Learn Chinese Online (2026)

22/06/2015

寄包裹 jì bāoguǒ
如果你想从中国给家里的父母或者朋友寄一些东西，你需要去邮局。下面，我们通过方雪芹和她妈妈在邮局的经历，学习相关的表达。

If you want send something to your parents or friends from China, you need to go to a post office. In this session, we will learn the common used expressions through the movie about Fang Xueqin and her mother sending things in a post office.

方雪芹和方母一起准备给方雪松寄信和包裹。

Fang Xueqin and her mother have come to the post office to send a letter and a parcel to Fang Xuesong.

Fāng mǔ: Xiǎojiě, jì yí gè bāoguǒ, jìdào Fǎguó
方母：小姐，寄一个包裹，寄到法国。.
Mother: Miss, I want to post a parcel to France.

Yíngyèyuán: Jì shénme dōngxi? Qǐng dǎkāi kànkan
营业员：寄什么东西？请打开看看。
Clerk: What do you post? Could you open it for me to check?

Fāng mǔ: Jì jǐ běn shū hé yìxiē Zhōngyào, jì gěi wǒ érzi.
方母：寄几本书和一些中药，寄给我儿子。
Mother: It’s some books and traditional Chinese medicine sent to my son.

（营业员检查完东西后，给方母一个包装箱）
(Having checked the parcel, the clerk gives the mother a packing box.)

Yíngyèyuán: Hǎo, gěi nín xiāngzi, shí kuài.
营业员：好，给您箱子，十块。
Clerk: O.K., Here is a box. It costs ten yuan.

（方母交钱）
（The mother pay the money.)

Yíngyèyuán: Zài tián yíxià bāoguǒdān.
营业员：再填一下包裹单。
Clerk: And please fill in this form.

Fāng mǔ: Nǐ tián yíxià dānzi, wǒ qù zhuāng dōngxi.
方母:你填一下单子，我去装东西。
Mother:Will you fill in this form while I put the books and the medicine in the box.

Fāng Xuěqín: Xìn bù kěyǐ hé bāoguǒ yìqǐ jì.
方雪芹:信不可以和包裹一起寄。
Fang:Mum, letters are not allowed to go with the parcel.

Fāng mǔ: Nà wǒ qù mǎi xìnfēng.
方母：那我去买信封。
Mother: Sure, I'll go and buy an envelope.

Fāng Xuěqín: Děi mǎi guójì hángkōng xìnfēng.
方雪芹：得买国际航空信封。
Fang: You must buy an envelope for international mail.

Fāng mǔ: Hǎo.
方母：好。
Mother: Yes, I will.

08/06/2015

情人眼里出西施 qíng rén yǎn lǐ chū Xīshī

【解释】情人：指相爱中的人。西施：中国古代美女，后来作为美女的代称。在情人的眼里，他爱的姑娘就是美女。比喻自己心爱的人总觉得美丽。多用来说本来不美的人，你看上她，也会觉得她美。
情人，a person in love. 西施，an ancient Chinese beautiful girl, later becomes a synonym for beauty. In the eyes of the lover, his beloved is a beauty. Likened to people who always think that their lovers are beautiful. Mainly used to indicate that a person who isn’s beautiful in fact could become so in your eyes if you fall in love with her or him.
【情景1】李丹与外国朋友朴尹西聊天，谈到了郑友的女朋友。
【对话1】李丹：我看她长得很一般，可郑友整天夸她美。
朴尹西：这就叫情人眼里出西施啊。
【情景2】毛力对女朋友小荣喜欢得不得了，外国朋友尼维尔直笑他。
【对话2】毛立：自从跟小荣交了朋友，怎么看怎么觉得她美。
尼维尔：这可是你自己说的啊！这是情人眼里出西施。

【MM Question】 Can you make a sentence using情人眼里出西施?

02/06/2015

画(huà) 龙(lóng) 点(diǎn) 睛(jīng)
Adding eyes to the picture of a dragon to bring it to life

In the ancient time, there was a painter whose surname is Zhang. His paintings are vivid and true to life. Some people said that the animals he drew could become living soon after he finished painting. Once he visited a temple and painted four dragons on the wall, but gave none of them eyes. The watchers felt it odd and asked him why. He answered, "Eyes are crucial for dragons. If I draw the eyes, the dragons will fly off the wall." Nobody believed this, so Zhang took up his brush and added eyes to two of the dragons.

No sooner had he finished than the two dragons flew into the sky amid a thunderstorm. The two without eyes remained on the wall. The story might not be true. But the story tells us that Zhang is really skillful at painting.

People made up the story to show their admiration for him. Afterwards, this idiom developed to describe how, when writing or speaking, one or two key sentences will make the whole more vivid and to the point. In a broader sense, if you want to describe the brilliant finishing touch of something, you can also use "Huà Lóng Diǎn Jīng".

23/05/2015

Some Chinese furnitures about 100 years ago.

06/05/2015

绕口令---霞与鸭（Tongue Twister）

tiān kōng piāo zhe yí piàn xiá，
天空飘着一片霞，

shuǐ shàng yóu lái yì qún yā。
水上游来一群鸭。

xiá shì wǔ cǎi xiá，
霞是五彩霞，

yā shì má huā yā，
鸭是麻花鸭，

má huā yā yóu jìn wǔ cǎi xiá，
麻花鸭游进五彩霞，

wǔ cǎi xiá wǎng zhù má huā yā。
五彩霞网住麻花鸭。

lè huài le yā，
乐坏了鸭，

pāi suì le xiá，
拍碎了霞，

fēn bù qīng shì yā hái shì xiá。
分不清是鸭还是霞。

28/04/2015

大事化小，小事化了 dà shì huà xiǎo，xiǎo shì huà liǎo

【解释】把大事变成小事，把小事变成没事。比喻缩小矛盾，消除矛盾，或对错误、问题不加追究。多用来说人处理问题时回避矛盾，含贬义；也用来调解矛盾，劝人不必太认真。

Turn big problems into small ones and small ones into no problem at all. Likened to reducing and eliminating contradictions or not investigating errors and problems. Mainly used to refer to avoid contradictions while dealing with problems, with derogatory meaning. Also used to resolve contradictions and peruade somebody not being very serious.

【情景】早川先生当着中国朋友鲁原的面责怪他的经理。

【对话】早川：我们经理最能当好人，大事化小，小事化了。

鲁原：你们经理是怎样大事化小，小事化了的？

20/04/2015

The way to cook Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐制作方法

Materials材料[cái liào]

Tofu豆腐，meat肉，ginger姜，garlic蒜，soy sauce酱油，white sugar 白糖，salt盐, cooking wine料酒，Bean Paste豆瓣醬，scallion 葱，paprika powder花椒粉

Step1 第一步
Pls cut garlic meat and ginger into small pieces. Then cut the tofu into pieces.(regarding the size., pls refer to the pic)把蒜，肉和姜切片,豆腐切成图片所示的大小。

Step2 第二步
Add water into the pot, put a little bit salt into the water. When the water become boiled, put the tofu in and leave here for almost10 minutes. 往锅里加水烧开，加少许盐在水里，把豆腐切块放入，10分钟后，捞出来。

Step3 第三步
Put the oil into the pot, add the scallion, garlic and ginger. Then add meat into the pot and cook until it smells good.加油炒葱姜蒜，然后加肉进去，炒香。

Step4 第四步
Add Bean Paste, soy sauce, white sugar and cooking wine, mix them together, then put water in, tofu follows, wait until the water become boiled.加入豆瓣酱,酱油,白糖和料酒炒匀，再倒入水，放入豆腐，煮开。

Step5 第五步
Sprinkle paprika powder and scallion洒上花椒面，再洒点葱。

11/04/2015

打肿脸充胖子 dǎ zhǒng liǎn chōng pàngzi

【解释】充：冒充，充当。把脸打肿了充当胖子。比喻故意装出有本事、有实力的样子。多用来埋怨人爱面子、讲排场，不考虑自己的实力。含贬义。

充，imitate. Slap one’s face until it is swollen in an effort to look imposing. Likened to people putting on an appearance of having faculty and power. Mainly used to complain about somebody who concerns about face-saving and going in for ostentation regardless of real abilities.

【情景1】郑浩与外国朋友赵永说起了朋友结婚大操大办的事。

【对话1】郑浩：他打肿脸充胖子，花了一万多元，租喜车、请人摄像。

赵永：为了排场，打肿脸充胖子，不值得。

【情景2】杨军请外国朋友斑石一起去饭店吃饭。

【对话2】斑石头：请我吃饭？你学费都交不上了，别打肿脸充胖子了！

杨军：我打工赚了点儿钱，不是打肿脸充胖子。

【MM Question】 Can you make a sentence using打肿脸充胖子?

04/04/2015

Figurative Slangs

风马牛不相及
Have nothing to do with each other.

fēng mǎ niú bù xiāng jí

这个词语原指齐楚两地相离甚远，马牛不会走失到对方地界。比喻两个事物毫不相干。

In ancient times, there is such a long distance between Qi and Chu that horses and cattle wouldn’t enter the other side.

【例1】这和我们的谈话内容，有点风马牛不相及啊！
I don't see it has anything to do with what we're talking about.

【例2】在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。
A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.

02/04/2015

"山寨" is so popular !
通俗的说就是盗版、克隆、仿制等，一种由民间IT力量发起的产业现象。“山寨”一词源于广东话。...

Means:
Fake, pirated one.
【解释】通俗的说就是盗版、克隆、仿制等，一种由民间IT力量发起的产业现象。“山寨”一词源于广东话，是“小型、小规模”甚至有点“地下工厂”的意思。
In ancient China, this word means a mountain villa built by robbers. Now it mostly used to describe those fake or pirated products.
For example:
What the bloody hell is this? It looks like an Ipod but with a brand name Ipot! It’s just so 山寨！

29/03/2015

The way to cook beer duck 啤酒鸭制作方法
Pls refer to website http://v.ku6.com/show/uJ7-aCbpuO4hzprul-matQ...html

Materials材料[cái liào]

Duck 鸭肉[yā ròu],beer啤酒[pí jiǔ],green pepper青椒 [qīng jiāo], red pepper 红椒 [hóng jiāo],dry pepper 干辣椒[gān là jiāo],scallion 葱 [cōng]，ginger姜 [jiāng]，garlic蒜 [suàn]，soy sauce酱油 [jiàng yóu]，white sugar白糖 [bái táng]，salt盐 [yán], Star anise 八角 [bā jiǎo]

Step1 第一步
Cut pepper, scallion and ginger into small pieces.把辣椒，葱和姜切片。[bǎ là jiāo, cōng hé jiāng qiē piàn.]

Step2 第二步
Put oil, garlic and ginger into a pot, then wait for 3 mins. Finally, add duck as well.
把油，蒜和姜倒入锅里，然后等3分钟，最后把鸭肉也加进去。[bǎ yóu,suàn hé jiāng dào rù guō lǐ, rán hòu děng sān fēn zhōng，zuì hòu bǎ yā ròu yě jiā jìn qù.]

Step3 第三步
Mix them together, then add soy sauce, white sugar and Star anise into the pot.
搅拌，然后把酱油，白糖和八角加入锅里。[jiǎo bàn，bǎ jiàng yóu,bái táng hé bā jiǎo dào rù guō lǐ]

Step4 第四步
First of all, pour beer into the pot. Leave it for 5mins on high heat then turn the fire down to a moderate heat and cook for about 30mins.
首先，往锅里倒油，开大火煮5分钟，然后把火调成中火，煮30分钟。[shǒu xiān，wǎng guō lǐ dào yóu, kāi dà huǒ zhǔ wǔ fēn zhōng, rán hòu bā huǒ tiáo chéng zhōng huǒ, zhǔ sān shí fēn zhōng]

Step5 第五步
Add red pepper and green pepper in, Stir again.加入红椒和青椒，再搅拌。[bǎ rù hóng jiāo hé qīng jiāo, zài jiǎo bàn]

Step6 第六步
Add salt basing on your taste, wait until the soup becomes dry.根据你的口味，加盐，收汁。[Gēn jù nǐ de kǒu wèi, jiā yán, shōu zhī]

I hope you will like it. I am interested in cooking Chinese food, if you like it too. Pls note my another contact info is as follows,
Mobile: 86-15920064874 Email:[email protected]
Skype ID:judy.fumax facebook name:李文瑾
Looking forward to having a discussion with you later!

25/03/2015

成语故事-丑女效颦
丑女效颦
西施，是一位有名的美女。她有心痛病，所以外出时总是皱着眉。住在附近的一个丑女，看到西施那幅模样很美，回家时也就模仿着用双手按住胸口，紧皱眉头。
附近的富人见了她，紧紧的关上门，不愿出去。穷苦人见了她，带着妻子儿女，远远的避开她。
丑女只知道西施皱眉的样子很美丽，却不知道西施皱眉显得更美的道理。

颦 have a frown 效 aping 眉 eyebrow
丑 ugly 胸口 bosom 紧紧的 tightly
道理 reason

Aping a Beauty
Xi Shi, a famous beauty, had a pain in her bosom, so she had a frown on her face when she went out. An ugly girl who lived nearby saw her and thought she looked very beautiful therefore when she went home, she also put her hands on her bosom and had a frown on her face.
When a rich man in the neighborhood saw her, he shut his doors tightly and did not go out. When a poor man saw her, he took his wife and children and gave her a wide berth.
She only knew Xi Shi's frown looked beautiful but she did not know the reason for its beauty.

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