Elena M, Author at NihaoChinese

How to use “顿号” (dùn hào) in Chinese

Elena M — Thu, 22 May 2025 02:22:36 +0000

What is 顿号 (、)?

The 顿号 (、) is a unique punctuation mark used in written Chinese. It’s known as the enumeration comma or pause mark, and it looks like a small slash slanting left: 、.

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? Main Function:

The 顿号 is used to separate items in a list of three or more parallel words or phrases.

It serves the same role as the English comma (,) when listing items, but is only used between words or phrases in Chinese writing.

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? Examples:
• 我买了苹果、香蕉、橘子和葡萄。
I bought apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes.
• 他是一个聪明、勇敢、正直的人。
He is a smart, brave, and honest person.

? The 顿号 is used between parallel adjectives or nouns, just like English commas in a list.

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Rules and Tips:

Only used when listing three or more items.
• Correct: 我喜欢音乐、电影、旅游。
• Incorrect: 我喜欢音乐、和电影。 (“和” means “and” — don’t use it with 顿号 like this.)

If there are only two items, use “和” (and) or “或” (or), without 顿号.

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Used even if “和” or “或” appears at the end of a list.
• 她会说英语、法语和西班牙语。
(She can speak English, French, and Spanish.)
• 你可以选择红色、蓝色或绿色。
(You can choose red, blue, or green.)

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Not used in certain cases:
• Foreign words or numbers in a list: Use commas instead (in English or mixed contexts).
• Fixed expressions or idioms: No 顿号 inside idioms like 风调雨顺 or 国泰民安.

The post How to use “顿号” (dùn hào) in Chinese appeared first on NihaoChinese.

文化差异系列（二）：她打了个喷嚏，却觉得中国人不关心她？

Elena M — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:02:38 +0000

Cultural Differences Series (2): She Sneezed — and Felt Uncared For in China?

昨天，我的一位学生跟我分享了她在中国的文化冲击：

“我打喷嚏的时候，没人说‘Bless you’，我感觉大家都忽略了我，好像没人关心我一样。”

为什么美国人会说 “Bless you”？

在英语文化中，别人打喷嚏时说 “Bless you” 是一种基本的礼貌，它起源于宗教，也传达了关心和祝福的意思。在日常生活中，即使是陌生人打喷嚏，人们也常常会自动说一句 “Bless you”。

那中国人为什么不说呢？

因为在中国，打喷嚏并没有被赋予特殊的“仪式感”或社交意义。我们更关注的是卫生和实际反应，

比如： • “你是不是感冒了？” • “快点多喝点水。”

**不说话，并不代表不关心。**只是我们表达关心的方式不一样，更偏向实际和间接。

误解从哪里来？

对于美国人来说，没听到 “Bless you” 可能会被理解成“冷漠”或“不礼貌”；但对于中国人来说，说这句话反而会让人觉得有点奇怪或太“西化”，尤其是陌生人之间。

小贴士 Tips for Cross-Cultural Moments: • 如果你在中国，不要因为别人没说 “Bless you” 而难过，观察一下他们是否用其他方式表达了关心。

• 如果你是中国人，想让外国朋友更舒服，也可以试着在他们打喷嚏后说一句 “Bless you” 或 “保重啊”。

文化差异不只是语言的不同，更是表达习惯和心理期待的不同。学会理解彼此的“默契”，才能走得更近。

你有遇到过类似的小误会吗？欢迎留言告诉我，我们一起拆解文化“潜台词”！

Yesterday, one of my students shared her experience of culture shock in China:
“When I sneezed, no one said ‘Bless you.’ I felt like everyone ignored me, as if no one cared about me.”

Why do Americans say “Bless you”?
In English-speaking cultures, saying “Bless you” when someone sneezes is considered a basic courtesy. It originated from religious traditions and conveys care and good wishes. In daily life, even strangers often automatically say “Bless you” when they hear someone sneeze.

Why don’t Chinese people say it?
In China, sneezing is not associated with any special “ritual” or social meaning. People are more focused on hygiene and practical concerns,
for example:
• “Are you catching a cold?”
• “Drink more water!”

Not saying anything doesn’t mean we don’t care.
It’s just that the way we express concern is different—more practical and indirect.

Where does the misunderstanding come from?
For Americans, not hearing “Bless you” might be interpreted as coldness or rudeness.
But for Chinese people, saying “Bless you” can sometimes feel strange or “too Western,” especially between strangers.

Tips for Cross-Cultural Moments:
• If you’re in China, don’t feel bad if no one says “Bless you” after you sneeze. Instead, observe if they show care in other ways.
• If you’re Chinese and want to make foreign friends feel more comfortable, you can try saying “Bless you” or “Take care” after they sneeze.

Cultural differences are not just about language, but also about habits of expression and different expectations.
By learning to understand each other’s “unspoken rules,” we can connect more deeply.

Have you ever experienced a similar little misunderstanding? Feel free to share in the comments—let’s explore the hidden layers of culture together!

The post 文化差异系列（二）：她打了个喷嚏，却觉得中国人不关心她？ appeared first on NihaoChinese.

HSK1 (Level1) Reading and Listening Practice_Stories of Xiaotao

Elena M — Sun, 27 Apr 2025 10:03:33 +0000

This story is based on HSK1 sentence patterns and vocabulary

小桃8岁了，她上小学一年级，她家有四口人，爸爸，妈妈，哥哥和她。她还有一只猫和一只狗。她的猫叫喵喵（miao1 miao），她的狗叫阿黄（a huang2）。猫是白色的，狗是黄色的。

小桃有很多爱好，比如唱歌、画画、弹吉他。但是她最喜欢的是书法（shu1 fa3 colligraphy），她每天都要练习写毛笔字。她的字写得很好。

小桃平时很忙，从周一到周五每天都要上课，下课后还要写作业，上兴趣班。周末不上课的时候，爸爸妈妈有时候会带她出去玩，他们经常去郊游，爸爸开车带她去爬山或者去湖边散步。

小桃喜欢吃很多东西，比如饺子，面条，包子还有她的最爱糖葫芦。糖葫芦很甜很好吃。但是不能多吃，因为会牙疼。小桃最喜欢穿白色的衣服，尤其是夏天，她的裙子都是白色的。小桃有两个很好的朋友，一个叫欢欢，另一个叫芳芳。他们都是8岁，在同一个年级nian2 ji2 (grade)，但是不同班级(ban1 ji2) class. 他们经常在一起写作业，做游戏。

现在很多小孩子都喜欢打游戏，但是小桃不喜欢，她喜欢看书，听音乐。她比较喜欢安静的活动。小桃平时8点半睡觉，但是有时候作业太多，写不完，她只能十点睡觉。妈妈觉得这样很不好，但是没办法，现在小孩子压力很大。

小桃每天走路去上学，因为她家离学校不远。她不喜欢坐公交车，因为需要等车，又不舒服。

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English Version:

Xiao Tao is 8 years old. She is in grade one of primary school. There are four people in her family, father, mother, brother and her. She also has a cat and a dog. Her cat’s name is miao1 miao and her dog’s name is a huang2. The cat is white and the dog is yellow.

Xiao Tao has many hobbies, such as singing, drawing and playing guitar. But her favorite was calligraphy (shu1 fa3 colligraphy), where she practiced writing brush characters every day. Her handwriting is very good.

Xiao Tao is usually very busy. She has to attend classes from Monday to Friday, after class she has to do homework, interest classes. When there is no class on weekends, her parents sometimes take her out to play, they often go for an outing, her father drives her to climb a mountain or go for a walk by the lake.

Xiao Tao likes to eat many things, such as dumplings, noodles, steamed buns and her favorite snacks sugar gourd. Sugar gourd is very sweet and delicious. But don’t eat too much, because it will hurt your teeth.

Xiao Tao likes to wear white clothes most, especially in summer, her skirts are all white.Xiao Tao has two very good friends, one is called Huanhuan, the other is called Fangfang. They are both 8 years old and in the same nian2 ji2 (grade), but different (ban1 ji2) class. They often do their homework and play games together.Nowadays many children like playing games, but Xiao Tao doesn’t. She likes reading books and listening to music. She prefers quiet activities.

Xiao Tao usually goes to bed at 8:30, but sometimes there is too much homework to finish, she can only go to bed at 10:00. Mom thinks it’s bad, but there’s no way. Kids are under a lot of pressure these days.

Xiao Tao walks to school every day, because her home is not far from school. She doesn’t like taking the bus because she has to wait for it and it’s uncomfortable.

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