Meaning: 开门红 (kāi mén hóng) a good beginning Usage: 红色在中国有喜庆吉祥的意义。“开门红”这个词源于古代，逢年过节的时候大家都爱往门墙上贴一些红色福字或对联等，以此期待来年风调雨顺，日子兴旺发达。 后来用来比喻在一年开始或一项工作开始的时候就取得好成绩。 Red signifies luck and prosperity in China.“开门红”is originated in ancient times. People liked to paste red lucky character or red couplets on the wall on New Year’s Day, looking Continue Reading

Structure: Object + Verb + 好 + 了 Meaning: Forming a result complement with 好 has a very similar meaning to forming one with 完. It expressed that the action has been completed successfully. Examples:     饭 吃 好 了。 Continue Reading

Meaning: 捧场 (pěngchǎng) to roll logs for sb. Usage: “捧场”本义是指专门到剧场为演员的表演喝彩。后引申义是为别人的表演加油或支持别人的活动，常用的结构是“为/给某人捧场”。 “捧场” originally means to cheer an actor’s performance in theater. It extendedly means to cheer or support somebody’s performance. The common structure is “为/给某人捧场”. Examples: 1. 这家公司成立时，很多名人都来捧场。     Zhè jiā Continue Reading

Structure: Object + Subject + Verb + 错 + 了 Meaning: To express that an action resulted in an error, you can use a result complement with -错. This covers what is often expressed with the adverb “incorrectly” in English Continue Reading

Meaning: 兜风 (dōufēng)  go for a drive Usage: “兜风”的本义是指船帆或者车篷挡住风，引申为骑马、坐车或者乘船在外面游逛。 The original meaning of “兜风” is to catch the wind by sails or hoods. It extendedly means to drive, to ride or take a boat around for fun. Examples: 1. 那时候，他们下午经常在附近乡下骑马兜风。 Continue Reading

Structure: Subject + Verb + 到 / 给 /  在 Meaning: One kind of complement in Chinese involves putting 到, 给 or 在 after the verb. These are used to indicate direction, target and location, respectively. 到 (dào) indicates that Continue Reading

Structure: Verb / Adjective + 得 + Description Meaning: Descriptive complements are used to describe the action of a verb. This would be done with an adverb in English Examples:     你 说 得 很 好。     Nǐ shuō dé Continue Reading

Structure: Subject + Verb + 完 + 了 + Object Meaning: As well as with 到 and 见, you can also form result complements with 完. This indicates that an action is finished or completed. Examples:    我 昨天晚上 看 Continue Reading

Structure: Verb + 得 / 不 + [complement] Meaning: Potential complements can be positive or negative. What this means is fairly intuitive – potential complements can be used to express that something can happen or that it can’t. Examples:     Continue Reading

Meaning: 凤凰男 (fènghuángnán) phoenix man Usage: “凤凰男”是指家境贫寒的农村男孩，通过自己的勤奋和努力，依靠自身的能力在城市里立足。他们一般都拥有一份不错的工作，和城市女孩结婚，并逐渐融入城市生活。 “凤凰男” means a poor rural boy who relies on his own abilities to gain a foothold in the cities through diligence and effort. He usually has a good job, a wife from the Continue Reading