Expressing "It Seems" With 好像。。。似的

好像。。。似的 is one of the sentence structures meaning "to seem":

Expressing Agreement / Approval In Chinese

1.
A: 你这条裤子脏了。 
nǐ zhè tiáo kù zi zàng le 
Your trousers are dirty. 
B: 谁会注意我的裤子呢？
shuí huì zhù yì wǒ de kù zi ní 
Who cares about my trousers? 
A: 不行， 不行。 
bù xíng bù xíng 
It is not fine. 
B: 好吧， 听你的, 我换条裤子。
hǎo ba tīng nǐ de wǒ huàn tiáo kù zi 
OK, I'll do it as you suggest, I will change my trousers. 

More dialogue samples:

睡觉的姿势 - Sleep Positions

睡觉的姿势 - shuì jiào de zī shì - Sleep Positions:
胎儿型 - tāi'ér xíng - Fetus 
树干型 - shù gàn xíng - Log 
思念型 - sī niàn xíng - Yearner 
士兵式 - shì bīng shì - Soldier 
海星型 - hǎi xīng xíng - Starfish 
自由落体型 - zì yóu luò tǐ xíng - Freefall

More vocabulary: 

Chinese Words Beginning With 双 (shuāng)

Remember that post about words beginning with 单 (dān)? Now it is time to compare the usage of 单 and 双! 
双 (shuāng) is a another good example of a morpheme with strong word-building ability. As a prefix, it means “two-”, ”bi-”, “double”, etc. 

Chinese Verbs For Taking Different Vehicles: 骑 / 坐 / 开

In Mandarin Chinese, the action of taking a vehicle of some kind is described with one of the verbs: 坐 (zuò), 骑 (qí) or 开 (kāi). 

坐 (zuò) is mosty used for vehicles with seats (in which passengers can sit down), e. g., buses, ships, planes and trains. 

骑 (qí) means "to straddle". This verb is used for bicycles, motorcycles and horses. 

Chinese Opposite Words Game

浅 – qiǎn – shallow 
深 – shēn – deep 

长 – chǎng – long 
短 – duǎn – short 

努力 – nǔ lì – to strive 
懈怠 – xiè dài – to slack, to be lazy, to be sluggish

炎热 – yán rè – very hot 
寒冷 – hán lěng – frosty, very cold 

厚 – hòu – thick 
薄 – báo – thin 

软 – ruǎn – soft 
硬 – yìng – hard 

空 – kōng – empty 
满 – mǎn – full 

"But" and "However" In Chinese

There are many ways to express "but" ("however") in Chinese language. 

衣服 – yī fu – clothes

Learn clothes vocabulary: 

Test your knowledge with the following flashcards. For quizzes, just click "Choose Study Mode" menu): 

马 – 乌 – 鸟

For beginners, the characters 马， 乌 and 鸟 look similar. However, in dictionaries they can be found under different radicals. In fact, 马 and 鸟 are radicals themselves. 

趁 – Stroke Order & Examples of Usage

趁 (chèn) is a commonly used Chinese preposition meaning “to grab” or “to take advantage of” a favorable situation or a good opportunity to do something.

Radical 宀 ("Roof")

宀 is called 宝盖 (bǎo gài) in Chinese and is often referred to as the "roof" radical in English. It is a meaning element related to "house". The pinyin is mián (mian2). As a radical, it always appears on the top of the character. Here are some examples of Chinese characters containing 宀: 

Mongolian Hot Pots – Chinese Regional Variations

火锅 – huǒ guō – Mongolian hot pot 

火锅 (“huoguo” or “hot pot” in English) is a kind of stew which is popular in China, Thailand, Singapore and some other Asian countries. It is believed to be invented about 1,000 years ago. 

火锅 – huǒ guō – Mongolian hot pot 

At the center of the dining table, there is a big pot with broth that is kept simmering. Those participating in the dinner can take fresh ingredients and place them into the broth (using chopsticks). So, all food is cooked at the table. It is a very relaxing and pleasant experience. 

In the vast majority of restaurants, the cooking pots are sunk into the table or, alternatively, hung above it. Gas and hot coals may be used as a fuel. Nowadays, inductor cookers are widely used.

Seeing The Dentist – Illustrated Phrasebook

我需要看牙医。– wǒ xū yào kàn yá yī – I need to see a dentist. 
我想预约看牙医。– wǒ xiǎng yù yuē kàn yá yī – I would like to make an appointment to see the dentist. 
尽快 – jǐn kuài – as soon as possible 
情况十分紧急。 – qíng kuàng shí fēn jǐn jí – It is urgent. 
开放时间是什么时候？ – kāi fàng shí jiān shì shén me shí hòu – What are the opening hours? 

Chinese Opposite Words Game

大 – dà – big 
小 – xiǎo – small 

黑 – hēi – black 
白 – bái – white 

慢 – màn – slow 
快 – kuài – fast 

关 – guān – to close 
开 – kāi – to open 

高 – gāo – tall 
低 – dī – low, short

热 – rè – hot 
冷 – lěng – cold 

便宜 – pián yí – cheap 
贵 – guì – expensive 

穷人 – qióng rén – a poor man 
富人 – fù rén – a rich man 

Play this Scatter game to test your knowledge of Chinese antonyms!

Words With 单

In the article about Chinese negative prefixes, it was already mentioned that Mandarin Chinese is rarely described as a language having prefixes. However, 单 (dān) is a good example of a meaningful morphem that has very strong word-building ability. As a prefix, it usually means “one-”, “mono-”, ”uni-”, “single”, etc. 

These are some commonly used words beginning with 单: 

More examples:

The Analects of Confucius: Sayings about Learning

三人行，必有我师。 
sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī 

This well-known Chinese idiom is literally translated into English as "When I walk along with two others, from at least one I will be able to learn" (James Legge). Nowadays, this wise saying is commonly interpreted as "You have something to learn from everyone". 

5 Ways To Ask "Where Are You From?" In Chinese

The most common way to ask another person's nationality is as follows: 
你是哪国人？ – Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? – What country are you from? (What is your nationality?) 

The "pattern" of the answer: 
Subject + 是 + Name of country + 人 

E. g., 
我是英国人。 – Wǒ shì yīng guó rén. – I am from the UK. (I am Briton.) 
她是德国人。 – Tā shì dé guó rén. – She is from Germany. (She is German.) 
他是法国人。 – Tā shì fà guó rén. – He is from France. (He is French.) 
我朋友是澳大利亚人。 – Wǒ péng yǒu shì ào dà lì yǎ rén. – My friend is from Australia. (My friend is Australian.) 
马克是加拿大人。 – Mǎ kè shì jiā ná dà rén. – Mark is from Canada. (Mark is Canadian.) 

Alternative Ways To Ask "Where Are You From?" In Chinese

不但...而且 - Not Only...But Also

不但 (bú dàn) is widely used in Chinese complex sentences to indicate "not only". 

人 - 入 - 八

入 means "to enter", "to go into". Its pictogram resembles an arrowhead. In print, to distinguish 人 from 入 pay attention to the hook at top left. 

人 means "a man". Therefore, its pictogram resembles human's legs. Though in print, the modern form of the character 人 has symmetric legs, its ancient version depicted a man with arms and asymmetric legs. 

- How to distinguish 人 from 入 in handwriting?
- In 人 the right leg is shorter； in 入 the right leg is longer. 

八 is composed of two strokes: 丿 and 乁. These two bent lines are believed to signal "division". Of all single-digit numbers, 8 can be divided by 2 the greatest number of times. 

Talking About History: Useful Vocabulary

Chinese Words For Furniture (家具 - jiā ju)

Below are the flashcards for learning these words. Click on "Choose a Study Mode" to find more interactive exercises and games:
 

Fiancée's Age Joke (With Grammar Explanations)

你的未婚夫知道你的年龄吗？ 
nǐ de wèi hūn fū zhī dào nǐ de nián líng ma
Does you fiance know your age? 

是的，他知道一部分。 
shì de tā zhī dào yī bù fèn 
Yes, partly.

How To Say "Small" In Chinese?

Most Commonly Used Words For "Small"

小 is one of the first words you learn in Chinese. It means “small”, “little”, “minor” and is used in a wide array of contexts. 
这只狗很小。– zhè zhǐ gǒu hěn xiǎo – This dog is small. 
在我的小的时候 – zài wǒ de xiǎo de shíhòu – when I was small (young) 
这个机会是很小的。– zhè ge jī huì shì hěn xiǎo de – This opportunity is small. 

Another popular way of describing something small is by negating the opposite. You can just say that the object is not big (不大). 
不大的狗 – bú dà de gǒu – small dog 
不大的机会 – bú dà de jī huì – small opportunity, little chance

Talking About Wu Xing

Wu Xing is the five-element theory of Chinese philosophy. It is a conceptual scheme that was once used to explain a wide array of natural and social phenomena, including interaction between human body organs and the properties of traditional Chinese drugs. The "Five Elements" are commonly described as an endless loop that influences people's fate and many other things. 

Radical 饣 ("Eat", "Food")

饣 is used as a left Chinese radical. Its meaning is “food” or ”eat”. The productive phonetic is shí (shi2).

饣 is simplified from 食. The pictogram of the traditional form looks like an inverted mouth over a bowl of food (probably rice) on a stand. The current form is 人 + 良 but the lower part is more likely to be related to 皀 rather than to 艮. 

Here are the most commonly used characters containing 饣: 

Chinese Negative Prefixes

It is not common to describe Chinese language as having prefixes and suffixes. However, there are some characters that can give a clue about the possible meaning of a word or phrase. 

These are prefixes that are used to negate Chinese adjectives and some other parts of speech.

Chinese Vocabulary – Eating Out

Eating Out – Useful Phrases

Using 想 (xiǎng) To Express Desire

In Chinese language, 想 (xiǎng) basically means "to think", "to reckon" or "to miss", but it also acts as an auxiliary verb expressing modality. 

In this case 想 is translated as "want to…" or "would like to…". 
The grammar pattern is as follows: 
Subject + 想(xiǎng) + Verb (Object) 
The verb provides the main content of the clause, while 想 expresses the desire to do something. 

Examples: