A few days ago, I went shopping with my 9-year old nephew. We were shopping for school supplies. While she was struggling to decide which school bag was more lovable, my eye was caught by one with a big Mickey Mouse on it. It reminded me of the two Chinese mice that brought happiness to my childhood. And today’s learn Chinese online for kids lesson starts with their story.

Shuke and Beita are the heroes of the 13-episode animation Adventures of Shuke and Beita. They didn't want to steal food like other mice. Shuke became a pilot and Beita became a tank driver. Their vehicles were battery-operated toys.

The two met accidentally and fought with each other because of silly misunderstandings. When they came to understand each other, they became friends and was later befriended by a boy named Pipilu. With his help, they managed to make a living with their own hands; they co-founded an airline company named Shuke Beita Airlines, which served other animals.  .

This animated series was my favorite. To me, Mickey Mouse is just an icon printed on wrappers, while Shuke and Beita are two brave, smart and kind hearted idols. Countless times, I recommended this cartoon to my students in my mandarin class for kids. I believe this is a perfect animation because it can help them with their Chinese learning, and more importantly, it will teach them to be a good person in the future.

Well, that’s all for the introduction to the animated series. Now, let’s move on to our Chinese learning topic. The character presented in today’s mandarin for kids lesson is “开(kāi).” This is a verb, which means drive or start. When used as drive, we use this character before the name of a vehicle. Say, Shuke is a pilot, and he drives a helicopter. Then, we can say he “开飞机(kāi fēi jī).” And say Beita is a tank driver, then we can say he “开坦克(kāi tǎn kè).” Now, from the foregoing, you should know how to say drive a car, yes, it’s “开车(kāi chē).”

When used as start, the most common words are “开始(kāi shǐ),” and “开学(kāi xué).” Yes, it was because schools will soon “开学(kāi xué),” that I went shopping with my nephew to buy her school supplies. And it was in the shop that I “开始了(kāi shǐ le)” to recall these two valiant mice from my childhood, and came to the idea of giving this learning Chinese for kids lesson!http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gyn5.html

My girlfriend and I have been staying with my parents in San Francisco since the 4th of July. My family has been very generous and hospitable to her during that time. Naturally, her response was, “我觉得不好意思(wǒ jué de bù hǎo yì si).” Then she asked me how to say 不好意思(bù hǎo yìsi) in English. 

As an online Chinese tutor, I usually find 不好意思(bù hǎo yìsi) pretty easy to translate, as it can often correspond to “sorry” or “excuse me” in English. When you’re a little late to a meeting, you can say 不好意思 (sorry). When you eat the last cookie and then someone else wants one, you can say 不好意思 (sorry). When you bump someone on the subway, you can say 不好意思 (sorry). 

 But in this case, my girlfriend’s usage was meant to express something like, “your kindness is too much,” or “you’re being so nice that it makes me feel too indebted.” And she wanted me to come up with one easy word or phrase to translate. When I couldn’t, and I asked for help from my sister, and she couldn’t either, my girlfriend just laughed: “you Americans never feel 不好意思(bù hǎo yì si)!”

On today’s online Chinese courses, we would like to learn a funny Chinese Expression: 不好意思 bù hǎo yì si

Actually yì si (意思) has many different meanings as following I have listed. All of them have something to do with what you think. Have you noticed that the bottom parts of the two Chinese characters are 心 (xīn, it means heart in English)? Attention, the second character is a light tone.

Firstly, “yì si”（意思）, means meanings. For example, please don’t misunderstand what I mean. In Chinese, it is “bú yào wù huì wǒ de yì si”(不要误会我的意思).

Besides, “yì si” also means a token of affection, appreciation, etc. for instance, “Zhè diǎn dōng xī sòng gěi nín, xiǎo yì si, bié kè qi”(这点东西送给您,小意思,别客气). It means that “this is a small token for you and I hope you like it”.

Thirdly, “yǒu yì si” here can have two different meanings like funny and interesting. It is very interesting to play table tennis. Or if someone likes another person and wants to fall in love him or her,  we can use “对…有意思”to express that kind of meaning. For example, wǒ fā xiàn tā duì nǐ yǒu yì si ne! (我发现她对你有意思呢！) I find she has something special feelings to you. The last one, bù hǎo yì si (不好意思): excuse me; sorry; embarrassed.  For example, when you meet Chinese friends, you can say like this to express how your Chinese is going.

Wǒ zhōng wén shuō de bù hǎo,

 我中文说得不好，

Hěn bù hǎo  yìsi.

很不好意思。

Dàn shì,  xué zhōng wén hěn yǒu yì sí.

但是，学中文很有意思。

I am sorry my Chinese is not good.

But, it is interesting to learn Chinese!

If you want to know more about China, just visit our site to learn Chinese for free.http://echineselearning.edublogs.org/2013/09/01/a-funny-chinese-expression-bu-hao-yi-si/

In today’s Chinese lesson online, I will share one of my experiences eating authentic Chinese food with you. I was playing basketball with some friends in China, and by the end of the game, everyone had built up an appetite. Li Ming suggested we go to a place specializing in Beijing snacks. He said, "There we can eat all we like and you’re sure to find something you like.” “That’s terrific,” I said, “let’s go.”

When we got there, we all tried "lǘ dǎ gǔn" (驴打滚), which literally means donkey rolling over; "xiǎo wō tóu" (小窝头), little corn buns; and "wān dòu huáng" (豌豆黄), pea flour cakes. For a drink, we all had "dòu zhī" (characters?), fermented bean drink. It was my first time trying it and it tasted so strange, I could not finish it.

"Lǘ dǎ gǔn" (驴打滚) literally means donkey rolling over, but it's actually a “glutinous rice roll with sweet bean flour.” The texture is soft and smooth; the taste is sweet and yummy. If you would like to learn more about Chinese food and China, you can find an online Chinese tutor for yourself. Li Ming told to me that traditionally "xiǎo wō tóu" (小窝头), little corn buns are eaten by the common people. Usually the poor eat them during the Chinese Spring Festival since they cannot afford anything better to eat. It is a bit of an aquired taste, but so is coffee. Speaking of drinks,  the "old Beijingers" (people whose families have lived in Beijing for several generations) love to drink "dòu zhī" (characters?), fermented bean drink. It is made of soya beans that have high natural nutrition. I couldn't finish it the first time I tried it because it tasted so weird, but the more you drink it, the more you love it.

If you want to know more about traditional Beijing snacks, just visit our site to learn Chinese for free.

This year’s Children’s Day in Hong Kong was the most popular one yet because of the Giant Rubber Duck. The huge yellow inflatable sailed into Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on May 2 and stayed for a week,  making the whole harbor look like a huge bathtub. In today’s learning Chinese for kids, we’ll learn an idiom about ducks.

If you have watched ducks, then you know it’s impossible for this awkward bird to climb onto a perch. If you try and force them on a perch, they'll just fall off. Today's idiom is, 赶鸭子上架(gǎn yā zǐ shàng jià), to drive a duck onto a perch. It means to force someone to do what they cannot do. For example, I’m not good at dancing, but if my friends ask me to join their dance team because they need another member. I would say, you are driving a duck onto a perch! I will try my best, but I won’t guarantee I'll succeed!

In this idiom 赶(gǎn) is a verb, which means to force to. Another widely used meaning of this character is try to catch or to catch up with. It's used in the phrases, 赶飞机(gǎn fēi jī), to catch a plane and 赶时间(gǎn shí jiān), to catch up on time. The next characters, 鸭子(yā zǐ), duck, and 架(jià), perch, are both nouns. The word before架(jià), perch, is 上(shàng), a verb. It means to go. Many phrases in the basic Mandarin class for kids lessons contain this verb. For example there's 上学(shàng xué), go to school; 上课(shàng kè), attend class; 上班(shàng bān), go to work..

That’s all for today’s Mandarin for kids. The latest report said that the Giant Rubber Duck is planning to sail to Beijing’s Imperial Summer Palace. For more details please visit our site at learn Chinese online for kids.

Lily asked me a question after she took part in the online summer courses for kids. She found it to be very common for Chinese speakers to add special particles to the end of their sentences to enhance the tone and vividness, such as adding 啊 (a) to show excitement or 啦(la ) to sound cute. Just to give a few examples, she has heard native speakers say:

我们去吃饭吧 (The proper way of saying it)

我们去吃饭啦

我们去吃饭喽

我们去吃饭耶

Besides just throwing any random particle at the end of sentences for fun, is there a more proper explanation of how and when they should be used?

At first, I told her the meanings of the sentence-final particles as I learned them from the summer programs for children in china.

呢   ne is question particle for subjects already mentioned

吧   ba  is a modal particle indicating polite suggestion / ...right? / ...OK?

哦   ó   oh

啊   a   a modal particle used at the end of a sentence, showing affirmation, approval, or consent

啦   la is a sentence-final particle, contraction of "了啊" / follows after each item in a list of examples

呀   ya  is a "softening" particle used in questions; it may also be used after a vowel to express surprise or doubt

嗎/吗 ma  question tag / not for open-ended questions

The following sentences can be explained as follows:

我们去吃饭吧 - shall we/why don't we go eat (inviting or encouraging)

我们去吃饭啦 - lets go eat (asking but more imperative)

我们去吃饭喽 - we're going to go eat (telling someone what is going to happen)

我们去吃饭耶 - are we going to go and eat? (Uncertainty or questioning)

But the use of exclamatory particles is highly informal, and it is advised that they not be used in formal documents or academic papers, unless it is specifically required to do so (such as when using a narrative form).

All in all, you should be more careful when you encounter such words and think before you speak. And if you learn through Chinese online, you will be fascinated with Mandarin very quickly and have a better understanding of Chinese and Chinese culture.http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gtxa.html

A few days ago, during a short break in my Chinese for children class, I noticed that a student was very unhappy, I asked him why. He told me that he overheard my conversation with another teacher and that we said that he was very “呆.” The meaning of this character as he learned it was dull and stupid.

Of course, I would never describe any student in this way. Then why did I say he was silly? It is all about the understanding of the character “呆.” Originally, when used as an adjective, this character did mean slow-witted or wooden. A typical “呆子” is Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West. He is characterized as being like a pig- lazy and bumbling over everything.

However, the meaning of this character has evolved, the most popular meaning now has nothing to do with disparaging qualities - it now means lovely! If someone always actssilly, deliberately or unconsciously and causes people to laugh, then such actions or expressions are described as “呆 ” As was introduced in an article I read on learn Chinese online for kids, people usually use the phrase “天然呆” to describe this type of cute behavior, because in most cases, it is anunconscious behavior. Here “天然” means natural. This is a phrase used to show affection. For example, you can say: “我老爸看杂技表演时那副天然呆的表情真逗！” When watching aerobatics, the 天然呆 expression on my dad’s face is really funny!

Another word similar to “呆” is “萌.” The original use of “萌” in basic mandarin for kids is a verb, which means sprout. But today, people also use it to describe lovely kids and young females. A lovely girl is called a “萌妹子,” “妹子” is slang that means young sister. For instance, you can say: “我侄女是个萌妹子，人见人爱！” My nephew is a “萌妹子,” nobody can resist her!

Back to my heart-broken student. I was chatting with a colleague about the cute students in class, she talked about a “萌妹子” in her class, and I mentioned the “天然呆” boy in my class. That’s how he came to feel “belittled.” After I explained to him, he gradually came around and was his lovely self again. When school was over that day, I saw the student merrily chatting with his classmates and making everyone laugh. Well, I laughed and said to myself, he's definitely a cutey!http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gtx6.html

I have been working in China for almost five years and I still remember the small, vivid moments when I was shocked by something new. During my first year here, a colleague and I were walking down a street, when we saw a stranger greet one of my colleague’s friends, Lao Gao. They greeted each other and, judging by their expressions and mannerisms, it was a friendly greeting. But the stranger said, “Lao Gao, zuì jìn nǐ pàng le!" (最近你胖了, Lao Gao, you've put on so much weight!) I was aghast. How could he just call someone fat like that? But then Lao Gao said, “Nǐ cái zhēn de shì fā fú le!" (你才真的是发福了. Well, you are the one who is really growing stout!) I was so confused. I did not understand why they would say that. Only after I took several online Chinese courses, did I understand what they really meant.

 It may be weird, but in the eyes of the Chinese, “fat” can be a good thing. It can mean you're rich and getting more than enough to eat.  If you're getting fatter, it means you're eating well and not doing hard physical labor. That said, it's still not a good idea to call a young woman fat. Context matters. Through e-Chinese, you can learn more about greetings in the right context.

There are several ways of greeting someone with a compliment like,  “zuì jìn nǐ pàng le” (最近你胖了). In the second greeting I heard, "Nǐ cái zhēn de shì fā fú le!" (你才真的是发福了), the last three characters, “fā fú le” (发福了) actually mean, 'you're growing wealthy' and have evolved to have the double meaning, “you are growing stout.” Find more information on e learning Chinese

Do you find this surprising or a little odd like I did? If you want to know more about this and other things, such as the Chinese four treasures of study (wén fáng sì bǎo), please click on our Chinese lessons online.http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gskj.html

The ancient part of Lijiang is a mysterious place. When I was going there for the first time I traveled, I was so excited, I couldn't sleep well the night before. In today’s Chinese lesson online, I will share my experience there with you. The Old Town of Lijiang is on a plateau approximately 2,400 meters above sea level, nestled between tree-covered mountains to the west and north. The province in which it's located, Yunnan, is famous for its untouched beautiful scenery. The ancient town's foundation consists of smooth, dark rocks, and when the crystal clear water runs over them, they look like jade ink stones. Because of this, the town is also known as “dà yàn zhèn” (大砚镇), or the 'big ink stone town'.

Through our online Chinese language courses, you can learn about the layout of ancient towns. Old Town Lijiang has a free-flowing layout. The buildings are close to each other and diverse in architectural style. The lanes between them are narrow and meandering, like small streams. There are many actual small streams, too. Most of the water comes from “Heī Lóng Tán”(黑龙潭, the Black Dragon Pool)  in Elephant Mountain. As it comes down the mountain, it subdivides into many streams which crisscross the town.  There is a total of 354 stone and wooden bridges in Old Town Lijiang. The number of the bridges per  square kilometer outnumbers that of Suzhou, which is known for being the oriental Venice.

The center of the old town is the “sì fāng jiē” (四方街) - the Square Street. Four main streets radiate from this point and off these four, countless lanes extend in all directions to form a network that connects  the whole town. The streets are paved with the local stone that's cut in massive blocks. Because it's a fine-grained blue stone, it looks like it has a patina and adds a sense of antiquity and mystery.

When talking about Lijiang, it's impossible not to mention an ancient trade road  that bridged the coast and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (qīng zàng gāo yuán, 青藏高原). Along the unpaved, rugged road, tea, salt and sugar flowed into Tibet, while horses, cows, furs and other local products came eastward. Accordingly , it was dubbed the “Ancient Tea and Horse Road”(chá mǎ gǔ dào, 茶马古道). Traders forged this road during the Tang Dynasty, over a thousand years ago. Historians compare to the Silk Road, which was north of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Both roads facilitated trade between countries and promoted cultural exchange and ethnic migration.

Find an online Chinese tutor here, if you would like to learn more  about China.http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gsk5.html

I attended the summer Chinese courses of eChineseLearning this summer. My online Chinese tutor, one of the best Chinese teachers I have ever had, makes the Chinese courses interesting and easy. She is also very patient with me and I really enjoyed my time studying and the summer Chinese courses I took. Now, I will share with you something I learned in the summer program - the special tools used in Chinese painting. In Chinese, we call these tools “wén fáng sì bǎo”(文房四宝), which literally means the four treasures of study.

“Wén fáng sì bǎo”- the four treasures of study, is the general name of the traditional writing tools of Chinese calligraphy, i.e. writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper. The use of the brush dates back 4000-5000 years ago. The ink came into use about 3000 years ago. In China, we can also call the four treasures of study “bǐ mò zhǐ yàn”(笔墨纸砚).

Through the online Chinese language courses, I learned that in Chinese the writing brushes are called “bǐ” (笔), which sounds very much like or exactly the same as the word for pen. This is the traditional Chinese pen. In western painting, a type of a flat brush is used, but in Chinese painting or Chinese calligraphy, we use a rounded brush.

And “mò” means ink stick. Ink in English is a liquid, while the ink stick in Chinese is a solid substance that is ground down right before use.

If we want to use these writing tools with Chinese characteristic to write or paint, we need to first pour some water into the ink stone, then rub the ink stick in the water and grind it, and finally we have liquid ink we can use for painting and writing. As for the paper, there is a special kind of Chinese paper called “xuān zhǐ”(宣纸) in Chinese. It is very, very strong but soft, and it can absorb the liquid of water or ink very quickly. It’s very easy for the artist to use ink to create any effect they want on this kind of paper.

The invention and development of China's traditional culture and art are closely related to the “Four Treasures of Study.” To some extent, the “Four Treasures of Study” represent an important element of traditional Chinese culture. Following the development of these tools will take you on a journey through Chinese history. And these wonderful tools are the implements we use when we do Chinese traditional painting. Have you got it all? If you want to know more about Chinese culture and learn Chinese free, please visit echineselearning.com.http://linda200835.skyrock.com/3181918449-China-s-Four-Treasures-of-Study.html

This month is a bad month for New Zealand's dairy industry. For three times within two weeks, the products they exported to China have been found to be contaminated. An article on an elearning Chinese forum says that babies in China are facing a new crisis: both domestic and imported powdered milk are no longer safe, but if their mothers can’t feed them with breast milk, they’ll have to risk the milk powder. In today’s Chinese for children lesson, I’ll show you some phrases relate to milk and this topic.

To start this Mandarin class for kids, we'll look at dairy products (乳制品 rǔ zhì pǐn). There are two characters for milk, 乳(rǔ) and 奶(nǎi). Breast milk is母乳(mǔrǔ), literally, mother's milk. The character 奶(nǎi), refers to all milk products, including milk produced by animals and baby formula. Powdered milk is 奶粉(nǎi fěn); 粉(fěn) meaning powder. Since yogurt is made from milk and tastes sour, it is called 酸奶(suān nǎi), which literally means sour milk.

For milk produced by animals, simply put the animal name in front of奶(nǎi). 牛奶(niú nǎi) is milk from a cow; 牛(niú) means cow or ox. 羊奶(yáng nǎi) is milk produced by a sheep or goat; 羊(yáng) means sheep or goat. So I think it’ll be easy for you to say horse or mare’s milk in Chinese. Yes, it’s 马奶(mǎ nǎi).

I don’t know whether New Zealand’s dairy companies will be trusted by Chinese consumers again in the near future, but I’m sure that the powdered milk market won’t be affected much, anyway, no one can refuse a baby’s demand for food.http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_969c4d9f0101gs3f.html