A useful Chinese pattern for talking about how a place has changed: 以前……，现在……

this one focuses on a very common pattern for comparing the past and present.

以前 yǐqián — before / in the past

现在 xiànzài — now

还有 háiyǒu — also / in addition

For example:

以前这里有很多工厂。

Yǐqián zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō gōngchǎng.

There used to be many factories here.

现在这里有很多人。

Xiànzài zhèlǐ yǒu hěn duō rén.

Now there are many people here.

这里还有很多船。

Zhèlǐ háiyǒu hěn duō chuán.

There are also many boats here.

A couple of related words from the lesson:

岛 dǎo — island

半岛 bàn dǎo — peninsula

It's a simple pattern, but it's very useful when you're describing cities, neighborhoods, travel destinations, or how somewhere has changed over time.

an interactive version of the lesson is available too if anyone wants to practice it, let me know.

After practicing daily for around 6 months, my rate of initiating conversations in Chinese with acquaintances and strangers has basically gone to zero.

I'm curious if anyone else has observed this. And second question - is this maybe a good thing? I do cringe when I look back at some of the things I did in my first ~month.

First row, second character

I'm pretty sure it's 开启

But why does it look different

I'm going mad trying to find the reason

Can someone help me understand

Please don't say just "it's a different font" or something, I need details, I'm autistic

Mine is this: 凸 and maybe the fact that the simplified version of 義 is 义

Basically, I've studied Chinese for my Bachelor's but due to covid it all went downhill and my language is very poor now. It was always my dream to live in China, even for a little while (I don't want to move there long term due to family issues). I was wondering if giving up my job and doing an adult 'gap year' to study the lnaguage would be a good option? Has anyone done anything like that?

I'm born in a Chinese family where they only taught me to speak dialect, which worsened throughout the years, I took 3 years of private Chinese class sin middle school but after 5-6 years my Chinese is still very rusty

I probably am the same level of a first grader, I can still somehow have a convo with Chinese girls if they're patient enough

I've been seeing a Chinese guy these weeks and speak a mix of English and Chinese, although English isn't my first language as I live in a country where it's not the local language, but it's on a pretty good level, while his English is not perfect

I asked him to speak and text to me in Chinese and he does, although when I'm at loss of words, I can't help but switch in Chinese again.

I really wanna learn Chinese not only for him,m but to connect more with other Chinese peers and for my future career too, but rn I'm currently already studying German for Erasmus plus my exams, so Idk how to include Chinese in my day without taking too much time

Hello. I'm trying to find some way for my niece (13) and nephew (just turned 15) to learn some basic Mandarin without making it seem like hard work.

When they were younger, we tried cartoons dubbed in Mandarin, which worked for a while. They also had about 2 years of weekly lessons with a tutor when they were younger but didn't really enjoy them. My nephew likes football (not American) and reads mystery and adventure books. My niece likes teen adventure stories, swimming. They both enjoy cooking & baking, and play music instruments but are not fans of any specific type of music.

I think videos (Youtube channels maybe?) or short TV programmes might be the easiest but I don't know what type. Don't think pop music will help. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

Not sure about the other apps on the page, but I have been using HelloChinese and I noticed that it was using erhua. Now I enjoy the app, but a big part of learning is connecting with my friends in Guangzhou and Shenzhen who struggle to even know when to use erhua.

Is there any apps that incorporate listening but do so more towards a neutral dialect?

I'm self studying chinese using a textbook that has the corresponding workbook. How do I grade the workbook because I don't know if my answers are correct. What do you guys do?

Hi everyone 👋

Welcome to our daily Chinese learning post.

Today we are going to learn super‑popular internet slang that you will often see on Chinese social media.

💡Chinese sentence

从夯到拉，夯 > 顶级 > 人上人 > npc > 拉完了

💡Pinyin

Cóng hāng dào lā, hāng > dǐng jí > rén shàng rén > npc > lā wán le.

💡Literal translation

From hāng to lā, tier order: hāng > top‑level > above‑average person > npc > totally bad.

💡Natural English meaning

This is a subjective tier‑list meme used by Chinese netizens to rate almost anything. “夯” stands for the absolute best, and “拉完了” means the worst. People sort items, shows or characters into these grades purely based on personal feelings.

🔸Real‑life connection

Now there is a well‑known online trend called “从夯到拉”. There is no fixed objective standard for these rankings. Netizens use this set of tier labels to give sharp but light‑hearted comments on food, songs, TV drama characters, game figures and daily goods.

Many online discussions pop up because different people give totally different ranks to the same thing. One user may think a drama is “夯”, while another thinks it is “拉完了”. This low‑threshold, humorous way of commenting has become a common way for Chinese internet users to interact.

🔸Break‑down vocabulary

从 cóng — from

到 dào — to

夯 hāng — internet slang, top‑tier, awesome, the best grade

顶级 dǐng jí — top‑level, first‑class

人上人 rén shàng rén — internet slang, far better than average, outstanding

npc — loanword from gaming, ordinary, unremarkable, nothing special

拉完了 lā wán le — internet slang, terrible, disappointing, the lowest grade

万物皆可排 wàn wù jiē kě pái — everything can be subjectively ranked

💡Grammar note: This is a set of fixed slang labels. They are only used in casual online conversations. Do not apply them in essays, business emails or formal speeches.

🔸Practice sentences

⭐️这部新剧的特效太夯了。

Zhè bù xīn jù de tè xiào tài hāng le.

The special effects of this new drama are top‑tier.

⭐️这个游戏角色只能算 npc 水平。

Zhè ge yóu xì jué sè zhǐ néng suàn npc shuǐ píng.

This game character is only at an ordinary, unremarkable level.

⭐️这部续集的剧情拉完了。

Zhè bù xù jí de jù qíng lā wán le.

The plot of this sequel is really disappointing.

💡Did you know?

Internet slang updates extremely fast. Learners need to understand that these tier words reflect personal subjective opinions rather than objective facts. When you see these words online, do not treat them as universal truth. For language learners, focus on recognising them when reading social media content instead of over‑using them in your own formal output.

✨Have you seen similar subjective tier‑list culture on social media in your own language? 👉Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section!

Im chinese im learning chinese but have no chinese accent could someone help me get a proper accent

入虛無如風出麈立羈絆

Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind.

Quote from Avatar korra tv show from Guru lakhima.

So many of the listening and reading resources I come across use foreign names, transliterated into Chinese. I understand that they're trying to make the content more relatable to students, but the effect is that I don't know many Chinese names, and I waste a lot of time figuring out weird Chinese versions of English names.

Also, in my opinion, it's easier for a student to understand a character named "毛毛” (Mao Mao) vs. "玛来雅" (Mariah?? I just saw this in a book)

Hey guys I am stuck here and don't know how to proceed with the next levels? Any help? Or do I really need to pay now?

Hi everyone! I’m a native Chinese speaker with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in classical Chinese literature. I’m currently pursuing my PhD, although my present research focuses on theology—especially Latin and scholastic theology.

I love classical Chinese poetry, particularly the tension contained within its imagery. For example:夜船吹笛雨潇潇
“On a night boat, a flute plays through the murmuring rain.”

Or:

何日归家洗客袍？
“When shall I return home and wash my traveler’s robe?”

The lines are so brief, yet so beautiful that they make something tremble inside your heart.

I also speak English and German, and I can read scholastic works in Latin! If you’re learning Chinese, I’d be very happy to talk with you and help each other learn!

Struggling to find universities, I'm very new to all this. We're 3 brothers and would first like to learn Chinese directly before going for an undergraduate degree. We've checked a few universities but alot of them teach the course in Chinese rather than English. We also tried applying to Shenzhen University twice but got rejected and told to contact their college in Tokyo?

A popular one BLCU seems great in terms of learning from the little I've heard, but apparently they're on the more expensive side and their dorms aren't too great?

If possible we'd like to stick to any tier 1 or new tier 1 cities, though I do know that China is interconnected so traveling across the country is easy, it's just from the little I know the tier 1 cities are the best places. But I'm open to tier 2 if needed, can't be too picky, we're somewhat desperate.

So yeah, please share any suggestions for students like us and we'll look into it. My oldest sibling is 25 this month too, so the university should be able to accept that (I know alot of them don't let students older than 25 in).

Thank you :)

I'm learning Mandarin and am at the level where I'm getting bored of "learners" content and want to start watching what I'd normally watch in English in Mandarin. I normally watch stuff about science, history and religion, and comedy. Channels like Veritasium and VSauce are some of my favorites in English. However, when I search for Chinese content on Youtube or Bilibili I can't find anything but AI-generated edu-slop or poorly done dubs of English channels. I'm not sure if I'm using the wrong search terms or looking on the wrong apps?

One common setting for 来都来了 is at a ticket booth. The price is higher than expected, but you have already made the trip. Someone shrugs and says:

来都来了。

“Might as well” is often a natural translation, but the two expressions put different parts of the reasoning into words. “Might as well” gives the conclusion. 来都来了 gives the premise: we have already come. The “so...” is left unstated.

The phrase does not actually claim that the next step is worth taking. It simply presents the arrival as a settled fact. Some cost in time, money, or effort has already been paid, and that fact becomes a reason to continue.

来 means “come.” In this expression, however, it is better not to translate 都 in isolation as simply “already” or “even.” 来都来了 belongs to the broader spoken pattern V 都 V 了, which presents V as already completed and treats it as a settled fact.

For example:

• 买都买了，别心疼了。 Mǎi dōu mǎi le, bié xīnténg le. You’ve already bought it; stop agonizing over the price.
• 说都说了，别再想了。 Shuō dōu shuō le, bié zài xiǎng le. You’ve already said it, so don’t keep dwelling on it.
• 吃都吃了，现在后悔也晚了。 Chī dōu chī le, xiànzài hòuhuǐ yě wǎn le. You’ve already eaten it; it’s too late to regret it now.

These examples share the same basic move: V is treated as a settled fact, and what follows has to be reconsidered in light of that fact. Depending on the context, the pattern can express consolation, resignation, justification, complaint, or pressure.

That is why 来都来了 can feel different depending on who says it. Said to yourself, it can be a rueful joke. Said by the friend who planned the trip, it can become pressure: one more attraction, one more dish, one more hour.

Adapted with permission from Resou Report’s dictionary entry on 来都来了. The original entry includes a fuller explanation and real-world usage examples.

In learning Japanese, I've come across loads of literature recommendations. I especially love the website Natively, which catalogues native literature and crowdsources difficulty ratings.

I've found it very difficult to find good recommendations for literature in Chinese. Especially literature that is well-suited to my reading level. When I ask around for recommendations, people always recommend the same titles from the same authors (三体，活着，什么的) and often the recommendations are ridiculously beyond my reading level (红楼梦， 等等).

Is there a resource comparable to Natively or Goodreads, where I can browse Chinese literature by genre, difficulty level, etc.?

Probably missed a few tones but I’m trying!!

I'm a heritage Chinese speaker, so I have an OK grasp on modern spoken/written Chinese, but the stuff they say in the game is the sort of old-timey speech you'd hear in Chinese period pieces. There's unfortunately no subtitles for when you use these abilities, which makes it a lot more difficult to figure out what he's saying. Anyone know?