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How Mandarin really works when people use it.

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Every reading sits at the level where most of its words are taught

HSK 167 readings HSK 232 readings HSK 328 readings HSK 435 readings HSK 519 readings HSK 620 readings

47 readings

Article · 1 min audio为什么中国人见面总问“吃了吗”？Why do Chinese people ask “Have you eaten?”Every morning, the same question on the stairs: “Have you eaten?” Mark answers it honestly. That is his first mistake.HSK 3

Article · 2 min audio中国人为什么怕数字四？Why is 4 unlucky in China?A lift with no fourth floor. A phone number that sold for 2.33 million yuan. And a message that just says 88.HSK 5

Story · 1 min audio怎么砍价How to bargain in ChineseThree phrases for bargaining. One panda mug. And a walk-away that never fails.HSK 3

Story · 1 min audio发错群了，怎么道歉？How to say sorry in ChineseOne message about the boss. The wrong group chat. Three ways to say sorry, and no way to unsend it.HSK 3

Article · 2 min audio中国人的名字有什么讲究？How do Chinese names work?Shout “Zhang Wei” in China and heads turn. Five surnames cover nearly a third of the country. And “Old Zhang” is no insult.HSK 5

Article · 2 min audio双十一是怎么来的？Where did Singles Day come from?Four 1s in a row. A joke among single students in Nanjing that grew into China’s biggest shopping festival.HSK 4

Article · 3 min audio汉字没有字母，中国人怎么打字？How do Chinese people type without an alphabet?Thousands of characters. The same twenty-six keys as English. How Chinese gets typed, looked up and put in order, and why so many people forget how to write it by hand.HSK 6

Article · 3 min audio世界上的“茶”为什么有两种叫法？Cha or tea? Why the world has two words for teaA latte whose name says “tea” twice. One Chinese character, two sounds, and the trade routes that carried them round the world.

Article · 1 min audio没听懂也能接着聊When You Miss Most of the SentenceWhat can you say when you understood only one word? Four small conversational moves let the other person help you.HSK 3

Article · 1 min audio我们都到了却没见面Same Place Different DoorTwo friends are both at the shopping mall, yet neither can see the other. A few more precise words solve a familiar meeting-point problem.HSK 3

Story · 1 min audio我不舒服How to say I’m sick in ChineseMonday morning. A boy who suddenly feels very ill. A doctor who knows exactly what to prescribe.HSK 1

Article · 1 min audio汉字里的画Chinese characters that look like picturesA girl, a pencil and her first Chinese characters. Inside each one, a little picture is hiding.HSK 1