Can you read this cafe sign in Chinese?

Hi friends, Danyo here 👋. Every week I encounter lots of real examples of Chinese being used in daily life and I want to share it with other learners who don't have the opportunity to live in a Mandarin-speaking environment.

That's why I'm starting a weekly email to break down real examples of everyday Chinese, to help you level-up your Chinese. Does this interest you? Is this helpful? Reply to this email and let me know!

Today, I'm going to break down a sign I saw today at a local cafe in Taiwan.

Being able to read signs in Chinese is incredibly useful because it helps me engage with and function in a Mandarin-speaking environment. These are the same signs that native speakers interact with every single day.

Unfortunately, most people skip learning how to read Chinese or they learn to read the wrong stuff and thus, easily lose motivation.

Why I avoided learning to read "native" material like signs:

1. I thought reading Chinese characters was too hard to learn

2. I thought reading from a traditional textbook would prepare me for the real world

3. I didn't have access to real Chinese material until I moved to a Mandarin-speaking environment

4. I didn't have a system to help me break down native material

Benefits of reading signs in Chinese:

1. They are practical (useful for daily life rather than reading from textbooks)

2. They are interactive (helps engage with environment rather than rote memorizing canned phrases)

3. They have a pattern (learn once & transferable to other native material)

4. They are ubiquitous (lots of opportunities for spaced repetition)

This is why I love reading signs and other REAL Chinese material. Below is the 4-step method I use for breaking down real Chinese material for improved comprehension and retention.

Step 1: View original text & try to read as much as you can.

How much can you understand?

This will help you gauge your current knowledge so that can you fill in the gaps as you move forward.

Step 2: Study original text with pinyin + translations.

Use this step to look up every word you don't understand. View this on your chrome browser so you can turn on pop-up Chinese definitions whenever you hover over characters. Click on the pinyin to hear the correct audio pronunciation.

Step 3: Read out loud a third time without pinyin.

Most people stop at the second step. This third repetition will help you consolidate your knowledge further using the power of active recall. Did you get your tones right as you read out loud?

Step 4: Read the original text again without pinyin + translations.

Finally, read the original text one more time without the help of translations and pinyin and observe how much more you understand now.

Were you able to read & understand it without the pinyin and translations?

👍 Yes - Congrats, you've just read a real sign in Chinese!👎 No - No worries, go back to step two and try again.

The above is based on my 4-step method that harnesses the power of repetition and active recall that significantly improved my reading comprehension and confidence and is still a method I use regularly as an advanced learner.

If you implement this into your study routine, I'm confident you will retain more of what you learn and be more confident interacting with real Chinese material.

See you again next week for more real examples.

Was this helpful for you? Would you be interested if I did these weekly? Is there anything else you'd like to see? Reply to this email and let me know, it helps me a lot!

Looking for more authentic Chinese resources?

1. Get the Real Taiwan Mandarin Art + Phrasebook here.

2. More educational products and Notion templates to help you study here.