The "Top 8 Words for Qingming Festival, the Tomb Sweeping Holiday in China" is the topic this week by Christina at FluentU at this link:   http://chinese.fluentu.com/blog/2013/03/26/top-words-tomb-sweeping-holiday-china/  

By Christina at FluentU…

夜间妇女候车区     yèjiān fùnǚ hòuchē qū

waiting zone for female passengers at night

夜间：during night

妇女：woman

候：等候，waiting

车：car/bus/train vehicle

区：zone/area

SMC member Shu on her site "Chinesetolearn" has a lesson posted May 14 2012 in which you can improve your knowledge of Chinese Grammar, learn some history of Emperor Kang Xi and learn some commonly used Mathematics terms all at the same time.  GOTO this link:    …

3月13日是农历二月初二，“龙抬头”的日子。传说，冬眠的龙被春雷惊醒，抬头飞腾升天，行云布雨，迎接春天到来，所以称为“龙抬头”。古时有腊月二十七 以后不剃头之忌，到“龙抬头”这天，过了一个多月正适合理发。所以不少人趁着“二月二，龙抬头”讨吉利“剃龙头”。…

Hey everyone!



I want to share my thoughts and some tips I've picked up during my own Chinese learning experience.

I haven't contributed to this site in a long time, the last time I did, I was plodding through language study on my own living in Brighton, UK (2010/2011). Now I am living in Beijing, China.



I have found that the best way to learn…

危险  wēixiǎn     danger  

施工中  shīgōng zhōng     in construction  

请勿靠近  qǐng wù kàojìn     don't get close

请: please 勿：do not

靠近: get close to

 Charlotte MacInnis is host of 100 Mandarin Learning videos on CCTV ( 100 was on March 9 2012 ).

 She has lived in China most of her life.  See link :  http://www.cpcchina.org/2011-10/21/content_13948565.htm

 She has a Wiki page here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Hua

 She had an English language TV show to learn Mandarin on CCTV called "Growing Up…

又一个南北差异！ 饺子蘸料“南方酱油北方醋”似乎是常态，但也有更多五花八门的蘸料：蒜蓉、白糖、香油、芥末、辣椒、番茄酱... 几乎只有想不到，没有不能蘸。

你吃饺子蘸什么料？

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蘸料：dipping sauce

常态：normalcy

五花八门：a huge variety…

Here is a list of 6 Snake Phrases for the Year of the Snake created by FluentU's Christina:  http://chinese.fluentu.com/blog/2013/02/07/6-chinese-idioms/   

Christina of FluentU has prepared you a list with all the jargon you’ll need for the Chinese New Year Holiday.  See list here:   …

风生水起  fēng shēng shuǐ qǐ  

风：wind   生：accrue/grow

水：water  起：rise/grow

风水：fengshui

风生水起 is to describe things going prosperous. Good name for a Feng Shui specialist shop.  In ancient China, the reading order is from right to left.  So you see 起水生風 here in Traditional…

中国人现在流行取英文名字。台湾某知名网站日前进行“10大最俗套英文名字票选”，男生由David拿下第一、女生则由Amy夺冠。

你觉得最俗的英文名是什么？

课本上最常见的Lucy、Mary、Peter？…

FluentU's Christina on January 29, 2013 in Essential Chengyu, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese post on 诚心诚意(chéng xīn chéng yì)

诚心诚意 (chéng xīn chéng yì) which means  "sincerely"  ( sincere heart, sincere intention ) is covered in a FluentU post by Christina .    …

Taiwan Singer 潘安邦 ( Pan An Bang ) dead at the age of 52 years old.

据台湾媒体报道，以《外婆的澎湖湾》一曲成名的歌手潘安邦在2013年2月3日因病猝逝，享年52岁。

Jù táiwān méitǐ bàodào, yǐ “wàipó de pēnghú wān” yī qū chéngmíng de gēshǒu pān'ānbāng zài 2013 nián 2 yuè 3 rì yīn bìng cù shì, xiǎngnián 52 suì.

According to Taiwan media reports, the famous singer of "Grandma's Penghu Bay", Pan An Bang, died suddenly due to illness on February 3, 2013, at the age of 52 years old.

潘安邦 - 外婆的澎湖灣

Pān'ānbāng -…

注意飞石，观察通过。  zhùyì fēishí,   guānchá tōngguò.  

Be careful of falling rocks, watch and pass.

注意：notice

飞：flying

石：石头，stone/rocks

观察：observe/watch

通过：pass

I wondered what were the two buttons under the video I was watching online. Now I know:

高清直播 (Gāoqīng zhíbò) - HD Live

标清直播 (Biāoqīng zhíbò) - SD live…

When we mentioned "eating", everyone must have so many words to express.

Today I will introduce some Chinese food. Let's look at following:

馄饨 hún tún  wonton

馄饨分大馄饨和小馄饨，我最喜欢吃小馄饨了。

Do you know the difference between 大馄饨's filling and 小馄饨's filling?…

经典怀旧清宫戏《还珠格格》将登陆美国，美国脱口秀《柯南秀》主播Conan和他的朋友Andy应邀去给《还珠》做英文配音，结果两个人痛快的恶搞了一把，笑翻网友。

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还珠格格：Return of the Pearl Princess  , name of the soap opera.

柯南秀：TBS Conan…

Today, January 29 2013, Teresa Teng would have turned 60 years old.
今天，2013年1月29日，邓丽君已经达到了60岁。
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQwgBrj9qnI

动物饮水通道  dòngwù  yǐnshuǐ  tōngdào  

Passage for wildlife drinking water

动物：animal

饮：drink   水：water

通道：passage

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I have a website for the collection.  http://seraph.us/

If you have…

有人将春运比作人类史上规模最大的“春节运动会”，搞笑中带着心酸。近日，工信部通知要求停用抢票插件，理由是有失公平，更在微博引起争议，不少人认为根本原因是12306网站自身问题，也有网友认为抢票软件的确有失公平。

你觉得用抢票插件公平吗？

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春运：Chunyun, also referred to as the Spring Festival travel season, is a period of travel in…