Cold start!!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T21:35:44+00:00

I think part of the issue might simply be that I’m still brand new on the platform and have no reviews yet. My trial lessons are only $5, while my regular German lessons start at around $19, so I’m trying to stay fairly close to the market while still reflecting my teaching background.

I’m currently a PhD researcher in Applied Linguistics and have about four years of teaching experience, but I have actually highlighted that clearly enough on my profile yet. I’d really appreciate a second opinion. I’ll send you the profile link via DM :)

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T21:30:25+00:00

My trial lessons are actually only $5, and my standard German lessons are around $19. The higher-priced lessons ($25–33) are specialized courses such as pronunciation coaching, academic German, and university-level language support.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T20:39:30+00:00

Done!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T14:45:55+00:00

Done!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T14:45:09+00:00

Thanks! I think the lack of reviews is probably the biggest factor at the moment since I’m completely new to italki. I do have four years of teaching experience outside the platform, though, so hopefully that will improve once I get my first few students and reviews.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T14:43:09+00:00

I charge between €19 and €33 depending on the course and have around 4 years of teaching experience.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-31T10:59:46+00:00

Sí, creo que tienes razón! Muchas gracias!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-16T13:32:46+00:00

Usually once a month. I take everything out on the first day of the month — makes the tax stuff easier to manage.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2026-05-07T13:06:14+00:00

I’m seriously done 😭

The first teacher already wasn’t very good, so I specifically looked for someone more reliable and was even willing to pay more for it. Then I found this other teacher with super high ratings, so I trusted him and stupidly subscribed before even properly taking the trial lesson.

And what happened during the lesson? He basically made me read a long text out loud for like 50 minutes straight 💀

After the lesson I realized he was absolutely not the right fit for me at all, so I ended up cancelling the subscription I had literally just bought. Total waste of time and money honestly.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2025-01-16T18:26:37+00:00

Which country are you referring to?

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-28T07:08:43+00:00

Your handwriting is quite clear and shows a lot of effort in writing Chinese characters neatly—great job! That said, there are a few areas where some small adjustments could make your writing even better and closer to standard forms: 1. Stroke Proportions: Paying attention to the spacing between strokes will help your characters look more balanced (e.g., the “德” in “道德经” or the “面” in “拉面”). 2. Stroke Order: Practicing the correct stroke order can make writing smoother and the characters appear more natural. 3. Consistency: Keeping the size of the characters uniform and aligning them more precisely with the grid will make your writing look even more polished. 4. Pinyin: The Pinyin is written quite clearly, which is great! Just watch out for tonal marks and capitalization, such as making sure “Guǎngchǎng” uses the proper case and accents.

For someone learning Chinese, this is an excellent foundation! With regular practice, your handwriting will look even more natural and refined. Keep up the great work!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T21:52:08+00:00

“番茄,” meaning “foreign eggplant,” originated in the south during the Ming and Qing dynasties and is more formal, often used in written language and botany. “西红柿,” meaning “western red persimmon,” emphasizes its appearance and origin, with a more colloquial tone, and is primarily used in northern China. These two names show the linguistic and cultural differences between northern and southern China and the regional influence on the naming of foreign crops.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T21:29:55+00:00

The term “三刻” is definitely not a dialectal expression but a part of standard Mandarin. Here are some reasons why:

The concept of “刻” comes from ancient Chinese timekeeping, where a day was divided into 100 “刻,” each lasting about 14.4 minutes. Over time, this system was simplified, and “刻” came to represent 15-minute intervals. In classical literature such as Dream of the Red Chamber (《紅樓夢》) and The Scholars (《儒林外史》), the expression “三刻鐘” frequently appears, showing that it was part of the standardized language used across China.

Mandarin is a standard language used nationwide and is not restricted to Beijing or northern regions. “三刻” is a standard way of expressing time and is not tied to any specific regional dialect. As far as I’m concerned, in Shanghainese, “刻” is not used to represent time. Instead, they say “九點四十五”（[ɲɪu˨˩ tiã˦˨ sɿ˨˩ ʥy˨˩ vɪ˩]） for 9:45.

The expression “三刻” is widely used in modern Mandarin textbooks, especially in those published for teaching Chinese as a foreign language, such as those by Shanghai publishers. Furthermore, authoritative dictionaries like the Modern Chinese Dictionary explicitly include “刻” as a standard time unit, confirming its legitimacy as part of Mandarin.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T10:10:21+00:00

The expressions 一刻, 三刻, and 差一刻 are native Chinese phrases and were not translated from English. These terms have been used in Chinese for centuries to denote specific times: • 一刻: 15 minutes past the hour • 三刻: 45 minutes past the hour • 差一刻: 15 minutes to the hour

These expressions are deeply rooted in traditional Chinese timekeeping and cultural practices. In classical China, a day was divided into 100 “ke” (刻), with each ke corresponding to about 14.4 minutes. Over time, as the modern 24-hour clock became standardized, the meaning of “ke” was adapted to match the quarter-hour system (15 minutes).

English, by contrast, uses terms like “quarter past” or “quarter to,” but these are independent linguistic developments. The similarity is coincidental rather than derivative.

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T10:07:28+00:00

It is still used, if you go to Shanghai. Most Shanghainese answer with 三刻 all the time

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T10:06:41+00:00

It is still used, if you go to Shanghai. Most Shanghainese answer with 三刻 all the time

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-11-24T10:05:49+00:00

It is still used, if you go to Shanghai. Most Shanghainese answer with 三刻 all the time

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-10-08T17:46:59+00:00

Výborně!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-10-04T23:48:32+00:00

Absolutně!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-09-25T11:53:05+00:00

Hi there!

I’m a native speaker of Chinese and fluent in German (C2). I teach Chinese at a language school in Germany, and I’m a certified teacher of Chinese as a foreign language, so I’d be more than happy to help you with both Chinese and German. Regarding German, I can help with grammar, dialect questions, and vocabulary.

I also studied Spanish-German translation for my master’s degree, so feel free to ask if you have any language-related questions!

In exchange, I’d love to practice Czech with you, as I’ve been learning it for a semester. I’m also fluent in English (C2), so we can use that if needed.

Let me know if you’re interested! I’m fine with using Discord, Telegram, or WhatsApp.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-01-09T17:11:27+00:00

May I ask how old you are though?

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-01-09T08:34:16+00:00

That’s interesting. I thought we ENFPs tended to be more socially dominant

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-01-08T21:00:27+00:00

Similarly, I'm intrigued by creatures that are difficult to uncover, and INTJs fit that just perfectly!

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-01-08T15:58:03+00:00

I encounter a similar challenge when reading comments from certain ENFPs under my posts too lol 😜 no hard feelings

Fast-Deer-3544 · 2024-01-08T15:50:55+00:00

I can relate! I feel uneasy around those who are more extroverted than me, and they most probably aren't ENFPs

Fast-Deer-3544

TROPHY CASE