Which Style Is Yours?

Learn Chinese Online - What's your style?

The phrase "范儿(fànr)" in Chinese equals "style" in English. Originally, "范儿(fànr)" , a jargon used in Beijing opera, is the traditional Chinese operatic style. When the performers are ready to go on stage, they call it "起范儿 (qǐ fànr)".

Now, this word are widely used in our daily life. You might have seen it in a fashion magazine or heard it everywhere. It is used after adjectives to describe most fashion styles. For example,  "欧美范儿 (Ōu měi fànr) European-American style" , "甜美范儿(Tiánměi fànr) luscious style"...

As "范儿(fànr)" becomes more and more popular, it can be used in many more creative ways. It can describe someone who generally has a very good taste, somone who is attractive, or someone whose style is amazing.

Below are some examples to help you learn this fashion word:


Nǐ jīntiān zhè shēn zhuāngbàn kě zhēn shì míngxīng fànr shízú a.
你 今天    这   身  装扮      可  真   是  明星    范儿 十足  啊。
Your dress has fully shown off your superstar style

Zú qiú cháng shàng de xiǎobèi zhēn shì tài yǒu fànr le.
足 球  场     上   的 小贝     真   是  太  有  范儿了。
Beckham had his own unique style in the football field.

Tā zhēn shì tài yǒu fànr le.
他 真    是 太  有  范儿 了。
He has his own unique style.

Keywords:

. 范儿 (fànr) 
. 欧美范儿 (ōu měi fànr)
. 甜美范儿 (tiánměi fànr)
. 明星范儿 (míngxīng fànr)

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How to Say "Class" in Chinese

Learn Chinese Online - How to say "class of 2012"?

When I first started teaching at a Chinese university I was immediately confused by the way they refer to students. For example, a student might introduce herself as a "2012 jí 级" student. I mistakenly equated that to the English "Class of 2012." But actually it doesn't mean she's graduating in 2012 it means she's starting in 2012.

To make it clear, here are the two shuōfǎ 说法 in Chinese and their (American) English meanings:

2012 jí 级 = Starting college in 2012 as a freshmen. Graduating in either 2015 (for zhuānkē shēng 专科生) or 2016 (for běnkē shēng 本科生)
2012 jiè 届 = "Class of 2012." Starting as a freshman whenever, but graduating in 2012.

By the way, student numbers are usually based on the first system (jí 级) and I'm not sure exactly when they use jiè 届. But the other day two graduated students (native speakers of Chinese) were discussing this difference and I thought I'd share what they told me.
One further complication is that "class" in English really has 3 Chinese translations:

jiè 届 = graduating class (all students in a "year" of college).
bān 班 = the actual class of students that stay together in a classroom for a lesson.
jié 节 = measure word for one teaching "period" or one "class session."

So this sentence would be much clearer in Chinese than in English:

"I taught every class in the class of 2012 two classes."

"我给每个2012届的班上了两节课."
"wǒ gěi měi gè 2012 jiè de bān shàng le liǎng jié kè"

Many times speaking with Chinese colleagues in English about "classes" results in confusion and I find that the most efficient way to clear it up is to just use the Chinese word.

Learn Chinese Online - Taobao Terms

Taobao (淘宝网) is the main place to buy stuff online in China, similar to eBay and Amazon. But shopping on Taobao isn’t quite as simple as asking “How much?” and promptly exchanging money for goods and services. Here are some terms for expats in China to make the purchase a lot smoother.

Basic Taobao vocabulary: 

掌柜(Zhǎng guì) – shopkeeper
Taobao sellers are referred to as zhanggui, meaning “shopkeeper.” The all-purpose laoban (老板, boss) is also used. 

拍(pāi) – bid/buy 

making a purchase is still expressed using the verb pai (拍), “to bid,” Once they have placed their “bid” (pāi xià 拍下), the customer then goes on to pay through an internet banking service. 

亲(qīn) – dear (buyers) 

most Taobao shopkeepers tend to refer to their customers as qin (“dear,” “dearie,” or if you prefer the British slang, “ducky”), whether they’re young or old, male or female.  

宝贝(bǎo bèi) – treasure (any item for sale) 

The tao (淘) in Taobao (淘宝) literally means “to dredge out” or “to pan for” (gold, etc.) , and here it is used figuratively to mean “search for”. The bao (宝) means “treasure” 

It’s customary to talk your intended purchase over with the shopkeeper via Taobao’s online messaging system before any purchases are made. Such dialogues usually go something like this:

Buyer: Are you there, shopkeeper?
Mǎijiā: Zhǎngguì zài ma?
买家： 掌柜在吗？
Seller: I’m here, dearie!
Màijiā: Zàide, qīn ~
卖家：在的，亲~
Buyer: Is this particular “treasure” in stock? (followed by the name or hyperlink of the item in question)
Mǎijiā: Qǐngwèn zhèjiàn bǎobèi yǒu huò ma?
买家：请问这件宝贝有货吗?
Seller: Oh, yes it is, feel free to bid, dearie.
Màijiā: Yǒude ó, qīn pāixià ba.
卖家：有的哦，亲拍下吧。
Buyer: Is shipping included?
Mǎijiā: Bāoyóu ma?
买家：包邮吗？
Seller: Yes it is dearie, remember to leave good feedback after it arrives!
Mài jiā: Bāoyóu de ó qīn, shōudào jìde gěi hǎopíng ó qīn ~
卖家：包邮的哦亲，收到记得给好评哦亲~ 

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Chinese Poems for Kids to Learn Chinese

Chinese really likes poems. Chinese poems are appreciated not only in the meaning but also in the structure. Notice how each line has the same number of characters. They are made so the “sound” is good as the poem is read. They way to read also matters. In the past, many are accompanied by music.

These are samples of simple ones but really famous. All Chinese know these. Also,they are great materials for kids to learn Chinese online.

Chinese to English translation for this:

The Peasants' Lot

By Li Shen

Hoeing the grass under the noonday sun,

His sweat drips on the ground beneath.

Who knows that on the dining plate,

Every single grain means hardship.

Chinese to English translation for this:

A Spring Morning

By Meng Haoran

This morning of spring in bed I’m lying,

Not woke up till I hear birds crying.

After a night of wind and showers,

How many are the fallen flowers?

Chinese to English translation for this:

Ode to the Geese

By Luo Binwang

Geese, O geese!

Your necks curve and sing to sky in glees;

Your white plumes float on water green,

Red feet paddle streams clear and clean.

Driving in Beijing

Driving in Beijing is really no fun at all, especially during the rush hours. All the roads are pretty much a parking lot. But other than that it's ok. However, Beijing is really big, for far distances, I'd rather use the subway.

Since Beijing is getting crowded everyday by cars, there are more and more restrictions on the road. Beijing expats need to be aware of this.

Driver's License
Be sure to study the booklet really carefully for your written test. I think the test was really hard. They have many languages to pick, including English. I had my test directly in the computer. We did it together in a room with other people.

Buying a car
There's a quota to buy a car in Beijing. People can get it trough lottery system. (2011)

Parking
Beijing is really crowded so there's little parking space available. In modern shopping centers, they start to provide parking underground but could be really pricy. The range is from 5 mao per half an hour to 10 yuan and more per hour (as of 2011). Really, consider public transportation! Everyday there'e a driving restriction, based on your license plate. For example if the restriction is 0 and 5, that means, all license plate whose last number is 0 or 5 are not allowed to enter the road. Usually starting the third ring. You can get fined when the police caught you. (2011)

Do you know?
When I came in the year 2000, the road was empty. Big shopping center only had tiny parking lots and there's only 1 car or 2 in it.
NOW? Forget it... There are so many cars everywhere no matter how big the lots are!

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Metric in China

Units used in China are not the same as, say in the USA or other countries. Some common units are listed below. Although initially it might bother some expats in China, I can assure you after a while you'll get used to it :) For this issue, the tip for living in China (especially for those who like cooking): get a calculator or get some coversion unit tables from the web.


km (kilometer) is used to express distance instead of miles.  1 mile is roughly 1.6 km.
1 mile ~ 1.6 km   or   1 km ~ 0.625 mile

Example: a 10 km distance is about 6.25 miles.


For weather, cooking, etc, we use Celcius instead of Fahrenhait.
F= 9/5 C + 32

For example: 10C in Fahrenhait would be (9/5)*10 +32 = 50 F


For length, sometimes we use centimeter (cm), but sometimes we use our own unit chi.
1 inch=2.54 cm

For example: 2 inches= 2*2.54=5.08 cm

1 尺 (chǐ) ~ 30.48 cm When you go to clothing/clothes store, most sellers are using chǐ


If you go to buy fruit, vegetable, rice, etc, sellers are using jin.
1 jin (斤)   is about 1 pound 1斤~1.1lb


For smaller items such as  spices, say star anise, five spice, etc, the seller uses liang.

1jin~ 10 liang (两)

Other commonly used unit is Gram.

1 公斤 (gong jin or kg) = 1,000 克 (gram)

1 毫克 = 0.001 克 （1克=1000毫克） (毫 háo mili)


For volume, we use liter here. For example to buy gasoline
1 gallon ~ 2.78 liter

 升shēng is liter


Say you buy water (sewer), the unit is dun
1 吨 (dūn) = 1 ton = 1000 kg

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Youth Day in China

Youth Day in the China is on May 4 every year. It was established in December 1949 by the Government Administration Council to commemorate the beginning of the May Fourth Movement.
After World WarⅠ, U.S., Japan, U.K., Italy, France and some other countries held a "Peace Conference" in Paris in 1919. Chinese government of that time also sent some representatives for the conference, and demanded that the imperial countries should abandon their privilege in China. In May 1919, "Paris Conference" unfairly refused the reasonable request that China asked to abolish the unequal treat, and even decided to transfer the Germany's illegal privileges in Shandong Province to Japan.
When the news passed back to China, the whole country got angry. On May 4th, about 3,000 students from various universities in Beijing congregated at Tian'anmen Square and held a student protest parade for the first time in the history. The students shouted out some patriotic slogans and presented a petition to the state president, but suppressed by the warlord government of that time. This suppression made angrier the people all over the country. A great number of students, workers and businessmen went on strike, and the students' demonstration and parade finally developed into a national-scale anti-imperialistic and patriotic movement. On June 10th, the warlord government had to compromise, and deposed Cao Rulin, Zhang Zongxiang, and Lu Zongyu who were regarded as committing a crime of quislingism. On June 28th, Chinese representatives at Paris Conference refused to sign the "Peace Treaty." This news passed throughout the world soon and the imperialistic countries were greatly shocked. So far, the direct goals brought forward in the movement were basically achieved.
May 4th Movement is a landmark event in Chinese history. It is not only a patriotic student movement, but also a new culture movement with the characteristic of democracy and science against feudal culture. It was due to the influence of May 4th Movement that science, democracy and the usage of modern Chinese language were greatly advocated later.