Wordbuilding Archives

8 Unexpected Words that Contain a Dragon in Chinese

Ninchanese November 8, 2021

Let’s talk dragons. Yeah, those magnificent mythical creatures. Dragons are super popular in Chinese, so it is no surprise that many Chinese words contain the character dragon. To say dragon in Chinese, you say 龙 lóng, by the way.

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

Vocabulary, Wordbuilding Chinese character learning, Chinese characters, dragon character, dragon words, learning, vocabulary, wordbuilding, words

Where are you from? Nationalities in Chinese

Ninchanese December 3, 2020

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!

Beginner, Intermediate, Vocabulary, Wordbuilding nationalities, sentences, speaking practice

Chinese Word Building: How to say to joke in Chinese

Ninchanese October 20, 2016

Time for a new word-building! Today’s “Play with Chinese words” concerns Chinese humor! It’s all about playing and laughing. You are with your friends and one of your friends cracks a joke. everyone laugh and so the party starts. It’s the best time of your life for sure. A joke a day keeps the doctor away! So let’s play with the Chinese words 玩 and 笑 ! Together, they make the word 玩笑 , have you heard of it? If you haven’t, no worries. Read on and we’ll explain everything to you.

Vocabulary, Wordbuilding building blocks, character breakdown, Chinese characters, chinese words, fun, meaning, wordbuilding

Chinese word building: to surf

Ninchanese October 12, 2016

Time for a new word-building, water edition! In today’s Play with the Chinese word, we explore the word 冲. When you combine it with a second word, you get a new Chinese word that is really fun to do. It’s also a great way to understand how word-building works in Chinese! Can you imagine what the Chinese word for to surf is? Surfing? Are you ready to hit the waves?

Wordbuilding association, building block, Chinese characters, chinese words, ideas, surf