Can you read this nutrition label in Chinese?
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Hi friends, today I'm going to share and break down a real Chinese sign I see all the time, a nutrition label!
Being able to read signs in Chinese is very useful since these are the same signs that native speakers interact with every single day. 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.
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 below to hear the correct audio pronunciation.
yíngyǎng biāoshì
营养 标示
營養 標示
Nutritional label
měiyī fènliang 20 gōngkè
每一 份量 20 公克
每一 份量 20 公克
each portion 20 grams
běn bāozhuāng hán 20 fèn
本 包装 含 20 份
本 包裝 含 20 份
This package contains 20 portions
rèliàng
热量
熱量
Calories
dàkǎ
大卡
大卡
Kilocalories
dànbáizhì
蛋白质
蛋白質
Protein
zhīfáng
脂肪
脂肪
Fat
bǎohézhīfáng
饱和脂肪
飽和脂肪
Saturated fat
fǎnshìzhīfáng
反式脂肪
反式脂肪
Trans fat
tànshuǐhuàhéwù
碳水化合物
碳水化合物
Carbohydrates
táng
糖
糖
Sugar
shànshí xiānwéi
膳食 纤维
膳食 纖維
Dietary fibre
nà
钠
鈉
Sodium
háokè
毫克
毫克
Milligrams
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?
营养 标示
營養 標示
Nutritional label
每一 份量 20 公克
每一 份量 20 公克
each portion 20 grams
本 包装 含 20 份
本 包裝 含 20 份
This package contains 20 portions
热量
熱量
Calories
大卡
大卡
Kilocalories
蛋白质
蛋白質
Protein
脂肪
脂肪
Fat
饱和脂肪
飽和脂肪
Saturated fat
反式脂肪
反式脂肪
Trans fat
碳水化合物
碳水化合物
Carbohydrates
糖
糖
Sugar
膳食 纤维
膳食 纖維
Dietary fibre
钠
鈉
Sodium
毫克
毫克
Milligrams
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 Monday for more real examples.
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