The Chinese idiom, "San Xin Er Yi," literally means, "Three hearts, two thoughts." It can be used to describe someone who splits his energy between many things instead of focusing on one task at a time. The simple vocabulary in this video gives an example of "San Xin Er Yi."

This idiom is used as a metaphor for the punishment of a person to alert others to correct their behavior.

Hear the story from which the saying, "Hun Shui Mo Yu" came about. It means to take advantage of a chaotic time or deliberately create confusion to obtain benefits.

This Chinese idiom advises people not to give up halfway through or leave something unfinished.

"Shou Zhu Dai Tu" means, "Sitting by a stump, waiting for a careless rabbit to hit the stump." Originally, it referred to the routineer in an ironic way. Later, the metaphor came to mean one does not take the initiative to work hard and wants to get a windfall.

Do you know whether ginger grows on the ground or in a tree? Unfortunately for the man in this video, neither does he.

This story brings alive the Chinese idiom about contentment. It depicts how a small little bird that is not strikingly beautiful stays happy every day.

This video explains the origin of the Chinese proverb "Ai Wu Ji Wu."

The story continues with Liu Bang plotting to seize the strategically-important Guanzhong area with a clever tactic of deception dubbed "To Secretly Cross at Chencang." After defeating Xiang Yu, Liu Bang went on to found the Han Dynasty.

Learn the story behind the idiom, "A third party benefits from a tussle."

A grizzly tale of a mysterious series of murders in Qing-era Guangdong gives us a saying which means "an absence of justice." This video explains the origins of the phrase and breaks down its meaning character by character.

This Eastern Han-era story of a principled man who turned down a duke's invitation is the origin of an expression which means "to flatter and suck up to."

Never look down on someone who is not as good as you in some areas. Here's why.

Learn how the story of two impostors inspired the idiom, "To catch a turtle in a jar" (To go after easy prey).

Learn how a trusting shepherd inspired the idiom, "To usher the wolf into the house" (To ask for trouble).

Learn about the origin of some Chinese characters which were derived from pictures of what the characters represent.

Learn about the origin of some Chinese characters which were derived from pictures of what the characters represent.

Learn not only the meaning behind some Chinese characters, but also how they were originally derived from pictures. These characters are of the agricultural variety.

Spring, summer, autumn, winter- learn the story behind these seasonal characters.

Learn the stories behind some characters of the animal variety.

Have you ever wondered why a Chinese character is written the way it is written? The Chinese characters are logograms, unlike the English language that utilize Latin characters. The Chinese characters could be represented by pictograms, depicting one or an aggregate of pictures or ideograms depicting an idea/icon symbolically. Join us to learn the roots of some of the Chinese characters. In this episode, you will discover the formation of "horn," "flower," and "grass," to name a few.

Have you ever wondered why a Chinese character is written the way it is written? The Chinese characters are logograms, unlike the English language that utilize Latin characters. The Chinese characters could be represented by pictograms depicting one or an aggregate of pictures or ideograms depicting an idea/icon symbolically. Join us to learn the roots of some of the Chinese characters. In this episode, you will discover the formation of the "rind" of a fruit, "fur," "melon" and "fruit."

Have you ever wondered why a Chinese character is written the way it is written? The Chinese characters are logograms, unlike the English language that utilizes Latin characters. The characters could be represented by pictograms depicting one or an aggregate of pictures or ideograms depicting an idea or a borrowed word. Join us to learn the roots of some of the Chinese characters. In this episode, you will discover the formation of "pine," "peach," "willow" and "bamboo."

Learn a simple, fun way to say the four directions in Chinese as well as how to remember how to write them.