So cheer up and let’s keep learning!

1. China might be closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t visit other Chinese-speaking places.

Yeah, waiting for China to reopen is taking a while. But, hey, there are plenty of Chinese-speaking places in the world. The great news is that some have reopened already!

The meowsome Gardens by the Bay in Singapore are another good reason to learn Chinese – Photo by Isaac Matthew 

Did you know Singapore, for instance, has the Chinese language as one of its official languages? Plus you can travel there again.
Taiwan is slowly reopening too. There’s still a quarantine, true, but it’s being regularly shortened. Here’s to hoping there’ll be none one day soon! With the fact you can now learn in Traditional Chinese on Ninchanese, you have everything you need to get ready to go!

Related: Simplified or Traditional Chinese: which should you learn?

2. China might be far but there are plenty of occasions to speak Chinese around you.

Next to English and Spanish, Chinese is the most spoken language in the world.
So, look around you. You’re bound to find occasions to speak Chinese. To hear Chinese.
Chinatowns. Stores. People.

DC’s Chinatown is one of the many places you can go to practice speaking Chinese – Photo by Richard Tao

Go talk! There are plenty of occasions, everywhere! Just the other day, I chatted a good hour with the salespeople in a Chinese tea shop in Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Finding occasions to speak in Chinese, when you’re learning, is essential. Otherwise, you get rusty! Believe me, from experience, getting a chance to speak in Mandarin, if anything, will act as a great motivation to review what you’ve learned in Chinese so far and practice some more in Chinese!

Did you know, for instance, that Richmond, Canada has a 74% Asian population? It has the highest concentration of Chinese nationals outside of China. Why not schedule a trip there?

And if there are no real occasions where you live, go online. Learn Chinese online. Find people to talk to online. Come chat in Chinese on our Discord chat. Game in Chinese with Chinese speakers. Find yourself an online pen pal. The options are endless, you just have to go looking for them!

Related: What is the Chinese language?

3. It’s good for you from an economic point of view

What’s the downside to knowing an additional language in the job market? None, really.
What’s the downside to knowing the language spoken by one of the biggest economic powers in the world? Even more non-existent. In fact, it’s another meowsome reason to learn Chinese!

China’s brand new skyscrapers – Photo by Road Trip with Raj

From working in China to working with China, to working with Chinese people, for Chinese people, in Chinese, you have plenty of options.
Do you want to do business with China? Have Chinese suppliers?
Do you want to do translations? Interpretation?
In all those fields and many others, knowing Mandarin Chinese, and Business Chinese is a huge plus. So get your learning on!

Related: Explore the Chinese Business course on Ninchanese and get ready to do business in Chinese! 

Liking these reasons to learn Chinese so far? Here’s more!

4. It allows you to see the world from a different perspective

By learning the Chinese language, you’re opening yourself up to a different way of seeing the world, of perceiving it.

See the world differently. Photo by Yiran Ding

Learning Mandarin Chinese helps you have a different world approach. Concepts and ideas are expressed differently in Chinese.

It can be small things, like the fact you don’t “take” medicine, for instance, you “eat” it in Chinese ((You 吃药). And bigger things. For example, the Chinese sentence order is wildly different from, say, the way sentences are shaped in English.
Or the fact that you and me, we might think “I” and point to ourselves. We’re used to thinking solo. A Chinese speaker, when tasked with drawing “I”, the self, might, on the contrary, draw themselves surrounded by others. The concept of “self” is a little different in the Middle Kingdom.

It’s the little details like that that give you insights into how the Chinese people think. Personally, I find that endlessly fascinating. It’s definitely one of the reasons I’ve never stopped learning Chinese.

Plus, if expanding your understanding of cultural differences wasn’t your cup of tea, seeing the world in a different way helps you grow your critical thinking skills. With all the fake news and conspiracy theories swirling around, you (and we all) seriously need that…

5. It’s good for your brain

Learning any language is wonderful for your brain. It develops new areas of your mind and, in particular, strengthens your natural ability to focus and process information.

Learn Chinese and fire up your brain connections! – Photo by Moritz Kindler

Mandarin Chinese, with its beautiful characters and lack of alphabet? It’s like acid for the brain. In a meowsome, wonderful way. It creates in your brain all those new connections. Purrfect to form and strengthen your brain. Go for it.

For instance, a 2003 study found that people who speak Mandarin Chinese use both temporal lobes of their brains to understand the language.  In contrast, English speakers only use the left temporal lobe. Unlock a whole new temporal lobe!

There are plenty of other reasons for learning Mandarin that are good for your brain:

• It keeps your brain healthy. No neural network degradation for you, good person!
• It helps form good thinking patterns in your brain.
• It develops new areas of your mind and utilizes other parts of your brain.
• Some studies say it even helps with math skills!

What’s not to like?

Related: Why learn Mandarin Chinese, the language of Confucius?

6. Chinese culture and history are still very cool

You can’t visit the huge country that is China at the moment, sure. But China still has an extremely interesting history and culture you can explore from afar and learn more about.

There’s a lot to love in Chinese culture aesthetically. Photo by Sahil Pandita

From a rich culture, which led to some amazing inventions for instance, to epic historical events, there’s a lot to discover. And why not do that in Chinese directly? That’s a great reason to learn Chinese!

Related: 10 amazing inventions you didn’t know were Chinese
All you need to know about Chinese dynasties

If you like the idea of learning more about Chinese history but aren’t into history books or museums, there are many many historical C-dramas, as well as youtubers you can check out! Also, check out Ninchanese where you’ll learn Chinese culture as you learn Chinese!

Related: 8 Vloggers to watch to learn more about Chinese culture

7. Reason to learn Chinese: You gain access to a whole new world of content and culture

There’s a large quantity of high-quality Chinese-language content out there, you just need to know how to find it!

From Music to Games, to Movies, to Art, to books… there are a lot of Chinese-speaking artists to discover.

Related: 30 Chinese celebrities to know about

On TV, Cdramas and Taiwanese dramas have a lot of fans, and rightly so!

Related: 10 popular TV shows to improve your Chinese

Romantic and historical C-dramas get their fair share of fans, and  Chinese Wuxia and XianXia are also two media genres that are very popular.

Related: Platforms to watch Chinese videos.
Films to watch

Music and books

In books, there’s a lot to discover too! From Chinese classics like the JingPing Mei, or… to science fiction novels, China and Chinese-language artists have a lot to offer. Take the time to explore!

If you’re more a fan of video games, lots of great offers there too.

 8. Beautiful language Chinese characters

Mandarin Chinese is an amazing language, and its Chinese characters are endlessly fascinating.

There’s the fact Chinese is the oldest written language in the world, dating back to over 4000 years ago.

There’s the fact there’s no alphabet, and that Chinese characters are usually logical. Most Chinese characters contain components and a phonetic component. There are also many opportunities for art with Chinese characters, especially Chinese calligraphy.

In short, Chinese characters are an excellent reason to learn the Chinese language. At the very least, explore the language!
Chinese characters also enable very intriguing poetry to exist. Ever heard of the poem composed only of the sound “shi”? It has a meaning, of course, and is written using many different characters!

9. [Insert your own reason to learn Chinese]

Here’s a secret. All that matters is that you find pleasure in knowing the language.

Truth be told, you don’t need a specific good reason to keep learning a language. You need yours. All you need is to want to learn it. If the language interests you, you’re golden. No need for a huge, lofty goal. It can be a very small goal. Or even, just the fact you derive pleasure from learning and knowing the language.
So find what motivates you and keep learning! Everyone has their own reason to learn Chinese.
Whatever your reason, we’re here to help you learn Mandarin Chinese! It’s all happening on Ninchanese.

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.

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 9 meowsome reasons to still learn Chinese even though China is CLOSED appeared first on Ninchanese.

One of the first things you learn about the Chinese language is that it’s a very melodic language. That’s because the Chinese language is a tonal language. A tone is a way to pronounce a syllable with intonation. Yeah, I know. It’s much easier to write it than to say it.

Tone trick: first, let’s go through a real quick reminder of what tones are.

There are four tones in Chinese, and we often say there is also a 5th tone, which is silent. Each tone should be used every time it’s needed to be understood. Even Chinese speakers on TV have courses about pronouncing the tones right. Just for you to see how important it is.

But don’t worry, it’s ok to make mistakes sometimes. Even the Chinese make tone mistakes from time to time. Doesn’t that put the pressure off a little? Having most of your tones right and a few off will be excused and you’ll still be understood if you’re speaking with someone that understands the context. Context over tones, but tones still matter.

Let’s see all 4 tones, because that’s the key to this tone trick. Understanding the tones and how they work.

• The first tone is a flat tone. You just stay on the same tune a little bit longer.
• The second tone is a rising tone. You just tune up the syllable.
• The third tone is a waving tone. Really funny to do, you go down and up when you’re saying that tone on its own, and a little down and mostly up, when it’s in a sentence. (note: the third note behaves differently when combined with other tones, but let’s explore that later on)
• The fourth tone is a drop tone. Like his name tells you, your tune goes down.

Are you starting to understand where I’m taking you with that? The secret about tones is that we already use these 4 tones in our language! When? When we want to put an emphasis on a word.

Isn’t that a meowsome tone trick to realize? Tones in Chinese aren’t so foreign after all.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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Wait, I’ll show you with examples:

• The first tone, a flat tone is actually the same intonation you use when you agree with something. Or when you say ahhhh, when you’re realized something and so you keep the same intonation for a little while.
• Second tone, rising tone. I’m sure you can imagine already: it’s like asking the question what?
• Third tone, waving tone. Easy, you know when you want the other to continue speaking and you’re like humhum? The same.
• Fourth tone, the drop. It’s like when you’re on the verge of winning a Ninchallenge, one more card to go… and your opponent just got a 6 points card correct. And you’re like. No! Oh No! Sharp no. 🙂

  Here’s the tone trick with our cute Nincha and Lupishu as stars.

Okay, now, you’re all set to start speaking Chinese with the right tones. Just imitate how you speak in a certain situation to get you started. It’s a lot less daunting that way!

It’s a good way to start. Granted, it won’t feel natural until after a few tries but your tones will be alright!
Okay, now that you know this meowsome tone trick, you’re all set. Now, you can train your tones on the Ninchanese app. Start a new speaking stage, you’ll have to say words and sentence with the right tones! It’s a great tool to train yourself to use the right tones and pronounce Chinese perfectly.

Did this secret method help you? What’s your favorite way to practice saying tones? Let us know in the comments!

The Nincha Team

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The post The super hidden (and insanely useful) tone trick no one tells you about appeared first on Ninchanese.

How do you find the Chinese character you are looking for?

Today, we’ll show you tricks to study Chinese by using an IME. Using an IME is an excellent way to improve your Chinese and practice writing Chinese as the Chinese do.

Real fast: What’s an IME and how do you use one?

A Chinese IME is a Chinese “input method editor” which allows you to type Chinese characters easily like a native Chinese speaker, using Pinyin. They are kind of like a Chinese keyboard but with way more options than just 26 letters. Having an IME helps a lot with writing Chinese online and using it is a great way to progress in your Chinese. This is how you learn to write Chinese characters in the listening stage on Ninchanese.

No IME yet? Head here to see how to get one!

Because you use an IME to write in Chinese, it’s also a great tool to help you identify mistakes you may be making in the way you memorized some Chinese words. In particular, I see two points where using an IME can help you identify your mistakes:

• Using a Chinese keyboard allows you to notice if you’re not spelling a word right in pinyin / pronouncing a Chinese word right because it won’t bring up the right results.
• It also lets you see if you’re familiar with what the word looks like in Chinese and not just with its pronunciation: because once you enter the pinyin for the Chinese character you want to enter, you still have to be able to pick out the right character for the sound you want! 

Actually, IMEs are getting increasingly clever, to make your life easier. More and more of these Chinese input methods use predictive engines, kind of like autocorrect, to guess what you’re trying to say even if you don’t quite remember how to write the word you’re looking for.

The truth is, however, your IME sometimes won’t be that helping pal that does the thinking for you. It will just help you to know you’re wrong but won’t give you the word in Mandarin you’re looking for. So, in that case, what can you do to find the right character? What if there was a method that allowed you to find that correct Chinese character and at the same time train your Chinese to remember better the Chinese character you’ve mistakenly learned?

Let’s explore with an example

 The other day, I wanted to write the word that means “Jealous” in Chinese. I typed “chisu” to bring it up in my IME, but nothing that looked right was coming up in the results.

Uh oh. Something’s wrong. No “to feel jealous” there.

Sure, I could have grabbed a Chinese dictionary and looked up the word “to feel jealous” in Chinese.

But I felt that was too easy. I was determined to understand why I wasn’t getting any results, in a way that would really help me memorize the Chinese word for “to feel jealous”. So I put my detective hat on and went on a mission to discover the culprit.

So here’s what I did.

 My 吃 is correct; that I was sure of. So it must be the “su” that’s faulty.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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 Searching for the character Su

These results definitely don’t look like what I’m looking for.

Clinging to your Chinese memories

I take a few seconds to remember how the words I wanted to find looked. While I wasn’t quite sure about the second character –  or I could just have drawn it – I remembered the second character had the radical 酉 alcohol radical in it. So, I looked for characters with that radical or component in it, with my IME. Components are often either a sound or a meaning component so it could be a good path to find the character I was looking for.

After going through the first 5 results the IME suggested for “su”, and looking at other options, I found this character 酥  on the IME. Not quite the mental image I had in mind but worth a shot. Could that be the Su(e) I was desperately seeking (sorry, bad Madonna joke :D)?

So I looked that character up on my favorite Chinese dictionary, Ninchanese:

Screenshot of 酥 on Ninchanese

Oh. So it means “flaky pastry; crunchy; limp; soft; silky”. Not the one I was looking for.

Strangely evocative but not what I’m looking for.

So writing “su” alone without “chi” did not give me the result I wanted. But it did not refute the hypothesis that the word was containing “chi”, right? 

This time around, it looks like my method trying to find the character I wanted using a key component and the pronunciation I thought was correct, was not helping to find the right character either. Either my “su” is wrong, and I’m seriously starting to think that’s the problem here, or I made up the presence of “酉“ as a component in it. 

Okay, time to need to investigate further!

What shall I 吃?

My “Su” lead obviously isn’t getting me anywhere. But, I know for sure the expression started with “吃”.

So I went online and typed 吃 in Ninchanese’s dictionary to see what kind of expressions contained 吃. It brought up these results:

The 吃 I was looking for was first, so I clicked on it to see what kind of expressions contained 吃. Guess what? There’s a bunch – 128 related words! The Chinese sure to use their word “吃” to create other words! But it’s easy to look up all the related words that contain a Chinese character in Ninchanese’s dictionary results. Time to dig in and find “jealous”!

To replicate this search yourself, go here: https://app.ninchanese.com/word/simplified/119585/%E5%90%83%E9%86%8B

Tada!

吃醋!

Found it!

Here’s the culprit: 吃醋 Chīcù. Which means, literally, to consume vinegar. But people use it to say someone’s jealous. Because of love, naturally.

See? I knew it had 酉 the alcohol radical in it!  Turns out I wasn’t indeed typing the right pinyin. It should have been with a “c” ->  chī cù.  “Su” sounds a little close to “cu”, too. (Bad memory! Thank you, IME and Ninchanese.)

 So there you go! You have learned Chinese a little on the side AND spot your mistakes in Chinese.

How about you? Has that happened to you before? If so, what kind of errors do you spot with your IME? Let us know if you have any other Nincha techniques with your IME!

 吃fully yours!

The Nincha Team

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The post What to do when you can’t find the word you’re looking for with an IME? appeared first on Ninchanese.

Can you believe it’s already time for summer? How time flies! You’ll be soon on your long awaited holiday and doing all sorts of summer fun activities! Will you keep learning Chinese? Naw, no time for that, you think. Here’s a thought: what’s worse than having spent time learning so many Chinese characters to then forget them in less than 2 months? Nothing, right? You may be dreaming of sunshine, and being outside, rather than on your computer, using Ninchanese, but worry not! Ninchanese works great on your mobile devices. Summer is full of opportunities to speak and practice your Chinese, especially with this list of 10 fun things you can do right away to improve your Mandarin! So read on, and get ready to have lots of fun leveling up your Chinese this summer!

The first tip needs sand to be done! Let’s go to the beach, then! Well, only mentally for now…

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

Write Chinese characters on the beach

You’ll probably spend your holidays on the beach. What are your plans? Swimming, tanning, building sand castles? No, forget sand castles, they are so overrated. Instead, how about drawing the Chinese characters you know in the sand? Take a picture of your beautiful creations and go Instagram them with the hashtag #myninchanesesummer! We’ll pick the best pictures of characters, and you’ll get a surprise!
The beach is the perfect place to practice your Chinese writing, now you know that. It can also be a very useful place to make new friends. Come on, have you ever played beach volley?

Make Chinese-speaking friends

Chinese learning requires practicing and daring to speak Mandarin from the beginning is a great way to set your Chinese pronunciation skills on the right track. Your holiday destination a perfect occasion to do so. Depending on where you’re going, odds are there’ll be Chinese tourists there too. Don’t miss your chance! This is a perfect time to meet new people and make Chinese-speaking friends! All you have to do is go and talk to them! I know it can be scary at first, but to practice and improve your Chinese, you need to leave your comfort zone.

The first time I went to China, I was alone and felt very nervous on the plane. Traveling alone is not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re young. It’s very scary. I knew, then, I had to make friends so they could comfort me. In the plane, my neighbors were an old Chinese couple. They looked very nice. They were the perfect target! I needed to talk to them! It all started with a 你好 and then she asked me questions in Chinese about my travel. It made me feel better. I was also very happy she could understand me. I really improved both my understanding and listening skills.

So don’t be shy, and make your holiday mission to connect with Chinese people. At least, dare to say “你好”! You’ll see they’ll be glad to hear someone speaking their mother tongue and most likely open to chatting with you. Plus, your family and friends will be very impressed to see you speaking Chinese with natives.

Another tip that will impress your friends for sure and prevent you from forgetting your Chinese over the summer, playing the DJ.

Create a Chinese playlist

Be a trendsetter, play the hottest 2016 Chinese pop songs on the beach! All your friends will be impressed by your DJ skills. Playing music in Chinese will also help you improve your listening skills. I just have the best 2016 Chinese playlist you need, that should help you.
Summer holidays are also the equivalent of Chinese learning loss, therefore, listening to someone speaking Mandarin will help you not become a total stranger towards Chinese.

If you want to stay discreet on the beach and keep your hottest songs for yourself, that’s totally fair. Listening to your fave Chinese songs on repeat is great to tune your ears to sounds in Chinese. At first, the lyrics might seem incomprehensible, but you’ll be happy to see after a few listens that you now understand each lyric a lot better! Read the lyrics to the songs online and look up all the words you don’t know in our Chinese dictionary. It’ll be a fun exploration!

Summer is the perfect occasion for outdoor activities during sunny days. But, the weather can surprise us, so here’s a list of indoor activities to keep you having fun practicing your Chinese on summer rainy days.

Sing in the rain!

OK, don’t sing literally in the rain, you might get sick from that. Sing in your shower. Come on, everyone does it. Learn to sing one of those Chinese songs you’ve listened to so much outside each day and perform while showering. This is your moment, so enjoy it! Learning Chinese can be fun and done everywhere, even in your bathroom! That way, you get a perfect combo of both having trained your listening skills with Chinese songs, and having o practiced your speaking skills! Tons of songs will use the vocabulary learned on Ninchanese, it’s a good way to review these words.

If you’d rather be entertained that entertain your neighbors with your amazing voice (I’m sure it is), here’s a great way to practice Chinese while playing!

The secret tip for gamers!

Not everyone has planned to go on vacation. Or maybe you’d like to stay home having fun and resting today. Be delighted dear gamers, I’ve got the perfect tip for you to keep practicing and learning Chinese without even knowing it –well kind of. Put your video games in Chinese! You can also play online with Chinese speakers, and use the chats to practice with them. We hear it’s particularly effective to learn swear words. to practice! Isn’t it amazing? In Ninchanese, we know that a fun learning is more efficient!

If you’re not a big fan of videos games, don’t worry, I have some other amazing tips for you! There are plenty of other fun activities you can do indoors to practice your Chinese this summer, like using your TV for example!

Watch movies. But in Chinese, please!

If you love watching movies, you’ve come to the right place. But this time, for a pleasant change, watch them in Chinese! Watching movies and shows in Chinese will help you improve your listening and comprehension skills! Here are the 10 best Chinese TV shows to watch. So, what do you say? Ready for a binge-watching kind of holiday?

Or maybe you don’t want to spend all your holidays in the dark, watching TV. If you want to be more active, here’s the solution: cook!

Cook Chinese dishes!

Channel your inner chef, and pick recipes that are in Chinese, or maybe in both Chinese and English. Challenge yourself, and cook awesome dishes to surprise your friends and family! There are so many easy recipes you can do. Plus, you’ll learn so many new words about food and cooking in Chinese along the way. Here’s a recipe to a cool and easy to make Chinese delicacy, that I like to cook myself, to get you started: the super-tasty 糯米糍 nuòmǐ cí (Sticky rice balls). You can also find cooking videos in Chinese on youtube that can help you to improve both your listening and cooking skills.

Just started The Best Chinese Food Board on @pinterest! Suggestions of good Chinese recipes? https://t.co/u7VHJHaI5W pic.twitter.com/IXEhtILzVn

— Ninchanese (@Ninchanese) 16 June 2016

Cooking in Mandarin is very useful for learning Chinese, you’ll see! And when you’re going to buy the ingredients, don’t forget to say “你好” to the sellers of the shop! Seize all the opportunities to speak Chinese with natives!

The next tip on your list is also one you can share with your family.

Teach Chinese to your family

If you’re lucky enough to have siblings that are willing to learn some Chinese, then go for it! Try teaching your family a few words and sharing with them your adventures learning Chinese. If someone else in your family is also learning Chinese, you can also play games in Chinese on the way to your holiday destination. You can play Chinese learning games about guessing characters or their meanings, or challenge them to a Ninchallenge, a duel over your knowledge of learning Chinese. You’ll have arrived before you know it!

This tip is also a good way to spend some family time bonding with your parents and siblings. You’ll remember these summer holidays forever, and your Chinese will be so much improved. Your friends can also be a good help when learning Chinese , especially on social networks when they notify you. Learn how to turn those pesky notifications into sneak Chinese learning sessions in our next tip. in the following method.

Learning Chinese with Facebook

Change the language input of your Facebook account and set it in Chinese is a great way to practice using a site completely in Chinese and learning the web and computer terms in Chinese. You’ll learn new words regarding social networks, but you’ll also review ones you’ve learned with Nincha. You’ll see, it’s an interesting experience turning a tool you’re so familiar with into something a little more challenging.
And whenever you post something on Facebook, like a picture of you during the holidays, you’ll be notified in Chinese of the likes, reactions and comments! Isn’t that super cool and super sneaky?

Whether it’s on the beach, in the countryside, in another country or at home, most of us will be spending our holidays with family and friends this summer. Don’t forget to give yourself some me-time too, it’s also a good way to enjoy holidays and rest before going back to work. So, how can you prevent summer Chinese learning loss if it’s just you and your cat?

Ninchanese your cat!

Talk to your cat in Chinese, it won’t judge you, I swear! Try to teach it a few words. For instance, order your cat to bring you a coffee but in Chinese! See? There are so many things you can do with it! Practice with your cat as if you were practicing with Nincha, except your cat won’t answer you, well, I guess so…
If your cat would rather hunt than listen to you speak, you can also try speaking to yourself or speaking in front of a mirror. If you do, watch your face, your match and your body language as you speak, and try to talk for 2, 3 minutes, just like you’d be talking to a friend. Or to your cat. If you don’t know how to say something, don’t stop to look it up. Just keep going, find a different way to express yourself or change your sentence. It’s great to see what areas in speaking you’re having trouble with and need to be worked on, and to identify words you don’t know but would like to look up.

And if you want to know if your Chinese pronunciation is good, use our voice-recognition feature to get instant feedback on your speaking skills.

Final words:

From outdoor to indoors, we hope this list of summer activities will keep your holiday fun-filled and full of Chinese! You may have noticed that all these activities have one thing in common: to have you practicing and learning Chinese as much as you can this summer. Take every opportunity to do a little Chinese, whether it’s on the beach with Chinese tourists, by drawing characters in the sand or at home by listening Chinese songs and reviewing word. And remember the key to making Chinese learning enjoyable is to find a fun way to do it! You also know you’ll have Ninchanese with you, on your mobile devices, so whenever you have a few minutes, keep improving your Chinese learning online with Ninchanese. We’ll be here all summer to guide you and take care of your Chinese language learning. You can also check Ninchanese secret tips to fully enjoy the platform!

Do you have any secret tips to keep learning Chinese during summer? Share them with us in the comments!

Pauline and

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 Top 10 Fun Activities to Keep Learning Chinese This Summer appeared first on Ninchanese.

Watching Chinese TV shows is a great way to improve your listening comprehension skills in Chinese. You can listen to the natives speaking (at a native speed) while having fun watching them doing crazy or awesome things. Whether you’re a sport show fan, an entertainment aficionado, or love hearing regular people sing their heart out in TV singing competitions, you’ll find something to your liking in this list of popular Chinese TV shows. What do you say ready for a Netflix and Chill in Chinese?

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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#1 Chinese TV Shows on Entertainment

快乐大本营 kuài yuè dàběnyíng Happy Camp

This TV Show, Happy Camp, must be the most popular amusement program in mainland China. It started in 1997 and is still running now. It doesn’t matter how old you are, in China, everyone loves this show!

This Chinese TV show stars 5 famous hosts such as 何炅Hé Jiǒng and 谢娜 Xiè Nà who play games with guests. It’s a very funny show that will have you laughing all along. Each week, the most popular and famous people of the moment are invited to play new challenges such as “catch the pig tail”. Chinese people love to watch this TV show together as they know they’re in for a good time laughing and gossiping together.

Why you should watch it: Gossip, famous Chinese celebrities, games, and jokes, what more could you ask for? This show is a perfect conversation starter with your Chinese friends to boot.

If you’re a big fan of EXO (K-pop band with a Chinese member) you can watch this episode of Happy Camp online, featuring the whole band, with English subtitles.

#2 Chinese TV Shows About Outdoor Sports

奔跑吧兄弟 bēnpǎo ba xiōngdì Running Man

Inspired by the Korean TV show “Running man”, this Chinese recent version is named 奔跑吧兄弟, literally “Hurry up brother”. It’s a show all about real outdoor sports made by 浙江卫视 zhèjiāng wèishì Zhejiang TV channel in collaboration with Korea SBS station. If you want to explore different local Chinese customs and traditions and see all kind of spots, this TV show is a good choice to watch. Each episode of the program is set in a different city and different guests are invited to join the team so they can help out the members of their team with their different sport missions.

Why you should watch it: If you’re looking for fun, sports, famous persons and funny quests then you’ve just found the Chinese TV show you need.

You can watch this Chinese TV show with Chinese subtitles for free and online on the Zhejiang TV channel on youtube or start with the first episode of Running Man, featuring the Negociator, with English subtitles.

极限挑战 jíxiàn tiǎozhàn Go fighting!

This is also an outdoor sport show but made specially for the Misters! In this show, a six-men team faces different types of outdoor extreme activities.

These six gentlemen have one objective: overcome the extreme games they are tasked to do. This TV show follows a fascinating story line and will make you laugh hard, especially since the six members of the team are Chinese famous actors.

Why you should watch it: Because you want to see how they can overcome the obstacles and win together. Team-building is powerful, right?

You can watch the first season of this awesome Chinese TV show online with English subtitles or on Shanghai TV official channel.

#3 Chinese Music TV Shows

Afraid that watching these outdoor sports shows will make you sweat? Let’s cool down with two Chinese music TV shows that will surely give you goosebumps.

我是歌手 wǒ shì gēshǒu I am a Singer

I Am a Singer is another Korean inspired TV show and revolves around a singing competition. Seven singers perform in front of an audience that decides to eliminate one singer per episode. But what is tricky in I am a Singer is that a new singer joins the show every week. The set of this Chinese TV show looks like a wrestling ring in which singers are competing to be the one that gets the most votes.

Why you should watch it: If you’re a Chinese music lover who wants to see their favorite popstars on TV, then definitely check this TV show out! .

To watch this TV show, head to the Hunan TV Official Channel (with Chinese subtitles).

中国好声音 zhōngguó hǎo shēngyīn The Voice of China

You certainly already know the American and British versions (The Voice US and The Voice UK) of this Chinese TV show.

Music lovers will definitely love this show in which unknown singers compete to reach the last round and be crowned The Voice of China.

The Voice of China is made of three rounds: a blind audition, a battle phase where candidates must sing the best they can to be saved by the audience, and live performance shows. Four musician judges only hear (and can’t see) the candidates for the first time and decide whether or not to take them in their team. The judges then each coach their teams to win the battle phase and live performance shows. Each season of the TV show goes on until the last one man standing wins the show and becomes a superstar.

Singers that come on the Voice of China differ from 我是歌手 wǒ shì gēshǒu I am a Singer singers because they are totally unknown to the audience; they’re just random people like you and me, which makes you love the (good) singers even more.

Why you should watch it: This Chinese TV show is a perfect choice for you if you want to be the first one to discover the new future popstars of China.

To access all the episodes and seasons, head to TVOCHINA official youtube channel (it’s only in Chinese).

#4 Chinese TV Shows：Love Games

More into romantic TV shows? Then check out these love games in Chinese!

为她而战 wèi tā ér zhàn Fight For Her

Are there ladies out there? We haven’t forgotten about you. Here’s a special romantic show about spreading your love.

为她而战 Fight For Her is a TV show about men fighting for their wives. This is an original Chinese mainland TV show with well-known Chinese people. The show focuses on 12 famous couples that make their entrance hand in hand and compete together through games to score points and win.
It’s really funny because you can see the husbands desperately fighting for their wives by taking risks in games which really show their true love for their women!

Why you should watch it: Gain insights into your favorite Chinese couples’ dynamics and get to know them more.

Head here to watch the show for free (with Chinese subtitles)

Single ladies, put your hands up! If Fight For Her is a little too couple for you, this Chinese TV show should please you more.

非诚勿扰 fēichéngwùrǎo You Are the One

You Are the One is all about finding true love. In each episode, men introduce themselves through short video clips. Women decide whether or not they want to get to know the men more by turning on or off the light above the gentlemen’s heads.
Love can be cruel sometimes.
Once the woman has chosen “her man”, she invites him on stage to have a talk. Then it’s the man’s turn, he can ask questions as well to get acquainted with the girl and also finally decide if the woman is or isn’t his “heartbeat girl”. If she is, then, it’s a happy ending.

Why you should watch it: Because you want people to love each other and it’s really cute how people get to know each other.

To watch some of the episodes with English subtitles you can head to this fan channel.

#5 Chinese TV Shows with Parent-child Programs

If love shows are not your cup of tea, you can definitely spend some quality family time watching parent-child Chinese TV shows. Then the whole family can have fun watching a Chinese TV show while practicing their Chinese. Good idea, right?

爸爸去哪儿 bàba qù nǎ'er Dad, Where Are We Going?

This Chinese TV show is based on the original South Korean reality show “Dad! Where Are We Going?” in which you follow the adventure of fathers taking their children on a tour in rural China. This TV show was so successful in China, that the TV show’s producers, Hunan Television adapted it into two movies, “Where Are We Going, Dad?” released in 2014 and “Where Are We Going, Dad? 2” in 2015.

Why you should watch it: Because you’ll love to see how father can bond with their children. You’ll also get a tour in China’s countryside.

You can the season 3 of “Dad! Where Are We Going?” (the only one easily available with English subtitles). You can also go and check on the Hunan TV official channel for more videos of 爸爸去哪儿 Dad! Where Are We Going?” (in Chinese with Chinese subtitles) .

爸爸回来了 bàba huílái le Dad is coming back

Dad is coming back is a TV show about famous dads that are left to care for their offspring alone for 48 hours. Their wives leaves home and the dads don’t receive any help from anyone. It’s really nice to watch those cute babies interact in games with their fathers and see how dads on their own raise their children.

Why you should watch it: Because you’ve always been wondering how famous parents raise their children. You’ll love to see them do their best to survive these 48 hours

Click here to watch the show online (in Chinese only).

Both of these programs are popular Chinese mainland TV shows. By watching this, you can take a look at how stars get along with their kids in real life.

#5 Popular Chinese TV shows on Travel

Is traveling your thing? Then we have something for you, wanderlusters. This last Chinese TV show is going to take you on a fun journey!

花儿与少年 huā er yǔ shàonián Divas hit the road season

Have you already heard the expression 穷游 qióngyóu poor tour? This expression has become a catchword in China as more and more people prefer to travel by getting lifts and staying in hostels to save money rather than splurging.

For ordinary people, taking a “poor tour” might not be a big deal but what about celebrities? In this show, you can see how Chinese famous people deal with all kinds of problems that arise from going on a “poor tour”, such as not having enough money to eat, not having an assistant surrounding them or dealing without a phone abroad. Seems interesting and funny, don’t you think?

Why you should watch it: If you want to have great fun and laugh at famous people struggling with everyday tasks, then you need to watch this show.

You’ll find these funny videos by clicking on the link (some have English subtitles).

And this concludes our selection of popular Chinese TV shows to explore! The Nincha team has provided you with a broad range of Chinese TV show types so you can find your favorites. So relax, turn on the TV (well, only if you have Chinese TV channels – go to the links we suggest otherwise)… and have a great time watching and learning with Chinese TV shows. Happy watching! You’ll love seeing how much you can improve your Chinese while watching Chinese TV online.

You can also take part in this Quora topic to know more about Chinese TV shows.

Once you watch these shows, be sure to come back and tell us which is your favorite Chinese TV show! one after you watch them? Mine’s undoubtedly is “Hurry up brother”. 🙂

Do you have a favorite TV show that we didn’t mention? Share them with us in the comments belows!

Yanjie, Pauline and 

The Nincha Team

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The post 10 Popular Chinese TV Shows to Help You Learn Chinese appeared first on Ninchanese.

Have you noticed that Chinese people always have a western name? They believe it’ll help them fit in better overseas, and it’s a great idea to do the same as them when you move to China. Chinese names are the key to being accepted and truly immersed in China.It’s also very fun to create one’s name. Follow this guide, step by step, so you don’t make any faux-pas and share with us the Chinese names you pick!

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

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Why finding the right Chinese names matter

When it comes to choosing Chinese names, foreigners must be careful to not pick the wrong name. When Chinese parents choose a name for their child, they make sure to pick the right one as it impacts the child’s future. The same applies to you, choosing your Chinese name will also have an impact on your future and your relations.
A good Chinese name will show you took the time to reflect on what Chinese names entail, were respectful of Chinese traditions, and didn’t just use a random Chinese names generator. So, read on and learn the keys to finding and creating the right new Chinese name for you.

Step 1 for good Chinese names: Pick a Chinese name that fits your gender

Chinese parents want to give their children names that are full of the characteristics they hope their children will have when growing older. Based on their child’s gender, their choice will be different, just like in the Western World.

Boys are given Chinese names with “boy” characteristics, and girls have girl-sounding names. For instance, traditional Chinese boy names are related to strength and prosperity. Girls are traditionally given names that are evocative of beauty, grace and flowers. You’ll never run into a Chinese boy named 茉莉 mòlì Jasmine, for example. Can you imagine? His life would be ruined, he’d probably feel ashamed and people would probably laugh at him.

The same goes for you: when choosing your Chinese name, don’t pick a name that doesn’t fit your gender. Or do so at your own risk and be warned that Chinese people may stare at you and think your name is strange.

Now that we have the gender-issue out of the way, let’s move on to the different options you have to build your Chinese name. The three main ways of picking a name in Chinese are :choosing a meaningful one, a good-looking one or a name that sounds like yours. Let’s start with picking a name for its meaning.

Step 2 for good Chinese names: Choose a Chinese name that has a meaning

One way of finding yourself a Chinese name is to pick a name that sounds nothing like your name but has a strong meaning. It’s a common way to pick a name. Based on your character and your personality, you can easily find Chinese words and Chinese characters that will suit you and your unique traits.

For example, if you are a gentle, nice and sweet-mannered girl, I suggest something like 淑婉 shū wǎn. It could fit you perfectly as it means: tender, graceful and virtuous.

You’re a smart and exceptional boy? In that case, 明杰 could be a cool name for you. míng means intelligent, reasonable and clear-sighted and 杰 jié means outstanding. This name should definitely make a good impression.

Meaningful names are always a good idea if you want to show off in front of Chinese people. Hehe~

Step 3 to good Chinese names: Select a name that look beautiful on paper and will make a wow impression

Some people prefer having a beautiful-looking name when written on the paper to choosing meaningful characters. So this can be another good way to choose your Chinese name. If you like this approach, then you have a broad range of good-looking characters waiting for you to pick them. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” as they say, so we’re leaving the choice up to you.

Want to stand out? You can also pick characters from traditional Chinese that are more complex. They’ll add some eccentricity to your Chinese names.

The name 陶淵明 Táoyuānmíng is a good example of a beautiful-in-writing name. It’s written in traditional Chinese and that makes it special. Besides, 陶淵明 was an amazing poet during the Jin Dynasty era.

Step 4 to good Chinese names: Pick a Chinese name that sound just like yours

Like your birth name and want a Chinese name that sounds the same, but in Chinese? That’s also an option. You can translate your name into Chinese. This method is quite popular method among foreigners but it’s also risky. You have to remember to make it sound like a real Chinese name as well, so it’s not weird-sounding to the Chinese natives around you.

Let’s take the name Robert to show you how “Chinesifying” your name works.
Robert becomes 罗佩 Luó pèi. Say it out loud and the magic happens. It sounds about the same, right? There’s no particular meaning added to the translation of Robert, here. But sometimes you can do both: choose a meaningful name while staying faithful to your original name.

Let’s have a little fun: These are the name of the Ninchanese Team aka. “Nincha Team”: Sarah:莎娜, Jean-Rémi: 尚海明, and Pauline: 玻琳. Mathieu didn’t have a Chinese name yet, so we picked this one for him ^^: 马修 and 斯婧’s western name is Hermione.

Step 5: Chinese names dos and don’ts

DO: pick a “short’ name
Chinese names are made of 3 characters maximum, the average is two characters.

Sometimes foreigners shorten their names and combine their first and last name so it looks and sounds better. Let’s take Melanie Hamilton from Gone with the Wind, in Chinese, her name became 韩媚兰 Hánmèilán. Hán is for her last name and mèilán is for Melanie. It was shortened so it’s easier to read and it sounds more Chinese.

DON’T go overboard: So don’t come up with a name like 伟烈伶勇武 + a last name. It would be too obvious that you made up a name by yourself.

DO: When translating your name, pay attention to the meaning of your Chinese name.
陸克文 Lù kèwén Kevin Rudd is a good example, it’s recognizable and it’s not weird for a Chinese because it doesn’t mean anything in particular.

DON’T: Ignore the meaning of your name, even if you’re going for something phonetically close to your birth name. Or you’ll end up on a list of super weird names foreigners picked, like these two:
To all the Roses out there, please, please, don’t choose 肉丝 as your Chinese name: 肉丝 Ròu sī means Slices of pork.
Boys named Daniel, we’ve also found something for you to avoid: 大牛 Dà niú big cow, yup, you heard it. Super ugly, right? Even if it’s funny, we really don’t recommend picking a name like that for everyday use.

DON’T: Something else you should avoid when picking a Chinese name for yourself is choosing a cliché Chinese name. Stereotyped names are the worst and they’ll sound very funny to Chinese people: 美花 měi huā beautiful flower is a terrible choice.

Names like 李刚 Lǐgāng, 王小明 wángxiǎomíng and 张梅 zhāng méi are already very popular Chinese names so try not to pick these and find something less used and authentic!

DO: Take your Chinese name out for a test drive before you make it official.
Another important thing to do before making your new Chinese name official, is to try it out on your Chinese friends. See if they don’t burst out laughing when you tell them, and let them check if it sounds OK in Chinese to them. A native ear is the best way to tell if you’ve given yourself a stellar or less than stellar name.

To sum up

1. Pick different characters for your name based on whether you’re a girl or a boy
2. Decide on how you’re going to create your Chinese name: Do you want it to be meaning based?
3. Do you want it to look pretty?
4. Do you want it to sound like your birth name?
5. Check the do and don’t list to make sure you didn’t forget anything…

And you’ll be good to go! By following all these steps, you’ll be able to choose a Chinese name that fits perfectly. If you respect the rules, you’ll be in total immersion in China. Now it’s your turn to create your Chinese names! You can also check the most used Chinese names. Let us know below what you pick! And tell us, why did you choose those?

The Nincha Team

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The post Chinese Names: The 5-Step Guide to Create Yours appeared first on Ninchanese.

As you know, being polite and thankful towards people will always bring you good things, especially if you make the effort to say them in their native language. Try these expressions to see!

谢谢 is one of the first words to learn in Chinese to say thank you. But did you know there are many more expressions to say thank you in Chinese? Let’s start with the basic ways to say thank you in Chinese and introduce 3 more ways to thank you in Chinese to you.

#1 Thank you in Chinese: 谢谢 – Thank you

Let’s start from the beginning. 谢谢 xiè xie thank you is the most used word to thank someone in Chinese.

As you can see, 谢谢 is a double syllable word. It can seem a bit hard to pronounce. To help you through your Chinese learning adventure, here’s a Nincha tip to say it like a native: think of a sound between /s/ and /sh/. You got it? Great, that’s how you should pronounce the “x” in 谢谢 (xiè xie) .
Try to say xiè xie now. Pay attention to the fact there’s a the neutral tone on the second syllable and your thank you in Chinese will be perfect.
You can also learn the word 谢谢 in Ninchanese if you have a look in the world 1.

When receiving food, gifts or anything else you’re feeling thankful for, you can definitely say 谢谢. Here’s an example:

我买了巧克力给你 Wǒ mǎile qiǎokèlì gěi nǐ I bought chocolate for you

谢谢 xiè xie thank you

It’s good to know that the Chinese don’t use 谢谢 as much as some other cultures do. That’s why you might not always hear them saying thanks. Don’t think it’s because they’re being impolite, it’s a cultural thing.
In China, people can feel uncomfortable when saying thank you because it puts distance between the speaker and the recipient, and that’s not something they want to do, especially if they’re close. Chinese people just don’t want to put distance between each other. Shortening social distance is their way of being polite .

Bonus uses of 谢谢:

If you’re texting or messaging someone and want to thank them, you can also use

duōxiè thanks a lot.

多谢 is mostly used in writing. But nowadays, people sometimes use it when speaking as well.

When meeting someone for the first time, talking to someone higher-ranked or older than you then you certainly want to be more formal when thanking them.

You can use 谢谢你 xiè xie nǐ thank you to be a little more formal but when talking someone hierarchically higher than you, it’s better to say 谢谢您 xiè xienín as 您 is the formal form of 你.

When someone offers you an awesome gift you can tell them:

谢谢你的礼物! Xièxie nǐ de lǐwù! Thank you for your gift!

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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#2 Thank you in Chinese: 非常感谢你 – Thank you very much

Sometimes in life you’re truly grateful. ”感谢” ”gǎnxiè” ”to is a great verb to use for those times. It emphasizes on the emotions, the feeling you’re going through.
When someone has been very nice with you and you feel like you owe them something then you can express your feelings of gratitude by saying:

非常感谢你 fēi cháng gǎn xiè nǐ thank you very much.

Be careful, though, this sentence is formal, so don’t use it when receiving a present or food, for instance. Save for times when you’re feeling extremely grateful.

Here’s when you can use this expression, for example. Imagine a situation in which you have to take the train and are very late – I can feel your pain – and someone you don’t even know helps you get to the train station by calling and paying a taxi for you to make sure you make your train. This is what you must tell them:

非常感谢你的帮助 Fēicháng gǎnxiè nǐ de bāngzhù Thank you very much for your help

You’ll see a big smile on their face!

#3 Thank you in Chinese: 感激 – To be grateful

Another word used to say thank you in Chinese is 感激 gǎnjī to be grateful. It expresses a deeper gratitude than 谢谢 and 感谢. You use 感激 when you are grateful. If someone has helped you when you were at the end of your rope, for instance, you can tell them:

当我消沉的时候，你鼓励了我。对此我十分感激。 Dāng wǒ xiāochén de shíhòu, nǐ gǔlìle wǒ. Duì cǐ wǒ shífēn gǎnjī. I really appreciate that you helped lift my spirits when I was feeling low.

#4 Thank you in Chinese: 哪里哪里 – You’re too kind

The expression 哪里哪里 nǎlǐ nǎlǐ you’re too kind is something you can also use to say thank you in Chinese, but only when you are praised by the others. When Chinese people are being paid compliments, they tend to prefer to show humility and modesty.
So, they avoid saying thank you which might be seen as too direct and which would make them seem too confident. Therefore, instead of using 谢谢 to acknowledge the compliment, the Chinese would rather say 哪里哪里 to deflect the compliment (while secretly enjoying the praise).

For example:

If someone says:

你很漂亮 Nǐ hěn piàoliang You’re beautiful

A native would answer:

哪里哪里 nǎlǐ nǎlǐ you’re too kind

Now that you know how to thank people, when to thank someone and how to show your gratitude in every situation, you can easily immerse yourself in the Chinese society. +1 for your basic Chinese survival skills! But what if someone says thank you in Chinese to you? What can you answer them?

Bonus: 3 ways to say “You’re welcome”

– 不客气 bù kèqì you’re welcome is, as you can guess, the most used expression. It fits nearly every situation.

– 不用谢 bú yòng xiè don’t mention it. You can easily replace 不客气 with this expression. For instance, if you give someone something and they answer 谢谢, you can reply: 不用谢. You can even say ”不用客气” ”bú

– 小事一桩 xiǎo shì yī zhuāng it’s nothing. Watch out for this one, however, as it tends to be more informal. So you can use it with friends, family but certainly not your boss 😉

As you see, there are many ways to show you’re thankful in Chinese. Saying thank you is not only about showing you’re polite, it’ also about fitting in society. Once you master the four expressions you just learned here, you’ll be able of showing your gratitude and know how to say thank you in Chinese. These expressions will be very useful to you on a daily basis, we’re sure!

The next step for you is to use it and see what you get in return. Lots of smiles I guess. 🙂

For more daily useful Chinese expressions, you can check out our posts about saying yes in Chinese and saying sorry in Chinese as well as this awesome guide to 20 survival phrases.

The Nincha Team

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The post How to say thank you in Chinese: 4 Ways to Show Your Gratitude appeared first on Ninchanese.

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

Start Learning Now

Part 1  – Chinese phrases: Everyday basics

Let’s start with a few basic Chinese phrases you can use in everyday conversations to make sure you communicate efficiently. Also, download the Chinese Phrasebook app we’ve made to find all the essential Chinese sentences to know.

#1 不好意思，我听不懂。-  Sorry, I don’t understand.

Have you got yourself in a situation where someone’s talking to you, but you do not understand what they’re saying? First off, kudos! Speaking to locals in Chinese is the best way to get comfortable speaking in Chinese.

But how do you let the other know you’re not quite getting their gist? Instead of shaking your head no, you can say:

不好意思，我听不懂.

Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ tīng bù dǒng.

Sorry, I don’t understand.

Try that?  Great, now that you’ve let the other know you weren’t quite following what they said without offending them, well done! You can move on to:

#2 你可以讲慢点吗?  –  Can you speak slowly, please?

For situations when: You know some Chinese but you’re not used to people speaking fast, yet. Maybe you’d be following what the other was saying if only they weren’t talking like they’re trying to win a 100-yard sprint. This sentence may solve your troubles:

你可以讲慢点吗?

Nǐ kě yǐ jiǎng màn diǎn ma?

Can you speak more slowly, please?

Hang on to this sentence; you might use it a LOT because you’ll find that the Chinese speak fast sometimes!

#3 你说英语吗?  –  Do you speak English?

Is option #2 sound too harsh because your Mandarin Chinese is still too limited to understand entire sentences? That’s okay. You tried, at least. But, now you know that you need to improve your listening comprehension skills in Chinese!

For now, try saying this after sentence #1:

你说英语吗?

Nǐ shuō yīngyǔ ma?

Do you speak English?

It’s perfect for situations when it might be better to switch to English.

#4 我不知道  –  I don’t know

Knowing how to say I don’t know in Chinese is both easy and extremely useful. You’ll find yourself using it often, and you’ll hear all kinds of people in China saying:

我不知道。

Wǒ bù zhī dào.

I don’t know.

Never feel embarrassed to say 我不知道 as there exist thousands of “whys” in this world. In Chinese, just like in many languages, saying this is normal.

Use it: When you need to say you don’t know and want someone to “let you know”!

Part 2 – Chinese phrases: Getting information

Good, you now have learned a few common Chinese expressions to get you started having conversations with native Chinese speakers. Next, let’s move on to basic Chinese phrases to bring you the information you want.

#5 这个用汉语怎么说？  –  How do you say that in Chinese?

You’re an adventurer, and China’s full of strange things you’ll want to discover and adopt in your daily life. As such, you’re always curious to know how to say this or that in Chinese. This sentence is perfect for you:

这个用汉语怎么说?

Zhè ge yòng hàn yǔ zěn me shuō?

How do you say that in Chinese?

Use it when: you want to know what this thing is!

Bonus: Pointing and asking questions is a great way to build your vocabulary and learn many new Chinese words. So get yourself talking!

#6 请问，这里 有 wifi 吗？-  Excuse me, is there any wifi here?

A wireless connection is the most important thing when you’re far away from your home and family so you can keep in touch with them often. When in a coffee shop, a bar, a restaurant, a spa, your hotel, you can ask:

请问，这里 有 wifi 吗?

Qǐngwèn，zhèlǐ yǒuwifi ma?

Excuse me, is there any wifi here?

Bonus phrase

If the 服务员 fúwùyuán waiter answers there is, you can also ask what the wireless code is:

密码 是 多少?

Mìmǎ shì duōshao?

What’s the password?

#7 厕所在哪里？ – Where are the restrooms?

A must when traveling, exploring unknown places, knowing where the toilets are! Ask this to get instructions on how to reach the restrooms.

厕所在哪里?

Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ? Where are the restrooms? A good thing to know (if the people going in and out aren’t enough help):

• Look for 男 Nán for the men’s restroom
• Look for 女 Nǚ for the ladies’ room
• Another good word to know is 洗手间 xǐshǒujiān.

Bonus sentence

没有卫生纸了。

Méi yǒu wèishēngzhǐ le

(Remember to always have tissues with you just in case because you may find yourself saying this more than you expected).

#8 请问现在几点了？-  What time is it, please?

Are you the kind of person who always forgets to bring your watch or give juice to your cell phone? Then this question will come in extra handy:

请问现在几点了?

Qǐng wèn xiàn zài jǐ diǎn le?

What time is it please?

You never know when this question may be helpful to ask. But, of course, it’s also terribly beneficial to make sure you’re organizing your time well and are on time!

Part 3 – Chinese Phrases: Shopping

This part is dedicated to two widespread and helpful phrases to know in Chinese when shopping because we know how much you like shopping!

#9 这个多少钱？-  How much is it?

Knowing how to ask for a price is a fundamental skill you’ll be quickly mastering if you travel or live in China; You’ll most likely use it every day in your daily life!

So, to inquire how much something costs, say:

这个多少钱?

Zhè ge duō shǎo qián?

How much is it?

This sentence is very useful to know; You need this sentence to buy things in China!

#10 太贵了，便宜点。-  It’s too expensive, cheaper, please.

Not happy with the price you heard? Then it’s time to try a bit of essential bargaining!
If you only learn one thing about bargaining in China, remember this one:

太贵了，便宜点。

Tài guì le, pián yi diǎn.

It’s too expensive, cheaper, please.

Chinese sellers (often) may try to take advantage of customers that don’t know the trends and actual prices of items. Don’t let that faze you, and keep saying this sentence until they cave (or you walk away). We believe in your power to convince them!

Part 4 – Chinese phrases: Going places

Next up in this selection of typical Chinese phrases, you need a few useful travel sentences!

#11 请问怎么去…？-  Can you tell me how to go to + place, please?

Confused about where you’re supposed to go? To find your way in China, use this Chinese phrase to ask for directions:

请问怎么去...?

Qǐng wèn zěn me qù...?

Can you tell me how to go to + place, please?

China is such a vast country that you should always be prepared to ask how to find your way in Chinese.

Bonus sentence: I’m lost.

Why are you asking how to go to a particular place? Is it because you’re lost? Then, this might be a piece of useful information to slip in:

我迷路了

Wǒ mílù le.

I’m lost.

#12 请问这辆车去哪儿？ / 哪里? Where is this going?

You got on a train, but suddenly it dawns on you-you’re not sure where it’s going. Put your fears to rest with this simple question you can ask your neighbors or the train conductor:

请问这辆车去哪儿?

Qǐngwèn zhè liàng chē qù nǎ'er?

Excuse me, where is this going?

Note: 哪儿？/哪里？ are two ways to say “where” in Chinese. The first one is more used in the North and the second one in Southern China.

# 13  你要去哪里/哪儿? Where do you want to go?

You snagged a taxi to take you to your next destination; well done! Now, the taxi driver is going to ask you:

你要去哪里/哪儿?

Nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ/nǎ'er

Where do you want to go?

So better be prepared for this question and ready to answer!

Here’s how to answer:

• have a card ready with the address written down on it — always a good way to make sure the taxi driver knows where you’re going
• Call the place you’re going, explain your situation, and hand the driver your phone. They’ll take care of guiding your driver to your destination.

Part 5 – Chinese phrases: Asking for help

This last part is dedicated to asking for assistance, information, and help. So let’s get the most serious type of help out of our way first:

# 14 救命 – Help!

For something urgent, when you’re in real danger or are facing a very present issue, say — or yell, depending on the gravity of the situation –:

救命!

Jiùmìng

Help!

Worst comes to worst; simply yell “Help!” I bet all the people understand this word in this universe.

#15 捉小偷！捉小偷！- Catch the thief

Pickpockets and thieves are an ugly reality, no matter where you go, so better learn this sentence just in case your bag gets snatched or your cellphone was stolen out of your back pocket:

捉小偷!捉小偷!

Zhuō xiǎotōu! Zhuō xiǎotōu!

Catch the thief! Catch the thief!

#16 对不起，打扰了。 – Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you.

Now that you know how to yell for help in serious situations, let’s see what you say when asking someone for information or a little help. 救命 is out of the question. Instead, this is a great sentence to know:

对不起，打扰了.

Duì bù qǐ, dǎ rǎo le.

Excuse-me, I'm sorry to bother you.

then follow up with your question. Trust us, being polite goes a long way when asking people to help you out.

Use it when: you want to get information but want to make you’re not disturbed too much. Type of help you need regular help, nothing too pressing or urgent.

#17 谢谢您的帮助  –  Thank you for your help!

Great, you asked for help and got some very helpful advice. Now it’s time to show your thankfulness!
A simple will work fine, of course, but for extra effect, try:

谢谢您的帮助

Xiè xiè nín de bāng zhù!

Thank you for your help!

Each time someone helps you, even if it’s for a tiny thing,  remember to tell them to thank you!

Part 6 – Chinese phrases: Being sick

#18 我病了 – I’m sick

Your adventure in China might take a different turn, and because of spicy food, change of weather, or whatever reason, you might be sick. If you need help or be noticed, you have to tell about how you’re feeling. Here’s how to start:

我病了

wǒ bìng le

I’m sick.

Saying this will make it easier for the Chinese people to understand how you feel!

#19 我需要医生 – I need a doctor

You’re sick and not getting better? OK, it’s time for you to go to the doctor.

Don’t know where to find a doctor? Then tell someone:

救命!我需要医生

Jiùmìng! Wǒ xūyào yīshēng

Help! I need a doctor!

#20 这儿疼 – It hurts here

Great you found a doctor. How do you tell them what you’re feeling? Well, tell them where it hurts to start with, right?

这儿疼

zhè’er téng

It hurts here.

This may be the most valuable Chinese phrase to keep with you all at times, just in case you never know.

This last sentence concludes this careful collection of 20 (and a few bonus sentences) fundamental Chinese phrases to know and survive your first time in China.

Final words: you know now how to survive in Chinese

And this sentence concludes this careful collection of 20 (and a few bonus sentences) fundamental Chinese phrases to know and survive your first time in China. Because you never know what might happen to you during your Chinese adventure, we’ve gathered here the most useful Chinese phrases to survive any situation: bargaining, going to the doctor, apologizing, calling for help, and asking for assistance in China. With these 20+ sentences, the help of the information you need will never be far away.
So, try some of these fundamental Chinese phrases next time you’re in China (we hope you won’t have to use all of them at once) and fully enjoy your journey! And, tell us: did these expressions help you? Do you know some others that would help or help you there?

You’ll also be very interested in the Chinese phrasebook app we’ve made for Android here.

The Nincha Team

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

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1. Try to win the game

The best way to effectively learn Chinese is to have fun learning it. Studies have shown the more you’re enjoying what you’re doing, the better you memorize what you’re learning.  That’s why we poured gamification in every aspect of Ninchanese. So you can find learning Chinese with us fun, and addictive even.

Here’s what you can do on Ninchanese when playing “the game”:

• Rack up points for completing stages or playing Ninchallenges
• Go up in levels by reaching experience thresholds.
• Progress farther along in each world
• Unlock all the words and sentences
• Face and gain the Masters’ respects
• Win gold medals in the time attacks

Sounds fun? Great, that’s the idea: You concentrate on getting further ahead in the game and don’t make a conscious effort to study. It’ll do wonders to your motivation, believe us, and the language will sink in without you even noticing. In short, by gaming (on) Ninchanese, you’ll be learning Chinese, but it won’t even feel like studying.

2. Play with friends

In Ninchanese, we know learning with friends is more fun. So we’ve made it easy for you to play and learn with your friends.

Start by inviting your real-life friends to come to join. You can also easily add other Nincha learners as friends in the app. Once you’ve added them, you’ll be able to see your friends’ scores in your friend’s leaderboard. Every week and month, you can compete with them to see who can get the most points and top the leaderboard.

You can also challenge your friends to friendly battles over your knowledge of Chinese in the Ninchallenge section. In a Ninchallenge, you play against a friend or another Chinese learner in Chinese. These quick matches can either be played live (if you and your Ninchallenger are connected on the app simultaneously) or turn by turn. Ninchallenges are a great way to review words and discover new words;

Wondering who to add in the app or to Ninchallenge? It’s your pick, really, but here are a few suggestions:

• When Ninchallenging someone, you want to find ideally someone that’s more or less at your level, so the competition is real. A great way to see who’s close to you is to check out the leaderboard; if they’re edging in on you, chances are you guys are a good Ninchallenge match. If you have a competitive streak in you, adding someone close to overtaking you in the leaderboard can be a real incentive to keep learning Chinese and unlocking new stages on NInchanese to score points. Just sayin’.
• Browse bios and find someone who clicks. Maybe you like their short biographical description or their profile picture. It’s a good start to a Chinese learning friendship.

3. Click the feedback icon if you don’t understand something

Let’s say you’re in the middle of a sentence building stage, and you get the sentence wrong. If you can’t understand why and the lesson you can access through the Help button in-game isn’t helping you, click the feedback button and ask us.  Just click on that little speech bubble you see on the left-hand part of your screen (or at the bottom right of your screen on mobile devices) to start a conversation with someone from the Nincha Team!

Someone from the Nincha Team is always at the ready to answer your question and make grammar concepts (and any other questions you might have) crystal clear.

4. Chat with your Ninchallenger

Here’s a little secret: you can chat with your Ninchallenger if you’re playing a Ninchallenge live with them.

How do you know if they’re connected at the same time as you?  Simple.

When you’re in-game, you’ll see a little icon next to their name:

• A red icon means they’re not currently connected;
• An orange icon means they’re on the app but busy doing something else — odds are if you play, they’ll come to join you —
• and a green icon shows they’re live, playing the game with you!

To say hi, simply type what you want to say before you enter your answer. Your Ninchallenger will see what you’re typing live.

It’s a great way to get to know your Ninchallenger or distract them when playing a Ninchallenge!  Until we implement a Chat option in Ninchanese, it’s a little trick to know  

5. Pace yourself

It can be tempting to rush through the vocabulary stages when you’re enjoying yourself but be warned; this has consequences.

Learning vocabulary on Ninchanese is powered by spaced repetition, which is a wonderful algorithm dedicated to helping you efficiently learning new words if you’re not familiar with them.

In essence, any word you unlock, you’ll later be asked to practice via reviews until recalling them is second nature.

Words you’ve unlocked will come back in your reviews at regular intervals, the shortest being one day, the longest being, well…. it can be really far away if it’s now second nature to you.

Our algorithm adjusts times between reviews of each individual word based on your last session. You’ll see a character or word in your reviews at the optimal time for you, not anybody else.

So if you unlock too many words too fast, you’ll end up with reviews piling on, and it might feel overwhelming to try to tackle them each day. So pace yourself and make sure not to overdo the word unlocking. Letting our algorithm space out repetitions for you is essential to memorizing what you learn in the long-term, so it’d be sad not to take advantage of it. Besides, there are plenty of other fun things to do on Ninchanese.

5. Speaking practice makes puurrfect

Fluent, confident speaking comes with practice, so don’t be afraid to try redoing the speaking stages over and over again to improve your score and percentage.

Consider the first time you do a speaking stage your exploratory phase. You’re discovering the dialogue for the first time and getting familiar with the topic, the rhythm, and flow. You may stumble a little when saying the sentences, but that’s normal; that’s always the case when you’re still deciphering the sentences! Once you’ve gone through everything once and finished a speaking stage, take your time reading the sentences in the dialogue; and seeing what you pronounced wrong.

Ask yourself: Are there any words you’ve had trouble recognizing? Then perhaps, you’re not entirely familiar with the vocabulary you just learned and need to review those words a little to make the speaking stage easier for you.

Then, once you feel ready, try the speaking stage again. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much better you’ll sound.

Also, because it’s important to understand what the others are saying to be able to speak, we highly suggest you complement your speaking practice with listening stages. That way, you practice your listening, writing, and your speaking skills in Chinese!

The listening stages use the same dialogues, so there’s also a great way to fully familiarize yourself with the sentences. Plus, they’ll train your ear to hear the nuances in Chinese. Believe us; that’ll help you pronounce that much more clearly.

Bonus Tip: Feeling the results aren’t being very accurate?
Your settings might need adjusting. If the microphone levels on your computer are set too low, this will really screw up the readings you get. We suggest you check your microphone levels on your computer and adjust them as needed.

6. Try time attacks!

Each time you finish a vocabulary stage, you unlock Time Attacks for these stages, both in English and Chinese.

In the time attacks, you race against the clock to finish the stage.
You’ll see, the rush you’ll get from being timed will make things a little more challenging. You’ll be put on the spot to recall a word, both in Pinyin and in English, a great skill to practice and to reuse in real-life when you’re conversing with someone.
Try to win a medal for each stage, and you can be sure you’ll be able to recall those words in the blink of an eye.

7. Learn by doing … (but reading the lessons is ok, too)

Learn by doing

We never explicitly teach you a concept, at least at first, because we believe in learning by doing. Experiment, fail, and as our good friend S. Beckett says, “Try Again. Fail again. Fail better”. Nothing beats inductive learning, and that’s why we don’t tell you anything about grammar concepts or sentence patterns at first. We want you to give it a go and see if you can figure it out on your own. Didn’t someone say, “teach someone to fish, and they’ll be able to feed themselves for a lifetime”? The Chinese Confucian philosopher, 荀子, Xunzi, might not have been as hungry, but he said pretty much the same thing, sans food: “Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen it; having seen it is not as good as knowing it; knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice.”

Except when you’d rather read first

Been giving it your best go but can’t figure it out? Are things feeling a little fuzzy for one particular grammar concept? That’s okay too. Sometimes, a little explicit explication does wonders once you’ve experimented on your own and tried to spot the patterns. That’s why each sentence-building stage comes with a clear and straight forward lesson to clear any questions and misunderstandings you might have on a particular grammar concept.

8. Take advantage of the bonuses

We’re all for active learning and having fun when you learn. So bonuses are a great way to overcome a difficult question. They’ll give you a boost when you need it.

Sometimes we remember the pinyin; sometimes, a little sentence example helps to put the word in context and remember its meaning, or sometimes we make a mistake and need a little boost. Let see each one of them:

1. The Yin yang Bonus
   You will answer switch the answer from pinyin to English or English to pinyin. Useful when you’ve got a doubt.
2. The helping paw Bonus
   It will give you a sentence example when available.
3. The multiplier Bonus
   It will give you an x8 multiplier to score more points. Useful when you just made a mistake. Don’t hesitate to use them; you’ll win one as you give good answers.

You can currently use bonuses in the vocab stages with Nincha. Manage your bonuses well, and you’ll really increase your score!

9. Improve your memorization with the detailed word-pages

Look at words in context

Please get to know how to use words better by seeing them used in context.
The detailed word pages are perfect for that and contain lots of example sentences so you can fully understand a word’s different meanings and know when to use which.

The word pages are also full of information to help you memorize a word better:
its stroke order, its character decomposition, words that are related to it…

Which brings us to number 10:

10. Explore characters

A really cool thing in Ninchanese is that you can click on a component and see where it leads… Components are often words of their own, so it’s interesting to look at what they mean separately and how they’re used and then look at related words that also contain this component, either as a character or as a character component. It helps you paint a network picture of how characters work. It’s an entertaining exploration and a wonderful way to realize that Chinese words often have a lot to do with another. So much so, in fact, that once you know the most common characters, you’ve already finished a good portion of your Chinese learning journey. Happy Exploration.

There are plenty more tips and tricks we could tell you about Ninchanese, but we figure… where’s the fun if we ruin all the surprises? So jump in and get started learning Chinese on Ninchanese! Give these tricks a try and tell us what you think! Are you ready?  If you have a trick of your own on Ninchanese, leave them in the comments!

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 10 tips to get the most out of Ninchanese appeared first on Ninchanese.

It is, as in this

这是你的书吗? 是的 zhè shì nǐ de shū ma? Shì de Is this your book? Yes, it is.

But if you watch videos and movies in Chinese, you’ll soon come to realize that 是的 doesn’t always pop up in a “yes” situation and that there is a bunch of different ways to say yes in Mandarin Chinese. So why not try new expressions to say yes ? They will make you really sound like a native speaker.

In this article, you’re going to learn 7 easy yet useful ways to say Yes in Mandarin Chinese. These expressions are all very frequently used in everyday life so there’s no doubt that you’ll get to practice them a lot. Just get ready to say yes!

Ninchanese is an incredible app for learning Chinese!

” I actually graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a MA in Chinese.
I’ve used Ninchanese daily, and it has helped me a lot!  “

 – Connor, Ninchanese User

Try Ninchanese, an award-winning method to learn Chinese today:

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An easy and basic word to say yes in Chinese: 是

是: ”Shì”; Yes

Let’s start with 是, the word with which you are likely the most familiar. And with reason too, as 是 is the most basic word in Chinese to say yes.

As an adjective, 是 means “right; correct” whether you’re sure about it or just think it might be correct. Nowadays, 是 is mostly used to check things, for example, to ask if somebody did something or to ascertain something.
For instance:

• You’re looking for someone.

请问你是林先生吗 Qǐngwèn nǐ shì lín xiānshēng ma?

是的，我是。 Shì de, wǒ shì.
Yes, I am Mr. Lin.

• You’ve run out of cold milk.

冰箱里的牛奶是谁喝完的？ Bīngxiāng lǐ de niúnǎi shì shuí hē wán de?
Who drunk all the milk in the fridge?

是Linda (喝完的)。 Shì Linda (hē wán de).
Linda did.

Need a quick confirmation? 是  is your guy.

When you want to show your support: 没错 / 对

没错: méi cuò; That’s right. 对: duì; Yes / Right

Well, to help you understand the use of  没错 and 对 in this situation, just think of the question “Are you Mr. Lin ?” as the first question of a pop quiz ; to which you give the right answer (yes).
Let’s give 没错 and  对 a try:

请问你是林先生吗？ [py py=”Qǐngwèn nǐ shì lín xiānshēng ma?] Excuse me, are you Mr. Lin?

对 / 没错，我是。 Duì/ Méi cuò, wǒ shì. Yes, I am.

See how 没错 or 对 both fit in perfectly instead of 是的?

In what other cases can we use 对 and 没错?

Onto another very frequent use of 对 and 没错.

You’ll find yourself using 对 and 没错 a lot in conversations that contain an exchange of personal opinion (they happen).  In fact, as long as you agree with the other’s opinion, you can use 没错 and 对 all you want to show your approval. And since 对 and 没错 mean pretty much the same thing, the one you choose to use really just depends on your personal preferences.

这件衣服真好看。 Zhè jiàn yīfú zhēn hǎokàn.
This dress is nice.

对/ 没错, 我也觉得。 Duì/ Méi cuò, wǒ yě juédé.
Yes, I think so too. 对 and 没错 are used to support someone’s opinion, or to show others that you agree with them.

It might help you become popular if you try to use more often 对 and 没错 (but of course for opinions that you really approve, we are not suggesting you be a hypocrite ^^), because people love to feel supported or approved.

When someone invites you out and you want to say yes: 行/好/可以

 行: xíng; Ok 好: hǎo; great / good ”[zh kěyǐ; it’s ok. 行/好/可以 are all three very easy to use. All these word means Ok in Chinese and they have similar uses to “Ok, fine, good” in English.

They are mostly used when someone asks for a favor and you don’t mind helping, i.e in situations that contain a request.

As in the following examples:

你需要我帮你带早餐吗?
Nǐ xūyào wǒ bāng nǐ dài zǎocān ma?
Do you need me to bring you breakfast?

好啊，你不介意的话.
Hǎo a, nǐ bù jièyì dehuà.
Sure, if you don’t mind.

你能帮我跟老板请假吗?
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ gēn lǎobǎn qǐngjià ma?
Can you ask the boss for a leave for me?

行, 没问题. Xíng, méi wèntí.
Ok, no problem.

They can also be used when someone makes an offer you can’t resist. As here:

你今晚想去看电影吗？
Nǐ jīn wǎn xiǎng qù kàn diànyǐng ma?
Do you want to go to the movies tonight?

可以啊，你想看什么电影？ Kěyǐ a, nǐ xiǎng kàn shénme diànyǐng?
Sounds great, what film do you want to see?

Just make sure you don’t use 好/行/可以 instead of 是/对/没错 because they don’t mean the same thing and can’t be used to replace each other in Chinese.

How come, you ask? Well, if someone comes and asks you if you are Mr. Ling, you’re not going to answer with “cool”, or “fine”,  are you? That’s going to sound weird and you will sound silly. Easy.

Use 行/好/可以 to accept your friend’s request or an invitation.

That way, you’ll sound friendly and adorable. Chinese people are usually happy to help others, so if you can show your gentle and helpful side to your Chinese friends, you’ll have a good reputation among them.

What should we say in other situations?

You might find that sometimes, in some conversations, the words that you’ve just learned won’t fit. That’s normal because you‘ll need to give an answer that corresponds to the question you’re being asked so that the conversation can go on smoothly.

But before you get all mad and turn the table over (think of your computer and of your cat sitting on your keyboard), here’s a smart way to say “yes” in all situations, that should come in handy.
Have you noticed that in every Chinese sentence, there is always a main word that holds the important information?

If you haven’t, let’s start with a few examples. The key word is in blue.

你喜欢这双鞋子吗？
Nǐ xǐhuān zhè shuāng xiézi ma? 
Do you like these shoes?

喜欢。
Xǐhuān.
Yes, I like them.

 你觉得这条裤子紧吗？

Nǐ juédé zhè tiáo kùzi jǐn ma?
Do you think these trousers are tight?

紧。
Jǐn.
Yes, they’re tight.

那个男生帅吗？
Nàgè nánshēng shuài ma?
Is that guy handsome?

帅.
Shuài.
Yes, he is.

Did you see how people in these examples responded in a simple but really smart way? All you need to do is to repeat the key word in the question. Cool huh? Short and sweet.

There can be different types of keywords in a sentence: a verb, a noun or an adjective, but once you’ve figured out what the keyword is, pounce on it and reuse it to answer the question. Before long, you’ll realize that you‘re able to have nice fluid conversations in Chinese.

After reading this article, you might be thinking “Dang, so many ways in Chinese to say yes! My 是 wasn’t that bad, after all”. And yes, they might seem like a lot but once you get used to them, they’ll become real simple vocabulary for you. Just watch Chinese TV shows and see how they say yes. Or go talk to native Chinese speakers to practice these new words in real life.
Don’t be shy, yell “yes” to everyone (or not, do listen to the question before yelling “yes”) and you’ll soon find that you’re comfortable with the many way yes in Chinese. 好吗？

Just say “Yes”!

The Nincha Team, starring Yuqi

Ninchanese combines addictive game mechanics, cute cats and efficient inese learning techniques to make learning Chinese a lot of fun! The app is now in beta so sign up now for early access to the beta! Check out our trailer and stay in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Weibo.

The Nincha Team

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

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