By Two Chinese Characters

Vocabulary

Characters  Pinyin English
你好 nǐ hǎo hello, hi
běi north (N)
jīng capitol (N)
北京 Běijīng Beijing (PN)

Get the pdf worksheet here.

More Two Chinese Characters

Click here to read the national AP wire story featuring the “Two Chinese Characters” as part of a discussion of how Western media commentators pronounced “Beijing” during the 2008 Olympics. It’s hilarious, and historically enlightening.

The “Two Chinese Characters” (“2CC”) appeared on the US National Public Radio program “Only a Game” on 23 January 2010. Hear the full interview here.

John Weinstein is a professor at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where Berkshire Publishing is located. Carsey Yee, a Harvard classmate, co-edited the Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama with Weinstein.