Chinese Vocab

Not sure of the correct Chinese word to use? Want another example of how to use a Chinese expression in context? Perhaps you would like to know more about regional differences. This is the place for you! You can browse the topics, do a search in the top right corner of this page, or start a new conversation. Don’t be shy!
  • Updating the writing exercises
    I just got a tablet and have been using rocket chinese on it. It's optomized for pretty much every type of lesson, with the exception of writing, which I think could still have many features. As someone who would like to work on their handwritten chinese...
    2 repliesLast post by LucaFringuello Mar 10, 2025
  • Chinese Characters
    Hello,   How many chinese characters are there in all of the writing lessons combined? I preferred asking since counting them myself will require me to open all the lessons but I don't wanna do that so I can keep count of the lessons I have completed a...
    6 repliesLast post by Jonathan-Rocket-Languages Jul 31, 2024
  • Writing characters out of the specific lessons.
    Hello! I was wondering if it would be good or not to write characters without the specific writing lesson in order to know more characters. Could anyone that already tried it tell me how it's going? It would be of much help. Thank you!
    2 repliesLast post by Margaret-RocketLanguages Feb 27, 2024
  • Writing on a notebook
    Hello! I was wondering yesterday about my methods of learning.   I have a notebook, that is currently being used to write what I have been doing, or some specific characteristic of Chinese.   But I thought that maybe it would be interesting to write ...
    3 repliesLast post by Petros Stauros Jan 22, 2024
  • Play It
    Hello, I hope you are all well. When i go to use “Play It” about the time I open my mouth the recording is already closed.  I'm talking milliseconds here, LOL.  I don't think this is how it is supposed to work.  I am using a Moto G Stylus 5G (2022) phon...
    2 repliesLast post by Margaret-RocketLanguages May 15, 2023
  • How to save flashcards
    Does anyone know how to save the flashcards so that I can review the ones that were difficult for me?
    3 repliesLast post by Sabine91 Dec 25, 2022
  • Older sister/Jie jie as 姐姐 vs. 姊姊
    Hi, I noticed that older sister, jie jie is listed at 姐姐 in 2.9 and 9.1 and that in 7.8 it shows the characters for older sister as 姊姊.  Are both characters correct/used older sister? Thank you in advance for any clarification! 
    3 repliesLast post by Jo Jo Aug 30, 2022
  • Introducing myself as Australian and not American
    I'm just starting to learn Chinese and I want to know how to introduce myself as an Australian but the system assumes Im an American student.   I've already asked the help centre but they weren't able to help.  I also sent an email to Lin Ping but no r...
    6 repliesLast post by Mirage Aug 19, 2022
  • overall
    I was very enthusiastic of your teaching method for Chinese, and particularly appreciated your very witful "language and culture section". Much better than Duolingo or Busuu, which I had started following too. Everything was magnificent at the beginning...
    2 repliesLast post by Eleanor-Rocket-Chinese-Tutor Aug 30, 2021
  • First 100 Hanzi Radicals Flashcards
    I just created a new custom flashcard set entitled, " First 100 Hanzi Radicals Flashcards" on Oct. 27, 2016.  It has not been proofread by any of our fluent students or  teachers yet.  Please let me know of any errors which I will correct immediately. ...
    3 repliesLast post by Eleanor-Rocket-Chinese-Tutor May 17, 2021
  • Where is the "le"?
    Lesson 2.8 is about the past and the use of “le”. Did they forget the “le” in this sentence:  Shàng gè yuè,wǒ kāishǐ qù jiànshēnfáng In the same lesson, does this word is ok, or the “guo” is wrong: qùguò
    2 repliesLast post by Eleanor-Rocket-Chinese-Tutor May 3, 2021
  • Where is my Toolbox?
    On the left side, I see My badges, my forum, my notes, my vocab, Ideas, Rocket News, +More Resources. No sign of "My Toolbox", which would let me access "My Phrase Finder".  How can I locate "My Toolbox"?  Thanks.  Mike
    3 repliesLast post by marieg-rocket languages Oct 28, 2020
  • What does 夏雪年
    Hi All, I know its literal means Summer Snow year, but does it have an idiom like best time or worst times or something?
    2 repliesLast post by Eleanor-Rocket-Chinese-Tutor Mar 30, 2020
  • Vocabulary not highlighting lesson text
    The vocabulary tool appears to only be working on an intermittent basis.  Within the last week, the lesson text is oftentimes not highlighted with the saved off vocabulary words.  Yesterday the highlighting was initially off and them magically reappeared....
    13 repliesLast post by nóng fū Mar 26, 2020
  • Hanyu vs. Zhongwen
    When talking about the Chinese language, is it better to use the word hanyu or zhongwen? For example, if I want to say that I am a Chinese student, which phrase is better: a. 我是汉语学生. (Wo shi hanyu xuesheng). b. 我是中文学生. (Wo shi zhongwen xuesheng).  
    3 repliesLast post by Erubar Jul 22, 2018
  • How Best to Reinforce Previous Lessons
    I find that as proceed through lessons, I feel like I start to forget vocabulary I learned in previous lessons.  Is there a recommended systematic approach for continuously reinforcing the items learned from previous lessons?  Thank you!
    7 repliesLast post by Erubar Apr 26, 2018
  • Interactive Audio Lesson vocabulary turned off
    I'm working in the Platinum Level 3 Interactive Audio Lessons and all  of the vocabulary that I have designated and defined are no longer being highlighted and there are no definitions associated with these characters or pinyin.  This just started yester...
    3 repliesLast post by nóng fū Nov 8, 2017
  • flashcards for Rocket Writing Lessons, module 1
    I manually imported a set I created on Quizlet two years ago. It has all of the words used in the writing lessons plus additional words that I thought I would want to learn right away. https://members.rocketlanguages.com/members/chinese/flashcard/colle...
    11 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Apr 12, 2017
  • "Good Morning" in Chinese
    Edit: I asked another native speaker. She told me "你早" is an appropriate way to say "good morning," but it's colloquial. Can anyone confirm if "你早" is actually correct? The first lesson teaches "你早" as a way to say "good morning." However, I asked a...
    3 repliesLast post by Lin-Ping Mar 12, 2017
  • Hanzi Radicals Part 2: 101 - 214
    I just created the Part 2 set of Hanzi Radicals: 101 to 214.  From the card count it appears that I missed two.  I will check. Hanzi Radicals Part 3 : 101 - 214 米     mǐ     rice 鼠     shǔ     rat 辶     chuò     walk 臼     jiù     mortar 鼻    ...
    1 repliesLast post by David K Nov 14, 2016
  • 我只是做了一组新的抽认卡的“四边。- Flashcards available for the Four Sides
    你好同学。 我只是做了一组新的抽认卡的“四边" 我希望你能找到他们是有用的。 再见, 大卫 Nǐ hǎo tóngxué. Wǒ zhǐshì zuòle yī zǔ xīn de chōu rèn kǎ de “sìbiān." Wǒ xīwàng nǐ néng zhǎodào tāmen shì yǒuyòng de. Zàijiàn, dà wèi Hello Fellow Students.   I just made a new set of Flashc...
    1 repliesLast post by David K Oct 26, 2016
  • I just created a Custom Flashcard set of the First 25 Chinese Radicals, and another for Basic Strokes.
      如果您在自定义闪卡部分浏览你会发现我的第一个25中国的激进派和所谓的基本汉字另一个文件笔画。 请让你找到他们,如果你看到任何错误是有用的还是我。 我还没有发现如何进入音频呢。 祝你好运   Rúguǒ nín zài zì dìngyì shǎn kǎ bùfèn liúlǎn nǐ huì fāxiàn wǒ de dì yīgè 25 zhōngguó de jījìn pài hé suǒwèi de jīběn hànzì lìng yī gè wén...
    1 repliesLast post by David K Oct 23, 2016
  • le vs guo
    Can someone explain or refer me to a site that explains the difference between le and guo when dealing with past time?  Also the difference in position of le, i.e. right after the verb or near/at the end of the sentence.  Thanks very much.  Mike
    2 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Oct 1, 2016
  • Orange County
    Let me see if I got this right. 橙子 (chéngzi) = orange 县 (xiàn) = county 加州 (jiāzhōu) = California so, to say Orange County, California, I drop the 子 in orange and say 加州橙县 (jiāzhōu chéng xiàn) where 橙县 (chéng xiàn)) = O...
    4 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Aug 23, 2016
  • Correct pronunciation of shì?
    When I pronounce the word "shì" in Chinese, the vowel sounds more like the "e" in the French words "ne" and "le." But other American Chinese learners have corrected me and said "shì" should be pronounced like "sher" with a hard emphasis on the "r" sound. ...
    3 repliesLast post by Lin-Ping Aug 23, 2016
  • Should the PinYin of "我不如你忙。 Wǒ bù rú nǐ máng。" more correctly be "Wǒ bùrú nǐ máng." ?
    In Lesson 1.7 "bù rú" is separated into two words whereas every where else I've seen it, "bùrú" is one word not two.  Is this a misprint, or is there some meta-rule working here as like in the adjacent 3rd tones changing the second tone? 我不如你忙。 Wǒ...
    6 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Aug 19, 2016
  • My Vocab Chinese giving wrong definition
    When I save a word it picks up the wrong tone, hence wrong word. eg. Section 1.1 Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? Saving jiào  defines it as foot (jiǎo) instead of 'called' This is happening too often, becomes annoying and gives wrong "my vocab" list.
    10 repliesLast post by David K Aug 11, 2016
  • Correct pronunciation of hěnhǎo
    In the practice box in the "Hear It" section of 1.0 Dave seems to pronounce hěnhǎo as "herhow" when Lin and everywhere else it is pronounced "HenHow" like the English "hen".  Is this a regional dialect or an error?  我也很好。谢谢。 Wǒ yě hěnhǎo。Xièxie。 I'm ...
    3 repliesLast post by Margaret-RocketLanguages Aug 9, 2016
  • Export vocab
    Hi, I cannot get legible text when i export my vocab to a csv / excel file. I get words / phrases like: ""Nǐmen yǒu shénme chá", "What tea do you have?","" How do I fix this? i presume it's an excel issue not a Rocket issue.
    5 repliesLast post by krisb Mar 2, 2016
  • 日 (rì, mì)=sun; day; daytime; 月 (yuè)=moon; month; What do you think 明(míng) mean?
    日 (rì, mì)=sun; day; daytime; 月 (yuè)=moon; month;  What do you think 明(míng) mean?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Nov 25, 2015
  • 田(tián)=field, arable land, cultivated;木(mù)tree; wood, lumber; wooden; What do you think 果(guǒ) mean?
    田(tián)=field, arable land, cultivated;木(mù)tree; wood, lumber; wooden; What do you think 果(guǒ) mean?
    5 repliesLast post by John-H8 Nov 10, 2015
  • 禾 (hé) =grain; 山 (shān)=mountain; What do you think 秈 (xiān) mean?
    禾 (hé) =grain; 山 (shān)=mountain;  What do you think 秈 (xiān) mean?      
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Nov 7, 2015
  • 宀(mián)=roof;豕(shǐ)=pig; What do you think 家(jiā) mean?
    宀(mián)=roof;豕(shǐ)=pig; What do you think 家(jiā) mean?  
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Nov 4, 2015
  • 木(mù)=tree; wood, lumber, wooden;一(yī)=one; a, an; alone; What do you think 本(běn)​ mean?
    木(mù)=tree; wood, lumber, wooden;一(yī)=one; a, an; alone; What do you think 本(běn) mean?  
    4 repliesLast post by John-H8 Oct 31, 2015
  • 天(tiān)=day / sky ; 气(qì)=air; What do you think 天气(tiānqì) mean?
    天(tiān)=day  /  sky ; 气(qì)=air; What do you think 天气(tiānqì) mean?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Oct 30, 2015
  • 牛(niú)=cow, ox, bull; 奶(nǎi)=milk, woman's breast, nurse; What do you think (niúnǎi) mean?
    牛(niú)=cow, ox, bull; 奶(nǎi)=milk, woman's breast, nurse; What do you think 牛奶  (niúnǎi) mean?  
    4 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Oct 29, 2015
  • vocabulary
    I find the vocabulary list after each lesson does not contain the new words in that lesson.  All he new words in each lesson should be given along with all words of previous lessons.  this will make the lessons easier.  
    2 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Sep 21, 2015
  • What time is it Lesson 1.8
    Can anyone explain Lesson 1.8 What time is it: Xiànzài xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn。which translate into: Now it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon. My question is why is it liǎng diǎn and not èr diǎn. I'm so confused and I've read through the lesson, and don't see anyt...
    5 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Aug 25, 2015
  • Difference in using 小 (xiao) and 少 (shao)
    Just wondering what the key difference is in using these since they both seem to mean "small , little " etc. thanks
    4 repliesLast post by Lin-Ping Jul 28, 2015
  • How to differentiate "ta" as he/her in conversation
    Hello. It seems to me, as a noob, that there is no clear distinction in the description of "he" or "her" when using "ta": eg. "Ta shi Yingguoren" could refer to either gender. I see that the characters are different, and get that, but not the spoken wor...
    10 repliesLast post by Lin-Ping Jul 28, 2015
  • How to practice vocabulary in Rocket Chinese
    Is there some way in the program to practice vocabulary I have saved? I'd like to be able to review the words like flash cards or in a game. Is that possible?
    3 repliesLast post by Karen--277 Jul 5, 2015
  • putonghua or hanyu
    I've heard the Mandarin language called both Putonghua and Hanyu. What is the difference between these two words? Are they interchangeable ? Thanks!
    11 repliesLast post by barryh Jul 3, 2015
  • Dental Terms
    What is the correct way to say....?  dental supplies impression material dental drill dental instruments Thanks!!!  
    4 repliesLast post by Alan-A14 Feb 28, 2015
  • Zuótiān wǎnshàng vs. Zuó wǎn
    Rocket Chinese (and other language courses) seems to prefer "zuótiān wǎnshàng" (昨天晚上) for saying last night. Google Translate thinks "zuó wǎn" (昨晚) is sufficient. Which one is the best way to say last night? Is the second (zuó wǎn) correct or less desi...
    3 repliesLast post by Robert-C7 Jan 29, 2015
  • 冫(bīng)=ice; 中(zhōng)=central,center, middle; What do you think 冲(chōng) means?
    冫(bīng)=ice; 中(zhōng)=central,center, middle; What do you think 冲(chōng) means?
    4 repliesLast post by Chance-E Dec 28, 2014
  • 大(dà)=big; 田(tián)=field; What do you think 奋(fèn) means?
    大(dà)=big; 田(tián)=field; What do you think 奋(fèn) means?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Nov 7, 2014
  • Pronunciation of èr
    I was looking at another site for learning Mandarin and they pronounced èr (two) as in the word "earth." In Rocket Chinese and other places it sounds more like "are." Is èr pronounced differently in different parts of China or in other Chinese-speaking co...
    3 repliesLast post by Jeanne--18 Oct 29, 2014
  • 王(wáng)=king, ruler, royal;八(bā)=eight; all around; what does 兲(tiān) mean?
    王(wáng)=king, ruler, royal;八(bā)=eight; all around; what does 兲(tiān) mean?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Oct 22, 2014
  • 人(rén)=man, people; 二(èr)=two,twice; What do you think 夫(fū) mean?
    人(rén)=man, people; 二(èr)=two,twice; What do you think 夫(fū) mean?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Oct 5, 2014
  • 冰(bīng)=ice, 箱(xiāng)=box; What do you think 冰箱(bīngxiāng) mean?
    冰(bīng)=ice, 箱(xiāng)=box; What do you think 冰箱(bīngxiāng) mean?
    3 repliesLast post by John-H8 Sep 29, 2014

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