Yiwen’s Chinese School, based in Amsterdam West, provides customized Chinese lessons to adults and children. Yiwen’s Chinese School biedt op maat gemaakte Chinese les aan volwassenen en kinderen. "Yiwen is a great and lovely teacher. She has a very personal approach, which makes learning Chinese easier and more fun! Furthermore, she provides you with all… Continue reading Testimonials
How to say “YES” in Mandarin?
It seems to be a rather easy question: How to say YES in Mandarin? However, the truth is, learners struggle with it. Why? Because there are too many translational equivalent of "YES" in Mandarin Chinese but they actually fit into different situations. This article, thus, will first list the "YES"s and the corresponding circumstances under… Continue reading How to say “YES” in Mandarin?
Tones, the first challenge!
Tones Mandarin Chinese is a tonal languages like a lot of other Chinese languages. There are 4 tones and a neutral tone in Mandarin (Cantonese has 6-9!). I call them highway, surprise, roller-coaster and chopping. The first tone is like going down a highway. It is flat and always stay at 5. The second tone… Continue reading Tones, the first challenge!
Chinese? Mandarin? What am I learning?
You might be confused when you constantly hear "Chinese" and "Mandarin" interchangeably. What are the difference between these two terms? Are they referring to the same language? Chinese is a general concept that refers to all the languages spoken in China. As you can see from the map of dialects in China, people from different… Continue reading Chinese? Mandarin? What am I learning?
Yiwen's Chinese School 