Sour: suān / 酸
Sweet: tián / 甜
Bitter: kǔ / 苦
Spicy: là / 辣
Much like English, these words are not restricted to food only. For example, kǔ (苦) can also mean “hardship”, “pain” and “suffering”.
If you combine all 4 flavours, you’ll get a phrase: Suān Tián Kǔ Là (酸甜苦辣). This phrase describes the joys and sorrows of life and the whole range of emotions.
Aside from being mildly poetic, it’s also a handy phrase to remember the flavours, as they are listed in order of tones. Suān (1st, level) Tián (2nd, rising) Kǔ (3rd, rising-falling) Là (4th, falling)
Bǐjiào (比较) can be a tricky concept for Mandarin beginners grasp. On one hand, it’s used for comparison, but it’s also used as an adverb like “quite” or “fairly”.
Bǐjiào for comparison
nǎ yī jiàn yīfu bǐjiào hǎo kàn? / 哪一件衣服比较好看? / which one (of these clothes) looks better?
shéi bǐjiào gāo? / 谁比较高? / who is taller?
zhè ge bǐjiào hǎochī / 这个比较好吃 / this one tastes better
Bǐjiào as an adverb
wǒ jīntiān bǐjiào máng / 我今天比较忙 / I’m quite busy today
wǒmen bǐjiào è / 我们比较饿 / we’re fairly hungry
shàng zhōu bǐjiào rè / 上周比较热 / it was pretty hot last week
Yǐjīng (已经) is pretty much identical usage to already.
tā yǐjīng qǔ shàngbān le / 她已经去上班了 / she’s already gone to work
tāmen yǐjīng zǒu le / 他们已经走了/ they’ve already left
wǒ yǐjīng chī fàn le / 我已经吃饭了/ I’ve already eaten
tā yǐjīng xiàbān le / 他已经下班了/ he’s already gotten off work
jīntiān wǒ yǐjīng xuéxí le / 今天我已经学习了/ I’ve already studied today wǒ yǐjīng xiě hǎo le / 我已经写好了/ I’ve already finished writing
Use háishi 还是 and huòzhě 或者 to express “OR” when talking about alternatives.
或者 when you are talking about similar, interchangeable things:
今天或者明天都行
还是 when you are talking about alternatives. usually found in questions:
在这里吃还是带走？
