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Just seen this series that says the following. The difficulty level of the series is in line with the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021). https://www.sinolingua.com.cn/index.php?m=content&c=b&a=s&id=59 Have not got a copy yet but this may be aligned to the new standards.

I found the stat's page for my test and came across a pretty funny thing: the average score for my nationality is identical to my own score lol. No idea if it's a bug or if it means I'm the only one from the same country that took it in January, kinda wild. The average for the test site is 177, which is... a bit sad ;-;

Hi everyone! 👋 I’m Yauheniya, the author of Chinese for Beginners: Practice Workbook. This book is designed for kids (6+) and adults taking their first steps into learning Chinese. It focuses on 50 of the simplest and most essential Chinese characters, complete with step-by-step stroke order guides, pinyin pronunciation, English meanings, and plenty of practice grids. To make learning fun and memorable, each character is paired with fascinating cultural facts and cute illustrations that act as visual mnemonics. The book is organized into 10 thematic sections to keep learning structured, and interactive exercises at the end of each section reinforce what you’ve learned. You can take a sneak peek at the content and layout by clicking the "Read Sample" button on the book’s page here: Chinese for Beginners: Practice Workbook on Amazon. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Does the book meet your needs as a beginner? Is there anything you’d like to see improved or added? Your feedback would mean so much to me as I work to make learning Chinese even more enjoyable for everyone. 😊

Hi all, I haven't been here for a very long time.... I find myself a bit out of the loop, so I thought I'd ask if anybody knows good websites to go to for Chinese music. My tastes are fairly broad, I listen to Cui Jian, Xu Wei, Tangchao, also much older stuff like Guo Lanying, or older still... My problem is that the non-Chinese websites I find to be rather weak for Chinese music, while the Chinese services I used to use just aren't there anymore....

I wonder if this is worth its own thread. It would be easier to bookmark and reference later, also easier to update as more materials are released.

You are a diamond. Thank you for compiling this!

I'm proud to say that I've officially passed the HSK5! I'm quite surprised with my scores, I didn't expected to score so high considering 1 month ago I thought the HSK5 was an impossible barrier to cross. The writing score sucked, but that was expected, there was 1 word on the 5 words exercise that I forgot how to write even though I knew what it was (勇敢 - never forgetting it again!). Spent most of my time of the writing section panicking and bruteforcing the poor pinyin keyboard 😂 so my writing was all over the place hahaha. Can't see the full test stats since I don't think the result is officially out yet, I just accidentally bumped into this on the website Pretty happy with it though! I did around 30 days of exam prep along with some INSANE Anki cramming, I was adding 2 new chapters of the HSK5 textbook to anki every day. Contrary to what I see online, I also think that prepping for the HSK definitely helped my Chinese, I don't think the reading section was too different from a lot of stuff I deal with everyday. It helped me bridge a lot of gaps in my knowledge I didn't knew I had and solidify some other concepts that I kinda grasped but weren't really solid before. I expected to score high in 阅读, but 80 in 听力 was a good surprise too!

Sorry For the delayed response; my emaial was not working. They are together but still in Chongqing. So Yanshi is far from home, but not Nianhen. Thanks for your help with this knotty sentence.

please advise on translation

HELLO, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE ARTIST AND WHAT THE WORDING MEANS ON THE ATTACHED FRAMED PICTURE. I HAVE INCLUDED A PHOTE AND WILL SEND MORE ONCE I GET A RESPONSE. i AM LIMIED TO WHAT I CAN ATTACH AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. RICHARD ZARCONE

Hanzi Popup is your ultimate companion for learning Chinese while browsing in Safari in iOS. Simply hover over or tap on Chinese characters to view pinyin, definitions and much more. Features Instant Character Lookup Pinyin Annotation Colored Hanzi & Pinyin Simplified and Traditional Character Conversion Zhuyin Support Popup Dictionary Customization Auto-Save Words Export Word Lists Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, Hanzi Popup makes learning Chinese immersive, fun, and efficient. Perfect for students, travelers, and language enthusiasts alike. Download Hanzi Popup Safari Extension now and transform your browser into a dynamic learning tool! How to use this app? - In Settings, go to Safari > Extensions > Hanzi Popup, and toggle it to Allow Extension. - In Safari, tap the button at the bottom of the toolbar, enable the extension, and activate the dictionary for seamless use. Page refresh may required for using it first time.

Agree. Once settled in your network, it’s hard to move out. Beginning meaning within four months. Really depends on your workplace environment and the people. A dentist tends to have more regular work hours, so attending lessons before or after work during weekdays is workable, especially with an online class option. At work, in a quiet moment, it’s always easy to ask someone to read a sentence out so that you get some reinforcement from the lesson. Workplace jargon tends to come up frequently enough to learn it in a natural setting. However, if the working language is mainly English amongst colleagues themselves, then progress will be slow. Perhaps the dental assistant will become a surrogate teacher.

I think he studied different editions and basically compiled his own edition for the purpose of his translation, and he did this so well that 'his' edition was later published in Chinese as well, to acclaim. But yes, I think he explained at least some of this in his foreword(s). (Am too lazy to check at the moment.)

Doesn't Hawkes (and/or Minford) tell you what texts he used in his introduction? Seem to recall he/they did.

If I am correct, you are looking for a list of every Chinese edition of the book. If this is the case, you are going to find the task difficult to complete. The answer you are looking for is here: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI1MzAxNDQ5Mg==&mid=2658753267&idx=1&sn=9a30f6827e4b2e7ffc6e9f76ca6ec8a5&chksm=f2570240c5208b561cc976ce1198167e74d213521b7ae5850423f6b8cf6f5118d3957b7902fb&scene=27 However, I'm afraid if you don't know zhongliu chubanshe is 中流出版社, processing the list is going to be pretty difficult and I'm not sure how many of us here have the time to help you out with such a project.

I cannot recommend LTL Taipei enough! I’ve come back twice to study group classes and each time I had such amazing teachers. They care about your learning and the course material is great. It’s not the kind of school that makes you memorize for a test and then you forget everything after! Additionally, if you’ve never been to Taipei before or you’re travelling alone (that was me before) — LTL has such a great community and I was able to feel at home in a new country because of them! If you have the opportunity to go — DO IT!!

Hello, I came across your message, and I share your interest in moving to China to expand my professional career as a dentist. Like you, I don’t speak Mandarin yet, but I’m also considering learning it as part of this exciting journey. I completely agree with your idea of targeting dental chains that cater to expats—it seems like a practical entry point while we work on improving our language skills. Perhaps we can collaborate and exchange ideas to develop a strategy for navigating this transition. I’ve been doing some research on licensing requirements, job opportunities, and networking in China, and I’m happy to share what I’ve learned so far. Having WeChat set up is a great start; it’s the key tool for professional networking in China. If you’d like, we can connect on WeChat or even discuss how to approach HR contacts effectively without any missteps. Let me know if you’re interested in brainstorming together. I think we could both benefit from pooling our knowledge and supporting each other in this process. Looking forward to hearing from you! Kind regards,

Hello everyone, I'm writing my thesis topic on Story of the Stone (Honglou Meng) and I'm having a difficult time figuring out all the different editions. I found a physical copy dated 1979 which I believe is called the "zhongliu chubanshe" although though writers rarely provide the Chinese characters, so I don't know what that means. I've also used Chinese Text project (https://ctext.org/hongloumeng) but the website also doesn't tell me which version it is and it doesn't exactly match my physical copy. Finally, when I read the David Hawkes translation it doesn't seem to match either my physical copy or the online edition, and I can't figure out which edition Hawkes was using either. I'm pretty confused. Anyone with greater Chinese knowledge know how to figure these things out? thanks.

Letting this through because it does sound like it can be of interest to people here, but @BookGhost, you should really be transparent about this in fact being your own book you're recommending.

This new book may be exactly what the op's friend was looking for, some months ago: Twenty-Nine Goodbyes: An Introduction to Chinese Poetry. In the vein of Eliot Weinberger's Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei, it is described as: "An engrossing, witty introduction to classical Chinese poetry through twenty-nine translations of a single poem." "This lively, accessible, and often funny introduction will enlighten newcomers and scholars alike."---Anna Shields, Princeton University "Critically acute and compulsively readable, Twenty-Nine Goodbyes offers an illuminating introduction to Chinese poetry and poetics through the shifting lens of translation. . . all conveyed in a vibrant, colloquial teacherly voice. Readers will close this book with a sense of parting from a newly found old friend."---David Damrosch, Harvard University

The test that I took was just an unofficial mock by a teacher who has lots of experience with ACTFL, but the actual exam and the certificate that it would provide is very well recognized in the US. I believe even some states require it for teachers of a particular language. I took this mock for personal feedback as I prepare for the real exam. No issues understanding the interviewer, but that’s because I’m comfortable with her accent as she’s from Taiwan. If I had an examiner from the mainland in the real test, I imagine it would be slightly harder. Roughly 10 years learning, although I’ve never gone to a class, and 9 of those years were spent living in mainland China and Taiwan.

Thanks for this great writeup. Is this test recognised by employers or universities or is this largely for personal feedback? The questions do not sound too technical (eg related to current events like Israel-Gaza etc). Did you feel comfortable understanding the interviewer or was it challenging nevertheless? The feedback on fluency as defined as impromptu speaking is a bit dubious imo. You can be very fluent but still pause to gather your thoughts or even to consider which words or way of phrasing fits best. I would see the latter as a strength. Well done anyway. How long have you been studying and/or living in Zh/Tw?

I recently discovered the ACTFL OPI exam, which is a speaking exam for many popular languages, including Mandarin. The Exam The ACTFL OPI is a proctored phone call lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. There is also an OPIc (computerized exam) but I know nothing about it and am not interested. ACTFL, if you were not familiar already, consists of 11 levels, from Novice to Distinguished, although the OPI (speaking) exam only goes up to Superior (CEFR C2). Why ACTFL OPI is Better than TOCFL Speaking and HSKK The reason this exam stands out to me as having some value, is that unlike the TOCFL band C exam and the HSKK Advanced exam, the ACTFL OPI exam does not require you to read any questions, therefore your speaking grade is not held back by your reading ability. For me personally, this is a big sell, because with the TOCFL, I have been limited to level 4 (CEFR B2), despite my actual speaking ability being somewhere between C1 and C2, purely because my reading ability is still stuck at around B2. I want to get some kind of certificate to prove my C1/C2 speaking proficiency, and until I can improve my reading, the ACTFL OPI exam is my best shot. Mock Exams There are no official ACTFL OPI mock exams, as far as I know, but there are some Chinese teachers who have been trained in the ACTFL standard who offer unofficial mock exams. I found one such teacher on a website called Cafetalk. I don’t know if she is comfortable with me posting her link directly here, but if you search for “ACTFL Chinese” on the site, you will find her. She is extremely knowledgeable about ACTFL, so I highly recommend her if you want to do a mock test. My Mock Exam In my exam, we spoke for the full 30 minutes at least, and I think it was actually more like 45 minutes. I have heard that this can happen in the real exam too. With ACTFL OPI, the questions get harder and harder until the examiner thinks you aren’t able to answer anymore and then the test ends, so the longer the test goes on for, the higher result you are likely to get. There were two parts of the exam that were particularly hard and memorable: In one question, somewhere around the middle of the session, after I had mentioned that Taiwan’s summer is too hot to do many activities, she asked me what the government could do to cool Taiwan down. This question kind of stumped me, purely because I couldn’t think of any reasonable solution for bringing down Taiwan’s temperature… In the end, I talked a bit about the typical ways governments abroad are trying to stop global warming, e.g., adoption of EVs, and then went on to explain why many of these are not suitable for Taiwan. Another question involved me explaining a recent news event that caught my attention, and I happily explained the UK’s recent election and how the electoral system works (or should I say doesn’t work!) there. That was easy, but her follow up question was a bit of a bigger challenge: roleplaying. I had to pretend that I was a politician who just won a seat in my local constituency and give a 3 minute victory speech to my constituents. I managed to do the whole 3 minutes, but stoping to think about what I actually wanted to say to my imaginary constituents probably hurt my score a little. Ultimately, I think I could have answered this one better, and roleplaying is definitely something I need to practice before I do the real exam. The next day (today), she got back to me with the feedback on the mock exam: Now I know where I stand and where to improve, I plan on practicing a lot and then taking the real ACTFL OPI exam sometime in the next few months, with the aim to get Advanced High (C1). Has anyone else taken the ACTFL OPI exam? If so, how did it go and what advice do you have for those taking it for the first time?

The 成全 should be read with the sense of achieving their union as a couple here, I'd say; especially given the preceding bit about the war going on until they both grow old. You can see the parallelism between 沦亡 and 沦落, though must admit I'm a bit confused by why they're supposed to be at 天涯 - aren't they together in Shanghai at this point? So it's something like, "she'd hoped the war would just keep going on, right on until she and Yanshi had both grown old; the territory lost by the country a price she would happily pay for keeping together two lost souls far from home." As I say, the 天涯 bit isn't too clear to me here and I've glossed a bit extra with the price she's happy to pay, but that's the sense.

A quick summary of the resources available for the HSK 3.0 that I'm aware of (which I've been following closely for years) : Vocabulary 《词汇速记速练手册》 for levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7-9上, 7-9下. Chengyu 《成语学习手册》. Grammar 《语法学习手册》 for 初、中、高. Handwriting 《汉字书写手册》 for 初、中、高. Dictionary 《国际中文学习词典》 for levels 1-3 (初) and 4-6 (中). Note the paper 《国际中文学习词典：初阶》释义指误 by 陶炼 which points out inaccuracies in the 初 dictionary. The new WoHuiMandarin app. HSKMock includes exams for HSK7-9. The HSK7-9 preparation book 《汉语水平考试HSK(七—九级)全真模拟题集》; Mark Havemann posted translations and links to the audio here. Mega Mandarin's Anki deck. There's a whole bunch of github pages and Anki decks with vocabulary and characters, often with a peppering of minor errors (like OCR errors, and inconsistent treatment of 儿 suffixes and entries like 爸 | 爸爸, and duplicate words). I'm not aware of any textbooks akin to the HSK Standard Course but for the HSK 3.0 syllabus. I've made YouTube videos about the books I've bought: Vocab level 5, level 6, levels 7-9, grammar (高 advanced), chengyu, and the new HSK7-9 prep book. I have an old one using the WoHuiMandarin app too.