@YourWilliamGao
My Rough Itinerary for September (Basically Finalized) 📅 1. Departure & Train Ride to Xinjiang, China (Sept. 4–5)I’ll set off by train to Xinjiang, China. The journey will pass through northwest China, allowing me to enjoy the desert scenery along the way. 🏜️2. Xinjiang, China Stay (Approx. 4 days)I’ll spend around 4 days experiencing the local ethnic minority cultures. There are many mosques and Muslim-style buildings in the area, which I’m looking forward to exploring. 🕌3. Trip to Kazakhstan (Approx. 5 days)From Xinjiang, China, I’ll head to Kazakhstan—with possible stops in Almaty, Dostyk, or Astana along the way. Kazakhstan offers visa-free entry to Chinese citizens. The detailed itinerary is still being worked out, and I plan to stay here for about 5 days. 🇰🇿4. Trip to Russia (Initial 4 days in Novosibirsk; Moscow TBD)I’ll travel from Astana, Kazakhstan to Novosibirsk, Russia, and stay there for roughly 4 days (focusing only on Novosibirsk for now). Later, I might take a train to Moscow, but I’ve heard the local cost of living is quite high—I’m hoping my Russian friends can tell me the real situation. Currently, I’m still looking into visa requirements for traveling from Kazakhstan to Russia, and it seems e-visas may not be valid. 🇷🇺
Great News! I'm Going on a Trip to Russia～🎉 I want to share some super exciting news with everyone! Later this year, I plan to embark on a trip to Russia — this will be not only my last trip of 2025 but also my first time traveling abroad! 🥳 The specific time is tentatively set for late September or early November (the final date will be determined based on when my work ends, and I’ll choose one of the two time slots to depart～) I specifically checked the new regulations for Russia’s e-visa (tourist visa) while planning, and it’s so convenient!✅ Individuals can fill out the information and apply independently on the official website without visiting an offline location.✅ The fee for a single visa is approximately 300 RMB, which offers great value for money.✅ A single application allows a stay of up to 30 days in Russia, which is more than enough for a leisurely tour. I also have a little expectation — I’ve been learning Russian recently, and this time I’ll finally get to practice it in real-life situations locally. Just thinking about it makes me so excited～😆 Currently, the first stop of my itinerary is roughly set to be Moscow, but the final stop hasn’t been fully planned yet (I’ll choose an exit port authorized by Russia’s e-visa system). Once the subsequent plans are completely confirmed, I’ll post an update immediately. At that time, I also hope everyone can give me some suggestions! I hope that during this particularly meaningful trip to Russia, I’ll have the chance to meet all of you there～✨
Russian Learning Plan (Beginner) 📚 Weeks 1-2: Pronunciation 🗣️ Master 33 letters' sounds (hard/soft, voiceless/voiced) and basic rules. a.Use textbooks/apps (e.g., Duolingo) to listen and repeat.b.30 mins daily writing (note cursive vs printed).c.Practice with simple words (пить/to drink, есть/to eat). Weeks 3-4: Vocab & Sentences 📖 Learn ~500 daily words (food, numbers, family) and key patterns ("I am.../Это...", "I have.../У меня есть..."). a.20-30 words/day with examples (e.g., "Я ем яблоко. (I eat an apple.)").b.Practice nominative case via self-made sentences.c.Imitate intonation of short sentences. Weeks 5-8: Grammar & Talks 💬 Learn basic grammar (present tense verbs, noun plurals, genitive for possession) and simple conversations (greetings, directions). a.Apply grammar (e.g., genitive: "Это книга друга. (This is a friend’s book.)").b.Daily: 5-10 Russian descriptions (e.g., "Сегодня солнце. (It’s sunny today.)").c.Imitate subtitled beginner dialogues. Weeks 9-12: Consolidation 🌟 Reach 800-1000 vocab; read simple texts and master verb past/future tenses. a.Read easy materials (guess new words first).b.Write 50-100 word essays (e.g., "My Day").c.Dictate key words from beginner listening. Key Points ⚡ a.1-1.5 hours daily; stay consistent with Arabic (3 days/week).b.Use commutes for listening/word memorization.c.Take time with difficulties (e.g., cases); prioritize use over perfection.d.Use Hellotalk for native speaker help. Wish myself success! 🎉
Starting today, my Japanese study will be put on hold temporarily. After all, I’ve already built a certain foundation in Japanese, so I can resume it anytime. 😊 I want to learn about French. It should be only a little harder than English. I’ve been watching videos to summarize French learning tips. I plan to start learning French once I make some progress in either Russian or Arabic—French seems relatively easier. I’ll work out a French study plan after fully understanding its difficulties. Of course, I’ll only really start learning French when I make significant progress in either Arabic or Russian. 📚 I’m currently working on a Russian study plan and will share it tomorrow. Native speakers are welcome to give me more advice! 🙌
Sharing my day off with everyone: 1. Reviewed the 28 Arabic letters and practiced their strokes with a copybook 📖2. Explored some Arabic music, which is a beautiful blend of Western romanticism and religious culture. I really enjoy it—I basically played Arabic music all night (the singer is Sherine, and I listened to all the songs in her playlist) 🎵3. Learned the general history of Islam in the Arab world through a video. It made me find great joy in the Arabic language 😊I believe I’ll master it in the near future, and also learn more about Arab culture. The people there are very friendly ❤️
Since I started learning Arabic, I have begun revising my notes and reviewing the letters from last week. I took a test using computer AI and scored 80 points. Of course, I still need to review more.😎😎😎In my notebook, "L5" means this is the 5th language I’ve taken up 📚. The first four are Chinese, English, Japanese, and Russian, and the fifth is Arabic. There are also some little markers later on. For example, "0501" stands for Arabic letters – that’s the most basic unit ✏️. Going forward, any important sections will get their own markers too.
Today, let’s not talk about languages. Instead, I want to share a province in China: Yunnan 🌟 Yunnan is an extraordinarily beautiful place. In terms of scenery, it’s second only to Tibet and Xinjiang in China 🗻. Within a north-south distance of less than 500 kilometers, its altitude drops from a maximum of 6,000 meters to a minimum of just a few dozen meters ⛰️➡️🌾. It’s also home to the largest number of ethnic minorities in China 👨👩👧👦, each with their own unique culture. Yunnan serves as a bridgehead connecting China to Southeast Asian countries 🌏, and its capital, Kunming, is the starting point of all railways and highways from China to Southeast Asia 🚄🛣️. What’s more, Yunnan stands out for its unparalleled biodiversity 🦚🐘 and distinctive cuisine 🍜—truly one-of-a-kind! If you ever travel to China, you must visit Yunnan. Its stunning beauty will surely leave you with wonderful, unforgettable memories 💖!
Here's an update on my Arabic learning progress: I initially learned all 28 Arabic letters this past Monday. Over the past few days, during work breaks and after work, I’ve been trying hard to memorize them. I’ve set a goal for myself: to memorize the pronunciation and writing of all 28 letters within a week. Next Monday, I plan to use a question-search app or AI to randomly pick some letters, then read their pronunciations in a mock test to check my progress. I’ll post a video then to share the results, get feedback, and correct any mistakes! Thank you all for your help.❤❤❤
To all friends learning Chinese, Last week, I shared a Chinese study plan and tips for learning the first part of vowels. Today, I’m going to talk about tones! In China, Mandarin is the most widely used and official spoken language (I’ll still call it “Chinese” for simplicity here 😊). Chinese has 4 tones, numbered 1 to 4. Here’s how to remember them: - 1st tone: flat (like a straight line →)- 2nd tone: rising (like going up a hill ⬆️)- 3rd tone: dipping (like going down then up ↘️↗️)- 4th tone: falling (like going down a hill ⬇️) Important note: Every Chinese character has both pinyin (the romanization) AND a tone. You need to combine them when speaking! For example, the pronunciation of “你好” (hello) – check the comments for that 😊 For audio examples of the 4 tones, head to the comments too! You can follow along with the voice clips I posted to practice. Happy learning! 🚀
Dear Chinese learners 👋, I released the Chinese learning tips plan yesterday. Now, I'd like to share with you the pronunciations of Chinese vowels in the reading section, as well as English words with similar pronunciations. You can use them as a reference 📚! Chinese finals, key in Pinyin, fall into three types. Here’s a breakdown with their vowels and similar English sounds: 1️⃣ Simple Finals (single vowels) - a: Near "ah" (e.g., "Ah, I see!").- o: Like "aw" in "law"/"saw".- e: Close to weak "uh" in "her" (unstressed).- i: Sounds like "ee" in "see"/"bee".- u: Similar to "oo" in "too"/"zoo".- ü: No direct English match; near French "u" in "tu". 2️⃣ Compound Finals (vowel combinations) - ai: Like "i" in "eye" or pronoun "I".- ei: Near "ay" in "say"/"may".- ui: Similar to "ay" in "way"/"day" (slight mouth shape difference).- ao: Close to "ou" in "out".- ou: Resembles "o" in "go"/"no".- iu: Sounds like "ou" in "you"/"few".- ie: Near "e" in "yes".- üe: No exact English equivalent; similar to loanword "yue". 3️⃣ Nasal Finals (end with -n/-ng) - an: Like "un" in "sun".- en: Sounds like "en" in "pen"/"hen".- in: Resembles "in" in "pin"/"win".- un: Near "o" in "one".- ün: No direct match; close to weak "oon" in "moon".- ang: Like "ong" in "long"/"song".- eng: Close to "ing" in "sing"/"ring".- ing: Similar to "ing" in "king"/"thing".- ong: Resembles "ong" in "wrong"/"strong". 📝 Note: Chinese finals and English sounds aren’t identical—examples are approximations for help.
Hello everyone! 😃 Many people want to learn Chinese. From my childhood learning experience, I’ve summed up a study route for reference: Following language rules, focus on spoken language first, then writing and comprehension. It has three parts: reading, writing, and comprehension. A. Reading 📖 1. Vowels: 10 basic vowels (a, o, e, etc.) and 13 compound vowels (ai, ei, etc.) are key to pronunciation. 😎2. Combined sounds: Practice vowel combinations to speak fluently, e.g., "好 (hǎo)" mixes "a" and "o". 🤗3. Tones: Learn the four tones (level, rising, falling-rising, falling) to avoid confusion. 🙅♀️4. Single-character sounds: Note polyphonic words, like "行" (xíng in "行动" [action], háng in "银行" [bank]). 🧐5. Words & sentences: Watch stress and intonation—declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences sound different. 😜6. Punctuation pauses: Master commas (short pauses), periods (long pauses), and ellipses (variable pauses). 😔7. Paragraph reading: Adjust tone and volume to show emotions, e.g., louder/faster for passion, softer/slower for lyricism. 👏 B. Writing ✍️ Start after mastering sounds and tones; learn with comprehension: 1. Strokes: Know basics like horizontal, vertical, and left-falling strokes. 🌟2. Single characters: Write radicals smaller, main parts larger (use copybooks, e.g., "好"). 📘3. Punctuation: Learn common ones, like enumeration commas for lists ("苹果、香蕉" [apples, bananas]). 🤝4. Paragraphs: Follow rules, e.g., indent two spaces at the start. 📋 C. Comprehension 🧠 Need basic reading skills first; learn with writing: 1. Radicals: Use them to guess meanings, e.g., "氵" relates to water ("河、海" [river, sea]). 💧2. Vocabulary: Understand single, two, and three-character words to express better. 🌈3. Sentences: Tell apart sentence types to get their feelings and purposes. 🤔4. Paragraphs: Grasp logic between sentences/paragraphs to see the article’s structure. 📑 Hope this helps! Share questions in comments. 🙌
Good morning, Arabic friends. I’ll start learning Arabic once I receive the books tomorrow. Here’s my core plan: Learning should balance the language’s features with practicality. The alphabet is the foundation, and simple greetings can be learned alongside it. Step 1: Master the 28 letters (core). Note differences in their forms at the beginning, middle, and end of words, as well as pronunciation variations. First, learn to read (using textbooks/audio to grasp pronunciation), then learn to write (practice stroke order and reinforce by copying). Use Introduction to Arabic and related apps. Step 2: Combine basic vocabulary and sentence patterns. Once familiar with the alphabet, integrate simple expressions: learn greetings like “السلام عليكم (Hello)”, accumulate nouns (family, food, etc.) and verbs (to be, to have, etc.), and form sentences with patterns like “هذا... (This is...)”. Step 3: Systematically study grammar and advanced expressions. Progress gradually: elementary level – master noun plurals, genders, and verb tenses; intermediate level – learn complex sentences, prepositions, etc., and read short texts; advanced level – engage with literary/professional texts, practice writing and speaking. Summary: Focus on mastering letter reading and writing in 1-2 weeks, with simple expressions interspersed. Then, improve “grammar + vocabulary + listening, speaking, reading, writing” simultaneously. The alphabet is fundamental – a weak foundation will hinder later learning. Please share your suggestions. Thank you, and I’ll adjust accordingly.🙏🙏🙏
Arabic is not as difficult as imagined, nor is it that easy. Regarding the part of Arabic character recognition and reading, I have bought relevant books and copybooks. And starting from next month, I will begin learning it alongside Russian. I will keep going. When the time comes, I will share my learning experience with you.💪💪😊😊Please also ask everyone to supervise and correct me.👋
I want to share a story with everyone.💕During a short break in my Arabic speaking practice tonight, I picked up my water glass and took a sip. As the coolness of the glass spread, memories suddenly transported me back to the morning light of my high school classroom. ☀️ Back then, our homeroom teacher’s enamel cup always sat in the corner of the podium—its paint chipped, the school emblem faded, and over three years, we watched the tea stains grow darker with each passing day. In our second year, the whole class pooled money to buy him a shiny purple clay cup. He stroked the new cup and smiled, “This old one has seen me off three batches of students. I’ve got feelings for it.” 🥹 When I visited the school last year, sunlight slanted into the office, and that enamel cup was still in its place, with tea deposits at the bottom like amber. As he poured water, I suddenly noticed the faint marks on the rim—left by countless early morning classes when he held it while explaining questions. 🕰️ It turns out some commitments need no words. That cup never just held tea; it held the unspoken “thank yous” from generations of students and his unwavering enthusiasm. ❤️
🙋♀️ I want to share something with everyone, and especially want to remind our foreign friends: If you encounter a Chinese person who asks about marriage 👰🤵 right off the bat, there's absolutely no need to take it to heart, let alone dwell on it. Just refuse them directly and plainly ❌, and if necessary, you can even counter appropriately—make sure to protect yourselves 🛡️. These individuals are likely misled by wrong ideas. It's important to remember that the original purpose of this platform is to provide opportunities for learning languages 🗣️ from around the world, conducting cultural exchanges 🌏, and making normal friends 👫. It is by no means a breeding ground for such uncomfortable behaviors that border on verbal harassment 🙅. I feel ashamed 😳 of these people with inappropriate conduct; they have indeed harmed China's international image 🗺️. But please believe that the vast majority of Chinese people are friendly 😊. So when you encounter such incidents, don't let them weigh on your mind. Just focus on doing your own thing well ✨.
Continuing from the previous episode, I used the wrong corresponding translation. Thank you for correcting my mistake. Thanks!🙆🙆🙆（A）ma saa al khair is Good evening.（B）Do sabeh ala hair is Good morning.The order of the original notes was reversed😂, but it has been corrected.✓One more question for everyone: which of the following is usually used to greet someone?a salam a lay kum and mar haban？
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