Teens, it’s the summer time now! What’s your plan for this summer? Going to Bars? Travelling? Hanging out with friends? Or maybe study mandarin! Learning Mandarin doesn’t have to be boring and frustrating. It can be fun and enjoyable. Isn’t it cool to be able to make self introduction in Chinese? So let’s move and get ready for Chinese for teens. Do you know how to ask about plans in Chinese? Let’s take a look!

A: 暑假有什么安排吗？

    Shǔjià yǒu shěnme ānpái ma?

    Do you have any plans for your summer holiday?

B: 暑假我参加中文暑期班学中文。

    Shǔjià wǒ cānjiā zhōngwén shǔqībān xué zhōngwén.

I am going to take a summer Chinese program to learn Chinese.

Vocabulary:  

1. 暑假 (shǔjià): n summer holiday 

2. 安排 (ānpái): n/v arrange  

3. 参加 (cānjiā): v to participate 

Usage:

n. 有什么安排 (yǒu shénme ānpái)? Do you have any plans?

    没有安排 (méiyǒu ānpái). I have no plans.

    有安排了 (yǒu ānpái lē). I have plans.  

v. 安排一下 (ānpái yī xià). Have an arrangement.

Now do you know how to ask about plans in Chinese? Reading dialogues can be a very good way to help you study mandarin. We have more dialogues on the Chinese for teens part, don’t hesitate to take a look.

For two months, a foreign trade company in Hangzhou and a Western company were in a stalemate. The two had agreed to a giant deal yet could not agree on a specific price. What the Western businessmen couldn't understand was that Chinese business negotiations aren't all about business. You can learn what they didn't know and the importance of knowing business Chinese culture at eChineseLearning.

During the stalemate, a Western salesman happened to learn that a negotiator for the Hangzhou company just had a baby boy. He sincerely congratulated him. The other was so happy, he said right on the spot that he was willing to make another price offer.  We can use this as a representative case study. Chinese business negotiations aren't simply business, because the Chinese view business as inexorably mixed with family life and personal relationships. Do you want to learn how to learn business Mandarin; the language and the culture? Click here.

From a cultural view point, the Chinese don't compartmentalize business and personal life. All things exist together and cannot be divided completely from each other. Therefore, to do businesses in China, there should be a mutual exchange of information about the lives, families, friendships and life experiences of the business partners.  A relationship, 关系 “guān xì ” should develop. For more information you can search business mandarin online.

The Chinese people tend to find personal relationships as a key to business.  Do you want to know more about the Chinese culture? Try taking a business Mandarin class online! Please visit eChineseLearning today!http://www.blogster.com/learningchinese2012/business-or-something-you-should-always-keep-in-mind

Because of my love of the Chinese language and the need to communicate easier, I got myself a Chinese name, Jin Hao. Once when I was on a business banquet, my friend and partner Li Yun introduced me to some of my new colleagues in China. He said, “这是金浩，金经理。（zhè shì Jīn Hào, Jīn jīng li.）” Even though these colleagues are my subordinates, the fact that everyone calls me “Jīn jīng li” instead of my name “Jin Hao” made me feel a little uncomfortable. Is it better to just call people by their whole name? Later, Li Yun told me that there are many rules for introducing and addressing people in China. Learning business Chinese helps me look a little more natural in these situations.

First, one should introduce the younger generation to their seniors, such as introduce the employee to the manager. You should also pay attention to body language you use while introducing someone. Pointing at someone with a single finger is considered impolite. The method of learning mandarin for business online is a time-saving and effective way of learning the Chinese language.

Second, during introductions, you can call his or her name to make sure you remember his or her name correctly. This is one key point of making people know that you’re sincere.

Third, after that you can say “ní hǎo! Hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ!” which means “nice to meet you” in English.

From time to time, we encounter situations like making new friends and meeting new people, and proper Chinese etiquettes and correct expressions can do you a world of good. Learning business mandarin is the quickest way to get access to the recourses you need to get ahead. http://www.blogster.com/learningchinese2012/introduction-methods-in-chinese-business

A friend of mine once told me a joke that went like this - An American and a Chinese man who had done work together online met for the first time in person. They were just acquaintances and after a simple communication, they shock hands to say goodbye. According to the usual practice, the Chinese man said the usual polite phrase “gaǐ tīan yì qǐ chi fàn xì liáo.” It means “we can have a dinner together and chat later some day.” Upon hearing this, the American took out his notebook in a hurry, asked,” What time? Where will we eat? Will other people join us?” The Chinese man was stunned speechless. Knowing business cultural practices as well as Mandarin business jargon is vital. Many conventional Chinese phrases are said out of politeness and the speaker does not mean the literal meaning of the phrase. For us, learning business mandarin is of great use.

Every day, there are a lot of "polite nothings" used in China used to communicate general concepts instead of literal meanings. For example, Chinese natives often ask questions like the following. ”Nǐ chī le ma” means “have you eaten yet?” “Nǐ de hái zi zài nǎ lǐ shàng xué” means “where does your child go to school?” For people who do not know these aspects of the culture, the questions may be come across as impolite. You might think the person asking is trying to pry into your privacy. The speaker doesn't mean that at all. He or she is just using a phrase to exhibit his or her caring and hospitality. This is the Chinese language. Other polite nothings include:

你多大了?  (nǐ duō dà le?) How old are you?                 

你的月收入多少啊？( nǐ de yuè shōu rù duō shǎo a?) How much do you earn per month?

你家里有几个兄弟姐妹啊？ (nǐ jiā li yǒu jǐ gè xiōng dì jiě mèi a?) How many siblings do you have?

The above expressions show the distinguished communication culture in China. There are a lot of funny stories that accompany our lessons on learning business Chinese. Want to know more information? Don’t miss out our business Chinese online.
http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3177009261-The-Chinese-Style-of-Usual-Pleasantries.html

Several days ago, one of my foreign friends made a big mistake while attending a Chinese business banquet. During his business trip to China, the CEO of a Chinese company (a Chinese native) invited him to attend a banquet at half past eleven a.m. He prepared everything well and out of politeness he arrived there at twenty to twelve. The host wasn’t pleased. He was scorned throughout the dinner and he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I felt sorry for him and decided to write something on business Chinese to tell people like him a few useful things about the Chinese language and culture.

Before an appointment, the prior agreement of both sides on the gathering time and place is absolutely necessary. It is of tremendous significance to attend a Chinese banquet on time or in advance. Being "on time" (àn shí fù Yue), or even ahead of schedule will always let you put your best foot forward. Do you know how to learn business mandarin? If you are late for an appointment, Chinese will say “nǐ zěn me chí dào le?” This means “why are you late?” in English. In addition to the tardiness rule, make sure that during the actual meal you taste each dish out of politeness.

I don’t know if you are in the middle of a business trip to China, but learning China’s business culture and business mandarin will help you with your work and help you avoid embarrassing pitfalls. You can search the internet for more information on learning mandarin for business online.http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101g9tr.html

“Mom, I am your obedient Beibei. I am very scrupulous, and I want to do everything well. Mom, I am an electric boy. You can rest assured because I am brave and strong. Wow, wow, wow, I am careful in crossing the street and talking with my friends. Different from other kids, I am unique…” This nursery rhyme is the theme song of a movie for children called Electric Boy. It occupies an important place in Chinese E-Learning. What in the world is this movie about? Let’s take a look together.

Electric Boy, is also known as 霹雳贝贝 in Chinese. It is the first science fiction movie for children in China. When it was on screen, it was wildly popular and instantly successful. The movie mainly tells the story of how a boy that has electricity in his body becomes normal. On a peaceful evening, a ship suddenly appears in the sky. It roars and sends out a strange light. In the hospital, the lights all go off. After a while, a baby comes to the world, and is named Beibei. But whenever his parents want to hug him, they will get an electric shock. To keep it a secret, Beibei is often locked in his room. But he is six years old, and eager to play outside. One day, he sneaks out to play games with other kids. But whenever he touches anyone they get shocked. So the other kids refuse to play with him. They think that he is a bad kid, and likes hurting others. With the electricity inside of him, the electric boy can also do some magical things, such as controlling the electric piano, roller coasters, the lights etc. Despite, these benefits, his greatest wish is to be a normal boy! By chance, electric boy finds himself drawn to a strange voice in a bizarre place. Someone holds his hands tightly. He is very frightened, and loses consciousness. But when he wakes up, he is given a big hug by his parents. To his surprise, he does not have electricity inside him any more. From then on, he can live a normal and happy life like other kids. Want to know more details about this movie? Please join our summer Chinese language program.

Are you fond of Chinese science fiction movies? Fantastic! Chinese online learning is a great platform to provide various learning materials for you! Just join us!http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3176813281-The-number-1-Chinese-Children-s-Movie-Electric-Boy.html

At my Chinese university campus last week we had a tea festival where an exchange student, Wendy, showed great interest in the Chinese tea culture. She had studied Chinese from skype learn Chinese for two years before she came to China. She told me that she had heard a lot about the extensiveness of tea in Chinese culture from her online Chinese teacher and was curious to learn more.

  China is the birthplace of tea. It's the first country to cultivate tea plants and develop techniques of making and drinking tea.  Just looking at the Chinese characters for tea, we can learn a lot about its history. The most commonly used word for tea is “chá” (茶). Other names include 诧(chà), 槚(jiǎ), 茗(míng) and 皋卢(gāo lú). For more detailed information about this, click on eChineseLearning.

  Because of different tea processing techniques, there are six main kinds of tea in China.

  1. Green tea “lǜ chá” (绿茶) -is made of unfermented tea. It doesn't have a very strong taste so most people feel refreshed and cooled after drinking it. There are two very famous types of green tea. The most famous is Longjing Tea “lóng jǐng chá” (龙井茶), which is planted in HangZhou Province which has grown green tea since the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The second most famous is Biluochun tea “bì luó chūn” (碧螺春), which is planted in Jiang Su Province.

  2. Red tea “hóng chá ” (红茶) -is made of fermented tea. The Western culture calls this type of tea "black tea," but true Chinese red tea has a sweet taste. It's thought that drinking it regularly is beneficial to the human body’s positive energy (the Yang energy of Yin Yang). The most famous red tea types are Kungfu tea “gōng fu chá” (功夫茶) planted in Fu Jian Province and Keemun Black tea “qí mén hóng chá” (祁门红茶). Want to know more about it? Come and visit e-Chinese.

  3. Flower tea “huā chá” (花茶) -consists mostly of flower blossoms. The most well-known flower tea types are jasmine tea “mò lì huā chá” (茉莉花茶), magnolia flower tea “yù lán huā chá” (玉兰花茶) and zhulan tea “zhū lán huā chá” (珠兰花茶).

  4. Oolong tea “wū lóng chá ” (乌龙茶) is made of half-fermented tea and is also called rock tea “yán chá” (岩茶). For this category of tea, the center of the tea leaf is green and the outer sides are red. Iron Goddess “tiě guān yīn ” (铁观音) is the most famous type of this kind of tea.

  5, White tea “bái chá ” (白茶) -Consists of completely unprocessed  tea-leaves; no fermenting or fumigating.

  6. Compressed tea “jǐn yā chá ” (紧压茶) -are small "bricks" or "pies," of compressed, dried leaves. It is a very good way to preserve and transport tea. It has the nickname of brick tea “zhuān chá” (砖茶) and pie tea “bǐng chá ” (饼茶).

  At the end of that festival, the expert on Chinese tea culture whom we had invited to attend also recommended Wendy to visit Chinese elearningto discover more about Chinese tea culture. http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3176812207-Need-to-Know-Chinese-Tea-Culture-1.html

Yesterday, when my friend Amy dropped by my house, we were watching a Chinese comic dialogue on TV called thief company “xiao tou gong si”(小偷公司). She was immediately attracted to the two famous Chinese crosstalk artists, 牛群(niú qún) and 冯巩(féng gǒng). She especially liked their funny facial expressions and humorous banter. She has been learning Chinese from the Chinese learning online  site for five years, so she could understand the funny dialogue. But she was curious about the culture around Chinese comic dialogue.

  Chinese comic dialogue is also called crosstalk or comic cross-talk. It originated from the folk talk and singing art of North China and was prevalent during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The original form of Chinese comic dialogue was with a ventriloquist imitating the sounds of various animals, such as birds, cats, dogs, cattle to make the audience laugh. Then it developed into a joke telling one-person performance. Now it has developed into a mature Chinese traditional folk art performed by one or more artists. Chinese comic dialogue not only entertains the audience, and makes people scream with laughter, but it also touches on important social issues affecting Chinese people and Chinese culture. For more information about this splendid traditional art form, check e-learning Chinese.

  According to the number of people performing crosstalk can be divided into several forms as follows: crosstalk monologues “kǒu xiàng sheng” (单口相声), with the classical works of Tianwang Temple “tiān wáng miào” (天王庙), Apprentice “xué tú” (学徒), and Wen Temple “wén miào” (文庙); counterpart crosstalk “duì kǒu xiàng sheng ” (对口相声), with the classical works of Eating Fish Three Times “sān chī yú” (三吃鱼), and Housework “jiā wù shì” (家务事); and group crosstalk, performed by three or more artists “qún kǒu xiàng sheng” (群口相声), with the classical works of Selling a Horse “mài mǎ ” (卖马), and New Statement of the Five Sense Organs “wǔ guān xīn shuō” (五官新说). Want to enjoy some of these crosstalk performances now? Connect to e-Chinese. In addition, Chinese comic dialogue can be sorted into several styles according to the content of the performance i.e. sarcastic, mocking and recreational crosstalk.http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3176639921-You-Must-Like-It-Chinese-Comic-Dialogue.html

In May this year, I met an American exchange student, Susan. She came to study Chinese at Shaanxi Normal University after taking Chinese lessons online for two years. One of her favorite hobbies was to practice Chinese calligraphy with writing brushes “máo bǐ” (毛笔).

  Chinese calligraphy is a uniquely beautiful form of art. The way characters are drawn can really add meaning. So many people love the art and the practice of calligraphy, it's referred to as “China’s fourth religion.” The three most famous calligraphers are 王羲之 (wáng xī zhī), 颜真卿 (yán zhēn qīng), and 黄庭坚 (huáng tíng jiān). For more information about the famous calligraphers, check out Chinese elearning.

  Before beginning calligraphy, there are four things you need to prepare: writing brushes, “máo bǐ” (毛笔), prepared Chinese ink, “mò zhī”(墨汁), rice paper, ”xuān zhǐ” (宣纸), and an ink-slab, “yàn tái” (砚台). Once those are ready, you should practice holding a writing brush. First, grasp the writing brush with your thumb and middle finger tightly. Grasping the brush, your fingers should make a perfect circle. Second, let the ring finger and the little finger rest between the brush and your palm. Third, keep your torso upright and don't rest your arm on the table. Come to e-Chinese to see photos of how to handle a writing brush.

  For beginers, the most common ways to practice are tracing and watching, then imitating a teacher. Want to know more about the methods of practicing calligraphy? Come and visit e-learning Chinese.

  Writing calligraphy is not easy. It requires patience and persistence and can foster those characteristics in one's personality.  Yesterday, when I went to Susan’s dorm, she was practicing calligraphy. She told me that her online Chinese teacher once suggested she practice calligraphy to overcome her impatience. Calligraphy can teach you beautiful things take time and skill to make and now she felt that she was more patient and persistent than before.http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3176638011-Calligraphy-The-Most-Beautiful-Chinese-Character.html

During formal occasions like meetings and during business negotiations, one of my customers never powers off his mobile phone or puts it into silent mode. What is even more offensive is that he even answers the telephone loudly in public, not heeding the stares of others at all. My colleagues and I do not appreciate the behavior of that man and don't like him much. If you are or are going to be involved in business in China, you'd best learn something about Chinese telephone etiquette. The Chinese language is extensive and profound, and I will introduce some taboos about telephone etiquette in China.

If your telephone rings at a meeting or while you are meeting with your clients, it will not only shame you and your company, but it will be considered disrespectful by others. Therefore, during formal occasions, most of the Chinese will shut off their mobile phones to show their respect for each other. With the mobile phone ringing, one can leave an impression of being half-hearted or as regarding others in the room as unimportant. Would you like to learn business Chinese online? Then please remember that when we meet with important guests, the act of turning off or using vibrate on your mobile phone or finding another person to respond to the call will convey a message of mutual respect. You can get more information about business mandarin online through the internet.

To sum up, there are three principles that we should abide by. First, try not to let your mobile phone disturb the meeting. Second, turn the mobile phone’s silent or vibrate mode on. Finally, if there is something urgent you should answer the call outside the meeting room. There are thousands of ways to learn business mandarin, but it’s difficult to find one method that suits everyone. However, in my opinion, the best way of learning business Chinese is through face-to-face interaction like learning mandarin for business online. You will find it interesting!http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3176637635-Taboos-of-Telephone-Etiquettes-in-China.html