Today we give you the keys to the Middle Kingdom, in the form of two magical sounds that will amaze and baffle your conversation partners in turn. Used with judicious moderation, this disyllabic incantation will let others know you're doing just fine, and there's no problem whatsoever. Used maliciously, it can buy you enough time for a quick getaway on whatever rustabout Soviet construction equipment happens to be nearby. Not that we're advocating theft. Seriously.
johan.helenius
 said on
October 13, 2008

This is well below my level, but I just want to make you aware of a tiny mistake in the vocabulary section. Meishi,Meishi.
trevelyan
 said on
October 13, 2008
thanks johan. we went just went from 有事 to 没事. :)

benchannevy
 said on
October 30, 2008
useful lesson: bie guan wo!; bie tou dongxi! are expressions worth learning!
b_s_odriscoll
 said on
September 2, 2009
shi4= to be

shi4= problem

did i miss anything?

thanks from an absolutely absolute beginner
Echo
 said on
September 2, 2009
@b_s_odriscoll,

Welcome to the site! Huan1ying2!

These are two different characters with the same pronunciation.

是 = to be (shi4)

事 = matters or problems (shi4)

In this lesson, 没事 (mei2shi4）is the second one. It means "I don't have problems".

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
b_s_odriscoll
 said on
September 3, 2009
Thank you for the warm welcome, and thanks for clearing this one up. I am enjoying the lessons and hope to use some phrases the next time I go to my local take away. Xiexie!

pradhanarvind
 said on
December 20, 2009
你们说用哈尔滨的口音吗？
Echo
 said on
December 21, 2009
@pardhanarvind,

我们主要教大家说普通话，但是我们也有一些说东北话的课：http://www.popupchinese.com/lessons/advanced/the-northeasterner-part-ii

另外，如果你想了解哈尔滨口音，随时都可以找Brendan，他在哈尔滨呆过一年半 :)

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
finalstar124
 said on
March 4, 2010
So don't laugh at me would be 别笑我？
LanZi
 said on
March 4, 2010
@finalstar124

Exactly. 别笑我！
tkungred
 said on
March 24, 2011
just saying you guys doing a great job!

Thanks!!!
Echo
 said on
March 24, 2011
@tkungred,

谢谢！And welcome to Popup Chinese big family, 欢迎 :)

Please feel free to write to me or leave a comment on the site if you have any questions or suggestions.

--Echo

echo@popupchinese.com
silvamartinsfellipe
 said on
June 20, 2013
I had as much fun listening to this lesson as learning the content!! way to go!
zaloniii
 said on
June 11, 2014
All your lessons are just so fun! Having a great time here. And I'd like to mention, the picture for this lesson is hilarious!! Thanks for the tractor, suckers! :-D

coryellison
 said on
February 5, 2015
What is the la I hear placed at the end of a sentence occasionally? "别说 la."
Liamduegan
 said on
February 5, 2015
it a way of showing your tone depending on the context it could mean your joking or sarcastic or annoyed
raphael_fgf
 said on
August 24, 2015
The lessons are cool, good work guys! I find it nice that you always mention the different ways a word can be pronounciated according to the local accent, but I THINK it would be better to tell your audience that the Beijing accent is actually not regarded as the "correct" one by most of the Chinese. I am NOT saying it is wrong either (who am I to get into that merit anyway). I am just pointing out that one will not hear things like 没事儿, 串儿, or 这个/那个 being pronounciated as "zheige"/"neige" outside the 东北 region, and that region represents only a small portion of China. Besides, I myself have learned the Chinese language both in Beijing and Shanghai and, to be honest, I found it slightly easier in Shanghai, for there "you hear what is written". Ahaha, can't remember how many times I was deceived by the Beijing accent while in there, even to get around my own neighborhood in 三里屯, or should I say 三里屯儿? Cheers!
n_danese
 said on
February 8, 2017
Hi,

Just learned about your website recently. I think it's great! Thank you for all the free content and useful tutorials!

Nick