We love (爱) learning new characters!

Welcome to our Character Episode! Today we are going to learn about Love! Are you ready to learn about the character to let others know how much they mean to you? We sure hope so. Please enjoy telling other people how much you 爱 them. :) -------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : E21 http://bit.ly/1DbdDfT

Qingming Festival (清明節) Part 3!

In our final part on the Qingming Festival we'll be leaving you with some listening homework to work on until next week. We hope you have enjoyed our series and hope you will enjoy the challenge! Expand the Description to get the pinyin! Listening Homework ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Qīngmíng jié shì zhōngguó rén yīgè fēicháng zhòngyào de jiérì. 2 Nǐ zhīdào zhōngguó rén de qīngmíng jié shì shénme shíhòu ma? 3 Wǒ xiǎo de shíhòu hěn xiǎngniàn qùshì de nǎinai. 4 Xiǎo bǎobǎo bù gāoxìng shí, jīngcháng huì dà kū. 5 Māmā wèn érzi “nǐ wèishéme yòu yǎnlèi?” Érzi shuō:“Wǒ xiǎng wǒ de péngyǒu.” ----------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E11 http://bit.ly/1cAI9u2

Missing friends and family who have past on - Qingming Jie

Missing friends and family that have moved on. If you live in China in early April there is a festival, Qingming Jie, meaning "Tomb Cleaning Festival". It is something of a holiday there as you are given a few days off to take care of the tombs of your ancestors. It is during this holiday that family and friends are thought of and missed. So this weeks topic will focus on words related to Qingming Jie, and missing friends and family. Together we'll learn a lot, so let us know if you have any questions in the comments below. Thanks! This week's Listening Paragraph: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sì yuè shì yīgè xiǎngniàn qīnrén de jìjié. Wèishéme ne? Ràng wǒmen lái xué yī xué ba! Zhōngguó rén yǒu yīgè jié, míngzì jiào qīngmíng jié. Qīngmíng jié shí, dàjiā dōu qù gěi qùshì de qīnrén péngyǒu sǎomù; qīngmíng jié shí, dàjiā dōu fēicháng xiǎngniàn qùshì de rénmen; qīngmíng jié shí, jīngcháng huì xià yǔ, chūnyǔ rú rénmen de yǎnlèi yīyàng, gàosù qùshì de rénmen, wǒmen xiǎngniàn tāmen. Listening Homework Answered: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 cn. Zhè'er de chūntiān rú huà, fēicháng piàoliang. 1 en. The spring here is like a picture, very beautiful 2 cn. Chūntiān zài nǎlǐ? Chūntiān zài nǎlǐ? Chūntiān zài xiǎopéngyǒu de yǎnjīng lǐ. 2 en. Where is spring? Where is spring? Spring is in the children's eyes. 3 cn. Fēijī xiàng xiǎo niǎo yīyàng huì fēi. 3 en. Airplanes can fly as little birds. 4 cn. Yóu bù xiàng shuǐ yīyàng néng hē hěnduō. 4 en. You cannot drink oil like you drink water. 5 cn. Érzi shuō:“Lǎoshī xiàng māmā yīyàng ài wǒmen.” 5 en. Son said; "Teachers love us the same as mom." Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E09 http://bit.ly/1yt4Tpz

Chinese Cuisine, On Cooking Oil and Salads

"Spring Rain is as valuable as oil" was a Chinese saying we learned earlier this week. Oil in Chinese cuisine is a necessity, but used only sparingly. Cooking oil is used for the taste primarily. Seldom will Chinese dishes use deep fried food, and you'll never see uncooked foods like Salads available. What do you use in your home country for your local cuisines? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E08 http://bit.ly/1ypBPzt

Spring (春) is Very (很) Special!

Last character episode we learned the character for Spring, this time we'll learn another Very important character... Hěn... 很... Very! We say it a lot, don't we? So today we'll learn about this two part character. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : Special 20 http://bit.ly/1Ou3ovf

Spring is Coming, Part 6

Today in our 6th part on the topic "Spring is Coming" we'll be giving our vocabulary of listening homework. See the description below for the practice sentences. And as always feel free to ask questions and we'll get back to you! Listening Practice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Zhè'er de chūntiān rú huà, fēicháng piàoliang. 2. Chūntiān zài nǎlǐ? Chūntiān zài nǎlǐ? Chūntiān zài xiǎopéngyǒu de yǎnjīng lǐ. 3. Fēijī xiàng xiǎo niǎo yīyàng huì fēi. 4. Yóu bù xiàng shuǐ yīyàng néng hē hěnduō. 5. Érzi shuō:“Lǎoshī xiàng māmā yīyàng ài wǒmen.” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E07 http://bit.ly/1aY4am5

Spring is Coming, Part 5

Welcome back to our Spring is Coming series! Today we'll review our listening paragraph and continue our studies. Thanks for joining us again and we hope you have a good time. As always, feel free to ask any questions, and translation in comments below. Listening Paragraph: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zhèxiē tiān měitiān dū xià yǔ. Xiǎo cǎo shuō:“Xià ba, xià ba, wǒ yào fāyá.” Xiǎo huá shuō:“Xià ba, xià ba, wǒ yào kāihuā.” Chūntiān de xiǎoyǔ, bù lěng, yě bù rè. Chūntiān de xiǎoyǔ xiàng yóu yīyàng, xiǎo cǎo xiǎohuā xiǎo shù xiǎo dòngwùmen zuì xǐhuānle. Zhōngguó rén shuō:“Chūnyǔ guì rú yóu!” Zhōngguó rén yě shuō “sìjì rú chūn!” Paragraph Answered: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These days it rained every day. The little grass is saying "please rain, please rain, I want to grow up (germinate)". The little flower says "Please rain, please rain, I want to bloom". The little rain of the spring, neither chilly nor hot. Little rain is like oil, the grass, trees and flowers are favored by small animals. Chinese sayings "Spring rain is as valuable as oil", an Old saying in China is, "Four seasons like Spring" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E06 http://bit.ly/1co7lns

Spring is Coming, Part 4!

This week we continue learning about Spring, Spring terms, spring words and having a good time together. Are you ready to continue learning? Listening Homework, Answered: ------------------------------------------------------------ 1 cn. Chūntiān shì wǒ zuì xǐhuān de jìjié. Nǐ zuì xǐhuān shénme jìjié? 1 en. Spring is my favorite season. What Season is your favorite? 2 cn. Jīntiān de tiānqì zhēn shūfú, bù lěng yě bù rè. 2 en. Today's weather is really comfortable, neither cold nor hot. 3 cn. Xiǎo niǎo, xiǎo māo, xiǎo gǒu dōu shì xiǎo dòngwù. 3 en. Litte bird, kitten, puppy or little animals. 4 cn. Xiǎo cǎo fāyále, chūntiān láile. 4 en. Little grass growing, Spring is coming. 5 cn. Yī nián yǒu jǐ gè jìjié nǐ zhīdào ma? 5 en. Do you know how many season are in one year? Listening Paragraph: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zhèxiē tiān měitiān dū xià yǔ. Xiǎo cǎo shuō:“Xià ba, xià ba, wǒ yào fāyá.” Xiǎo huá shuō:“Xià ba, xià ba, wǒ yào kāihuā.” Chūntiān de xiǎoyǔ, bù lěng, yě bù rè. Chūntiān de xiǎoyǔ xiàng yóu yīyàng, xiǎo cǎo xiǎohuā xiǎo shù xiǎo dòngwùmen zuì xǐhuānle. Zhōngguó rén shuō:“Chūnyǔ guì rú yóu!” Zhōngguó rén yě shuō “sìjì rú chūn!” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E05 http://bit.ly/1PyTdXU

Spring, to bundle up or not bundle up

Spring is here, and it is starting to get warmer. But what does this mean for how you dress? Would you believe that even though it is getting warmer in China, people still bundle like it is still Winter for a little while longer? It's true! Find out some of what is going on in today's Chinese Cultural exchange. ------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E04 http://bit.ly/1IlMz55

Spring (春) is Coming to Characters!

Spring (春) is our topic this week and on our character episode today we're going to learn how to write Spring. It's a wonderful time of year and we hope you enjoy today's lessons and reviews. Thank you for being apart of our family! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : E19 http://bit.ly/1NLCYmv

Spring is Coming, Part 3 - Listening Homework

Spring is Coming, Listening Homework! ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Chūntiān shì wǒ zuì xǐhuān de jìjié. Nǐ zuì xǐhuān shénme jìjié? 2. Jīntiān de tiānqì zhēn shūfú, bù lěng yě bù rè. 3. Xiǎo niǎo, xiǎo māo, xiǎo gǒu dōu shì xiǎo dòngwù. 4. Xiǎo cǎo fāyále, chūntiān láile. 5. Yī nián yǒu jǐ gè jìjié nǐ zhīdào ma? ------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E03 http://bit.ly/1Fv0uCp

Spring is Coming, Part 2

Spring is Here! This is the beginning of Season 10 and we are going to look at a lot of Spring words as the weather starts to warm up. One of the new changes for Season 10 is that we are going to start migrating away from listening sentences and towards listening paragraphs. I believe if you guys have followed us to this point, then you should be able to translate paragraphs. Yesterday's Listening to Paragraph -------------------------------------------------------------------- Chūntiān láile, chūntiān láile. Xiǎo niǎo zài shù shàng chànggē, xiǎo cǎo zài dìshàng fāyá. Xiǎo dòngwùmen shuì xǐngle. Chūntiān láile. Chūntiān bù lěng, chūntiān yě bù rè. Chūntiān shì yīgè shūfú de jìjié. Dàjiā dōu hěn xǐhuān chūntiān, dàrénmen xǐhuān, xiǎopéngyǒumen yě xǐhuān. Listening Paragraph answered -------------------------------------------------------------------- Spring is coming, spring is coming. The little bird is singing on the tree. The little animals are waking up. On the ground the grass is growing. Spring is coming. Spring is neither cold nor hot. Spring is very comfortable season. Everyone loves spring a lot. Adults like it, children [also] like it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E02 http://bit.ly/1Cv8y4U

Spring is Coming, Part 1

Spring is Coming! Spring is Here! This is the beginning of Season 10 and we are going to look at a lot of Spring words as the weather starts to warm up. One of the new changes for Season 10 is that we are going to start migrating away from listening sentences and towards listening paragraphs. I believe if you guys have followed us to this point, then you should be able to translate paragraphs. Today's Listening to Paragraph -------------------------------------------------------------------- Chūntiān láile, chūntiān láile. Xiǎo niǎo zài shù shàng chànggē, xiǎo cǎo zài dìshàng fāyá. Xiǎo dòngwùmen shuì xǐngle. Chūntiān láile. Chūntiān bù lěng, chūntiān yě bù rè. Chūntiān shì yīgè shūfú de jìjié. Dàjiā dōu hěn xǐhuān chūntiān, dàrénmen xǐhuān, xiǎopéngyǒumen yě xǐhuān. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S10E01 http://bit.ly/1bP0rYa

Chinese Culture - What you won't find : Paper Towels

What are paper towels? In China I had absolutely no idea what these were. Then I came to America and I see a lot of people using Paper Towels. This surprised me! They feel really wasteful because commonly in China we simply use rags that we clean and reuse. It just makes more sense to me. So if you are planning to live in China for a while, or just travel to visit, do not be surprised to see an absence of paper towels when you are in China. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S09E38 http://bit.ly/1G19TUU

Characters in Review

Practice Sentences for today: Characters ------------------------------------------------- 1. 明天你去中国吗？ 2. 明天我去你家。 Pinyin ------------------------------------------------- 1. Míngtiān nǐ qù zhōngguó ma? 2. Míngtiān wǒ qù nǐ jiā. ------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S18 http://bit.ly/1IIzDDY

Season 9 in Review - Paragraph Listening Answered

Welcome back to 5 Minute Chinese. Are you ready to find out how well you translated the previous paragraph? Good! We're sure you'll do great, so let's find out how well you did! English Answers ----------------------------------------------------------- Title: My Mom Text: My mom really likes singing, dancing, play cards, reading books, listen to the radio, play on the computer and play with her cell phone. I really like to listen to stories, to sing and to watch TV but every day my mom said to me "Don't watch TV!" Mom does not like me watching TV. I don't like mom playing with her computer and cell phone. I like to give dad(dy) a call on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I will call my grandpa and grandma. All this are taught by my mom. I really like my mom, she is a very happy mom. I'm very happy with my mom. Chinese Paragraph ----------------------------------------------------------- Title: Wǒ de māmā Text: Wǒ de māmā hěn xǐhuān chànggē, tiàowǔ, kànshū, tīng guǎngbò, wán diànnǎo hé wán shǒujī. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān tīng gùshì, chànggē hé kàn diànshì. Dànshì, māmā měitiān dū duì wǒ shuō:“Bùyào kàn diànshìle.” Māmā bù xǐhuān wǒ kàn diànshì, wǒ bù xǐhuān māmā wán diànnǎo hé shǒujī. Wǒ xǐhuān gěi bàba dǎ diànhuà. Gǎn'ēn jié, shèngdàn jié, wǒ huì gěi yéyé nǎinai dǎ diànhuà, zhèxiē dōu shì māmā jiào wǒ de. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān wǒ de māmā, tā shì yīgè kuàilè de māmā, hé māmā zài yīqǐ, wǒ yě hěn kuàilè! ----------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S09E37 http://bit.ly/1EGhFOi

Learning Chinese - Season 9 in Review - Paragraph Listening Challenge

Season 9 in Review: Paragraph Listening Challenge. How well have you studied this season? Let's find out today by seeing how well we understand the following paragraph! Title: Wǒ de māmā Text: Wǒ de māmā hěn xǐhuān chànggē, tiàowǔ, kànshū, tīng guǎngbò, wán diànnǎo hé wán shǒujī. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān tīng gùshì, chànggē hé kàn diànshì. Dànshì, māmā měitiān dū duì wǒ shuō:“Bùyào kàn diànshìle.” Māmā bù xǐhuān wǒ kàn diànshì, wǒ bù xǐhuān māmā wán diànnǎo hé shǒujī. Wǒ xǐhuān gěi bàba dǎ diànhuà. Gǎn'ēn jié, shèngdàn jié, wǒ huì gěi yéyé nǎinai dǎ diànhuà, zhèxiē dōu shì māmā jiào wǒ de. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān wǒ de māmā, tā shì yīgè kuàilè de māmā, hé māmā zài yīqǐ, wǒ yě hěn kuàilè! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S09E36 http://bit.ly/1MWIrIO

Learning Chinese - Season 9 in Review

We're starting to wind down Season nine, so we'll start off by answering last weeks sentences then going into a full review of the season. Answers to last weeks questions: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 cn. Chūnjié shì zhōngguó rén de xīnnián. Jīnnián shì yáng nián, nǐ zhīdào ma? 1 en. Spring Festival is Chinese people's New Year. This year is the year of Sheep, do you know that? 2 cn. Wǒ de péngyǒumen dōu xǐhuānguò chūnjié, tāmen juédé zhōngguó chūnjié hěn hǎowán. 2 en. My friends they all like to celebrate Chinese New Year, they believe Chinese Spring Festival is a lot of fun. 3 cn. Wǒ yào gěi wǒ de zhōngwén lǎoshī dǎ diànhuà bàinián. 3 en. I'm going to give my Chinese teacher a call to send my new year wishes. 4 cn. Zhè shì gěi shuí de xīnnián lǐwù? 4 en. The new year gift is for who? 5. A cn: “TOM, nǐ de hǎo péngyǒu LUCY qǐng nǐ gěi tā dǎ diànhuà.” A en: Tom, your good friend Lucy ask you to give her a call. B cn: “Hǎo de.” B en: Sure ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate: http://bit.ly/Wg4FzD Website: http://bit.ly/Wg4F2N 5 Minute Chinese : S09E35 http://bit.ly/1N1EZdP