Karen I. Chen is a writer, editor, and travel advisor. Karen's work has appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Departures, and more. While the prospect of ...

Burt: Correct! Mandarin characters don't give us the sound of a word, so the Chinese invented pinyin to help their learners. They took the letters of the Roman alphabet, the same we use for ...

Unlike the English language, which uses the Roman alphabet, Mandarin does not have an alphabet. Mandarin characters have developed over approximately 4,000 years. But Mandarin characters aren't ...

Learning simple Mandarin Chinese phrases and words is easier than it seems. While the prospect of learning a new language may seem daunting, making an effort to pick up a few useful words and ...