Beginner Level 初级chūjí
What does the character "水(shuǐ)" mean?
     A. Rice
     B. Water
     C. Bread
     D. Fruit

Intermediate Level 中级 zhōngjí
What does the word "大蒜(dàsuàn)" mean?
     A. Potato
     B. Tomato
     C. Garlic
     D. Egg

Advanced Level 高级gāojí
What does the word "挂号(guàhào)" mean?
     A. Register
     B. Walk
     C. Shout
     D. Cry

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Listen to the song

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八卦(bāguà) gossip  

Origin of the Phrase
Yi Jing, also named The Book of Changes, says: "Yin and Yang form Tai Chi; Tai Chi forms two-stage; two-stage forms four-quadrant and four-quadrant forms Eight Diagrams." A founder of a gossip magazine in Hong Kong thinks that various gossip in the world are formed from what happened in the world, just like Yin and Yang breed Eight Diagrams. So the gossip magazine is named 八卦(bāguà).

Meaning of the Phrase
In 八卦(bāguà), 八(bā) means the number eight and 卦(guà) refers to divinatory trigram. But now, 八卦(bāguà) is widely used to refer to a kind of attitude or behavior where people are keen on asking, guessing, or gossiping upon others' private affairs. So the origin meaning of 八卦(bāguà) is used less often.

Usage of the Phrase
八卦(bāguà) can be used as noun, adjective and verb. For example:
(1) n. gossip
      e.g. 八卦新闻(bāguà xīnwén) gossip news
              八卦杂志(bāguà zázhì) gossip magazine
              八卦媒体(bāguà méitǐ) gossip media
(2) a. gossipy
      e.g. 她是个很八卦的人。
              Tā shì gè hěn bāguà de rén.
              She is very gossipy.
              别那么八卦！
              Bié nàme bāguà!
              Don’t be so gossipy!
(3) v. gossip∕spread rumors
      e.g. 她又要开始八卦了。
              Tā yòu yào kāishǐ bāguà le.
              She will start to gossip right now.
              这人没事儿就爱八卦。
              Zhè rén méi shìér jiù ài bāguà.
              This person is keen on spreading rumors.

美眉(měiméi) beautiful girl    

美眉(měiméi) was first used in an Internet novel which became very popular. Literally speaking, 美眉(měiméi) means pretty eyebrows or beautifying eyebrow because 美(měi) means beautiful and 眉(méi) refers to eyebrows. Now however, 美眉(měiméi) refers to beautiful young girls. Sometimes this phrase is also used in the form of MM.

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The movie 变脸(biànliǎn) Face Off  was directed by Chinese director 吴宇森(Wúyǔsēn) John Woo, and was released in 1997. While the movie was a hit, in fact, 变脸(biànliǎn) is a form of art in Sichuan Province, China.

川剧(chuānjù) Sichuan Opera and 变脸(biànliǎn) face-off

川剧(chuānjù) Sichuan Opera is a form of folk art just like Peking Opera and Qinqiang Opera. 川(chuān) is a short form of Sichuan province in China's southwestern region. 川剧脸谱(chuānjù liánpǔ) Sichuan Opera Make-up is an important feature in the performance which shows the character's rank, image and personality. The most attracting stunt in Sichuan Opera is 变脸(biànliǎn) face-off which shows people's emotions. The actors either make a complete or partial change of their faces. Mr. Wang Daozheng is claimed to be the King of 变脸(biànliǎn) face-off in China.

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Beginner Level / 初级chūjí    
A: 嗨，莉莉，你去哪儿呀？
    Hài, Lily, nǐ qù nǎér ya?
    Hi, Lily, Where are you going?
B: 哦，我准备去图书馆呢，听说图书馆最近进了一批新书，我去看看有没有《杜拉拉升职记》。
    Ò, wǒ zhǔnbèi qù túshūguǎn ne , tīngshuō túshūguǎn zuìjìn jìn le yì pī xīnshū, wǒ qù kànkan yǒu méiyǒu Dù Lālā     shēngzhí jì.
    Oh, I am going to the library. It's said that the library has bought a number of new books. I want to have a look if     there is a book called The Story of Du Lala Getting Promoted.　
A: 杜拉拉升职记?听说那是一本畅销书，应该有的。
    Dùlālā shēngzhí jì? tīngshuō nà shì yì běn chàngxiāoshū, yīnggāi yǒu de.
    The Story of Du Lala Getting Promoted? I heard it's a bestseller, they should have it.
B: 希望有吧。
    Xīwàng yǒu ba.
    I hope so.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:    
图书馆(túshūguǎn): n library
升职(shēngzhí): v promote
畅销书(chàngxiāoshū): n bestseller

Intermediate Level / 中级zhōngjí     
A: 喂，是莉莉吗？我是艾拉。
    Wèi,shì lìlì ma?wǒ shì àilā.
    Hello, is that Lily? This is Ira.
B: 是我，有事吗，艾拉？
    Shì wǒ, yǒu shì ma,àilā?
    Yes, this is. What can I do for you, Ira?
A: 我想问问你那天借到书了吗？
    Wǒ xiǎng wèn wen nǐ nàtiān jièdào shū le ma?
    I wonder if you borrowed the book on that day.
B: 书？你说的是《杜拉拉升职记》吧，借到了，我借的时候刚好剩下最后一本。
    Shū?Nǐ shuō de shì Dùlālā shēngzhí jì ba, jiè dào le, wǒ jiè de shíhou gānghǎo shèngxià zuìhòu yì běn.
    Book? You mean The Story of Du Lala Geting Promoted? I did. That was just the last copy when I borrowed.
A: 运气真好！难怪我去借的时候没有了，听说那本书是关于职业生涯的，我们也快找工作了，看看对我们很有启发的。
    所以我想问问你，你看完后可以借给我看看吗？
    Yùnqi zhēn hǎo! Nánguài wǒ qù jiè de shíhou méiyǒu le, tīng shuō nà běn shū shì guānyú zhíyè shēngyá de,     wǒmen yě kuài zhǎo gōngzuò le, kàn kan duì wǒmen hěn yǒu qǐfā de. Suǒyǐ wǒ xiǎng wèn wèn nǐ, nǐ kàn wán     hòu kéyǐ jiè gěi wǒ kàn kan ma?
    So lucky! No wonder there wasn't that book when I went there. I heard that it's about career and can help us when
    we do job-hunting. So I wonder if you can lend me after complete it.
B: 没问题呀，我正好快看完了，还有十几页，你明天过来取吧！
    Méi wèntí ya, wǒ zhènghǎo kuài kàn wán liǎo, háiyǒu shí jǐ yè, nǐ míngtiān guòlái qǔ ba!
    No problem. I just need to read over ten pages until I finish the book. You can take it tomorrow.
A: 太好了，我明天就去取，谢谢了。
    Tài hǎo le, wǒ míngtiān jiù qù qǔ, xièxie le.
    It's very kind of you. I will take it tomorrow. Thanks.
B: 不客气。
    Bú kèqi.
    My pleasure.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:    
借(jiè): n borrow
职业生涯(zhíyè shēngyá): n career
找工作(zhǎo gōngzuò): n job-hunting

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iPhone is increasingly getting popular among young people in China. Recently, China Unicom is negotiating with Apple Computer in a deal that intends to introduce iPhone to the China market. It is estimated that if the deal goes through, iPhone's sales in China is expected to 直线上升(zhíxiàn shàngshēng) increase substantially with people's 追捧(zhuīpěng) enthusiasm over the product .

直线上升(zhíxiàn shàngshēng) Increase quickly    
This phrase is made of two words 直线(zhíxiàn) and 上升(shàngshēng). 直线(zhíxiàn) refers to straight line and 上升(shàngshēng) means ascending and rising. The phrase literally means that the straight line is ascending, and here it means that speed, figures, interest rates, or profits increase quickly. So you can say the following:

E.g. 1.这家公司的销售量在直线上升。
           Zhè jiā gōngsī de xiāoshòu liàng zài zhíxiàn shàngshēng.
           The sales of the company are increasing quickly.
        2.我们要多运动，避免体重直线上升。
           Wǒmen yào duō yùndòng, bìmiǎn tǐzhòng zhíxiàn shàngshēng.
           We should exercise more to avoid the rapid increase of our body weight.

追捧(zhuīpěng) pursue and admire     
追(zhuī) means pursuing and 捧(pěng) means carrying and holding in hands. So when you love something or someone, you can use 追捧(zhuīpěng).

E.g. 这位歌星受到很多年轻人的追捧。
        Zhè wèi gēxīng shòu dào hěnduō niánqīng rén de zhuīpěng.
        This singer is pursued and admired by a lot of young people.
     

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拼音(pīnyīn) pinyin: nán
笔画(bǐhuà) number of strokes: 7
部首(bùshǒu) radical: 田
结构(jiégòu) structure: top and bottom structure
字源(zìyuán) etymology: the top part 田(tián) refers to field and the bottom part 力(lì) means strength. In ancient times, men must labor in the field, so the character 男 indicates 田里的劳力(tiánlǐ de láolì) labor in the fields.
笔顺(bǐshùn) stroke order:



常用词语(chángyòng cíyǔ) Commonly used words     
E.g. 男女老少(nánnǚlǎoshào) men and women, old and young
        男孩(nánhái) boy
        男人(nánrén) man∕husband
        男生(nánshēng) school boy
        男子汉(nánzǐhàn) a male that is manly
        男厕所(nán cèsuǒ) toilet for men

流行词语(liúxíng cíyǔ) Popular words related to男(nán)     
E.g. 肌肉男(jīròu nán): muscular men
        凤凰男(fènghuáng nán): men who come from rural area, but later go to college and live and work in urban area
        after graduation
        便当男(biàndang nán): single men who bring lunch to work
        食草男(shícǎo nán): vegetarian men are moderate and friendly, but lacking initiative (on marriage, etc.)
        三高男(sān gāo nán): men who are tall and highly educated with high income

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One way that could be helpful to learn the mandarin Chinese is to imitate. Experts say that 3 to 12 years old are the golden ages for children to learn mandarin Chinese, because kids in that age range have strong capability for imitation. Once they keep learning mandarin Chinese by imitation for a while, they can learn faster. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a professional and native teacher so that children can imitate from them. By imitating the reading and writing of native speakers, kids can improve Mandarin Chinese skills quickly.

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