Blog | Mandarin Community

CHARACTER ORIGINS: 福 (fú) FORTUNE

We’ve all seen this character flashing on many doors and windows in China. The 福 fú character is probably one the most popular during the...

对联 Chinese couplets and their translation

Photo by Hiep Dai on Unsplash. As Spring Festival comes closer, you are very likely to see those long, red, papers, stuck on both sides...

ETIQUETTE FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR: WHAT TO EXPECT & WHAT TO DO

Chinese New Year is coming and your Chinese friend has invited you to 过年 guònián (celebrate) with his/her family. You start asking...

THE READER'S CORNER: BOOKS TO UNDERSTAND CHINA PT.2

In the spirit of bringing our students and our community closer to the Chinese culture and language, we started our series “Reader’s...

CHARACTER ORIGINS: 聪 (cōng) INTELLIGENCE

As a ”laowai”, remembering characters is one of the most difficult parts of learning Chinese; however, knowing the origins helps a whole...