Proficient Chinese
HSK 7–9: classical function words, rhetoric, 成语, sayings and 歇后语, register, dialects, Taiwan and Hong Kong usage, internet language, the news and politics, business, academic Chinese and the argumentative essay, science and medicine, classical poetry and the Analects, modern literature and film, speeches, debate and translation.
0 of 448 required lessons completed · 21 units
- readingI can read the classical function words that formal written Chinese still uses, and its formal ways of stating purpose and conditions.
- writingI can make my Chinese vivid with metaphor, parallelism, rhetorical questions and exaggeration, and catch the attitude carried by sentence-final particles.
- speakingI can understand and use idioms, proverbs and two-part allegorical sayings appropriately, and tell words with a positive or negative colouring apart.
- interactionI can understand regional, Taiwan, Hong Kong and online Chinese, and switch between spoken and written register to suit the occasion.
- readingI can read political, diplomatic and business news, including editorials, official phrasing and economic data.
- writingI can read research abstracts and charts, cite and hedge, and write a well-structured argumentative essay that answers the other side.
- readingI can read and explain popular science, medicine and ecology, including traditional Chinese medicine.
- readingI can read classical poems and well-known passages from the Analects and other classical prose.
- speakingI can discuss modern literature, film and art, from Lu Xun's stories to film criticism.
- speakingI can give a formal speech, argue in a debate, and summarise, rewrite or translate a passage as the HSK 7-9 tasks ask.
Proficient Chinese short stories · graded reading practice with audio and English
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者: The One Who, 前者 and 后者
Turn a verb or adjective into 'the person who does it' with 者 (读者, 消费者, 初学者), read 违者 and 知情者 in notices, and point back to two things with 前者 and 后者 instead of repeating them.
Substitution Drill: …者
Swap '…的人' for a 者 word again and again (参加者, 初学者, 旅行者, 消费者, 吸烟者), then compare two things with 前者 and 后者.
Drill: 者: The One Who, 前者 and 后者
Turn verbs and adjectives into 'the person who' with 者, write notices with 违者 and …者, and compare two things with 前者, 后者 and 两者, at speed and in full formal sentences.
Spaced review
Back again, just as you might be forgetting: Aspect in narration, 不由得, 不禁, 忍不住, Film and television, Music, painting and performance and more.
即 and 乃: The Written 'Is, Namely'
Explain or define a term in writing with 即 ('that is, namely'), tell it apart from 即使, 立即 and 即将, and recognise 乃 ('is') in set sayings such as 失败乃成功之母.
Speed Round: 即 and 乃
Fast practice: restate with 即, judge with 乃 in set sayings, and keep 即 apart from 即使, 立即 and 即将.
Drill: 即 and 乃: The Written 'Is, Namely'
Restate and define things in writing with 即 and 所谓…，即…, keep 即 apart from 立即, 即将 and 即使, and use 乃 in its set sayings, from short dates to full formal sentences.
何: The Written 'What, Why, How'
Read and write formal questions with 何时, 何地, 为何 and 如何, tell 何必 ('why bother') from 何不 ('why not'), and recognise 何 in phrases such as 无论如何, 何以见得 and 何去何从.
Rewrite: Spoken Questions into 何
Turn spoken questions into their written 何 forms (什么时候 → 何时, 为什么 → 为何, 怎么 → 如何) and decide when 何必 and 何不 are the natural choice even in speech.
Drill: 何: The Written 'What, Why, How'
Write formal questions with 何时, 何地, 为何 and 如何, choose correctly between 何必 and 何不, and use 无论如何, 何以见得 and 何去何从 in full sentences.
Classical Final Particles: 也, 矣, 乎, 焉, 哉
Recognise the five classical sentence-final particles in quotations, titles and set phrases (之乎者也, 不亦乐乎, 悔之晚矣, 心不在焉, 优哉游哉), say what each one signals, and use the phrases that are still part of everyday Chinese.
Speed Round: Classical Particles
Match the classical set phrases to their meaning and modern paraphrase, then fill them in and use them in everyday sentences, fast.
Drill: Classical Final Particles: 也, 矣, 乎, 焉, 哉
Use the set phrases built on 也, 矣, 乎, 焉 and 哉 (不亦乐乎, 心不在焉, 悔之晚矣, 焉知非福, 优哉游哉, 此生足矣, 非也) in modern sentences, and tell the particle 乎 from the 乎 inside 似乎 and 在乎.
之 Beyond 的: Pronoun and Fixed Phrases
Recognise 之 as an object pronoun ('it, them') after a verb, use the living phrases built on it (置之不理, 一笑置之, 取而代之, 敬而远之, 求之不得, 久而久之, 反之, 换言之), and tell this 之 from the 之 that means 的.
Drill: 之 Beyond 的: Pronoun and Fixed Phrases
Use the 之 phrases (置之不理, 一笑置之, 取而代之, 敬而远之, 求之不得, 久而久之, 反之, 换言之, 由此观之, 言之有理) in full sentences, and tell 之 'it' from 之 'of'.
Ways of Saying: 陈述, 阐述, 声称, 宣称
Report speech precisely: choose between 陈述, 阐述, 讲述, 讲解 and 表态 by what the speaker is doing, signal doubt with 声称 and 宣称, use everyday 唠叨, 胡说 and 倾诉, and recognise the classical 曰 and 谓 (所谓, 可谓, 何谓).
Reading: Three Accounts of One Meeting
Read three short reports of the same residents' meeting, written for a notice board, a blog and a chat with a friend, and work out each writer's stance from the speech verbs they choose.
Drill: Ways of Saying: 陈述, 阐述, 声称, 宣称
Report what people say with the right verb (陈述, 阐述, 讲述, 讲解, 表态, 声称, 宣称, 反驳, 倾诉, 唠叨), use 所谓, 可谓 and 何谓, and talk about 口气, 言论, 心声 and 诺言 in full sentences.
以 in Full: Means, Reason and Standard
Use written 以 for 'by means of' (以理服人, 以身作则), 'because of' (以…闻名, 以…为由), 'by the standard of' (以…而论, 以…为准), and to join an action to its purpose (…，以求…, …，以期…).
Drill: 以 in Full: Means, Reason and Standard
Write formal sentences with 以 for means (以理服人, 以身作则, 以…的方式), reason (以…闻名, 以…著称, 以…为由), standard (以…而论, 以…为准) and purpose (以求, 以期, …，以…).
Unit 1 review
A quiz, listening and speaking on 者, 即、乃, 何, Classical final particles: 也, 矣, 乎, 焉, 哉 and more.
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