上shàng  means up, on top of  and above, e.g.  上shàng 午wŭ above the noon. Therefore it is ‘morning‘.

下xià means down, under and below, e.g.下xià 午wŭ below the noon. Therefore, it is ‘afternoon‘.

Both of them can be verbs too, which mean (1) ascend and descend respectively, 上shàng 山shān going up to the mountain and 下xià 山shān going down the mountain; 上shàng 楼lóu going up stairs and 下xià 楼lóu going down stairs, for example. However, 楼lóu 上shàng is upstairs and 楼lóu 下xià is downstairs. (more…)

你nǐ 好hăo！Hello!

好hăo is one of the most used characters in Chinese. It means good/ nice, for example, 好hăo 人rén (good person)  好hăo 事shì (a good thing/ matter/ event), 你nǐ 好hăo！is literally, ‘you good/ well!’ It actually doesn’t mean ‘hello’ at all. 你nǐ 好hăo 吗mā ？is literally, ‘Are you good/ well?’  This is how Chinese people say hello to each other. Traditionally, when Chinese people greeted each other they asked “have you eaten?”(吃chī 饱băo 没méi ？). Times have changed. Nowadays friends are not so concerned about whether you have had enough food rather they are concerned about your health. However, you can still hear older people ask if  you have eaten at anytime of the day. (The answer by the way is always ‘YES’!!! 吃chī 饱băo 了le ！) (more…)

The way Chinese talk about time can be confusing for English speakers. Here are some pointers to help you visualize time the Chinese way.

Most people at the beginning stages of learning Chinese get muddled up with the parts of the day (morning, afternoon and evening). See if this helps you to remember. For Chinese people time goes from top to bottom, therefore morning is ‘above noon – 上shàng 午wŭ ‘ and afternoon is ‘ under noon – 下xià 午wŭ ‘. The way I like to think of it is like sand in an hour glass going down.

(more…)