All Activity

The extension has been updated, please let me know if you're still seeing issues (have also updated CC-CEDICT attribution - thanks for the reminder)

Hi @becky82, Thanks for your patience! I updated the extension, but the Chrome Store review is taking longer than expected. I tried to delete this post once I noticed the delay, but I couldn't. I’ll let you know as soon as the new version is live. In the meantime, feel free to share the URLs you tried—I’m happy to test them on my end to see if it’s a bug or just the old version acting up. Appreciate your help! PS: Don't worry there will not be any spam, also ignore the free tier expiration message - that should all be updated with the new version.

I tried to get it working with multiple videos with soft Chinese subtitles, but all I got was: Chinese subtitles were not found. Please check that Chinese subtitles exist on this video; if they do, plase refresh the page and try again. I'm not sure what criteria I'm trying to meet. I tried simplified and traditional subtitles. Maybe there's a clash with other extensions, or there might be some requirements for the URL I'm unaware of. In any case, I wasn't able to get it working. I'm also not a big fan of having to give you my email address before I can even use it (don't spam me, please). Hmm... okay but... Don't forget that using CC-CEDICT definitions requires attribution under its Creative Commons license.

How about mistakes, like booted out/boot out?

Hey All, I've been working on an extension to help myself (and hopefully others) learn Chinese more effectively via Youtube / Netflix. A quick summary: - Word highlighting: Click on any word from the subtitles to look up it's meaning. - Example Sentences: View example sentences for any word you click on. - Anki List: Add any words/sentences to a downloadable .txt file that can be uploaded to Anki. - Works for any video with Chinese subtitles Definitely aware that there are other products out there like this. However I really wanted one with a simple interface that allowed you to quickly look up a word and learn about it context. As an intermediate learner, I found these two things are what really moved the needle for me so thought I'd share it with others who might feel the same. Still working on this so any feedback/feature requests are welcome. It's free to use. https://popchinese.app/

Interesting, when I first started learning Chinese I used Anki extensively. I then took quite a long break from spaced repetition systems though I'm now trying to get back into. I've starting using Anki again though keen to see what other recommendations people have.

I ordered the Chinese version in my February Taobao haul based on @Lu and @matteo's posts. It's quite interesting to hear about the life of a migrant worker. There were a couple of times where a package I ordered while living in China was too big for the local package delivery point/shop to hold, and I wasn't always available to accept the package. Now I feel really bad knowing that the delivery guy is paid per delivered order and makes less money if people aren't available to accept packages. The book is a series of non-sequential vignettes written by a migrant worker (Hu Anyan). He's self aware that he's nice to the point of being a pushover who doesn't always advocate enough for his own interests with employers. He tried entrepreneurship a couple of times and that mostly didn't work out either. Halfway through the book he starts mentioning how he's reading and learning to be a writer in his spare time. - This book has been a pretty big hit in China, I'm glad he now has the financial freedom to be a writer.

The meaning of the tattoo is correct, and the brushwork is pretty good if you ask me, though it has been done in a typically Japanese style (not particularly important, just interesting to note). The size of the characters and the oldness of the phrase will perhaps raise a few eyebrows, but that's about it id say... could be a good conversation starter, you never know!

I've overall had a great experience studying Mandarin at LTL language school! I came in with a pretty solid foundation in Mandarin, but in the last couple months I have noticed significant improvements in my speaking ability which allow me to communicate much more effectively than I ever could before. Sabrina has been an excellent teacher for me, and Riona and Alin have been very helpful managing the front desk and organizing activities! There are activities nearly every day, most of which occur after class at the school but also including field trips to various locations around Taipei.

I’ve really enjoyed my time at this language school and would happily recommend it to anyone thinking about studying here. I’ve been here for four weeks so far and will be staying for five months in total, and it already feels like I’ve made a lot of progress. My first week ended up being one-on-one lessons (just by chance, since the other student was delayed getting his visa), and that turned out to be an amazing way to start. It helped me build a strong foundation and get comfortable right away. My teacher, Jamie, has been fantastic—especially when it comes to teaching vocabulary. She explains things clearly and makes sure we actually use new words in context through mock scenarios, which has helped me feel much more confident speaking. The lessons feel practical and engaging rather than just theoretical. Winnie is also wonderful and brings a lot of personality into the classroom. When there’s extra time, she sometimes shares more informal language, like LGBT slang, which makes learning feel more real and current. One of the most helpful experiences I had was going to get food with her after class—having a teacher there to guide you through ordering and cheer you on really builds confidence in a way that classroom learning alone can’t. The staff overall are very helpful and approachable, which makes settling in easy. Classes are very small, which is a huge advantage. I’m currently studying with just one other A1-level student, so we get a lot of personalized attention. Because of this, I feel like I’ve been able to improve quickly in a short amount of time. The location is also great. There are lots of good, affordable, and international restaurants nearby, so it’s easy to grab food before or after class. It’s also close to the metro, which makes getting around the city very convenient. As for accommodation, I stayed in a studio arranged by the school. It was decent and within about 30 minutes of the school, but the kitchen wasn’t ideal. It works well when you first arrive, but I’d recommend finding your own place after a few weeks if possible—it can be more comfortable and cost-effective. Overall, it’s been a great experience so far, and I’m excited to continue. Between the quality of teaching, the supportive environment, and the opportunity to practice in real-life situations, I’d definitely recommend coming to LTL.

Good evening everyone: Recently I came across the expression 歲寒知松柏 (simplified: 岁寒知松柏), which apparently comes from Classical Chinese and can be translated as “In the cold of winter, one comes to know the pine and the cypress.” (meaning that in times of difficulty, a person’s true character is revealed, considering that during winter the pine and cypress, unlike deciduous trees, do not lose their leaves). The other day I got it tattooed, and now I’m not sure whether I made the right choice or if it might seem ridiculous if I travel to China or if any Chinese person sees it in my country. Could any Chinese person answer my question? Or have I misunderstood the meaning of the tattoo? It would have been a good idea to ask here before getting it, but it didn’t occur to me until after it was already done... Thank you in advance (and crossing fingers)!

I recently received a pre-admission offer from Tsinghua University, but unfortunately, my CSC Type A application was already marked as “in-process” by then, and the deadline had passed. Because of this, I wasn’t able to upload the pre-admit letter to the portal. I’ve already emailed my local dispatching authority to check if they can help attach or consider the document at this stage. I’m also wondering if should I formally request Tsinghua to directly communicate or send my pre-admit to the CSC or embassy? Has anyone tried this route, and does it actually make a difference? If you’ve been in a similar situation, I’d really appreciate knowing: Whether late document additions are ever considered If involving the university helps Any other workaround I might be missing Trying to figure out the smartest next step here. I am from India for context

My experience as a foreign worker (B2 level) I am from Rome, Italy but I attended university in London, UK, and I have been studying Mandarin Chinese for 4 years. I moved to Taipei to work for a bank as an HR specialist in the recruiting team and I needed to improve my mandarin skills to keep up with working in a fully Mandarin Chinese environment. My first teacher was not a good fit personally but I still learnt a lot with her old fashioned exam based lessons. Then, Alin Chou and Greta Simonelli were very helpful with arranging schedule and finding a new teacher who would fit my needs! This new teacher's name is Wang Pinwei and the first time I met her she even cooked me dinner at school! I would have never expected that hahah She fed me a few times and it was delicious. Our lessons were fun and flexible, I was able to learn a lot while never getting bored nor frustrated! She also encouraged me to join extracurricular activities which became amazing memories! I am very sad to leave Taipei and interrupt my lessons with teacher Wang Pinwei, but we will keep in touch! Overall, LTL Mandarin and the people I met at school were really special and made my whole experience of improving Mandarin a moving to a new place more enjoyable and less lonely. I have changed many teachers and schools along the way and I can say for sure that this experience is in my top 3! Thanks for everything! 王品葳老師謝謝妳陪我上課，我會想妳！ 大家謝謝妳們幫我調整課程很多次哈哈 很感恩！ Greta ti auguro il meglio! Felice di aver incontrato un'Italiana che lavora qui!

Leaving a review for LTL Taipei! I just finished four weeks of small group lessons. It was a very productive but also very friendly and low pressure learning experience. My instructors, Sissi and Tammy, were extremely good what they do. Our lessons were always tailored to the specific, individual needs of students. My group class never had more than 3 people, so it was a nice balance of speaking and listening practice. The school admins Riona and Alin were also super friendly and ready to help with questions about recommendations, navigation, or general travel around Taiwan.

Li is the pronunciation for quite a few Chinese characters but from what I know the most common version of Li that is used as a surname means plum.

I just had my health check done and there's definitely a box that says 男 or 女. They did the ultrasound and noticed I had had an operation that changed my insides. Nothing big, it's in my medical history so they just noted it on the health check and I still passed. It's worth it to note that a buddy of mine had the annual health check and they never noticed he had a big cyst on his liver which hospitalized him soon after. He was angry they didn't detect it and tell him. I don't know what they would do in your case as I don't think it's ever come up before. I don't know if you'd be able to get testosterone prescribed. I was thinking about getting it but I got my T level tested and they said it's within the range for my age. Also I got the AMA guidelines printed out and always carry them with me when checking blood test results. Once they told me one result was out of range and I needed a medication for it but I checked and it was normal for adult white males. FWIW I can grow a beard but stay clean-shaven because a beard makes me look old.

I didn't know what it was either. Sounds like one of those dictionary words that technically exists but nobody uses. Sounds like someone who needs to go to jail for being on one of those islands. This happens a lot, someone will open a new program with a lot of fanfare. It will go well for a while but after six months or so it falls off because nobody is tracking it. Or it will get handed off to someone's brother-in-law who just wanted to own it but doesn't want to actually do anything with it. They opened this new cool district made from an old rice storage warehouse which went well for a while but fell off. Eventually found out the owner gave it to his daughter who was an artist in New York City and wanted nothing to do with it but the money it made. It's still there but a shadow of its former self. Used to be the hottest district in town.

I recently started working on a fictional universe and I noticed that I had a character who was named 奇李木 which to me sounds quite strange but I want confirmation because I honestly have no idea why I named him that.

I guess I've made the same or similar bookmarklet without realizing it. Great minds, eh? I notice your webpage is either down or not accessible in Taiwan. You could host it at github for free. I'd like to have a look.

Thanks! I checked some German institution already, so far no success... but I'll keep looking there as well!

Nice opportunity! If I were you, I'd look into possibilities within Germany. Any institutes there that support the arts and give stipends? A literary institute perhaps? A foundation for theater arts? The Netherlands has the Dutch Foundation for Literature, which has a stipend for exactly this kind of thing, so hopefully there is something similar in Germany. Good luck and have a good time in Xiamen!

Dear China-friends! I was accepted as an artist to do an artist-in-residence-program in China (Xiamen). They cannot cover travel costs however. Any help on how to find travel funding, who to contact, where to research etc. is very welcome! More information below! Greetings to you all! Felix More info: I am Felix Erdmann, performance artist and writer from Germany, and I write to you with a question for funding advice. I will be participating in the Lucitopia Residency Program (https://www.c-platform.org/lucitopia-residency/?lang=en) in China provided by C-Platform Institute this summer, along with my international colleagues Carlo Sella, Evangelos Biskas, Line Lee and Nori Tsouloucha. We are so thankful for C-Platform for this amazing opportunity! And we are extremely excited about the prospect of collaborating in Xiamen and Jiangxi Province in China. We are especially hoping to be in exchange with other Chinese artists and with local residents and think that the residency is a great chance for new transcontinental (artist) networks. While the residency does cover housing and living costs during our two month stay, it unfortunately cannot pay for travel costs. However, for some of us it is a necessity to find funding for this as we cannot afford to pay flight tickets etc. ourselves. Do you have any tips or suggestions on who to contact? Any ideas on where funding could come from? We are very much willing to be creative about this - any thoughts are helpful. I have applied to funding from Goethe institute but have not received any. I can provide a letter of invitation from C-Platform as well as my Artist Portfolio and my project proposal for the residency as some information for you. I could provide the same for my colleagues! Generally, the residency focuses on ecological questions and art projects working with the natural surrounding of the rural "Lucitopia Town", a large open air museum in rural Jinagxi, run by C-Platform. Thanks a lot for your help! And you are welcome to check out my website www.felix-erdmann.de for more info about my work!

So, as it turns out, my wife doesn't dislike it for that reason, but rather she said the Japanese version is much better. I don't doubt that it is better, but I'm enjoying the Chinese version a lot. I don't have any intention of watching JP/KN versions, as I'm not studying those language. I highly recommend this one though, every story has been engaging and the acting is great. It's also been some of the easiest language to follow of any Chinese program I've watched.

Used it regularly for grammar questions and checking my writing. Genuinely useful for that, more nuanced than just Googling grammar rules. The main limitation is pronunciation and tones; you still need actual audio input for that side of things. As a supplement, yes.

anyone learned chinese with ai? do you recommend it?