“锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂。”
In this series of Chinese idiom short stories, we’ll be introducing Chinese idioms that have a long-standing history in ancient China but are still in use today. A background story of the idiom will be provided, along with sample sentence(s) to give you an idea of how to use them. Today we will learn the idiom - 掩耳盗铃(yan3 er3 dao4 ling2, cover your ears and steal the bell).
Read MoreDating back to 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty, there was a scholar called 许慎(xǔ shèn) who edited and compiled a book called《说文解字》(Character Analysis) which is probably the oldest dictionary in China. He compiled a total of 9300 Chinese characters. During the process, he thought about how to sort them out so that it would be easy to find any character. Finally, he sorted by putting the characters that share the same component into the same group. These components are called as radical.
Read MoreIn this modern age of technology, it has become more efficient for learners to master Mandarin by combining traditional and modern methods. Besides Chinese tutors, many developers and content creators have come up with apps and podcasts to enable richer learning of the Chinese language and culture.
Read MoreMany have said that Mandarin Chinese is one of the most difficult language to learn. Yes, it may be true due to the four distinct tones and long history of the language or one may feel intimidated to learn a new language. However, it is not a tough one to take on a long as you have goals and determination. You can become a master in one of the most spoken languages in the world. How should you prepare yourself before diving into the world of Mandarin? Well… Let’s dive in!
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