Today on the Skritter blog we’ll be exploring a phrase that is both culturally and seasonally relevant, Du Mu‘s opening line from his poem “清明” (Qīngmíng: Tomb Sweeping Festival); a time for people to go out and enjoy …

This week on the Skritter blog we’ll be addressing the issue of where to find suitable reading material for your level. I’ve been wanting to explore this topic for some time, but the post was …

Here at Skritter we are all about making learning to read and write Chinese and Japanese characters as easy and effective as possible. For those who started learning characters in the pre-Skritter days, or the …

If you’ve ever used or heard of programs like Rossetta Stone or Pimsleur, then you’re probably already familiar with the general concept of language parroting. Here I mean the act of listening and repeating in …

In this weeks edition of culture corner we look back at revolutionary China, and a famous saying by Mao Ze-Dong: (S) 好好学习，天天向上 (T) 好好學習，天天向上 (P) hǎo hǎo xué xí, tiān tiān xiàng shàng (E) Study …

Slurping soup for politeness, reading a book right to left, the side of the road you drive on, and the emergency telephone number in Japan (119) are not the only things “backwards”-seeming to Americans, but …

Today on the Skritter blog I’m proud to introduce the first entry in the Culture Corner series. Culture Corner was inspired in a large part by an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with Olle over …