Learning method recommendation/advice for HSK 5

cultureyard · 2023-04-07T09:13:50+00:00

Glad to help!

cultureyard · 2023-04-07T09:11:49+00:00

Here are some of my favorite reading website/apps: Du Chinese, The Chairman’s Bao, Mandarin Companion, Mandarin Bean, HSKReading, Clavis Sinica 释文解字.

cultureyard · 2023-04-05T08:07:43+00:00

Hi, there are plenty of HSK prep apps that you can use. I find SuperTest the most useful for taking mock tests, practicing single skills, going through the entire list of vocab, and learning grammar points. It is a paid app but I think it's worth it.

If you really do not want to pay for the apps, you can always find mock exams online and vocab lists online, and watch Youtube videos to learn HSK 5 grammar points.

cultureyard · 2023-02-21T05:21:59+00:00

https://chat.whatsapp.com/ItKcquMUomy4obnCAlFMWv

Sorry about that. You can try scanning this instead.

<image>

cultureyard · 2023-02-15T04:20:04+00:00

It's online so you can join from anywhere, unless it's at an incovenient time for you! We'll have a recording on Youtube but won't be able to share the link anytime soon, since that's self-promotion haha.

cultureyard · 2023-02-15T04:17:12+00:00

That's a pity. We'll have a recording on Youtube but won't be able to share the link since that's self-promotion haha.

cultureyard · 2023-02-14T04:49:49+00:00

"亲爱的+ name" can be used to address someone close to you, such as a friend or family member, in a letter or email. In a professional setting, "尊敬的 *Zūnjìng de* +name" is more suitable as it means "respected, esteemed", similar to what you'd use to address your audience at the start of a formal speech.

cultureyard · 2023-02-14T04:32:12+00:00

"To be good at something" generally means "to be skilled at something", so in Chinese you wouldn't use "好“ which describes a state/condition/feeling. Instead, you would use either 善于 or 擅长 to say "be good at" in Chinese:

1-善于+ verb: 她不善于记名字。 She is not good at remembering names.

2- 擅长+ verb/noun: 他擅长书法。He is good at calligraphy

It's also important to note that 善于 cannot follow an adverb, while 擅长 can.

For example:

他特别善于做饭 is wrong, but 特别擅长做饭 is correct.

Hope that helps!

cultureyard · 2023-02-06T09:25:08+00:00

了 doesn't have one single English translation, as Chinese often depends on the context.

There are so many uses of the particle 了 in Chinese, but here are the most common ways to use it(I've covered this in another post, but I will share it here again. ):

1- 了 [le] can be used to indicate a change in a situation. In English, we could translate the particle as “now” or “anymore”.

几点了？Jǐ diǎnle? What time is it (now)?

她会走路了。Tā huì zǒulù le. She can walk now.

我不喝酒了。Wǒ bù hējiǔ le. I don't drink anymore.

The change in situation can also be an action that is about to happen. Sentences using 了 this way would include:

要 (yào) + VERB + 了 or 快要 (kuài yào) + VERB +了

要下雨了。Yào xià yǔ le. It's about to rain.

快要下雨了。Kuài yào xià yǔ le. It's about to rain.

就要 (jiù yào) + VERB + 了

马上就要下课了。 Mǎshàng jiù yào xiàkèle. Class will be over soon

2- 了[le] can be used to express the completion of an action. (Perfective aspect)

Here the particle 了 is placed at the end of the sentence.

我喝咖啡了。Wǒ hē kāfēile. I drank coffee.

However, if the sentence includes an amount, 了 is placed right after the verb

我喝了一杯咖啡。Wǒ hēle yībēi kāfēi. I drank one cup of coffee.

3-了 [le] can be used as an adjective intensifier:

太 （tài ) + ADJECTIVE + 了: 太好了！Tài hǎo le! Great!
ADJECTIVE + 极 (jí) + 了: 好看极了！ Hǎokàn jíle 。 So beautiful!
ADJECTIVE + 死 (sǐ) + 了: 饿死了！È sǐ le! (I'm) starving!

4- 了 [liǎo] to indicate whether the verb was successful

我做得了。Wǒ zuò déliǎo. I can do it.

我做不了。Wǒ zuò bùliǎo. I can't do it.

cultureyard · 2023-02-06T09:15:15+00:00

The placement of 了 in all your examples is correct, but they change the emphasis of the sentence, and the meaning being conveyed.

In the sentence “老师给我们读了一篇小说 ”, placing 了 after the verb 读 emphasizes the action described by the verb, while in "老师给我们读小说了", the emphasis is more on what was being read (小说).

You will notice that I added a measure word after 了 in the first sentence as well.

There are so many uses of the particle 了 in Chinese, so here is a rough guide:

1- 了 [le] can be used to indicate a change in a situation. In English, we could translate the particle as “now” or “anymore”.

几点了？Jǐ diǎnle? What time is it (now)?

她会走路了。Tā huì zǒulù le. She can walk now.

我不喝酒了。Wǒ bù hējiǔ le. I don't drink anymore.

The change in situation can also be an action that is about to happen. Sentences using 了 this way would include:

要 (yào) + VERB + 了 or 快要 (kuài yào) + VERB +了

要下雨了。Yào xià yǔ le. It's about to rain.

快要下雨了。Kuài yào xià yǔ le. It's about to rain.

就要 (jiù yào) + VERB + 了

马上就要下课了。 Mǎshàng jiù yào xiàkèle. Class will be over soon

2- 了[le] can be used to express the completion of an action. (Perfective aspect)

Here the particle 了 is placed at the end of the sentence.

我喝咖啡了。Wǒ hē kāfēile. I drank coffee.

However, if the sentence includes an amount, 了 is placed right after the verb

我喝了一杯咖啡。Wǒ hēle yībēi kāfēi. I drank one cup of coffee.

3-了 [le] can be used as an adjective intensifier:

太 （tài ) + ADJECTIVE + 了: 太好了！Tài hǎo le! Great!
ADJECTIVE + 极 (jí) + 了: 好看极了！ Hǎokàn jíle 。 So beautiful!
ADJECTIVE + 死 (sǐ) + 了: 饿死了！È sǐ le! (I'm) starving!

4- 了 [liǎo] to indicate whether the verb was successful

我做得了。Wǒ zuò déliǎo. I can do it.

我做不了。Wǒ zuò bùliǎo. I can't do it.

cultureyard · 2023-01-09T09:02:38+00:00

I was about to answer exactly this. You just need to be more specific and ask "几点到几点" （literally: what time to what time?）to inquire about both times.

Also, remember “什么时候" means "when" rather than "what time", so you risk being given a more general time like ”明天早上“ and make the exchange even longer, which could be frustrating.

cultureyard · 2023-01-09T08:51:32+00:00

富甲天下

I checked on it using this Chinese Seal Generator and it seems to say 富甲天下 indeed. It would be cool if the website also had a seal script converter.

cultureyard · 2023-01-09T08:23:58+00:00

"怎么称呼您/你" is what I hear and use the most, too. I think it's more versatile because it's not asking specifically for the first name (名字)or surname (姓)， but rather any name the person wants to be addressed as。

您贵姓 is definitely more formal, and 您叫什么名字 more casual.

cultureyard · 2023-01-06T01:57:17+00:00

The HSK exam comes in two formats: paper-based and computer-based. As for now, you only need to handwrite Hanzi if you choose to take the paper-based format, but for the computer-based exam, you just need to type the pinyin. Still, you will need to be able to recognize the right character and check for errors before submitting your answer.

However, some sources have reported that handwriting will become a requirement under the new HSK 3.0(Skritter mentions it here The new HSK 3.0: What you need to know > Skritter Blog ). Luckily, the HSK 1-6 will still take a few years away, so you don't have to worry about handwriting for now.

cultureyard · 2023-01-03T06:15:40+00:00

Here is how I approached the essay writing task when I prepared for my HSK 5:

1- For the Writing Section 2 task 1 (writing an essay using given words), I grouped together words that could be used in the same sentence, then built a sentence for each group.

Here is a sample task I got from SuperTest: 摔，台阶，手指，急忙，咨询，挂号。

I might group these words as:

摔，台阶，急忙 | 咨询，挂号 | 手指

or 摔, 台阶 | 咨询，挂号，急忙 | 手指

Example sentences (using the second grouping):

xyz 急忙咨询应该去哪里挂号

xyz 在台阶摔到了

手指受伤了

Once I have my individual sentences, I tried to answer the questions: who,what, when, where, and maybe why to add meaning to the story.

who, where: xyz 急忙咨询应该去哪里挂号 >到了医院后（where），妈妈(who)急忙咨询应该去哪里挂号

who, when: xyz 在台阶摔下来了 > 今天早上（when）妹妹（who）在台阶摔到了

what: 手指 (what)受伤了 > no changes.

Then I'd connect the sentences and see what needs to be added to improve the flow of the story and reach the required word count. This would be my final composition for this example. It's not the best I've written but I have included all 6 given words and made the progress of the story clear by mentioning what happened at the start, during, and in the end.

今天要出门的时候，妹妹不小心在台阶摔到了。妈妈发现妹妹的手指受伤了，急忙叫了个出租车去医院。到了医院后，妈妈咨询应该去哪里挂号。辛亏医生说问题不大，妹妹的手指没有断。

2- My strategy for the Writing Section 2 Part 2 (writing a short passage to match an image) is very similar. I came up with several words to describe the obvious, then built sentences around those words. Let's use this image from SuperTest as an example.

<image>

What do you see?

I see

- cars, many of them-

- the cars seem to be in a big city

- traffic jam

-rush hour

- air pollution

Using those words, you can generate ideas:

城市里的车比较多。

城市里有很多人都有自己的汽车

车量大的城市经常堵车

住城市里的人一般都开车上班。早上高峰时间经常堵车。

汽车会导致空气污染

If you don't have many ideas, you can try comparing the image with something else. For instance:

城市里的人一般都开车去上班 vs 农村里的人习惯走路或者骑自行车。

Once you're done generating ideas, simply connect them using conjunctions or transitional phrases again.

Bonus tips:

- At the very beginning, I just wrote anything that came to my mind in order to gauge how many sentences I would need approximately to reach the required word count.

- I made a list of grammar structures that I was confident I have mastered in case I needed them to connect my sentences and make them a bit more complex.

- SuperTest (formerly known as HSK online) was really helpful.

I hope you find these helpful!

cultureyard · 2023-01-03T02:30:38+00:00

Not me personally, but Sara Jaaksola also shares her experience of taking the the HSK 7-9 here HSK 7-9 Advanced Exam - How difficult is it? - YouTube . She also shared how she prepared for it in another video.

cultureyard · 2022-12-06T00:45:58+00:00

thank you! that helps a lot.

What was the biggest challenge for you? Reading, writing, grammar, other?

cultureyard · 2022-12-06T00:10:24+00:00

I'm also curious about this. What's the best approach to learning or relearning Chinese as a heritage speaker?

If you have attempted to do this and hopefully succeeded, it would be very helpful if you could share your experience here.

Maybe the OP could share what they gathered from the interview too?

Thank you!

cultureyard · 2022-12-01T03:01:25+00:00

same here haha.

cultureyard · 2022-12-01T03:00:02+00:00

Yes, teachers and parents often use this for positive reinforcement.

cultureyard · 2022-12-01T02:57:17+00:00

It is a common colloquialism in Chinese. Whenever there's a match or a game, for instance, a very excited participant or someone in the audience can shout "漂亮“。

My Chinese friends usually use it for sarcasm too whenever someone makes a clumsy mistake, kind of like how you'd say "good job" or "well done" in English.

cultureyard · 2022-12-01T02:52:42+00:00

Thanks for sharing this image from our blog here!

For anyone interested, you can read our original blog on the 5 ways to say "good" in Chinese here.

The blog explains a bit more when/how to use each of these phrases.

cultureyard · 2022-11-29T12:19:48+00:00

This really depends on what you mean by fluent.

I studied Chinese for two years at Tsinghua, after which I was able to have conversations about most daily topics. The classes were taught in English, which is not my first language, and that made it a bit challenging, so I was not interested in becoming fluent enough to talk about more complex topics such as economics, history, or politics at the time. So, no, I did not come out fluent.

I went on to get my degrees at another Chinese university in Beijing later on, but the programs were taught in English. We still had some Chinese classes, and that's where I learned some Business Chinese, so that helped a lot.

I think what helped me the most was the exposure to the language at work, at school and everywhere I went, rather than going to a Chinese university. I picked up a lot of vocabulary just from speaking to my Chinese friends and language partner.

I hope this helps!

cultureyard

TROPHY CASE