Posts tagged "language"

Just Getting Started
When I was a freshman in college, I looked up the Mandarin equivalent of “thank you” for an ill-conceived experiment communicating with restaurant staff while picking up Chinese takeout. In return I received a look of bewilderment, then a smile, and finally a barrage of unintelligible sound that I’m going to guess was an interrogative...

Ni hui shuo Zhongwen ma?
Guys will go to great lengths when attempting to impress a girl (or guy). Typical efforts may include flowers, the home-cooked dinner, gratuitous displays of chivalry. When I started dating my wife I decided to learn Mandarin Chinese. I seem to have trouble being satisfied until I have found the most difficult way to accomplish...