Friendship Post in Chinese

Can you read it?

Hey fellow Mandarin learners, today we’ll break down a short online post in Chinese about friendship I came across recently. 

The post was made on Weibo, a popular social media site in China similar to Twitter.

Native speakers see posts like this every day.  If we want to be like them, we need to read what they read.

Lets get started.

---

Step 1: Listen & Read

Listen to the speaker reading out the sign and follow along with the characters & pinyin below. Listen to as many times as you like.

This may seem intimidating because you may not understand much initially, but don’t worry! This is to help you get used to the sounds. We’ll get into the translation in the next step.

Hǎo péngyǒu jiān hǎo dādàng jiān xiōngdì

好朋友兼好搭档兼兄弟

好朋友兼好搭檔兼兄弟

Step 2: English Translations

Read the English translations and vocabulary list and check how much you understood.

Hǎo péngyǒu jiān hǎo dādàng jiān xiōngdì

好朋友兼好搭档兼兄弟

好朋友兼好搭檔兼兄弟

A good friend and a good partner and a brother

Vocabulary List:

Access the full lesson with vocabulary lists, a study tracker, audio pronunciation, real video examples, flashcard review, and more here:

Step 3: Repetition

Most people stop after reading the translation, but they miss the most important step: repetition. This will help you improve your reading and speaking.

Read the characters out loud with the pinyin. Focus on getting the correct tones. Go back to the original audio in Step 1 if you need to hear it again.

Hǎo péngyǒu jiān hǎo dādàng jiān xiōngdì

好朋友兼好搭档兼兄弟

好朋友兼好搭檔兼兄弟

Step 4: Final Test

Bring things full circle and read the original text one more time without pinyin. This will prepare you for the real world.

How does it feel compared to when you first read it?

Congrats! You just read a real-world Chinese sign!

I used this simple but powerful 4-step method to help me get fluent in Mandarin, consume native content, and speak with locals confidently.

See you again next week for another real-world breakdown. 

---

When you’re ready, here are some other ways I can help you:

1. The Language Learner OS: The all-in-one study system I used to learn fluent Chinese that combines vocab lists, flashcards, journals, goals & more.

2. The Monthly Signs: Access full lessons of real signs with vocab lists, audio pronunciation guides, real video examples, flashcard reviews and more!