141 I Got It

Charlie Hoffs, from the USA, learnt Chinese through self-study in just a few years. She shares the story of how she chose a Chinese name for herself, based on three of her favorite characters, which include 明, which is also a part of the word for ”understand” 明白.

So when you’re conversing with a Chinese speaker, how do you let them know that you understand, or perhaps even more importantly, that you don’t understand what they’ve just told you?

”To understand” 明白 in made up of 明 ”bright” and 白 ”white,” which means that when something is bright white, then it’s clear and you understand. Adding the negative character 不 will negate the meaning to 不明白 ”don’t understand.”