Meaning: to separate; divide; untie; undo Origin: 甲骨文的字形由“牛”、“角”和两只手组成，意思是用手解剖牛角，所以“解”的基本意思是“分开”、“打开”。 On ancient oracle bone inscriptions, “解” is made up of the characters representing a cow, ox horn and two hands, which together mean to dissect ox Read More

Structure: Subject + 还 + Verb + Object Meaning: “还” (hái) can be used to indicate that something is continuing – that it’s still a particular way. Examples:     他 还 在 看 书。 Read More

Structure : Subject + 可以 + Verb + Object Meaning: Permission is expressed with the auxiliary verb 可以. It might be helpful to think of 可以 as meaning “may.” This will help to keep Read More

Meaning: dark, dim, confused Origin: 甲骨文“昏”字像太阳落到了人的手臂的高度，表示“到了天暮的时候”，这就是字的本义。引申为“昏暗”、“糊涂”等义。 On oracle bones inscriptions, the character “昏” looked like the sun falling into a man’s arms. It meant “the time of sunset,” which then extended to “dim,” “confused,” Read More

Meaning: exchange; convert; add (water, etc.) Origin: “兑”是“悦”的本字，字形的下半是一个人，上半突出了他的嘴和嘴角的笑纹。现在另有“悦”字表示喜悦，“兑”的意思为换取。 “兑” is the original version of the character “悦.” The lower part is a person and the upper part is an exaggeration of a laughing mouth. Read More

Meaning: state-owned; collective; common; general; public affairs Origin: 这个字的上部“八”是分的意思，下部的“口”表示所分的物品，用平分东西表示“公平”。 The upper of this character is “八”，which means to separate, and the lower part is “口”, which represents the goods being divided. Likewise, the word Read More

Meaning: bent; twisted; song; tune; music Origin: 甲骨文的“曲”像曲尺形，本义是“弯曲”，和“直”相对（音qū）。又有“乐曲”的意思（音qǔ）。 On ancient oracle bone inscriptions, the character “曲” resembles a curved ruler, so its original meaning was “bent,” the opposite of straight, and it was pronounced Read More

Structure: Subject + 不太  + Adjective Meaning: You may be familiar with using “太”(tài) to express “too” in the sense of “too expensive.” There’s a similar pattern in the negative, which just means “not Read More

Structure as an adjective: Subject + ( verb) + 差不多 + ( 的 + Noun ) Meaning: As an adjective, “差不多” can be placed directly after the subject of the sentence and, when coupled Read More

Structure: Subject + 刚 + Verb Meaning: “刚” expresses that the action happened not long ago. It’s used the same way as “刚刚”. Examples: 1. 我 刚 做 完 今天 的 工作。     Wǒ Read More