How to Pronounce Chinese Pinyin Alphabet

Learn Chinese Online - How to pronounce Chinese pinyin

A couple days ago, one of my foreign friends asked me a question on Facebook, and that is: Could you write the Chinese alphabet with English pronunciation for me? I was a little confused at first, for it is nearly impossible to list the pronunciation of Chinese alphabet by English letters or words. As all of us known that the Latin alphabet is widely used all over the world, but they all have their own unique pronunciation in different countries. However, I found out a way to help him learning the Chinese pinyin alphabet.
Below is what the Chinese pinyin alphabet looks like along with the letter's pronunciation in some English words. 

A ei (pronounced like the "a" in "car")
B bi (pronounced as an unaspirated "p")
C xi (pronounced as a aspirated sharp "dz")
D dí (pronounced as an unaspirated "t")
E yi (pronounced as in the French "schwa")
F ài fú (pronounced as in the "f" in "father")
G jí (pronounced as an unaspriated "k")
H ài chi (pronounced as in the "h' of "house")
I ài (pronounced as in "eye")
J jié (pronounced as an unaspirated "ts" as in the "tu" in "picture")
K kai (pronounced as an aspirated "k")
L ài lè (pronounced as in the "l" or "lorry")
M ài ma (pronounced as in the "m" of "mother")
N ài nà (pronounced as in the "n" of "nook")
O ó (pronounced as in the "o" in "long")
P pì (pronounced as an aspirated "p")
Q jí wú (pronounced as an aspirated "ts")
R ài ér (pronounced as the Spanish "r")
S ài si (pronounced as a hard "s", between an "s" and a "z")
T tí (pronounced as an aspirated "t")
U yi wú (pronounced as in the French "u")
V wéi (pronounced with a "w" as there is no "v" in the Chinese alphabet)
W dòu bèi er wéi (pronounced as the "oo" in "boo")
X yi kè si (pronounced as the "s" in "silk")
Y wú ài (pronounced as the French "u")
Z zéi dé (pronounced an unaspirated sharp "dz") 

You can adopt various ways to learn Chinese pinyin alphabets. No matter what method you use, you should bear in mind that practice makes perfect!

How to Say Those Valentine's Day Gifts in Chinese

Chinese have their own Valentine's Day, which occurs on the seven day of the seventh month in Chinese lunar calendar. Hence it is named 七夕节(qīxījié), also known as 女儿节(nǚérjié). There is a famous legend about this day.

Zhi Nv, the seventh daughter of the Goddess of the heaven, is a beautiful fairy who occasionally met Niu Lang and fell in love with him. Zhi Nv lived very happy with Niu Lang and gave birth to two kids for him. However, they broken the rule that an immortal can not marry a mortal. The Goddess could not bear that and ordered her daughter to return to Heaven. Zhi Nv really was unwilling to leave her loved husband and two little kids. Finally, the Goddess took pity on the couple and allowed them to reunite once a year. On the seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies form a bridge with their wings for Zhi Nv to cross to meet her husband. 

What a tragic tale! But nowadays, this day is regarded as romantic and full of happiness. Many boys will send some special gifts to their loved girls. 巧克力(qiǎo kè lì) and 玫瑰花(méi guī huā) are the most common gifts been sent. What's the interesting is that different chocolates symbolize different meanings. For example, the heart-shaped chocolate represents "My heart belongs to you," while black chocolate stands for "Stick together through thick and thin." Also the number of the rose stands for some meaning. It is said that one rose symbolizes "你是我的唯一(nǐ shì wǒ de wéi yī) You are the only one in my mind"; three roses indicates "我爱你(wŏ ài nǐ) I love you"; nine roses stands for "长相守( chǎng xiàng shǒu) last forever"; eleven roses means "最爱(zuì ài) the dearest"; ninety-nine roses represents "天长地久(tiān cháng dì jiǔ) Love you forever" and three hundred sixty and five roses means "天天爱你(tiān tiān ài nǐ)Love you everyday"!

If you have enough money, the gift can be costly. For example, some business men would like to send diamond rings, luxury watches, cars, even house property. But it does not matter how much the gifts cost, only meticulous care and true love matter!

Learn Chinese Online with us and speak out your creative Qixi Jie's gift ideas in Chinese!

Useful Chinese Expressions Ⅳ

Learn Chinese Online - Useful Chinese Expressions

"不是吧(bú shì ba)" is frequently used as the pet phrase of Chinese people, which means "that's not true, is it?" or "really?"
It is often used when you're surprised or find something hard to believe.
真的假的？(zhēn de jiǎ de?) often goes after 不是吧(bú shì ba), almost expressing the same meaning. Chinese people use them together for maximum impact!
Example:
Qiàn qiàn hé tā lǎo bǎn tán liàn ài le.
倩    倩  和 她老  板  谈  恋  爱了。
Qian qian has fall in love with her boss.

Bù shì ba?
不 是 吧？
Really?


伤不起 (shāngbùqǐ) basically means that you feel beaten and hurt and can't take it anymore. Literally, it means that your body has been battered by injuries, and that you can't take any more. 伤 (shāng) is from injury 伤害 (shānghài) or scar 伤痕 (shānghén) while 不起 (bùqǐ) is from 经不起 (jīngbuqǐ - to be unable to bear).
It's a new popular internet slang, but has already being used commonly in Chinese people's daily life, even in some TV programme. 
Example:
Méi fáng méi chē de nán rén shāng bù qǐ  a.
 没  房    没  车  的  男 人    伤    不 起 啊！ 
The man without a house or a car can’t be hurt anymore.

Useful Chinese Expressions Ⅲ

Learn Chinese Online - Useful Chinese Expressions

"萌(méng)" literally means "sprout, germinate, or bud". It is said that 萌(méng) is originally from Janpanese animation, expressing a strong affection for somebody or something. Now, it is widely used on Internet in China, like "卖萌 (mài méng)" meaning "to act cute, to try hard to win over the affection of others through cute actions", especially for young boys or girls.

Examples:

Zhè ge xiǎo hái hǎo méng a.

这 个 小  孩 好 萌  啊()！

The kid is really cute!

Tā xǐ huān zài tā nán péng yǒu miàn qián mài méng.

她 喜 欢 在 她 男  朋 友  面  前  卖  萌()。

She likes to act cute when with her boyfriend.

"包在我身上(bāo zài wǒ shēnshanɡ)" means "just leave it to me. I can absolutely manage it well." This sentence is used to describe that the speaker is very confident in doing something successfully and that the others can totally count on him/her. It can be used alone or after the "thing" needs to be done.

包在我身上。(bāo zài wǒ shēnshanɡ.) I am on it/ Just leave it to me.

Examples:

A:  Nǐ  jīn tiān yí dìng yào bǎ zhè jiàn shì qíng chú  lǐ   hǎo.

   你今 天 一 定 要 把 这 件 事 情  处 理 好。

      You must handle it today.

B:  Méi wèn tí,  bāo zài wǒ shēn shàng.

  没 问 题,包  在 我 身 上。

     No problem, I can manage it.

A:  Wǒ xiǎng má fán  nǐ xiū  gǎi xià lùn wén.

   我 想  麻 烦 你 修 改 下 论 文。

       I hope you could help me to revise my paper.

B:  Fàng xīn,  bào zài  wǒ shēn shàng.

   放  心，包 在 我 身  上。

     You can rest assured, and just leave it to me.

Learn Chinese Characters in a Funny Way

Chinese characters are really awesome, which is unique from the alphabet scripts in most Western countries. With a long history of over 3000 years, Chinese has evolved substantially yet has retained its ancient core, making it one of the longest continuously used writing system in the world. 

Basically, Chinese characters are classified as four categories. the pictographic characters (象形字xiàng xíng zì), the indicative characters (指示字zhǐ shì zì), the associative characters (会意字huì yì zì), and pictophonetic characters (形声字xíng shēng zì). Today, I would like to explain the funny Chinese pictographic characters.

Pictographic characters, as the most ancient characters, outline the rough shape of things with simple lines. we can easily see that pictographic characters are the single components (独体字dú tǐ zì) and they can only represent concrete things, but not things abstract in meaning or a part of a picture.

手(shǒu) , means "hand" in English.

Tā yòng zuǒ shǒu xiě zì hé chī fàn.

他  用      左   手     写 字 和 吃  饭()。

He use his left hand to write and eat. 

足(zú), means"foot" in English. 

Qiān lǐ zhī xíng，shǐ yú zú xià. 

 千   里 之  行，  始 于  足  下。

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

伞(sǎn)，means"umbrella" in English.

Xià yǔ tiān yào jì de suí shí dài sǎn.

下  雨 天   要  记得 随 时  带  伞。

You should always take an umbrella in the rainy days.

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Useful Chinese Expressions Ⅱ

你太有才了(nĭ tài yŏu cái le) first appeared in a sketch performed by some famous Chinese actors Song Dandan, Zhao Benshan and Niu Qun in Chinese Spring Festival Gala Evening in 2007. It has been very popular among Chinese people(especially the young) since then.

才(cái) in this phrase means "talent, ability to do something special." 太(tài) means "too, excessively". And the whole phrase 你太有才了(nĭ tài yŏu cái le) means "you are too talented, you are too competent." It is used to express your praise to somebody. 

Example:

zhè gè fāng àn chéng gōng tōng guò le, nĭ tài yŏu cái le!

这  个 方     案    成        功     通      过  了 你  太  有    才了！

The project is passed, you are too talented!

随便(suí biàn) is a Chinese phrase which is frequently used in our daily life. 

When you go to a store, the owner will immediately ask what you want. If you just want to look around or window shop, then this would be the perfect Chinese-style answer: 

Wǒ suí biàn kàn kan.

我 随  便   看  看。

I just look around casually. 

Well, speaking of the hospitability and politeness of Chinese, you might have heard such from your Chinese friends when you visit them as:

Suí biàn zuò, jiù xiàng zài zì jǐ jiāyí yàng.

随 便  坐，就 像 在自己家一 样。

Sit where you like. Make yourself at home.

(那是)必须的! ((Nà shì) bìxū de!)  is a very popular word used to show confirmation. "必须 (bìxū)" means must; "的 (de)" is a particle. It conveys the same meaning as the English "That's a must!" or "Absolutely". It gained popularity from a catch phrase in Northeast China and was first known in the form of short sketch dialogues. This phrase carries a humorous or lighthearted tone and becomes more and more popular in our daily life.

Example:

   Wǒ xià gè yuè jié hūn, nǐ kě yídìng yào lái o.

A: 我 下  个 月   结  婚，你可 一定 要 来哦。

I will get married next week. You’ve got to come.

    Nà shì bìxū de.

B: （那是） 必须 的。

    Absolutely. 

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