http://mandarin.about.com/ Get the latest headlines from the About.com http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hh http://www.about.com/ 118 20 en-us 2012-02-13T11:07:26Z Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:07:26 +0000 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/20/mandarin-linsanity.htm <p>Jeremy Lin - the basketball player who has become an international sensation - has inspired linguistic inventions such as "linsanity," "lincredible," "linvincible," "linning" and "Linderella."</p> <p>These puns work well in English, but may not translate well into other languages, especially Mandarin Chinese, which is ironic considering that Lin's family came from Taiwan.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/20/mandarin-linsanity.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/20/mandarin-linsanity.htm Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:19:48 +0000 2012-02-20T12:19:48Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/13/cross-straight-differences.htm <p>The Mandarin spoken in Taiwan and China can be quite different, with certain words meaning very different things.</p> <p>For example, the word &#22303;&#35910; (t&#468; d&#242;u) means "potato" in Mainland China, and "peanut" in Taiwan.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/13/cross-straight-differences.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/13/cross-straight-differences.htm Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:07:26 +0000 2012-02-13T11:07:26Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/06/lantern-festival-3.htm <p>The first full moon of the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/newyear.htm">Lunar New Year</a> is Lantern Festival, known in Mandarin Chinese as <em>yu&#225;n xi&#257;o ji&#233;</em> &#20803;&#23477;&#31680; (trad) &#20803;&#23477;&#33410; (simp).</p> <p>Lantern Festival is a celebration of light, welcoming the sun back after the long winter darkness.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/06/lantern-festival-3.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/02/06/lantern-festival-3.htm Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:14:37 +0000 2012-02-06T12:14:37Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/choosing-a-chinese-name.htm <p>If you are learning Mandarin Chinese, it's a good idea to have a <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/od/chinesenames/a/choosing_names.htm">Chinese name</a>. There are several reasons for this:</p> <ul> <li>It provides a glimpse into Chinese culture </li> <li>It makes introductions easier when visiting Chinese-speaking countries </li> <li>It provides good tonal and pronunciation practice. </li> </ul>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/choosing-a-chinese-name.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/choosing-a-chinese-name.htm Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:13:12 +0000 2012-01-31T19:13:12Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/learning-chinese-characters-2.htm <p>Reading and writing Chinese characters is the hardest part of Mandarin Chinese. If you think that Chinese characters are impossibly difficult, <em>Learning Chinese The Easy Way </em>may be the ticket to your understanding.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/learning-chinese-characters-2.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/31/learning-chinese-characters-2.htm Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:07:04 +0000 2012-01-31T18:07:04Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/30/mandarin-apps.htm <p>Apps for smartphones and tablets can be useful for learning Mandarin Chinese and other languages. Since these devices are always at hand, you have lots of opportunities to practice your language skills. Read my reviews of <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/od/reviews/a/Mandarin-Chinese-Apps.htm">popular Mandarin Chinese apps</a>...</p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/30/mandarin-apps.htm Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:49:52 +0000 2012-01-30T17:49:52Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/23/xin-nian-kuai-le-2.htm <p>The lunar new year starts on January 23, 2012.</p> <p>&#26032;&#24180;&#24555;&#27138;! / &#26032;&#24180;&#24555;&#20048;! (x&#299;n ni&#225;n ku&#224;i l&#232;! - Happy New Year!)</p> <p>Learn more Mandarin Chinese phrases related to the Lunar New Year with the <a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/od/chineseculture/a/newyear.htm">Chinese New Year audio lesson</a>.</p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/23/xin-nian-kuai-le-2.htm Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:31:04 +0000 2012-01-23T11:31:04Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/16/mandarin-immersion-3.htm <p>When you are learning a new language, try to immerse yourself in an environment where you can hear and speak that language on a daily basis. Without this regular practice, language study becomes an academic exercise.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/16/mandarin-immersion-3.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/16/mandarin-immersion-3.htm Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:08:04 +0000 2012-01-16T11:08:04Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/09/burkina-faso-student-wins-mandarin-speech-contest.htm <p>I always like to hear about Taiwan's annual speech contest for foreign students. Many of the contestants have been studying Mandarin for less than two years, yet in that time have managed to reach a level of fluency that allows them to make a public speech with confidence.</p>...<p><a href="http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/1hc&#038;zu=http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/09/burkina-faso-student-wins-mandarin-speech-contest.htm">Read Full Post</a></p> http://mandarin.about.com/b/2012/01/09/burkina-faso-student-wins-mandarin-speech-contest.htm Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:40:00 +0000 2012-01-09T11:40:00Z http://mandarin.about.com/b/2011/12/31/the-five-elements.htm text http://mandarin.about.com/b/2011/12/31/the-five-elements.htm Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:02:57 +0000 2011-12-31T15:02:57Z