in Ninchanese? Before, you had to wait until you got to the Chinese numbers stage. With the Nincha Decks, you get to choose when it’s the right time for you to learn something.

Create your own word deck of Numbers and get learning! That’s what the decks are for.

Create decks of the words you learn in class 

What if you are in a Chinese class or have a tutor giving you new words to learn regularly? Quite frankly, from my personal experience, we were given 20 characters to learn every two days in class. It was pretty hard to follow my memorization of these characters. I mean, how did I know I knew these words? Besides, it was troublesome to have my book and pen ready to learn them. 

Now, with the Nincha Decks, you can easily save the words you see in class. Better yet, you can review them efficiently! A purrfect way to learn words in priority. Plus, you’ll be sure to always have the Decks in your pocket, and you’ll benefit from the memorization algorithm in Ninchanese to learn them. With the Nincha Decks, remembering the words you see in class will be easy! 

A super handy tool for you learners

Not only can you now create your own word decks, but you can also now create decks with different purposes! Imagine the possibilities. I can think of many ways to use them. For instance, if some characters have trouble sticking in your memory. Now, you can copy them in a deck and strongly focus on these characters. A deck could also be composed of 20 characters you want to focus on, like question words. Or the interaction words or expressions you’d like to use when speaking.

Focus on the words you want

What if you want to learn a very specific/professional vocabulary? 

There are not many courses available for very specific vocabulary needs in Chinese or costly ones. I was discussing that with someone working in health insurance yesterday. 

With the Nincha Decks, you can now create whatever word list you find useful! Problem solved. Focus on industry-specific vocabulary as much as you want! Everyone with their particular needs will be able to use Ninchanese completely. We help you reach fluency in Chinese with our courses, and you also have a way to specialize your Chinese.

Save unknown characters you encounter

We like to browse the Internet in Chinese, read books or manhua, watch videos in Chinese, and always encounter new characters we want to learn. Now with the Nincha decks, you’ll be able to add them to a deck and learn them. Then, next time you meet that word in a text or a video, you’ll understand it without difficulty. Isn’t that great?

Maybe you’ll pick up a word repeatedly said in a Chinese Drama and want to learn it. Perhaps you saw one of our tweets and wanted to learn that word, for example, cryptocurrency. Now you can! Just start a new deck and add words to it as you encounter them. Then, use the handy look-up tool to find any unknown word in the dictionary and add it to your deck.

Track your Progress

You can easily follow your progress learning words in a deck. As you unlock words in the deck, you’ll see your completion percentage. Then, you can see your memory level for each character on the deck page. The yellow stars tell you how well you know a word.

Manage your decks and words

Once the deck is created, you can change the title and the description of your deck. You can also manage the words in a deck and remove those you don’t want to learn anymore. You can also add more words to a deck whenever you want. You can add up to 30 words to a single deck. And lastly, if you don’t want a deck anymore, you can delete it.

Some other new updates:

The Nincha Decks are the biggest chunk of this update, but there are also a couple of other improvements.

• You can now skip the story if you want. That’s very nice when you reset your account to restart your learning and don’t want to re-read the stories again.
• The sound for some words was improved, and we improved how we handled the sound behind the scenes.
• The dictionary’s search results have gotten better. The search algorithm has been improved to see more characters shown in better order.

When learning a language, there are lots of content we want to access but can’t yet, and there’s no certain path for that. Having the Nincha deck along with your learning will directly benefit your learning.

We know Ninchanese has helped many Nincha members make meowsome progress in their Chinese. We hope these new features we discussed together will help you learn Chinese even better.

Many of you had been asking for this new feature so enjoy! And if you’re not a Premium member yet, upgrade now and help us bring even more features to Ninchanese.

We hope you enjoy these updates! We love to hear your thoughts and will be happy to discuss them by email.

The post Update on Ninchanese: Nincha Decks – Even More Personalized Learning! appeared first on Ninchanese.

In this blog post, you’ll see:
How to write happy Thanksgiving in Chinese
What is the name for Black Friday in Chinese
Black Friday Ninchanese Sale
Thanksgiving Food in Chinese Vocabulary
Learn Thanksgiving words in Chinese on Ninchanese!

Thanksgiving is a popular celebration in the US and Canada – they celebrate it on a different day.

At Ninchanese, we want you to be able to share this tradition with your Chinese-speaking friends, so, in addition to the word list here, we have something special for you: A whole stage dedicated to Thanksgiving words! As well as a purrfect Black Friday sale you’ll want to know about. So keep reading!

First things first, let’s see how to say Thanksgiving in Chinese.

How to write happy Thanksgiving in Chinese

In Mandarin, you say:

感恩节
Gǎn ēn jié
Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving in Chinese: a very apt literal meaning

The name for Thanksgiving in Chinese language literally means: The Day to Give Thanks.

Character Breakdown:
感恩  [gǎn ēn] is to be thankful in Chinese.
节 [jié] means festival

Together, they form a very fitting name in Chinese for Thanksgiving!

To write Happy Thanksgiving in Chinese characters, you want to add the word 快乐[kuài lè], which means happy.

So to say Happy Thanksgiving in Chinese language, you’ll say:

感恩节快乐!
Gǎn ēn jié kuài lè
Happy Thanksgiving

Speaking of which:

The Nincha Team 祝你感恩节快乐!
The Nincha Team zhù nǐ gǎnēn jié kuàilè!
The Nincha Team behind Ninchanese wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!

What is the name for Black Friday in Chinese?

Another essential part of the Thanksgiving Tradition now is Black Friday! This term designates the Friday following Thanksgiving. This special Friday has become a big day full of sales and discounts. Kind of like Singles’ Day in China, with probably fewer sales.

And while a lot of countries don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, one thing most countries now do is Black Friday sales!

How to say Black Friday in Chinese

黑五
hēiwǔ
Black Friday

The name 黑五 [hēiwǔ] is short for 黑色星期五 [hēisèxīng qīwǔ] – literally black Color Friday.

On Black Friday, what you’re looking for the most is:

黑五打折
hēiwǔdǎzhé
Black friday discounts

Speaking of which… there’s a meowsome BLACK FRIDAY sale about to happen at Ninchanese!

Black Friday Ninchanese Sale

This weekend only, get a whopping 40% OFF any plan in Ninchanese. Not only is that our meowsomest promo yet, but it’ll also be gone in a flash. So, don’t miss it!

More Thanksgiving goodies!
You know about the delightful sale on Ninchanese; you know how to wish a Happy Day to Give Thanks in Chinese. Great start! Are you ready now to learn more yummy words around Thanksgiving in Chinese?

Thanksgiving Food in Chinese Vocabulary

A huge part of Thanksgiving, aside from gathering with family or friends and being grateful, is… eating! So let’s talk meowsome Thanksgiving food words in Mandarin. You can learn them for free on Ninchanese and read them right here.

Learn Thanksgiving words in Chinese on Ninchanese!

Reading about Thanksgiving words is one thing, and you know what is 100% better?
Learning these scrumptious thanksgiving dishes in Chinese.

What are you waiting for? Go learn them on Ninchanese for free! They are all here!

Enjoy this feast of Thanksgiving words in Mandarin!

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll be learning, straight from the Ninchanese web app.

Are these Chinese words for Thanksgiving making you hungry? Grateful?  Which is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? Let us know in the comments!

And one more thing…

If you want to continue learning Chinese with authentic and entertaining content, then you’ll love Ninchanese.

With Ninchanese, you get a complete method to learn Chinese, which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. What’s more, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, there’s content your level on Ninchanese and plenty more to discover!

Ninchanese has a wide range of contemporary Chinese content to learn – from HSK-based worlds to Chinese cooking, travel essentials, and more.

You’ll discover that learning Chinese is fun and easy with Ninchanese‘s effective and personalized learning method. You’ll stay engaged and motivated to progress until you master Mandarin Chinese.

So, whether you already have a background in Chinese or not, you will enjoy a way of learning Mandarin, both enjoyable and effective.

Start using Ninchanese on the web app, with your computer or tablet, or, for Chinese learning in your pocket and on the go,download the Ninchanese app from the Google Play Store

The Nincha Team

Stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Try the best way to learn Chinese today.
Ninchanese is free to use!

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The post Thanksgiving in Chinese: Stuff your face with these Words appeared first on Ninchanese.

If I asked you to think about words that had the character dragon in them in Chinese, you’d probably think of words like a dragon boat, a dragon fruit, and you’d be purrfectly right. But today, we’re here to talk about unusual dragon words. Words in Chinese you’ll be surprised to learn there’s a dragon in! So without further ado, here are unexpected words that contain the character dragon in

The following Chinese words, quite surprisingly, all have dragons in them. Which ones did you expect the least?

Dragon in Chinese phrase #1: Faucet

水龙头

shuǐ lóng tóu

faucet

literally: a  water dragon head

The name for faucet in Chinese is cool. It’s composed of:

水 shuǐ water
龙 lóng dragon
头 tóu head

What’s a Water-Dragon-head? Why, a “faucet” or a “tap”, of course! A little underwhelming, perhaps? Wait till you see this.

Sigh, if only all our faucets could look as dragonny as this one. Source

That’s why 水龙头 is our first word with a dragon in it!

Dragon word in Chinese #2: Boss

龙头

lóng tóu

Bicycle handlebar; boss

literally: a dragon head

In the same (water) vein, you have 龙头 which means a bicycle handlebar (as well as a faucet).
Interestingly, it also means “boss” or “chief”. That one’s easier to picture as a dragon head.

Dragon in Chinese language word #3: 龙卷 Tornado

龙卷

lóng juǎn

tornado

literally: a dragon roll

Literally dragon roll (doesn’t that make you hungry?), 龙卷 is how the Chinese say “Tornado” in their language. 龙卷 also means “Twister”.

No wonder Chinese CCTV called these nine tornados dragons.

Dragon in Mandarin word # 4: Tarragon

龙嵩

lóng sōng

tarragon

literally: dragon + lofty

Even the English name looks like it considered being a dragon, and then gave up halfway, only to come up with tarragon instead.
So way to go, the Chinese language, for being brave enough to include the word dragon in the name for tarragon in Chinese.
Yes, 龙嵩 is how to say tarragon in Chinese. You can also use 龙蒿 lóng hāo. Same dragon, same meaning.

Chinese Dragon word # 5: Lobster

龙虾

lóng xiā

lobster

literally: a dragon shrimp

Ah, the dragons of shrimp. We’re talking about lobsters, of course! Can you picture it? They are much bigger and badder than puny little shrimps!

其实我是龙
Actually, I’m a dragon

So, 龙虾 is how you say lobster in Chinese.

Two other fish and shellfish also have a 龙 in their name.

小龙虾, xiǎo lóng xiā, crayfish
The delicious, soft-water crayfish gets the name: the small dragon shrimp. They’re so yummy we can’t complain.

龙利, lóng lì, sole
Flat like a dragon? Like a dragon took a trip to 2D and became a flatfish.

Dragon word in Chinese # 6: Decrepit, senile

龙钟

lóng zhōng

senile

literally: dragon clock; dragon bell

Okay, this one isn’t so nice, and as fierce dragon lovers and protectors, we protest. But a word’s a word, so 龙钟 is a way to say someone is senile in Chinese.

How did this word come to mean “decrepit, senile”? That’s a question even the Chinese ask themselves.
Perhaps because as we age, we start to resemble a bell with droopy dragon ears that can’t hear much anything? Care to venture a guess? Let us know in the comments.

Dragon word in Mandarin #7: Queue

人龙

rén lóng

a queue of people

literally: a people dragon

When picturing a long line of people, you might think more of a snake in English. But the Chinese are all about dragons, and we love them for that.
So when you want to talk in Chinese about a large group of people waiting in line, say, in front of the post office, you can say 人龙. That literally means people dragon, and when you see the length of some queues, you have no trouble imagining why.
人龙 is a queue of people in Chinese.

Dragon in Chinese word #8: 恐龙 Dinosaur

恐龙

kǒng lóng

dinosaur

literally: fear dragon

Dinosaurs. Huge, powerful, mysterious creatures that roamed the Earth in ancient times called something close to dragons? Mm, that works for me. Fear dragons!

Is it a dragon? A dinosaur? A dragonosaur! — Concept art by Saleh Ahmad

Fun fact: most dinosaur names in Chinese have a dragon in them!

For example:
A velociraptor in Chinese is 伶盗龙, líng dào lóng.

A triceratops in Chinese is 三角龙, sān jiǎo lóng, a 3 horn dragon. Nice!

Bonus: 4 Chinese Loanwords that also have a dragon in them

Borrowed for its beautiful “long” sound, the word Dragon in Chinese is also found in these words imported from other languages:

Dragon loanword #1: Nylon

尼龙

 ní lóng

nylon (loanword)

What do you need to say nylon in Chinese? The Chinese character for a dragon, of course! Nylon in Chinese is 尼龙, ní lóng.

Dragon loanword #2: Salon

沙龙

shā lóng

salon (phonetic loanword)

Similarly, the Chinese conjured up the characters “sand” and “dragon”, for their phonetic pronunciation of the word “salon”.
Salon in Chinese is 沙龙, shā lóng.

Dragon loanword #3: Macaron

马卡龙

mǎ kǎ lóng

macaron (phonetic loanword)

Macarons can either be, depending on your viewpoint, either sweet French delicacies or yummy coconut treats. In either case, they’re sugary bliss. So much so that the Chinese decided you needed:
A horse (马), your card (卡), and a dragon (龙) to get some quickly enough. Just kidding, these characters were all borrowed for their sounds, of course, to form the word “macaron”. 马卡龙, mǎ kǎ lóng, is a macaron in Chinese.

Dragon loanword #4: Upsilon (greek letter Yu)

宇普西龙

yǔ pǔ xī lóng

Upsilon (phonetic loanword)

Lastly, Upsilon, the goatlike greek letter Yu was another excellent candidate for the character 龙. 龙 does indeed sound quite close to “Lon”.
宇普西龙, yǔ pǔ xī lóng is Upsilon in Chinese.

What did you think of these Chinese words? Unexpected to find dragons in them, right? Bet you wouldn’t have guessed all these words had a dragon in them! It shows how important dragons are in Chinese “animal culture”. So much so that they created lots of words with the Chinese character for dragon in them (128 in fact!).

Liked this article? Then you’re going to love this meowsome article on Five Words you didn’t expect to find a Cat in! Yeah, at Ninchanese, we’re all about cats, dragons, and learning Chinese.

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The post 8 Unexpected Words that Contain a Dragon in Chinese appeared first on Ninchanese.

Maybe you already know how to say Halloween in Chinese, but do you know any other frightful words around Halloween in Chinese? It’s the purfect time to learn some so you can have a complete Halloween spooky kit in Chinese.

Before you turn into an I-scream (get the frightful Halloween joke?), let’s see 15 Halloween in Chinese words!

How to write happy Halloween in Chinese

First things first, let’s see how to say Halloween in Chinese.

万圣节

Wàn shèng jié
Halloween

This is a shorter version of its full name in Chinese:  万圣节前夕 [Wàn shèng jié Qián xī]，which literally means: the eve before All Saint’s Day.

You can also use 鬼节 [guǐjié] to say Halloween in Chinese language. 鬼 [guǐ] is “ghost” in Chinese, and 节 [jié] is “festival”, so describing Halloween as the ghost festival is pretty fitting!

To write Happy Halloween in Chinese characters, you want to add the word 快乐, which means happy.

So to say Happy Halloween in Chinese language, you’ll say:

万圣节快乐!

Wàn shèng jié kuài lè
Happy Halloween

With 鬼节, here’s how to say happy Halloween in Chinese:

鬼节快乐!

guǐ jié kuài lè
Happy Ghost Day (Halloween)!

Speaking of which:

The Nincha Team 祝你万圣节快乐!

The Nincha Team zhù nǐ wànshèngjié kuàilè!
The Nincha Team behind Ninchanese wishes you a Happy Halloween!

With Ninchanese, get a complete method to learn Chinese, which has you speaking, reading, writing, and more in Chinese. And because culture and language go hand in hand, learn about the major Chinese cultural events and festivals on Ninchanese. From traditions to Chinese vocabulary and expressions,  you’ll love discovering all the great festivals China has to offer. Learn also about Western celebrations in Chinese such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, and how to play games in Chinese! Now that’s something to howl about.

Let’s see more Halloween words in Chinese!

Chinese Halloween Vocabulary

南瓜       Nánguā              pumpkin
南瓜灯    Nánguā dēng    Jack-o’-lantern
黑猫        Hēi māo             black cat
蜘蛛        Zhīzhū                spider
巫婆        Wūpó                  witch
扫把        Sàobǎ                 broom
面具        Miànjù                mask
猫头鹰    Māotóuyīng       owl
糖果        Tángguǒ            candies
骨架        Gǔjià                   skeleton
怪物        Guàiwù                monster
鬼            Guǐ                       ghost
鬼屋        Guǐwū                  haunted house
僵尸        Jiāng shī              Chinese vampire / Chinese-style Zombie
捣蛋        Dǎo dàn                to play tricks

Making your own Jack-o’lantern this year? Why not carve a beautiful lucky Nincha on your 南瓜？ Here’s a meowsome guide to do so! 

There are some pretty great Halloween costumes on the list, don’t you think? Nincha’s being a 僵尸 this year! That’s a Chinese-style zombie! What about you?

Bonus: Two Halloween Chinese Expressions

Want more? Here are two thrilling and chilling sentences to use, too to howl on Halloween in Chinese:

不给糖，就捣蛋

Bù gěi táng, jiù dǎodàn
Trick or treat!

噢，你吓了我一跳！

ō，nǐxiàlewǒyītiào ！
Oh, you scared me!

Enjoy this haunted collection of Halloween words in Chinese!

The Nincha Team

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The post Brain candy: 15 Halloween words in Chinese  appeared first on Ninchanese.

Best wishes for the Mid-Autumn Festival

中秋节快乐! 
Zhōng qiū jié kuài lè!
Happy mid-autumn festival!

Why is the festival called the “Mid-autumn” Festival?

First things first. If you break down the Chinese name 中秋节 (Zhōng qiū jié), you get 中[zhōng] (middle) + 秋[qiū] (autumn) + 节[jié] (holiday). Why is that?

To us, the name of this festival, which is “Mid-autumn Festival,” begs the question: Why is this festival called the Mid-Autumn festival held on the first day of Autumn?

This year, the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival happens to fall on September 21st, the beginning of Fall. But that’s not what one should focus on. What’s important to know is that this festival, like all Chinese festivals, follows the lunar calendar. 中秋节 is celebrated each year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Because that’s the day the Autumn harvest ends. Incidentally, 秋  also means “Harvest time.”  The 15th is also the middle of the month, and the 8th lunar month is the middle of autumn. Hence the name, Mid-Autumn.
In our western calendar, its date changes slightly every year and ranges from mid-September to early October.

A magical way to celebrate the full moon

Okay, now that’s out of the way, what is this Chinese festival? What magical mid-autumn festival traditions are there? What do we do during it? This traditional Chinese festival is all about the full moon.

When the moon shines the brightest, Chinese people worldwide celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival.

Mid-autumn Festival Traditions

Gaze at the moon and make wishes

On this day, in China, the moon shines at its brightest. The Chinese believe it’s the purrfect time to send prayers for good luck. In ancient times, they would wish for a great next harvest next year, and now, they wish each other luck in life and business. That’s why the festival is sometimes called the Moon festival. Lanterns are often lit and sent out into the starry sky, carrying with them our wishes.

Join in the fun with mooncakes

What else? Ah yes, you’re going to like this next part. The mooncake festival is all about eating, and everyone should partake in at least one of the delicious Mid-Autumn festival food traditions. Yes, to celebrate the moon, we eat delicious mooncakes filled with all sorts of things. The fillings may be traditional lotus seed paste, egg yolk, red bean paste, or more innovative. That’s why this festival is also sometimes called the Mooncake festival.

The mooncakes are elaborately decorated, with patterns usually depicting the festival’s legends. Mooncakes now range from the traditional kind, rich and dense, with usually a duck egg in the center,

to modern takes on them, with a more delicate flavor and made with rice flour, such as the snowflake skin mooncakes. You’ll even find some iced, filled with ice cream. Luckily for us, stores and pastry shops usually sell mooncakes in small sizes, sometimes even bite-sized, which allows you to sample several.

Kick off October with some quality family time

The full moon also represents a family reunion. Due to that, the festival is also a big family moment, and getting together is a crucial Mid-Autumn festival tradition. Everyone gets three days off for it! If you’re in China or with a Chinese family, you’ll typically have a big celebratory meal with your family. You’ll eat, talk and sit together and enjoy the glorious moon. You can also have this experience with your Nincha family on the Ninchanese app in a special Mid-Autumn-themed world! In the Dialogue, you’ll be learning with Yocha a quote from a famous Mid-Autumn poem and will chat about the Mid-Autumn Festival.

When did the Mid-Autumn festival really begin?

No one knows for sure, but we do know this festival is thousands of years old!

Over 2000 years ago

The earliest records of the Mid-Autumn festival found are over 2000 years old, during the Han Dynasty.

In the 10th century AD, the festival date became fixed.

From there, the celebration steadily grew in popularity. As early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the festival began being celebrated all over China, with much of the Mid-Autumn festival traditions appearing then. At the time, the date for the Mid-Autumn festival still varied. In the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 AD),  the festival’s date became officially fixed. It has become a yearly custom every since and is still a festival that means a lot to Chinese people worldwide. Did you know, however, that this festival only became a public holiday in 2008?

The Legends of the Autumn Full Moon Festival

Many have written poems and stories about the moon festival, and there are many legends around the Mid-Autumn festival. Among those, Chang’e Flying to the Moon is the most widely known.

Chang’e, Goddess of Heaven

It goes like this:
Once upon a time, Chang’e was married to Hou Yi, a real hotshot at the time (what?! he literally was! He was a heroic archer who shot down nine of the ten suns believed to have existed in ancient times).

Chang’e bringing mooncakes on a platter for the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival

Tasked with protecting an elixir that would allow Houyi to ascend directly to Heaven, Chang’e found herself forced to drink it. Then, desperate to stay close to her love, she managed to fly to the moon, the nearest place to Earth in heaven. There, she eventually adopted an immortal pet rabbit (that’s a different story), and that’s why ever since she’s been represented this way.

Chang’e and her rabbit

It is believed that Hou Yi, who sorely missed Chang’e, would serve the food she liked best when the full moon shone the brightest. Awwww. And that’s how, according to the legend, the Mid-Autumn festival began.

Mooncakes to fight the Mongols

There is another Mid-Autumn folktale so meowsome it sounds like a legend, except it actually happened.
In the late Yuan Dynasty (1271 to 1368 AD), people were unhappy with their rulers, the Mongols, and so, the resistance wanted to plot an uprising. To keep their messages hidden, a counselor had the brilliant idea of hiding notes inside the mooncakes, indicating when the uprising should occur. The revolt was very successful, and so, from then on, each year, the new ruler rewarded his subjects with mooncakes to commemorate that fateful day.

Since then, eating mooncakes took on a different meaning and has become even more of a tradition.

Talk about the Mid-Autumn festival in Chinese

Want to discover more about this festival? Then the new content on Ninchanese is precisely what you need. So check it out now; it’s available for free, this week only!

Three Special Event Stages for you on Ninchanese

A unique themed world to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival, this week only!

There’s a new pop-up advanced world for you to discover for the occasion! Join in the Mid-Autumn festival celebrations with this themed exclusive world. In it, you can:

• Learn vocabulary to understand and discuss the Mid-Autumn festival
• Build sentences to talk and wish someone a happy Mid-Autumn festival in Mandarin
• Express yourself in Chinese: Learn to speak about the Mid-Autumn festival in the new dialogue
• Train your ear: Listening practice to be ready to talk about the festival in Chinese

The best part? It’s free all this week! So hurry! It’ll soon be gone.

Best paired with a yummy mooncake to keep your brain juices flowing. Enjoy and happy Chinese learning!

The Nincha Team

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The post Marvelous Mid-Autumn Festival Traditions and Stories appeared first on Ninchanese.

Photo by Natalie Ng

Ready to learn how to say different cuts of meat in Chinese? So you can easily order yummy slices of meat for your next 火锅 huǒ guō hot pot? Or finally, know what kind of meat is in Chinese dumplings? Then Chinese Meat recipes will hold no secret for you!

First, let’s see how to say meat in Chinese as well as Chicken, Turkey, Pork, Lamb, Duck, Veal, and Beef in Chinese.

And no, don’t even ask, we won’t be talking about cat meat in Chinese or any other kind of strange meat (it seems like people look up rat meat in Chinese? The horror). Dog Meat is sometimes eaten in winter because it’s super caloric meat to eat, but we’ve never come across any other type, so enough with the rumors! Alright? Here we go.

Types of Meat in Chinese

Photo by Usman Yousaf

Good to know: In China, you’ll often come across dish names that simply say 肉 ròu Meat. In most restaurants (the obvious exception being Halal Uyghur restaurants ), 肉 will by default be pork. That’s because, traditionally, pork is the most consumed meat (or at least was in the past).
If you’re not sure whether it’s going to be pork or not or are trying to avoid eating pork, better check with your waiter/waitress first!

You’ll also often just see 鸡 jī chicken, 鸭 yā duck, 羊 yáng lamb, mutton, 牛 niú Beef on their own, without the 肉 thrown in, on a menu. So you might not see duck meat in Chinese, but you’ll definitely see 鸭 and a favorite, 烤鸭 yā Roast Duck!

Cuts of Meat in Chinese

Chinese Meat Skewers Photo by Chuan

Love meat skewers? You’re going to love these other street food dishes, then, we bet!

Chicken wings in Chinese and more chicken parts

Chicken Wings are a very loved Chinese food – Photo by George Zheng.

Curious to know how to say scallion in Chinese or cilantro? Check out these Chinese food lists then!
More of a hands-on learner? Then learn directly how to say meat, scallion, and more in Chinese: the Chinese Food World on Ninchanese will teach you and much more!

Just a few of the many things you can learn in the Chinese food course on Ninchanese

Now, let’s get back to our Chinese words for meats.

Parts of Pork in Chinese and Pig Meat-based Products

Pork Meat is often used in Chinese Dumplings – Photo by Alex Hu

Want to learn how to read and say all these meats in Simplified and Traditional Chinese? The Chinese Meats Vocabulary Stage in the Chinese Food World is waiting for you!

The Chinese Cooking World is made for foodies learning Chinese!

Want also to know how to order these meats and other dishes from a restaurant? The Chinese Food World is what you need. Check it out here! 

The Nincha Team

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The post Chinese vocabulary for meat: All you need to know for Beef, Chicken, Pork and more! appeared first on Ninchanese.

The Chinese language can have very meaningful country names like 美国 (the US) which means “beautiful country” or 法国 (France) which means “Lawful country”. That sounds cool, right? But why is America called beautiful country in Chinese? And by that logic, what’s the name of your country?

How foreign countries get their name in the Chinese language

Country names in Chinese are formed usually in three ways:

• Element of description of the country + 国 (which means country).
  Usually it’s a characteristic of the country that’s chosen, along with, if possible, a character that is phonetically close to the country’s name.
  美国 (which is the name in Chinese for the US, with 美 resembling the “mer” in America)， 德国 (Germany’s country name in Chinese)，法国 (France in Chinese) and 英国 (Great Britain’s name in Chinese) are all formed that way.
• Phonetically:
  The other way of naming foreign countries in Chinese is by transliterating the name into Chinese, purely based on sound. As such, a lot of country names in Chinese are based on the phonetic pronunciation of countries. They try to be as close as possible to the name of the country originally, but that’s not always possible.
  Some are pretty easy to guess, however! Can you guess which countries are 澳大利亚 and 古巴?
  Meaning-wise, most country names in Chinese won’t have a literal meaning that makes a lot of sense, but sound-wise, they’ll be close!
• Literal names:
  Lastly, a few foreign names got quite literal names. South Africa is “南非” with 南 for the South, and 非 from 非洲which means Africa in Chinese. Iceland is another great example. Its name is literally the “Ice island” 冰岛. Cool, no?

All the world’s country names in Chinese

Here’s the list of Chinese names of countries, organized alphabetically, with their name in Mandarin Chinese, English name, and pinyin pronunciation. Just pick out your country from the list of country names in Chinese below, read this article on how to talk about your nationality and you’ll be good to go!

The post Country Names in Chinese Mandarin appeared first on Ninchanese.

If you meet a Chinese person, there’s a good chance they’ll ask you, “where are you from”?  Do you know how to say your nationality in Mandarin Chinese? Are you curious to know how to talk about where you come from in Chinese? Read more to discover all the nationalities in Chinese and how you can answer this question!

What nationality are you in Chinese – 你是哪国人

Two ways to ask your nationality in Chinese

You’ll probably get asked about your place of origin in Chinese with one of these two questions:

Question One:
你来自哪儿？
nǐláizìnǎr?
Where do you come from?

Question Two:
你是哪国人？
nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?
What nationality are you?

How to say “I”m from this country” in Chinese

It’s pretty easy to understand how saying “I’m from here” works in Chinese. Let’s use an example. To say that you are French, you say, “我是法国人.” The meaning is “I’m french.” You break down the sentence like this:

• 我 – wǒ – I
• 是 – shì – to be
• 法国人 – Fǎ guó rén – French

Did you see how it works?
You have on the left: 我 + 是 = 我是 = I am
And on the right, a key structure to remember: NAME OF THE COUNTRY + 人 rén = resident of the country.

Once you have that down, you’re golden. You can introduce yourself, no matter what country you’re from! You’ll still want to learn how to say your country in Chinese, but we’ve got you covered. Just pick out your country from the list of country names in Chinese here, and you’re all set!

The post Where are you from? Nationalities in Chinese appeared first on Ninchanese.