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Words & Vocabulary

Chinese Family Terms: The Complete Guide to Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins

Words & Vocabulary

Chinese Family Terms: The Complete Guide to Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins

Chinese family terms explained with diagrams: why 姑姑 and 阿姨 aren't the same word, why cousins split into 堂 and 表, and a family tree for every generation.

7 min read

All 46 Asian Countries in Chinese — and the Five Names China Never Had to Translate

Words & Vocabulary

All 46 Asian Countries in Chinese — and the Five Names China Never Had to Translate

All 46 Asian countries in Chinese with pinyin and etymology, and why Japan, Korea, and Vietnam were never transliterated the way the rest of the list was.

14 min read

All 54 African Countries in Chinese — and the One Character That Ends 14 of Them

Words & Vocabulary

All 54 African Countries in Chinese — and the One Character That Ends 14 of Them

All 54 African countries in Chinese with pinyin, etymology, and the character that closes more country names than Europe and the Americas combined.

14 min read

All 35 Countries of the Americas in Chinese — and the One Character That Names 8 of Them

Words & Vocabulary

All 35 Countries of the Americas in Chinese — and the One Character That Names 8 of Them

All 35 American countries in Chinese with pinyin, etymology, and the seven recurring characters that unlock most of the list, including the abbreviation that secretly means two countries.

11 min read

All 45 European Countries in Chinese — and the 7 Characters Behind Most of Them

Words & Vocabulary

All 45 European Countries in Chinese — and the 7 Characters Behind Most of Them

All 45 European countries in Chinese with pinyin, etymology, and the seven recurring characters that unlock dozens of names at once.

11 min read

World Cup Mandarin: 22 Football Words, Two Characters

Words & Vocabulary

World Cup Mandarin: 22 Football Words, Two Characters

Two characters, 球 and 门, unlock 15 of the 22 Mandarin words you need to follow a World Cup match. A grouped vocabulary primer for HSK 2-4 learners.

8 min read