Hidden gem in Ikebukuro sells unique flavours of nikuman you’d never find in a convenience store.
Chinese
Colorful costumes and elegant poses guide passengers through safety instructions with remarkable style and finesse.
Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui has won herself plenty of new fans from around the globe with her delightfully candid interview at the Rio Olympics.
A new Chinese commercial features claims of an electric fan that generates an air pocket of wind that feels like a pair of breasts. Ingenious invention or just marketing?
Dayside Productions is about to drop a hot new release that Zelda fans never knew they wanted.
The various related but often unintelligible Chinese language varieties collectively have 1.2 billion first-language speakers. Of those varieties, Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese or Putonghua, has 848 million native speakers, which is higher than any other language on Earth. It’s no wonder that more and more people around the world are seeing the practicality of learning Chinese as a second language.
However, learning a second language takes time and effort, especially if the intrinsic features of your target language differ significantly from those of your native language. A recent YouTube video titled “Foreigners’ Difficulties of Learning Chinese” explores this exact scenario by asking four Westerners about their own experiences studying the language.
Whether you’ve already dabbled in Chinese yourself or are thinking about it, the short clip makes for an interesting watch for anyone looking to expand their linguistic horizons.
After a controversial Halloween stunt landed them in some hot water, Shanghai prankster group Monkey Kingz is back and at it again–and this time, with a decidedly less-gory theme.
Their latest video is titled “Single Chinese Guy vs Single White Guy,” which pokes fun at the predicaments of two available guys, one Chinese and one white, on Singles’ Day in China. In a hilarious sequence of short clips, the two men try busting out all the moves to win over a girl using exceptionally different tactics. Will they find true love, or will they be forced to spend Singles’ Day wallowing in total rejection? Watch the video and see the funny progression of events for yourself!
With their complex writing systems, getting around in Japan or China can be stressful for even the most seasoned of tourists. Sure, you could carry a travel dictionary in your pocket while you go sightseeing, but how are you supposed to look up all those funny looking sticks and squiggles when you don’t even know how to pronounce them? Often the locals try to be helpful by providing an English translation, but there are reasons why that doesn’t always work out. If only there was a way to just wave your magic smartphone over some unintelligible text and have it provide a reliable translation on the spot. Well, as we discovered over at Shanghai List, there’s an app for that.
We’ve all seen a strange work of public art at some point while traveling–you know, that piece that makes you scratch your head and look at it upside-down to try to figure out just what the heck is going on. Fortunately for the residents of San Francisco, they have their very own bizarre–and ginormous–piece of public art to contemplate whenever they feel like it.
Japanese internet users recently stumbled across photos of this particular sculpture created by Chinese artist Zhang Huan and were quick to comment on its unique appearance. One fan even decided that it resembled nothing other than the final boss of a video game. While we’re pretty sure that’s not the interpretation that the artist was going for, the fan’s cleverly manipulated photo still gave us a chuckle.
The Chinese language is widely regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn.
There are more than 80,000 Chinese characters in existence, although a non-native speaker can get by with 1,000 of the most frequently used.
To make matters more complicated, the characters that make up each word or phrase individually carry different meanings based on the context in which they’re used. For example, the Chinese character 吃 could mean “eat,” “drink,” “bear,” or “take,” depending on the phrase that surrounds it.
As hard as the language is, it can also be incredibly poetic when translated character by character into English, and sometimes hilarious.
Everyone loves a good tongue twister, especially when getting to grips with a new language. I’ve had fun being challenged by Japanese coworkers at drinking parties to get my mouth around phrases like basu gasu bakuhatsu (“the bus gas explodes”) five times in a row, or aka-makigami ao-makigami ki-makigami (“red paper roll, blue paper roll, yellow paper roll”) on many occasions, but this Chinese tongue twister blows them all out of the water.
MOST POPULAR
Now
Man arrested in Japan after leaving car in coin parking lot for six years, racking up three-million-yen bill
New Family Mart cinema opens inside Japanese airport
Swapping seats on Japan’s bullet trains is not allowed, Shinkansen operator says
All Tokyo public high schools abolish rules forcing students to dye non-black hair, underwear color regs
Japan law lets you claim reward for finding lost property, man may have scammed it over 60 times
Pokémon menstrual pads appear in Japan【Photos】
Downloads of 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses song increase 12,166 percent thanks to Gundam
Draw like a Studio Ghibli anime artist with exclusive watercolour set approved by Hayao Miyazaki
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
Rice-flavor popsicles from Garigari-kun are Japan’s newest head-scratching sweet treats
Weekly
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
Three beautiful places to see Japan’s plum blossoms after starting your day in downtown Tokyo- Downloads of 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses song increase 12,166 percent thanks to Gundam
Cherry blossom forecasts map shows Japan’s OTHER sakura season is starting right now
Take a trip to Japan’s Dododo Land, the most irritating place on Earth
Huge Evangelion Unit-01 head appearing in lights in Japan to celebrate anime’s 30th anniversary
Family Mart releases huge range of cute sweets for Cat Day in Japan
Japan’s first all-matcha ramen restaurant is now open in Kyoto【Photos】
7-Eleven Japan sells freshly baked pizzas…but are they any good?
New Studio Ghibli stamps leave an impression on your stationery…and your heart
Monthly
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Japan releases first official sakura cherry blossom forecast for 2026
Archfiend Hello Kitty appears as Sanrio launches new team-up with Yu-Gi-Oh【Pics】
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning looks to be affecting tourist crowds on Miyajima- Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino and latte for Valentine’s Day
Studio Ghibli releases new “komorebi” plush toys from Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away
Yokai are descending upon Tokyo this spring in the latest immersive art experience
Japan’s Naruto theme park now offering real-world version of Minato’s kunai ninja weapon- New Studio Ghibli stamps leave an impression on your stationery…and your heart
Yearly
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo- Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Pokémon menstrual pads appear in Japan【Photos】
Downloads of 39-year-old Guns N’ Roses song increase 12,166 percent thanks to Gundam
Draw like a Studio Ghibli anime artist with exclusive watercolour set approved by Hayao Miyazaki
Japan has a new bar just for people thinking about quitting their jobs, and the drinks are free
Rice-flavor popsicles from Garigari-kun are Japan’s newest head-scratching sweet treats
Japanese convenience store demands ransom from owner of car parked illegally in its lot
Studio Ghibli releases new action figures featuring Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind characters
Chikan molester runs away from Japanese schoolgirls at train station in Japan【Video】
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting the lines at a popular Tokyo gyukatsu restaurant?
Goodbye, Megaweb! Downtown Tokyo’s coolest car museum is closing for good【Photos】
7-Eleven Japan sells freshly baked pizzas…but are they any good?
One of Japan’s rarest sweets is a sell-out hit that looks and tastes like frost
Virtual idol Hatsune Miku now has her own line of real intimate apparel 【Photos】
-
