Lesson 14 - 现在几点？

Asking the time and understanding the answer is a simple matter. See the dialogue below:
A.) 请问，你有手表吗？
B.) 有啊
A.) 现在几点？
B.) 现在九点二十三分。
A.) 谢谢！

Person A asks if B has a watch politely. B responds affirmatively. A asks the time. B says it is 9:23 right now. A says thank you.

To say the time you only need a number 1 - 12 followed by Dian3 点 and then another number for the minutes followed by fen1 分。 There are shortcuts also. Instead of saying 3:30 三点三十分 we can say 3 and a half 三点半， which is much faster in Chinese. Below are a number of examples:
四点五十三分 = 4:53
十二点半 = 12:30
八点十分 = 8:10
一点 = 1:00
七点四十五分 = 7:45
九点一刻 = 9:15 (writen as quarter after 9)

Have fun with this. 要好好玩！

Lesson 13 - 龙

Per popluar request, this is a lesson about the Chinese dragon. Sources are pulled from the internet including Wikipedia.com as well as Travelchinaguide.com. Enjoy!


The Chinese dragon is a Chinese mythical creature, depicted as a long, scaled, snake-like creature with four claws. In contrast to the Western dragon which stands on four legs and which is usually portrayed as evil, Chinese dragon has long been a potent symbol of auspicious power in Chinese folklore and art. The Chinese dragon is traditionally also the embodiment of the concept of yang (male) and associated with the weather as the bringer of rain and water in an agriculturally water-driven nation. Its female counterpart is the Pheonix.





The dragon is sometimes used in the West as a national emblem of China. However, this usage within both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan is rare.
Firstly, the dragon was historically the symbol of the Emperor of China. Starting with the Yuan Dynasty, regular citizens were forbidden to associate themselves with the symbol. The dragon re-emerged during the Qing Dynasty and appeared on national flags.[1]
Secondly, the dragon has aggressive, warlike connotations that the Chinese government wishes to avoid. It is for these reasons that the giant panda is far more often used within China as a national emblem than the dragon. In Hong Kong, however, the dragon is part of the design of Brand Hong Kong, a symbol used to promote Hong Kong as an international brand name[2].
Many Chinese people often use the term "Descendants of the Dragon" (龍的傳人) as a sign of ethnic identity. Though this trend only started when different Asian nationalities were looking for animal symbols for representations in the 1970s. The wolf was used among the Mongols, the monkey among Tibetans.[1]
In Chinese culture today, it is mostly used for decorative purposes. It is a taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon; for example, an advertisement campaign commissioned by Nike, which featured the American basketball player LeBron James slaying a dragon (as well as beating up an old Kung Fu master), was immediately censored by the Chinese government after public outcry over disrespect.[3]
A number of Chinese proverbs and idioms also feature references to the dragon, for example: "Hoping one's son will become a dragon" (望子成龍, i.e. be as successful and powerful as a dragon).

For information on Western Dragons take a look at the below websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon
http://www.crystalinks.com/dragons.html

Lesson 12 - 你多大？

Learning to say, "How old are you?" is very easy in Chinese. It is pronounced: Ni3 duo1 da? which literally means: You many years old? The characters are below:

Question: 你多大？
Answer: 我十五岁。

The answer is just as easy after you have learned how to say your numbers. Simply put in the subject "I" which is 我 (wo3) and then the number of years followed by the character 岁 (sui4) which means years old. One can also ask about other people per the below example:

Question: 你的爷爷多大？ How old is your grandfather?
Answer: 我的爷爷八十四岁。 My grandfather is eighty four years old.

Practice asking about other people in the family and/or friends.