Xuéxí·Chinese

a hobby blog | hsk 3 | American 🇺🇸

[xuexichinese]

咖啡 · COFFEE                     KĀFĒI 

浓缩咖啡     espresso                     nóngsuōkāfēi

拿铁     caffe latte, latte                           nátiê

浓郁咖啡拿铁     doppio, double espresso                        nóngyù kāfēi nátiê

卡布其诺/卡布奇诺*     cappuccino                       kâbùqínuò

美式咖啡      Americano                       mêishì kāfēi

摩卡      mocha                       mókâ

低因咖啡      decaf                       dīyīnkāfēi

工具 · TOOLS                          GŌNGJÙ

手冲      pour-over, drip                      shôu chòng

法压壶      French Press                      fâyāhú

咖啡机     Automatic coffee maker                     kāfēijī

咖啡壶     Coffee pot, coffee maker, moca pod                     kāfēihú

不合咖啡 · NON-COFFEE                     BÙHÉ KĀFĒI

绿茶     green tea                     lüchá

红茶     black tea                     hóngchá

乌龙茶      oolong tea                     wūlóngchá

红茶菌      kombucha                                                                                                hóngchájūn

普洱茶     pu’er tea                      pû’êr chá

奶茶     milk tea                       nâi chá

滇红     Yunnan specialty black tea                     diānhóng

水果 · FRUIT                     SHUÎGUÔ

芒果     mango                        mángguô

西番莲      passionfruit                     xīfānlián

桃子     peach                     táozi

柚子     pomelo                       yòuzi

红莓     red berry                     hóngméi

黑加仑     blackcurrant                      hēijiālún

柠檬     lemon                      níngméng

桂圆     longan                      guìyuán

红枣     red date                     hóngzâo

荔枝     lychee                      lìzhī

风味 · FLAVORINGS                    FĒNGWÈI

香草     vanilla                      xiāngcâo

榛果     hazelnut                      zhēnguô

焦糖     caramel                      jiāotáng

可可     cocoa                      kêkê

蜂蜜     honey                      fēngmì

花草     herbal                     huācâo

奶类 · MILK TYPE                     NÂI LÈI

全脂     whole milk                      quánzhī

脱脂     skim milk                     tuōzhī

豆奶     soy milk                     dòunâi

别的词 · OTHERS                      BIÉDE CÍ

摇     to shake, shaken                      yáo

调制     craft a mixture, follow a recipe                      tiáozhì

加热     to heat up                      jiā rè

手工     handcrafted, handmade                      shôugōng

浓郁     extra strong, rich                      nóngyù

冰     ice, iced                      bīng

热     hot                      rè

经典     signature                      jīngdiân

极品     top quality                      jípîn

碎片     splinter, fragment                       suìpiàn

巧克力     chocolate                      qiâokèlì

小粒     grinds                        xiâo lì

咖啡馆/咖啡厅*      café, coffeehouse                        kāfēiguân

有助的短语 · HELPFUL PHRASES                          YÔU ZHÙ DE DUÂNYÛ

手工调制浓缩咖啡     Hand-mixed espresso drinks                     shôugōng tiáozhì nóngsuōkāfēi

以上饮品可选热饮或冰饮     The above drinks are available hot or iced                     yîshàng yînpîn kêxuân rèyîn huò bīng yîn

风味糖浆     Typically a sweetening syrup put in beverages                     fēngwèi tángjiāng

不合咖啡     Not suited for coffee, no coffee                     bùhé kāfēi

一共。。。元     Altogether, that’s … yuan                     yīgòng…yuán

。。。小粒     (geographic location) grinds                     …xiâo lì

NOTES & SOURCES

*Both forms or words are acceptable, but the starred one is more common, in my experience

Also note that because I’m lazy and it was an easy button on my keyboard, the pinyin third tone is represented by ^ as opposed to the traditional inverse (ie, â = a third tone, ê = e third tone, etc)

Pleco Inc. and its licensors (2020). Pleco (3.2.48) [Mobile App IOS]. App Store. https://apps.apple.com/kr/app/pleco-chinese-dictionary/id341922306?l=en.

Words and phrases selected from actual cafe menus in Beijing, Beijing, and Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Copyrighted beverage names were not used. 

If anyone has any corrections or additions, feel free to comment or send me a pm!

Finally, here’s the quizlet list, and my work-in-progress online dictionary.

[xuexichinese]

While I’m still working on the grammar and practices, I’m excited to get this out there and quit procrastinating. Click the image to go to my blog XuexiChinese, hosted on my main site, The Road Home. 

Please note that all graphics and information provided by these links are from yours truly, often released only after hours and days and months of work; I’ve cited sources where necessary, but if you have any questions or concerns, shoot me a message on this here langblr or through this link on my site. All this said, I’m a big fan of discussion-based learning (not to mention making friends), so don’t be afraid to hit me up so we can just chat!

加油！谢谢你～

[xuexichinese]

So you want to take the HSK...

It can be a bit of a hassle signing up and taking the HSK, especially if you do so in China. It feels a lot like signing up for the SAT or ACT, for those of you out there: little guidance and communication until the week of, so make sure you don’t forget!

Now, I’ll be frank: in my year in China, I didn’t study as much Chinese as I’d originally hoped to. Life happens. So instead of testing for HSK 4 just before I left, I signed up for HSK 3. I signed up about 85% sure I would pass. But truth be told, I’d sort of lost some perspective; I didn’t really know what level I was at. Having lived in Beijing a year, I could communicate easily enough and had a pretty good knack for deciphering context clues, but without regular classes and review sessions, what I knew and what I didn’t know was sort of a mess in my head. 

For me, the HSK was a marker, proof that my year in China had helped me grow with the language. And it has helped me decide going forward where I’m weak.

In any case, that’s enough about me. Let’s get more into the test itself.

The HSK, in Chinese 汉语水平考试, or  (more literally)  the Mandarin Level Test, measures reading, writing, and listening level in Mandarin Chinese. The test is broken down pretty simply: one part listening, one part reading, and one (small) part writing. Each part is scored out of 100, the scores are added together, and as long as your total score is above 180, you technically pass the level test. When they release scores, they do give you the final number out of 300, so you can judge how close you are to the next level. Likewise, they break it down by ability, so you can see where you are weakest. You don’t, however, get to know where you made mistakes. 

The test doesn’t care at all about pinyin, but it assumes you know it. The only transcribing is in Chinese characters, all in the final writing portion. For practice tests, check out hsk.academy, which was also an awesome source in general for vocabulary review and for determining what level you’re probably best suited to. 

The HSK 3 is considered the equivalent of B1 on the CEFR scale -- that is, it’s solidly intermediate. According to the official HSK test site, “Test takers who are able to pass the HSK (Level III) can communicate in Chinese at a basic level in their daily, academic and professional lives. They can manage most communication in Chinese when travelling in China” (Chinese Testing International, 2009-2018). 

Speaking from experience, it can be a bit daunting trying to determine what level you are. It does cost money (~300 RMB, $40-50 USD), to take the test, which of course isn’t refundable, so it’s best to sign up for a level you know you will pass. If you’re the type where having money on the line will drive you to study, then by all means, aim high. 

To sign up for the HSK, use this site: http://www.chinesetest.cn/index.do. On this page, select ‘HSK: Chinese Proficiency Test’ on the left hand side of the screen. Once in the HSK hub, you can sign up, research the test and its various levels, as well as find test centers in your country and dates of the test. 

That’s all I can think to share now! If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message. 

Sources:

Chinese Testing International. (2018). 汉语考试服务网. Retrieved from http://www.chinesetest.cn/index.do.

HSK Academy. (2020). HSK Academy. Retrieved from https://hsk.academy/.

[xuexichinese]

认识你很高兴～

大家好～

我叫Tori，中文的名字是沈丽娅。 但是我不是中国人，我是美国人。 在大学我学中文（汉语的），然后在2019年我住在北京。在北京我不但教英语而且学习中文还有通过汉语视屏考试水平三。我明明不会说中文口角生风， 所以请问执政！请帮我～

在大学我有一个‘side blog’也叫’xuexiChinese’ -- 我留下链接 （现在叫‘xxzhongwen‘)。从这个第一个博客我在这理会再现有的帖子。再每个帖子你找到我的出处。在这理每个照片是我的。如果你要用，请问让我。

谢谢你！

～～～～

xxzhongwen.tumblr.com

～～～～

Hello, everyone!

I’m Tori, my Chinese name is Shen Liya. I’m not Chinese, but American, from the USA. In college, I studied Mandarin Chinese, and then I spent most of 2019 living in Beijing. While there, I taught English, and also practiced my Chinese to pass level 3 of the HSK before I left. Obviously, I do not speak Chinese or know Mandarin fluently, so please feel free to critique anything you come across. Please help me learn!

In college, I had a sideblog, then called ‘XuexiChinese’ -- I will link that old blog down below (it’s now called 'xxzhongwen’). From there, I will recreate here some of the posts. Every post will include its sources. Please note that all photos on this site are mine; if you would like to use them, just ask!

Thanks for stopping by!