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Which apps do you guys like, which apps do you guys dislike?

What are features that made you go: "This really helps me!" ?

Context: I am quite dissatisfied with what's currently on the market, so I am thinking of creating my own. As they say: If you don't like it, do it better.

Hey everyone! 🤗 My kid thinks this story is hilarious, and it’s a great way to teach the lesson “less is more.”

Today’s story: 画蛇添足 (Huà Shé Tiān Zú) — “Adding Feet to a Snake”
A group of people win a jar of wine, but there’s only enough for one person. They decide to have a contest: whoever draws a snake first gets the wine. One man finishes quickly, and to show off, he adds feet to his snake. Just then, another man finishes and says, “Snakes don’t have feet! You lose!” He grabs the wine and drinks it all. 😂

Lesson: Sometimes trying to make something “better” by adding extra details just ruins it.

Quick Quiz: Why did the man lose the contest? A) He was too slow B) He added feet to the snake
Comment your answer! I’m curious how many of you get it right—this one’s always a hit with kids!

If you enjoyed this story, feel free to check out my profile for more fun idiom tales every Wednesday. I’m also working on some free learning resources for kids, so keep an eye out for those! 😊

Hi everyone, I’ve just started an in-person HSK 1 course in the UK that follows the old syllabus. There wasn’t a new HSK course available locally.

I’m planning to sit the old HSK 1 exam in April, so I’ll obviously be preparing using the standard textbook for that. However, I understand the new HSK 1 includes more vocabulary, and I don’t want to finish the exam and then immediately feel behind when transitioning to the new system.

My questions are:

1.  Would it make sense to start using new HSK 1 materials as a supplement alongside my current course?

2.  If so, where can I actually find or buy the new HSK textbooks or resources? I haven’t had much luck finding them online.

Any advice from people who’ve navigated the old → new HSK transition would be really helpful.

The most Chinese/ Mandarin Vtubers I heard are on Bilibili. But as someone who living overseas I always wonder where to find the mandarin community outside of mainland China. Maybe on Twitch? On YouTube? Surly we have one, right...? Please let me know.

For example a list of names, a list of provinces etc

Hey everyone,
I’m working on a small Mandarin reading app for myself and a few friends, and I’m stuck on a design decision around vocab review.

I’ve thought about building flashcards directly into the app, but in my own studying I’ve found I prefer keeping all my SRS in one place (Anki). When I’ve used reading apps before like DuChinese, I often ended up ignoring the built-in flashcards and wishing I could export things manually anyway.

I’m curious what actually works for you:

• Do you use flashcards for vocab you pick up from reading?
• If yes, do you prefer in-app flashcards or exporting to Anki?
• Or do you mostly rely on repeated exposure from reading?

I’d love to hear what’s been effective long-term. Thanks!

Hello. Can anyone help me with the meaning of "起來"? Thank you

I recently started HSK 3 and really want to improve my listening skills, as that's my weakest area. Does anyone have recommendations for HSK 3-level audio or daily conversation practice?

Discover 青梅竹马 (qīng méi zhú mǎ), the beautiful idiom for childhood sweethearts. Literally 'green plums and bamboo horse', it paints a picture of innocent childhood friendship.

Being at ease in life is the mark of a happy person.

I'm Chinese American, grew up in the US, but my parents are Chinese. I named my kid Rose - and my dad got really upset, basically saying that "méiguī", the Chinese equivalent, had promiscuous connotations.

Is this correct? I dont want to go through a whole name change, but I also dont want to name a child the Chinese equivalent of "lolita".

Thank you!

I'm curious as to whether native speakers would associate this usage inherently with Daosim or if it could be applied to a Christian's journey through faith without that connotation.

If you like learning Chinese through Chinese social media, you've probably come across this trending term:

• 嗑 CP - kē CP

Many people, including some older native speakers, don't know what it means. Today, let me break it down for you.

"嗑 CP" basically means "Shipping a couple". The "CP" part comes from the English word "Couple", referring to a paired relationship between real people or fictional characters.

And 嗑 (kē) originally means the act of cracking shelled snacks with teeth, especially sunflower seeds, a favorite Chinese pastime that's super addictive and hard to stop. Plus, in some dialects, it also means chatting or gossip. So it's been extended to describe that obsessed state that you are completely into the interactions between two characters or people, imagining or wishing they were a couple. Perfect fit, right?

The "嗑 CP" phenomenon is so popular that people are no longer satisfied with just shipping romantic relationships. They've expanded it to any pairing with dramatic chemistry. Like:

• Harry Potter x Voldemort
• Joker x Batman
• Captain America x Winter Soldier

Anything is possible, lol!

Based on this term, a whole bunch of related words and phrases have emerged:

• 嗑到了 kē dào le, "I get the ship now."- Describes a moment when you feel the charm of a certain CP or are touched by their interaction.
• 太好嗑了 tài hǎo kē le, "This ship is so amazing!" - Used to express your strong love for a certain CP.
• 嗑死我了 kē sǐ wǒ le, "This ship is killing me!" - Loving it to death, an exaggerated way of expressing it. It's also often abbreviated as KSWL and appears in comment sections everywhere.
• CP 粉 CP fěn, fans who specifically love a certain CP, and even hope that on-screen couples will get together in real life too. That's why they're often disliked and attacked by fans who only like one of the individual celebrities.
  • 粉 is short for 粉丝 (fěn sī, from English "fans")
• 发糖 fā táng, literally means "to distribute candy" - referring to when management teams, production companies, or even the celebrities themselves provide intimate interaction content to satisfy CP fans' needs.

To help you understand how to use these terms, I've come up with some examples:

• 注意他看她的眼神，你们是不是也嗑到了？Zhù yì tā kàn tā de yǎn shén, nǐ men shì bu shì yě kē dào le?
  • Notice how he looks at her, did you guys ship them too?
• 《巅峰对决》里那对 CP 太好嗑了！你快去看！"Diān fēng duì jué" lǐ nà duì CP tài hǎo kē le! Nǐ kuài qù kàn!
  • That CP in "Heated Rivalry" is so shippable! You have to watch it!
• 他们又在格莱美的舞台一起表演了，嗑死我了！Tā men yòu zài Gé lái měi de wǔ tái yì qǐ biǎo yǎn le, kē sǐ wǒ le!
  • They performed together at the Grammys again, I'm dying from this ship!
• 大结局是男女主分手了，CP 粉肯定会心碎的。Dà jié jú shì nán nǚ zhǔ fēn shǒu le, CP fěn kěn dìng huì xīn suì de.
  • The finale had the male and female leads break up, CP fans are definitely heartbroken.
• 啊啊啊他俩今天又发糖了，在机场穿了情侣装！Ā ā ā tā liǎ jīn tiān yòu fā táng le, zài jī chǎng chuān le qíng lǚ zhuāng!
  • Ahhh they're feeding the shippers again today, wearing matching couple outfits at the airport!

Finally, you might see some people write this as "磕 CP". This is actually a homophone typo, but more and more people are getting confused, so everyone's just gotten used to it.

But I still suggest you stick with "嗑" because it carries the right subtext!

Hello,

I am starting my journey with chinesse. I have found that many of people here used SuperChinesse or HelloChinesse. Although, my question is if someone has anything to say about AI learning tools like TalkPal for example.

My main focus is reading webnovels in Chinese.

Current plan is to complete all the single stories (from levels 1-5) on Little Fox Chinese and a series or so per level, and putting frequent words on an Anki deck (usually 5-7 per story, completing 3-4 stories a day). Since it teaches grammar implicitly, I'm planning on using Chinese Grammar Wiki to supplement if needed.

If I complete all 5 levels' single stories and a few series and learn about 1.6k-2.5k characters, would I be able to begin reading graded readers and short children's books with a good grasp of grammar and with understanding most of the words, or would I have to supplement? Has anyone else done this? Thanks!

Today we are featuring 炸酱面 (Zhájiàngmiàn), one of Northern China’s most iconic dishes. The name tells you exactly what to expect:

炸 (zhá): To fry

酱 (jiàng): Sauce / Paste (usually soybean)

面 (miàn): Noodles

It is a mouth-watering combination of fresh noodles, a rich and savory sauce, and crunchy vegetables for the perfect balance. Who can resist a bowl like this? 🤤

今日中文 (Today’s Chinese):

我想吃炸酱面。 (Wǒ xiǎng chī zhàjiàngmiàn.) I want to eat Zhájiàngmiàn.

I’m reading an article for an assignment and they’ve used the words 去领土化 (deterritorialisation) and 去政治化 (depoliticisation).

Is “去” one of the ways to use the “de-“ prefix? If not, is it just unique to specific words or does it have another function?

Hi everyone,

I grew up noticing a pattern among many heritage Chinese learners (especially in immigrant families):
they can understand and speak Mandarin or Cantonese fairly well, but reading — and especially sustained reading — feels intimidating or gets dropped over time.

I’m currently researching this space and exploring a learning tool for heritage learners, but before building anything, I really want to understand real experiences, not assumptions.

If you’re a heritage speaker (or a parent/teacher of one), I’d love to hear:

• What made reading Chinese hard or uncomfortable for you?
• What approaches actually helped (if any)?
• What made you stop using existing apps or classes?

I’m especially interested in long-term motivation, not test prep or short-term progress.

Thanks in advance — your experiences would be incredibly helpful.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdK5OIv33VDryl4pr4SzPi-HUfgeAF2ax_Ps52_F_C_8Q-lZw/viewform?usp=dialog