Chinese Language - Tumblr Posts

Chinese Verbs Cheat sheet: E's

My quick guide to some common E- verbs in Chinese!

Eat - 吃 - chī Educate - 教育 - jiàoyù (this ones a bit formal) Empty - 清空 - qīngkōng Ensure - 确保 - quèbǎo Enter - 进入 - jìnrù Encourage - 鼓励 - gǔlì End - 结束 - jiéshù Enjoy - 享受 - xiǎngshòu Estimate - 估计 - gūjì Evaluate - 评价 - píngjià Examine - 检查 - jiǎnchá Excel - 出色 - chūsè Exceed - 超出 - chāochū Exchange - 交换 - jiāohuàn Exercise - 锻炼 - duànliàn Exist - 存在 - cúnzài Expect - 期望 - qīwàng Experience - 经历 - jīnglì Explain - 解释 - jiěshì Explore - 探索 - tànsuǒ

Life in China #4

The local animal residents

Chinese Verbs Cheat sheet: F's

A quick guide to some common F-verbs in Chinese!

Fail - 失败 - Shībài Fall - 跌倒 - Diēdǎo Feel - 感觉 - Gǎnjué Fight - 打架 - Dǎjià Find - 找到 - Zhǎodào Finish - 完成 - Wánchéng Fix - 修理 - Xiūlǐ Fly - 飞 - Fēi Follow - 遵循 - 遵循 Forget - 忘记 - Wàngjì Forgive - 原谅 - Yuánliàng Freeze - 冻结 - Dòngjié Fry - 炒 - Chǎo Function - 作用 - Zuòyòng

Taobao Finds #1

What is this thing?? Glasses stand? High-fashion necklace?

Could be useful, especially if you're new to the local squat toilets.

Tempting, especially amidst this recent weather. However. It doesn't have pockets so it's a no from me.

Because who doesn't need a fake muscle suit thing (idk what to call this thing)? Handy for cosplays, but no idea when else you could use it.

I fear if I bought this blanket I'd wear it everywhere

An earphone disguised as a speaker. Fun for roadtrips but not too practical for daily use I think.

Shanghai fashion week move over. We have a new thing going.

At first I thought it was an oversized ring but no. A water bottle shaped like an oversized ring and worn like a handbag.

For that one special guest ♥

A bed and a sock. A bock? A sed? Would need to be washed separately, the logistics remain undefined. Fun for sleepovers though.

What what you (maybe) buy, and what's a 100% no way?

Let me know if you'd like to see more of the weird and wonderful things that you could (but should you?) buy on taobao.

Life in China #5

The irony of sitting in a Macdonalds in China munching on nuggets while the shop plays the opening theme song from the chinese drama that got me interested in chinese movies and culture 7-8 years ago

Life in China: Observations #2

Deodorant what? I order mine from taobao, as I've yet to meet a deodorant out in the wild. Seriously, none of the beauty or health stores carry it, so taobao has been a great help

The bathrooms The public bathrooms tend to be the squat kind (malls and places frequently patronized by foreigners excluded) and you'll have to bring your own toiletpaper and other hygiene items with you. Some places do have the odd western stall amidst the squat stalls, but nonetheless they are the expection. This is in a pretty big city, so expect western style bathrooms to be more rare in more rural areas.

VPN can be a hit or miss It's good to have a few vpns as backups in case one starts glitching and doesn't work (it actually happened a few days ago and after 15 min I caved in and bought the premium version for my free backup only for my current one to start working later). Not all vpns work in china, so it's important to do some research before buying any.

Getting stared at It happens everywhere, even in big cities, but after a while you get used to it.

Food is affordable My uni canteen breakfast costs around 1-2 euros, whereas the same meal at a local cafe would be 7-10 euros back at home

Eating out is common Sure you can cook, but it's much cheaper to go out to eat, especially to the local non-touristy places. In a lot of them you just scan a code that's on the table and order and pay from your phone so there's not a lot of in-person interaction other than saying thanks when the food is brought out to you.

Taking the initiative with friends Making friends with people is always great, but ever so often you will have to take the initiative to do things especially with your Chinese friends.

Bottled water is the way to go Everyone drinks bottled water. Local people, tourists, expats, pretty much no one drinks tap water. The explorer in me wants to try it out, and maybe see how much sips I can have before something (probably bad) happens but past experience says no :/

Private hospitals are more convenient Yes, they may be more expensive but if you can afford to pay a bit more it's always worth it. The staff speak English, which is very useful if you don't speak Chinese or if you have a complex issue that requires very specific vocab that you never learned.

Chinese Verbs Cheat sheet: G's

A quick guide to some common G-verbs in Chinese!

Gain - 获得 - Huòdé Gather - 收集- Shōují Generate - 产生 - Chǎnshēng Get - 拿到 - Ná dào Get up - 起床 - Qǐchuáng Give - 给 - Gěi Give in - 让步 - Ràngbù Give up - 放弃 - Fàngqì Glare - 眩光 - Xuànguāng Glow - 发光 - Fāguāng Go - 去 - Qù Go back - 回去 - Huíqù Govern - 执政 - Zhízhèng Grab - 抓住 - Zhuā zhù Graduate - 毕业 - Bìyè Greet - 打招呼 - Dǎzhāohū Grieve - 悲伤 - Bēishāng Grow - 成长 - Chéngzhǎng Grumble - 发牢骚 - Fāláosāo Guard - 守护 - Shǒuhù Guess - 猜 - Cāi Guide - 指导 - Zhǐdǎo

Life in China #6

I don't think I've ever bought as much clothes over the past 5 years as I did here in China over the past few months.

I don't like shopping, so Taobao was very convenient when I needed to purchase some summer clothes, as I was entirely unprepared for the scorching summer and heat. And now that the weather did a 180 and my usual winter clothes are not keeping me warm enough, the thermalwear is really helping me fight off the cold.

However, this casual light shopping habit may turn into an obsession really quickly I fear. The clothes are so affordable here?? With good quality?? And they have my size!

Life in China tip: Always go up a few sizes when purchasing clothes in China, my usual medium ranges from a M to an XL here, so i guess woman's sizes drastically varying from store to store are universal.

Chinese Measurement Units Guide

At first glance the Chinese clothes sizes make little sense (they still make not that much sense even at the 15th glance as well to be honest). And the fruit and veggie prices are also no odder.

Then I realized that China has its own local measurement units, so here are some unique measurement units you should look out for plus an odd one out.

1. Weight

Kilograms are used (confirmed this during my medical exam, which is a story in itself), but for things like fruits, veggies etc. 公斤 is used, which is basically kilos divided by 2.

一斤 (yī jīn）= 500g

两斤 (liǎng jīn）= 1kg*

*Even though 斤 is translated to as pounds sometimes, it's actually kilos.

This is also used for clothing sizes (on taobao at least), so if you want to get an accurateish estimate you need to convert your weight to kilos, multiple by 2 and then select a size that fits within the range.

For example: if you weight 70 kg, you then multiple that by 2 = 140斤. Clothes will usually have size ranges e.g. 120-145斤, so that could fit into the L (Large) category.

Note: Sizes vary across stores, so an L in one shop can be an XL in another store or an 2XL in a different store so be ready to contact the seller asking for more specific measurements if not too sure.

2. Length

Usually kilometres and metres are used, but there's also a local system.

0.5 km - 1里 - lǐ

1 km - 2里 - lǐ

3. Area

Same as the previous one, the western measurement units are used but there's also a local system. Not very common from what I've heard, but still pretty handy and interesting to know.

1 km² -15顷 - qǐng

4. Volume

Volume is the same as the metric system, with it's own name so no surprises here.

1 L - 1 升 - shēng

The only major issue I've had has been with the weight measurement and its conversion, but other than that there aren't many issues.

5. Contact lenses

Maybe it's a location thing, but the eye diopter thing here is slightly different.

If your prescription is -4.00, then here it'll be just -400 or just 400 without the minus if buying on Taoboa. It should be obvious (farsightedness of +4.00?? with people studying and working that much??), but it threw me off the first time I had to get my contacts here.

They range from 0 to -8.00 but with one value for the entire package, so if you have significantly different diopters in each eye e.g. -2.00 in your right and -3.00 in your left, then you may have to buy 2 packets, 1 for each eye.

Chinese Verbs Cheat sheet: H's

My quick guide to some of the most common H-verbs in Chinese!

Halt - 停止 - Tíngzhǐ Handle - 处理 - Chǔlǐ Happen - 发生 - Fāshēng Harmonize - 协调 - Xiétiáo Harvest - 收获 - Shōuhuò Have - 有 - Yǒu Hear - 听- Tīng Heat - 加热 - Jiārè Help - 帮助 - Bāngzhù Hesitate - 犹豫 - Yóuyù Hibernate - 冬眠 - Dōngmián Hide - 隐藏 - Yǐncáng Hire - 雇佣 - Gùyōng Hiss - 嘶嘶声 - Sīsī shēng Hope - 希望 - Xīwàng Host - 举办 - Jǔbàn Hug - 拥抱 - Yōngbào Hunt - 打猎 - Dǎliè Hurry - 快点 - Kuài diǎn Hurt - 伤害 - Shānghài

Life in China #8

A week of my chinese university's canteen lunches

My Christmas in China

Merry (late) Christmas! I didn't really celebrate Christmas this year, I actually almost forgot all about it until a few days ago😅

We had class as per usual on Christmas day, but during the last hour or so we watched the Karate Kid and ate biscuits and mini-fruit jelly things so it turned out quite nice. My friend also sent over a huge box of chocolates which arrived right after class, so I got a little Christmas miracle after all 💖

How are your holidays going?

I Verbs in Chinese

A guide to some common I verbs in Chinese~

Ignore - 忽视 - hūshì Illuminate - 照亮- zhàoliàng Imagine - 想象 - xiǎngxiàng Imitate - 模仿 - mófǎng Improve - 改善 - gǎishàn Implement - 实施 - shíshī Include - 包括 - bāokuò Incorporate - 合并 - hébìng Increase - 增加 - zēngjiā Indulge - 沉迷 - chénmí ​Inform - 通知 - tōngzhī Innovate - 创新 - chuàngxīn Initiate - 启动 - qǐdòng Inquire - 询问 - xúnwèn Inspire - 启发 - qǐfā Instruct - 指示 - zhǐshì Interact - 互动 - hùdòng Interrupt - 打断 - dǎduàn Intervene - 介入- jièrù Introduce - 介绍 - jièshào Investigate - 调查 - diàochá Invite - 邀请 - yāoqǐng Involve - 参与 - cānyù Invent - 创造 - chuàngzào Invest - 投资 - tóuzī

Life in China: Observations #3

Vitamins/supplements are necessary Especially Calcium and Vit D. Dairy isn't really that big of a thing here (milk boba tea does not count!!), and with cheese being a mythical creature Calcium and vit D are quite useful.

The city never sleeps The big cities at least are always loud and active.

Sugary drinks Sugar is everywhere. From milk-tea to coffee, everything is pretty sweet. Even some of the bread is sweet as I discovered when eating a sandwich.

Interesting flavours Cucumber-flavoured crisps to cheese-flavoured coffee. Whatever flavour combination you deem too outlandish to be true, chances are its real.

Face masks People wear masks for a few main reasons; Fashion, against the cold, against illness and against the air pollution

The aforementioned air pollution It's a thing everywhere. The AQI index thing does not play about. The cold months are the worst, so you'll see people wearing masks very often.

Taobao I mentioned Taobao previously, but seriously. You can buy anything on Taobao. Literally. Clothes, makeup, household items, vitamins. I even saw some people selling rabbits. And other animals, but you get my point.

The New Year isn't that much of a thing here. It's celebrated but not to the extent that the Lunar New Year is celebrated from what I've heard.

The transport/travel system is pretty well connected. Getting around China has little difficulties. The only issue is getting out or into China especially if you're from a european country that doesn't have that many international flights.

Life in China #10

Today we had our end-of-semester closing ceremony & took some cute photos together!

It's only been 4.5 ish months of studying, and yet I'll miss my classmates and the unforgettable time we had together ❣️

This is the end of this chapter, but I'm excited to see what the Spring semester brings us💐.

J Verbs in Chinese

A quick guide to some common J verbs in Chinese!

Jab - 刺戳 - cìchuō

Jeopardize - 危害 - wéihài

Jog - 慢跑 - mànpǎo

Join - 参加 - Cānjiā

Joke - 开玩笑 -Kāi wánxiào

Jolt - 震动 - Zhèndòng

Jot - 记下 - Jìxià

Journey - 去旅行 - Qùl ǚxíng

Judge - 判断 - Pànduàn

Juggle - 玩杂耍 - Wánzáshuǎ

Jumble - 弄乱 - Nòngluàn

Jump - 跳 - Tiào

Justify - 证明 - Zhèngmíng

K- verbs in Chinese My quick guide to some common K-verbs in Chinese!

Keep - 保留 - Bǎoliú Kick - 去踢 - Qùtī ​Kid - 开玩笑 - Kāiwánxiào Kidnap - 绑架 - Bǎngjià K!ll - 杀 - Shā Kindle - 点燃 - Diǎnrán Kiss - 吻 - Wěn Know - 知道 - Zhīdào Knead - 揉捏 - Róuniē Kneel -下跪 - Xiàguì Knit - 编织 - Biānzhī Knock - 敲 - Qiāo Knot - 打结 - Dǎjié Kowtow - 磕头 - Kētóu

L- Verbs in Chinese

A quick guide of some common L-verbs!

Land - 登陆 - dēnglù Last - 持续 - chíxù Laugh - 笑 - xiào Launch - 推出 - tuīchū Lead - 领导 - lǐngdǎo Learn - 学习 - xuéxí Leave - 离开 - líkāi Lend - 借 - jiè Lift - 举起 - jǔqǐ ​Light - 点亮 - diǎnliàng Like - 喜欢 - xǐhuān Limit - 限制 - xiànzhì Link - 连接 - liánjiē Listen - 听 - tīng Live (in/at a place) - 住在 - zhùzài Locate - 定位 - dìngwèi Lock - 锁 - suǒ Long - 渴望 - kěwàng Look - 看 - kàn Lose - 失去 - shīqù Love - 爱 - ài Lower - 降低 - jiàngdī

M- Verbs in Chinese

My quick guide of some common M-verbs!

Maintain - 保持 - bǎochí

Marry - 结婚 - jiéhūn

Marry* - 嫁 - jià

*This is a different verb used for when women get married due to the historical context, but 结婚 is more commonly used now regardless of gender.

Mark - 标记 - biāojì

Manage - 管理 - guǎnlǐ

Make - 制作 - zhìzuò

Match - 匹配 - pǐpèi

Matchmake - 相亲 - xiāngqīn

Measure - 测量 - cèliáng

Meet - 见面 - jiànmiàn

Mention - 提及 - tíjí

Miss - 错过 - cuòguò

Modify - 修改 - xiūgǎi

Monitor - 监视 - jiānshì

Move - 运动 - yùndòng

Move (houses) - 搬家 - bānjiā

So we got our class schedules today and it turns out that I'm in the same class as I was last semester, probably because I requested to stay in the same level in the survey that was sent out without actually thinking everything through.

To be fair, this survey was before I got my exam results back and honestly I think did pretty well for someone who was initially placed 2 levels below because I didn't do too great on my placement test (although I evidently redeemed myself on my swap out test).

This upcoming week we're allowed to try out other levels before either staying or doing the swap test to go to a higher level, which I might do if the next level is manageable.

I feel like the main issue is that despite being really out of my depth in the beginning, this level ended up being challenging enough, but what if the next level is too difficult and this level is too easy? I don't want to waste this semester, but I also want to thrive rather than try to survive and constantly be stressed out about studying.

I guess the upcoming week shall reveal its secrets so there's not that much sense in obsessing over it. I for one will try to make the most of the remaining days before classes start.

Have a good weekend everyone!