HSK Exam

As a standardized test of general language proficiency, HSK is not based on any particular textbook or course of study. Therefore, candidates may refer to any textbook in preparing for the test. Nevertheless, it is important that all candidates read the HSK Test Syllabus carefully. A guide for the pre-test preparation contains an introduction to HSK, a sample HSK test paper, answer key, HSK glossary, and a CD of the sample listening questions. Do you have trouble finding the HSK Test Syllabus?

Prepare for HSK Exam

The vital thing for the HSK exam is knowing the meaning of words. Understanding the general idea of the passage is not enough; it is essential to understand some background information about the book itself, like the author’s information and the year of publication. A clear definition of the differences between similar words is of paramount importance as this is a large part of the HSK exam. Last but not least, reading and writing play an important role in HSK exam. Having an extensive vocabulary will be a huge advantage as well as having some adept writing skills; these can be developed by preparing for the exam properly.

Tips for Taking HSK Exam

1. Prepare properly. Some Chinese learners feel they are ready but still fail the HSK exam; this is because they have not fully understood the structure or content of the exam and hence fail due to a lack of preparation.
2. Have a clear goal of what you want to achieve. The HSK exam should encourage learners to deepen their understanding of the language and continue to learn. If you pass the HSK test it does not mean you have peaked and cannot learn anymore. Use it as a way to learn rather than a definitive assessment of your level.

Helpful Books for HSK Exam

Good books are essential to getting a high score on the HSK test. Thus, some commonly used preparation books for the HSK are recommended to Chinese learners, such as Chinese Learning Cards for HSK, HSK Essentials, Say it in Chinese, HSK Growing Training, Express Way to HSK (tactics and highlights of HSK ), HSK Listening Key Words, An Intensive Course of HSK, HSK dictionary, etc. All the HSK books above will give you plenty of practice for the HSK exam while improving your Chinese.

HSK Test Preparation Course provided by HQ Learning is an pre-examination training course tailor-made for students who are planning to take the HSK test. Pre-test instructions will cover all the characters, words, and grammar points related to the HSK test. These Chinese Courses include reading, listening, grammar, and comprehensive exercises that are equivalent to the HSK test standard. Aside from providing a systematic guide to the exam, we also offer analysis of frequent errors and difficulties for foreign students.

The folk of Lady White and Xu Xian (bái niáng zǐ hé xǔ xiān 白娘子和许仙) is one of the Chinese four greatest folklores. It reflects people’s recognition of love. The story goes like this: Taking the shapes of two women, White Snake (bái shé 白蛇), Bai Suzhen (bái sù zhēn 白素贞), and Green Snake (qīng shé 青蛇), Xiao Qing (xiǎo qīng 小青), toured on the West Lake (xī hú 西湖). A sudden heavy rain came at that time it sent everyone scurrying for shelter. When Bai Suzheng and Xiao Qing found their way, a young man holding up an umbrella protected them from the rain. The young man looked very handsome and gentle he was a local young scholar. Both Bai Suzheng and the young man flushed crimson with embarrassment when their eyes met together. They began to fall in love at that time. Seeing this, the clever Xiaoqing asked: ‘Thank you for your umbrella Sir, Could you tell us your name?’The young man replied: ‘My name is Xu Xian and I live in nearby the Broken Bridge(duàn qiáo 断桥).’ Then Bai Suzheng and Xiaoqin introduced themselves to the young man.

From that day, the three people often met together, Bai Suzheng and Xu Xian were getting along better and better, they soon married and set up business for running a drug store. The white snake was full of sympathy. The poor people were cost-free when they were cured of a disease in the drug store, therefore, their business get brisk day by day. And more and more patients went to see the white snake. Since she had a kind heart and often dressed in white the snake was called Lady White.

On a Dragon Boat Festival (duān wǔ jié 端午节), Xu offered an herb drink to White Snake. Resisting the effect of the herb in vain, White Snake turned back to a snake, which shocked Xu to death. To resurrect Xu, White Snake stole a magic herb from the Magic Mountain. With this herb, she brought Xu back to life.

Xu then went to the Jinshan Temple (jīn shān sì 金山寺) to thank god. There the monk Fa Hai (fǎ hǎi 法海) told him that the snake he saw on the Dragon Boat Festival was actually his wife. The frightened Xu was persuaded to stay in the temple. White Snake went to beg Fa Hai to return her husband to her but Fa showed no mercy on her. Desperately, White Snake fought with Fa Hai and summoned up a surging flood to Jianshan Temple. Unfortunately, she lost the battle due to the pregnancy.

After White Snake had given birth to a baby boy, Fa Hai arrived to capture her and put her under a pagoda. White Snake remained there until her son grew up, passed the officialexamination with high honors, and returned to beg for her release. Xiaoqing defeated the Monk Fahai and forced him to retreat into the stomach of a crab and helped Lady White out of the bottom of Leifeng Pagoda. From then on, Lady White was reunited with Xu Xian.

白娘子和许仙（白蛇传）

      传说，有一条白蛇修炼了一千年，终于修成人形，化为美丽端庄的白娘子，另一条青蛇修炼了五百年，也化为富有青春活力的小青姑娘。她们二人结伴来到西湖游玩，当她们来到断桥时，白娘子在人群中看见一位清秀的白面书生，心中暗生情意。小青便悄悄地作法，降下大雨。白面书生许仙打着伞来到湖边乘船，正好看见白娘子和小青被大雨淋得很狼狈，许仙忙把自己的伞递过去让她们避雨，自己却躲得很远，任凭雨淋。白娘子看见许仙这样老实腼腆，心里更喜欢了，许仙也对美丽的白娘子产生了爱慕之情。在小青的撮合下，许仙和白娘子成了亲，并且在西湖边上开了一家药店，治病救人，乡亲们都很喜欢他们。

      但是金山寺的法师法海却认为白娘子是妖精，会祸害民间。他悄悄地告诉许仙，白娘子是白蛇化身而成，还教许仙怎样识别白蛇。许仙将信将疑。转眼端午节到了，老百姓都喝雄黄酒避邪，许仙按照法海教的办法，逼迫白娘子喝雄黄酒。白娘子这时候已经怀孕，她推却不了许仙，喝了酒后，马上现出蛇的原形，许仙立刻被吓死了。白娘子为了救活许仙，不顾自己怀孕，千里迢迢来到昆仑圣山偷盗起死回生的灵芝草。白娘子与守护灵芝草的护卫拼命恶战，护卫被白娘子感动了，将灵芝赠给她。许仙被救活以后，知道白娘子真心爱自己，夫妻更加恩爱。

      可是法海还是容不下白蛇在人间生活。他将许仙骗进金山寺，强迫他出家为僧。白娘子和小青非常愤怒，率领水族士兵攻打金山寺，想救出许仙。她们不断作法，引发洪水，金山寺被洪水包围，这就是传说中很有名的“水漫金山”。法海也大显法力，白娘子因为临产，打不过法海，只得在小青的保护下逃跑。

      多年后，小青修炼得道，重回西湖，她打败了法海，将西湖水吸干，将雷峰塔掀倒，终于救出了白娘子。

Now I know, this is a tough rule for some people. Because, most of your life, learning Chinese, you have been told to learn grammar rules. In middle school, In high school, In university, In language school, everywhere in the world; grammar, grammar, grammar. So, my first question to you is: Did it work? Was it successful?

If you are watching this TOPIC, you have studied Chinese before in school, somewhere. And probably, you focused on grammar rules. So, my question is: Can you speak Chinese easily, quickly and automatically right now? If the answers no, Why not? Because you have studied Chinese for many years already. Why can’t you speak Chinese quickly, easily and automatically, why not?

Well, it’s not your fault actually. The reason, the answer for most people is that you study grammar rules too much. You focused on, grammar rules. Why? Because your teachers told you to do this.

Why is it bad to study grammar rules? Well because, when you study grammar rules, when you focus on grammar rules, you focus on analyzing Chinese. In other words, you think about Chinese. You think about the sentence structure,  subject,  predicate, object everything.

Now for writing Chinese, that’s Okay. Why? Because when you write Chinese you have time. You can go slowly. You can write very slowly, you can think about it, you can erase your mistake, it’s okay. You don’t need to write fast. But for speaking, there is no time. You do not have time to think about rules, the sentence structure in Chinese when you listening and speaking. There is no time. Someone asks you a question, you must answer immediately. You have no time to think about propositions, you have no time to think about subject, predicate, object everything., all the stuff you learned, there is no time.

How do native speakers learn grammar? Well, I am a native Chinese speaker and I can tell you, I never studied grammar rules. Not until high school. And we studied grammar rules for writing. In college native speakers study grammar rules again, why? For writing. But for speaking, we don’t. So how do we learn grammar rules? We learn through listening. Through hearing correct grammar again and again a lot of correct grammar.

So the best way to learn Chinese grammar is through imput. Another word, Chinese coming in mostly through your ears. But reading is also okay but don’t read textbooks, don’t read grammar books. Just read easy Chinese books, easy novels. But most of all listening. Now, in the next TOPIC that you get, I will tell you exactly how to learn grammar and easy way and effortless way, without studying rules. Not just writing. But for now, for today,I want you to remember that "Do Not Study Grammar Rules" If you focus on grammar rules it will hurt your speaking. Your speak will more slowly, your understanding will be more slowly.

So if you have grammar books, throw away! Put  them in a trash, good bye grammar books. If you want, you can burn it. Burn them in a fire. Because, they are useless. They will not help you with your Chinese speaking or your Chinese learning or listening. So good bye grammar books. No more grammar rules yeaaa. That shoud make you happy.  Okay, good enough.

亲 (qīn) Dear

"亲 (qīn) Dear" is a special word used as a greeting in Taobao sales transactions. Actually, "亲 (qīn) dear" is short for "亲爱的(qīn’ài de) dear." "亲 (qīn) Dear" which is used by Taobao sellers means "亲爱的顾客 (qīn’ài de gùkè) dear customer" or "亲爱的朋友 (qīn’ài de péngyou) dear friend." In this way, not only will the sellers build trust when doing business online, but they will also create a very harmonious shopping atmosphere. The word "亲 (qīn) dear" helps the sellers create very friendly images, and some customers even call the sellers "亲 (qīn) dear" back.

Now, "亲 (qīn) dear" is not only used on the internet, people today use this greeting in daily life, for example: "亲，能帮我个忙吗？(Qīn, néng bāng wǒ ge máng ma?) Dear, could you please do me a favor?" Using the word "亲 (qīn) dear" can make relations more friendly and casual. Today, you also can see "亲 (qīn) dear" frequently used in TV shows and other types of popular media.

Examples:

        Qīn, nǐjuéde zhè tiáo qúnzi zěnmeyàng?
Lisa: 亲，你觉得 这   条    裙子  怎么样？

        Dear, how about this dress?

        Wǒ hěn xǐhuan, jiàqián yě piányi.
Anne: 我很    喜欢， 价钱    也  便宜。

        I love it, and this dress is also very cheap.

1、              厦门Xiàmén  鼓浪屿 Gǔlàngyǔ

2、              鼓浪屿是一个很漂亮的小岛。

Gǔlàngyǔ shì yígè hěn piàoliang de xiǎodǎo.

GuLangYu is a very beautiful small island.

3、              老别墅 lǎo biéshù = old villa

4、              旅馆 lǚguăn = hotel

5、              在鼓浪屿有很多漂亮的老别墅，像是这个。

Zài Gǔlàngyǔ yǒu hěnduō piàoliang de lǎo biéshù,xiàng shìzhège.

There are many old villas in Gǔlàngyǔ.Like this one.

6、              你喜欢这个老别墅吗？Nǐ xǐhuān zhège lǎo biéshù ma?

Do you like this old villa?

7、              很特别的小吃和水果 Hěn tèbié de xiǎochī hé shuǐguǒ.

special snacks and fruits

8、              我们去看一看吧！Wǒmen qù kàn yi kàn ba.

Let’s have a look

9、              海鲜 hǎixiān = seafood

10、         很多很多海鲜 hěnduō hěnduō hǎixiān = lots of seafood

11、         水果shuǐguǒ = fruit

12、         菠萝蜜 bōluómì = jackfruit

13、         百香果 bǎixiāngguǒ = tropical passion fruit

Have you ever proposed?It’s a good idea to proposal on Valentine’s Day.Do you think so?Well,this sentence is important.

男：亲爱的，我爱你！嫁给我好吗？

Nán:Qīnàide,wǒ ài nǐ! Jiàgěi wǒ hǎoma?

M: Darling,I love you! Will you marry me?

女：好的！

Nǚ: Hǎode!

F:  yes!

情人节快乐！

Qíngrénjié kuàilè!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

服务员:
Would you like to order now?  

kě yǐ diǎn cài le ma ？
可 以点 菜了 吗 ？ 

客人:
I think I’m having some trouble here.  

wǒ yù shàng diǎn má fán le 。
我 遇 上 点 麻 烦 了 。 

服务员:
How may I help you?  

wǒ néng bāng shàng máng ma ？
我 能 帮 上 忙 吗 ？

客人:
I would love to try Chinese food， but I just can’t read the menu.  

wǒ xiǎng diǎn zhōng guó cài ，kě shì wǒ dú bù dǒng cài dān ā 。
我 想 点 中 国 菜 ，可 是 我 读 不 懂菜 单啊。

服务员:
Just point at the pictures of those you are interested in and I’ll explain them to you.  

nà nín duì shén me cài gǎn xìng qù jiù zhǐ shén me cài ，wǒ lái gěi nín yī yī jiě shì 。
那 您 对 什 么 菜 感 兴 趣 就指 什 么 菜，我 来 给您一 一 解 释 。

客人:
Good idea. Let’s try that.  

hǎo zhǔ yì ，wǒ men shì shì 。
好 主 意 ，我 们 试 试 。

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month,usually in February or March.As early as the Han Dynasty,it had become a festival.People will eat rice dumplings on this day.Rice dumpling in Chinese is yuánxiāo or tāngyuán.tāngyuán sounds similar with tuanyuan,which means reunion.It tastes sweet and delicious.The most important activity is watching lanterns.Diffierent kinds of lanterns are hung in the streets. Some lanterns have riddles inside.If you know the answer you can get a prize.

Some words about Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival          元宵节  yuánxiāo jié

enjoy lantern show     看灯会  kàn dēnghuì

guess lantern riddles   猜灯谜 cāi dēngmí

eat rice dumpling        吃汤圆   chī tāngyuán

This is the traditional symbol for the forces of yin and yang, sometimes described as two fish swimming head to tail. The left half is yin and the right half is yang. Taken literally, yin and yang mean the dark side and sunny side of a hill.

People commonly think of yin and yang as opposing forces. However, it is really more appropriate to view them as complementary pairs. The Chinese believe problems arise not when the two forces are battling, but when there is an imbalance between them. Floods, divorce, or even a fire in the kitchen – all can be attributed to disharmony in the forces of yin and yang.
How does the concept of yin and yang relate to food?
A basic adherence to this philosophy can be found in ANY Chinese dish, from stir-fried beef with broccoli to sweet and sour pork. There is always a balance in color, flavors, and textures.

However, belief in the importance of following the principles of yin and yang in the diet extends further.
Certain foods have yin properties, while others have yang properties – Cooling or warm, fat or non-fat, high-calorie or low- calorie, and etc.

Almost no foodstuff is purely yin or yang – it’s more that one characteristic tends to dominate. It also reinforces that it is not so much the individual ingredients, as the the balance and contrast between ingredients in each dish, that is important. Interestingly, cooking methods also have more of a yin or yang property, as the list below demonstrates

Cooking Methods:

Types of Foods: 

Chinese food emphasizes on consuming a diet that contains a healthy balance between yin and yang. You’ll find most Chinese dishes are made of a mixture of ingredients and each meal is made up of a combination of dishes.

1、涂  tú =  to spread on

2、这是什么?  Zhè shì shénme? = What’s this?

3、口红 kǒuhóng = lipstick

4、涂口红 tú kǒuhóng = to spread lipstick on

5、指甲油 zhǐjiáyoú = nail polish

6、涂指甲油 tú zhǐjiáyoú = to spread nail polish on

7、眼影 yǎnyǐng = eye shadow

8、涂眼影 tú yǎnyǐng = to spread eye shadow on

9、隔离霜 gélíshuāng = make up base

10、涂隔离霜 tú gélíshuāng = to spread make up base on