ChineseClass101.com Blog

The focus of this lesson was to teach about Chinese cuisine Basics of Chinese Cuisine Many people are surprised on their arrival in China to find that what they thought was Chinese food is nowhere to be found. Another challenge is that the names of Chinese dishes, even in Chinese, can be very cryptic, making ordering a challenge, even if you find a menu with English translations. Chinese dish names are generally completely irrelevant to the ingredients. Rice is generally a staple of the south, with noodles featuring in as well. Northern China features dishes made with wheat flour, such as noodles, dumplings, steamed buns, and thin pancakes. Where meat is often the focal point of many western meals, it is... Show more

Pack your beach bag with the essentials this summer - bathing suit, sunblock and ChineseClass101.com! The summer is officially here and what better time than now to become a ChineseClass101 Premium Member! To make things even easier for you, instantly knock $50 OFF 1 or 2 Year Premium subscriptions! Save $50 today with the Summer Special coupon! Use coupon code SUMMER2010! At ChineseClass101.com, you can choose to study in 1 of 3 ways: a Free Lifetime Membership (everyone automatically gets one), a Basic Membership (another good option) and our most popular choice, the Premium Membership. Here are just a few excellent learning resources you instantly gain access to with a Premium Membership: Quick Pronunciation & Accent... Show more

In this month's newsletter: Study Tips from Peter - THINK in another language Hey Listeners, Peter here. Starting this month I'll be sharing tips on learning languages to help keep you motivated and progressing. This month I'll teach you how to THINK in another language. It's not nearly as difficult as it sounds so don't give up right away; try out ...  Read More >> Ultimate Getting Started with French Sale! If you've been waiting for the ULTIMATE way to learn French, you must click here to get 50% OFF our secret weapon. Read More >> Grand Slam Tennis, French Style The French Open, one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world concluded on June 5th. Who survived on clay and took home trophies? ... Show more

The focus of this lesson is to test your knowledge about China. This lesson will build your basic knowledge of China by quizzing you on 5 areas of Knowledge: Geography, Pop Culture, Travel, Economics and Myth Busting!! Are you ready? 1)What percentage of China's 1.3 billion people live in urban areas? A) 10%  B) 40% C) 50% D) 90% 2)China has the following number of provinces: A)22 B)23 C)34 3)Following are three famous Chinese people. One is a famous singer, one a politician, and one a sports star. Match the person with their profession: 王菲 刘翔 胡锦涛 (Liú Xiáng)(Wáng Fēi) (athlete)  (Hú Jǐntāo) (politician) (singer) 4) Rank in correct order the most popular travel destination in China: Shanghai Beijing Xi'an  5) What... Show more

The following are 6 essential phrases guaranteed to be the best thing you ever learned in Chinese! 谢谢 (xièxie) 　“Thanks.” The Chinese aren’t big on ‘please’, but they love thank you so much that they’ll often hit you with a barrage of it, ‘xiexiexiexiexiexiexiexie’. 听不懂 (tīngbùdǒng) “I don’t understand what you are saying.” This phrase is going to be your best friend, go-to and solace.  你好 (nǐhǎo) “hello” If you don’t know it yet, we don’t know where you’ve been. 不知道 (bù zhīdào) “I don’t know.” You may hear this phrase more than use it, however learn from the Chinese how to bu zhidao every situation you wish to evade, play dumb about, or avoid. 不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) “Sorry.”  Buhaoyisi literally means ‘bad feeling’, and can be used... Show more

The following are 5 essential phrases guaranteed to be the best thing you ever learned in Chinese! 谢谢 (xièxie) 　“Thanks.” The Chinese aren’t big on ‘please’, but they love thank you so much that they’ll often hit you with a barrage of it, ‘xiexiexiexiexiexiexiexie’. 听 不懂 (tīngbùdǒng) “I don’t understand what you are saying.” This phrase is going to be your best friend, go-to and solace. 你好 (nǐhǎo) “hello” If you don’t know it yet, we don’t know where you’ve been. 不 知道 (bù zhīdào) “I don’t know.” You may hear this phrase more than use it, however learn from the Chinese how to bu zhidao every situation you wish to evade, play dumb about, or avoid. 不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) “Sorry.”  Buhaoyisi literally means ‘bad feeling’, and... Show more

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 20% Off Basic & Premium Subscriptions Coupon Code: 1YEAR | Redeem Now! May 2010 In this month's newsletter: 1. 5 New Innovative Language Sites are coming! What new languages will we be adding to the 101.com family?Click here to find out... 2. ChineseClass101.com 1 Year Anniversary! Join us for another exciting year of Chinese lessons and tips! Get 20% OFF any subscription! Click here claim your discount.  3. BONUS Chinese Audio Lesson!  We're back with another free audio lesson just for you! Click here to download and listen... Welcome to the ChineseClass101.com newsletter. We've been really busy gearing up for summer and Innovative Language Learning has a lot of news to share! Stay posted... Show more

There are only six vowels used in pinyin, but they are combined to produce a lot of different sounds. we have a pinyin chart with clickable mp3 records of each of the sounds, to aid you in perfecting the pronunciation in the full lesson on ChineseClass101.com. One of the more difficult Chinese vowel is the 'u' vowel sound. This 'u' sound is quite a nasal sound. It is said to be similar to the French 'u' and is made by pronouncing an 'i' when rounding the mouth. Chinese has four different tones they are, five including the neutral tone: The first tone is high and steady: 'mā' The second tone is a rising tone: 'má' and has intonation similar that that used in English to indicate a question, i.e. 'huh?' The ... Show more

The focus of this lesson is to learn about Chinese pronunciation. Each Chinese character can be said to be a syllable. These syllables can be a stand-alone word, or they can be grouped together to make compound words. Each syllable, or character, in Chinese is made up of an initial and a final sound. These intials and finals can be combined to make up around 400 unique word sounds in Chinese. Chinese uses a phonetic system called 'pinyin' to aid learners of Chinese in pronunciation. This pinyin uses Romanized letters to represent the sounds of Chinese. There are 21 initials in Chinese. This is the sound the word starts with. There are about 38 combinations of final sounds. Some of the letters used to represent the sounds of... Show more

1. 101 Million Downloads Reached!  On April 12th, ChineseClass101.com and Innovative Language Learning reached 101 million lesson downloads! Thanks to all the listeners for supporting us! The winners from our 101 Million Download contest have been picked and posted. Click here to see if you're a winner! 2. Respect your elders! Honor your ancestors during the Qing Ming Festival. Click here to read how its done in China... 3. BONUS Chinese Audio Lesson!  We're back with another free audio lesson just for you! We're going green with this month's theme. Click here to download and listen... Welcome to the ChineseClass101.com newsletter. Spring is here and the warm weather has been inspiring us with fun new lesson ideas!... Show more