Learning is the key

既…又…  is used to express that something is both A and B

subject+既+adjective/verb phrase+又+adjective/verb phrase

例子：

祥安找到了一个卖新款相机的网站，既打折又免费送货。「祥安找到了一個賣新款相機的網站，既打折又免費送貨。」

Xiang’an found a website selling new camera models with discounts and free shipping.

她的儿子既聪明又可爱。「她的兒子既聰明又可愛。」

Her son is both clever and cute.

我们的讨论既有趣又有意义。「我們的討論既有趣又有意義。」

Our discussion was interesting and meaningful.

她既会说英语又会说汉语。「她既會說英語又會說漢語。」

She can speak both English and Mandarin.

这家银行的服务既热情又周到。「這家銀行的服務既熱情又周到。」

This bank’s service is both enthusiastic and thorough. 

这种言论既令人恼火又不属实。「這種言論既令人惱火又不屬實。」

Such remarks are both offensive and untrue.

Greetings, Polyglots! So a lot of people have asked me about my language notebook and stuff. That makes sense right? All kinds of languageblrs and bloggers post at least six cubic tons of notebook inspiration photos a day because they should! But I have always been the kind of person to only passively enjoy notebook inspiration photos. Though the artfully designed and beautifully put together, I always thought it was too much trouble to buy special pens, highlighters, print photos and buy special paper just to make notes for study. It would always take too long for me because I’m not really an artsy person anyway. If you are able to do it, then I admire you! But I’ve never been able to dedicate time to decorating my notebook, let alone use neater penmanship! I’m too impatient. As I study, I want to focus on the language and not the notebook itself. So as a result, my notes seem a little messier than the ones I’ve seen on Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram. My note taking works just fine for me, however, it is the reason I have been hesitant to share my notebook. But without further ado, here is my not so pretty Chinese language notebook.

How my notebook is organized is simple. My table of contents is in the front, my language learning goals after that and then all my vocabulary and grammar notes. Because I’m not using one single method of study, I am grabbing vocabulary from all different kinds of sources. The one in the photo above is from an HSK 6 vocabulary list for Chinese. As you can see, I have listed the vocabulary word on the left side of the page, then the English definition and then the pinyin way on the right side of the page. I do this so it is not the first thing I see on the page when studying my vocabulary. Also notice that the tone is over the character and NOT in the pinyin. I do this to really remove dependence on the pinyin. I only look at the pinyin if I’ve truly forgotten how to pronounce the word. Then below the character, I have defined each individual character in case I encounter the character again. Below that I’ve taken apart some of the character radicals and defined them to help me remember the characters. I do not do this for the ones I already know.

That’s it! Notice that I use no highlighters, special pens, special paper or cute handwriting. If you would like to incorporate some color into your language notes, that is up to you! But if you’re like me and would prefer to keep things super simple, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that! In another post, I will share my not so pretty Korean and Japanese notebooks as well!

Do you think it’s a worthy investment to decorate up your language notebook?

This practice tests will help you understand how the real HSK test is structured and formatted. You can easily download each test level so that you can practice at your own time. Each download will include a PDF file that you can print out, and an listening MP3 audio file.

旅行 lü3xing2 to travel

旅游 lü3you2 to travel

驴友「驢友」lü2you3 travel buddy

车「車」che1 car

开车「開車」kai1che1 to drive a car

租车 「租車」zu1che1 to rent a car

火车「火車」huo3che1 train

飞机「飛機」fei1ji1 plane

机票「機票」 ji1piao4 plane ticket

往返票 wang3fan3piao4 round-trip ticket

单程票「單程票」dan1cheng2piao4 one-way ticket

护照「護照」hu4zhao4 passport

行李 xing2li luggage

坐 zuo4 to take (a bus, plane, etc.), to sit

露营「露營」lu4ying2 camping

露营车「露營車」lu4ying2che1 RV, camper

帐篷「帳篷」zhang4peng2 tent

搭帐篷「搭帳篷」da1 zhang4peng2 to put up a tent

睡袋 shui4dai4 sleeping bag

营地 「營地」ying2di4 camping grounds, campsite

小木屋 xiao3mu4wu1 cabin

生火 sheng1huo3 to start a fire

住宿 zhu4su4 accommodation

订房「訂房」ding4fang2 to reserve a room

订位「訂位」ding4wei4 booking, reservations, to make reservations

青年旅馆「青年旅館」qing1nian2 lü3guan3 youth hostel

饭店「飯店」fan4dian4 hotel

旅馆「旅館」lü3guan3 hotel

单人房「單人房」dan1ren2fang2 single room

双人房「雙人房」shuang1ren2fang4 double room

标准房「標準放」biao1zhun3fang2 standard room

套房 tao4fang2 suite

风景「風景」feng1jing3 scenery

景点「景點」jing3dian3 scenic spots 

国家公园「國家公園」guo2jia1 gong1yuan2 national park

自然保护区「自然保護區」zi4ran2 bao3hu4qu1 nature reserve

博物馆「博物館」bo2wu4guan3 museum

i’ve already discussed using 不如 in a comparative sense, so now let’s talk about 与其…不如…「與其…不如…」

this pattern is used to express the idea of “rather than A” or “prefer  B over A”

here’s the pattern:

与其+clause (A), 不如+clause (B)

***note: you can add 还「還」, 真, or 倒 before 不如

例子：

天气这么好，与其在家看电视，不如去公园散散步。「天氣這麼好，與其在家看電視，不如去公園散散步。」

The weather is so nice. We’d rather go for a stroll in the park than watch TV at home.

与其麻烦别人，还不如自己想办法。「與其麻煩別人，還不如自己想辦法。」

Rather than troubling other people, I’d prefer to think of a solution myself.

与其开车去商店，不如散步过去。「與其開車去商店，不如散步過去。」

I’d rather walk to the store than drive.

与其羡慕别人，不如珍惜拥有。「與其羨慕別人，不如珍惜擁有。」

Rather than envying others, you should cherish what you have.

与其说「與其說」yu3qi2 shuo1

与其…不如…「與其…不如…」can also be used to make objective observations by adding 说「說」

与其说+clause (A), 不如说+clause (B)

it gets across the idea of an objective judgement or observation, with clause B being more correct or accurate than clause A

例子：

与其说考试太难，不如说你准备得不够好。「與其說考試太難，不如說你準備得不夠好。」

Rather than saying the exam was too hard, it would be more accurate to say you didn’t prepare well enough.

与其说裁判不公平，倒不如说山猫的运气不好。「與其說裁判不公平，倒不如說山貓的運氣不好。」

Rather than say the referees weren’t fair, I’d say the Mountain Lions were unlucky.

When I was learning this structure, I found it a little weird, but here it is anyway. Using ba3 helps you focus on the result of an action/the object on which the action is done on/some kind of consequence. You can use this structure to speak about an action that is done on a definite person/thing. 

A把B+ Verb

Here, A is whosoever does the action and B is what receives the action. This structure can be used to make requests. 

Examples

1. 请你把空调关了。

2. 我把今天的会义忘起了。

If you wish to make negative sentence, the negation will precede the 把

Examples

1. 我没把空调关了。

2. 我不能把手机给你。

This structure has another variation where you can talk about the change in location of an object. 

A把B+Verb+在/到/给。。。

给 is used when the user or owner of an object has changed

Examples

1 我把水果放在桌子上。

2 你没把 作业放在你的包里。

3 他把蛋糕送给他的女朋友。

Flavours!

Look at me, finally making stuff again after forever, pls enjoy bc it probably won’t happen again for a while

高兴 (gāoxìng) happy

难过 (nánguò) sad

害怕 (hàipà) afraid

生气 (shēngqì) angry

紧张 (jînzhāng) nervous

兴奋 (xīngfèn) excited

平静 (píngjìng) calm

尴尬 (gāngà) embarrassed

孤独 (gūdú) lonely

自信 (zìxìn) confident

无聊 (wúliáo) bored

by Yunlin, Asian Art

Medium: Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Rogers Fund, 1924 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

天气／天氣 tian1 qi4 weather

气候／氣候 qi4 hou4 climate

气温／氣溫 qi4 wen1 temperature

度 du4 degrees

华氏／華氏 hua2 shi4 Fahrenheit 

摄氏／攝氏 she4 shi4 Celsius

零下 ling2 xia4 below zero

低 di1 low

高 gao1 high

平均 ping2 jun1 average

左右 zuo3 you4 about, approximately

季节／季節 ji4 jie2 season

春季 chun1 ji4 springtime

夏季 xia4 ji4 summer

秋季 qiu1 ji4 autumn, fall

冬季 dong1 ji4 winter

晴天 qing2 tian1 sunny day, clear sky

阴天／陰天 yin1 tian1 cloudy day, overcast

刮风 gua1 feng1 to be windy

凉快／涼快 liang2 kuai pleasantly cool

暖和 nuan3 huo nice and warm

闷热／悶熱 men1 re4 humid, muggy

干燥／乾燥 gan1 zao4 dry, arid

潮湿／潮濕 chao2 shi1 humid, damp

冬暖夏凉／冬暖夏涼 dong1 nuan3 xia4 liang2 warm in the winters and cool in the summers

四季如春 si4 ji4 ru2 chun1 like spring all year-round (lit. four seasons like spring)

风和日丽／風和日麗 feng1 he2 ri4 li4 (lit. the breeze is gentle and the sun is bright) used to describe warm and sunny weather, especially in the springtime

天气预报 tian1 qi4 yu4 bao4 weather forecast

天气现象／天氣現象 tian1 qi4 xian4 xiang4 weather phenomena 

相对湿度／相對濕度 xiang1 dui4 shi1 du4 relative humidity

风向／風向 feng1 xiang4 wind direction

风力／風力 feng1 li4 wind strength

微风／微風 wei1 feng1 gentle breeze

强风／強風 qiang2 feng1 strong wind

多云／多雲 duo1 yun2 cloudy

陈雨／陣雨 zhen4 yu3 (rain) shower

雷陈雨／雷陣雨 lei2 zhen4 yu3 thunderstorm

小雨 xiao3 yu3 drizzle

中雨 zhong1 yu3 moderate rain

大雨 da4 yu3 downpour

暴雨 bao4 yu3 rainstorm

陈雪／陣雪 zhen4 xue3 snow flurries

小雪 xiao3 xue3 light snow

中雪 zhong1 xue3 moderate snow

大雪 da4 xue3 heavy snow

暴风雪／暴風雪 bao4 feng1 xue3 snowstorm

雾／霧 wu4 foggy

沙尘暴／沙塵暴 sha1 chen2 bao4 sandstorm

冰冻／冰凍 bing1 dong4 freezing

寒冷 han2 leng3 cold

凉爽／涼爽 liang2 shuang3 cool

温暖／溫暖 wen1 nuan3 warm

炎热／炎熱 yan2 re4 hot

酷热／酷熱 ku4 re4 scorching

if you look at this weather forecast from guangzhou you should be able to recognize some of the vocab from above!