Friends, if you come across this article, consider it a win for today. Let me just say, from now on, when you see the term “志气玱玱”, please do not mistakenly pronounce it as “志气cāng cāng”. That would be like mistaking top-grade Dan Cong tea for overnight lukewarm water, instantly shattering all the elegance and ambiance. … Read more
Hey, have you ever stumbled while reading ancient poetry? For instance, when you encounter the character “仄”, it feels like a mischievous little devil, its pronunciation is elusive. Many people instinctively pronounce it as “zé” like “泽”, or “cè” like “侧”, but don’t! It is actually pronounced “zè”, short and forceful, like the slight incline … Read more
Not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu is simply because you haven’t paid attention. ▼ Click the business card below As the ancients said: “Reading ten thousand books is like having divine inspiration when writing.” Another ancient saying goes: “Only when the book is needed do we regret having too few.” These two sayings … Read more
Dear readers, today we are going to discuss a character that probably 90% of you have never used, and many might even be confused about its pronunciation! Just a few days ago, during a lecture on Chinese characters, I randomly surveyed 20 audience members, and 19 of them mispronounced it, either reading it as “cì” … Read more
Letter combination ‘ire’The letter combination ‘ire’ is pronounced [aɪə]. (Note the distinction between [aɪə] and [eə])fire [ˈfaɪə] n. fire; v. ignite; dismisshire [ˈhaɪə] v. rent; employ; n. rental; renttire [ˈtaɪə] v. (to) tiredesire [dɪˈzaɪə(r)] v. desire; expect; n. desire; wishinspire [ɪnˈspaɪə(r)] v. inspire; motivateadmire [ədˈmaɪə(r)] v. admire; praiseacquire [əˈkwaɪə(r)] v. acquire; obtainenquire [ɪnˈkwaɪə(r)] v. inquire; … Read more