The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
Faced with the cultural and traditional Goliath that is the Chinese characters, how can we imitate David?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
Is a character like “喇” really less ambiguous than a Pīnyīn expression like “lǎ”?
Joshua 2:1 in the Mandarin NWT Study Bible, in the JW Library app
Joshua 2:1 in the PDF for the old printed Pīnyīn NWT Bible
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[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
The following language-learning resource for the Learn From the Bible book (currently being studied at Congregation Bible Study meetings) now matches the 2025-03 Printing of that publication, and all the scriptures in it from the Mandarin New World Translation Bible now match the nwtsty 2024 version of that Bible:
can be used offline in supporting browsers, icon can be added to the home screenIn the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
Note that like other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.
On the iPhone, the iPad, and in WebKit-based web browsers (e.g., Safari, Orion) on the Mac, scripture links labelled as “JW nwtsty” will go to the indicated scripture in the Mandarin New World Translation Study Bible in the JW Library app, if those are downloaded and installed. (I have not yet been able to test these links on Android or Windows. If you have been able to do so, email me to let me know the results!)
While incomplete, this material can help Mandarin field language learners—especially, but not only, those who can read English—to get past the Great Wall of characters and supercharge their efforts to prepare for and participate in Mandarin discussions using the Learn From the Bible book, such as those now scheduled for the Congregation Bible Study sections of our Life and Ministry meetings.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
In the _Learn From the Bible_ book _Pīnyīn_ Plus material, beginning in Lesson 48 for now, *JW _nwtsty_* scripture links are now available that go to the scriptures in the JW Library app, when tapped on an iPhone or iPad. (Android has not been tested yet.) troubadourworks.com/tiandi/lf...
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) Dec 26, 2025 at 11:11 PM
[image or embed]
>On an Apple Silicon Mac, when the *JW _nwtsty_* links are clicked in a WebKit-based browser like Safari or Orion, they go to the scriptures in the JW Library app. On other browsers, they go to the scriptures on jw.org. troubadourworks.com/tiandi/lfb/P...
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) Dec 26, 2025 at 11:24 PM
[image or embed]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
Are homophones really a showstopper when it comes to using Pīnyīn to write Mandarin? How are homographs a similar problem for characters?
Many claim that _Pīnyīn_ shouldn’t be used as a writing system because characters are required to avoid confusion from all the homophones (different words that sound the same) in Mandarin.
— Troubadour WW (@troubadourww) April 8, 2025
If that’s true, then people shouldn’t SPEAK Mandarin either! But many do, and it’s fine. pic.twitter.com/1MK0ERuFjc
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Partially proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better is available for up to Lesson 65 of the Learn From the Bible book in the following resource:
can be used offline in supporting browsers, icon can be added to the home screenIn the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.
While incomplete, this material can help Mandarin field language learners—especially, but not only, those who can read English—to get past the Great Wall of characters and supercharge their efforts to prepare for and participate in Mandarin discussions using the Learn From the Bible book, such as those now scheduled for the Congregation Bible Study sections of our Life and Ministry meetings.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
Updates and more _Pīnyīn_ Plus material added to _Learn From the Bible_ Bk. _Pīnyīn_ Plus web material for Lessons 18 & 19 (proofread, adjustable text size, integrated flashcards, context-appropriate human-translated English, CHS, CH, offline use, icon…) troubadourworks.com/tiandi/lfb/P...
— tiandi, Links News (@tiandilinksnews.bsky.social) September 12, 2025 at 6:48 PM
[image or embed]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
In the Mandarin field, how can we imitate David as we face a cultural Goliath?
“To Jehovah, for whom ‘a thousand years is as one day’, Chinese civilization has only been around for a few days.…
— tiandi, Links News (@TiandiLinksNews) June 9, 2024
“…we should boast in Jehovah, not in needlessly and self-indulgently complex knowledge relating to a mere worldly human culture” https://t.co/emXNAng9W2#MEotW pic.twitter.com/xEjlDPAkud
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A news feed for this blog is available here.
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
What distinctive feature of the Learn From the Bible book makes it especially beneficial in the Mandarin field?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
What kind of spiritual attack do Jehovah’s people, including those in the Mandarin field, need to be on guard against?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
For many Mandarin-speaking people, why is going through the Learn From the Bible book a journey of discovery?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
How is the Mandarin expression meaning “Governing Body” constructed? Is it a problem that one of the words in it is often used in relation to the government of China?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
Are Chinese characters the ultimate clarifiers of meaning in Mandarin? Also, what is the correct way to pronounce Mandarin’s “r” sound?
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The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
As Mandarin field language learners, why should we focus on Jehovah’s powerful gift of speech, rather than on the human invention of writing? How can we do so?
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better for Lesson 62 of the Learn From the Bible book has been added to the following resource:
can be used offline in supporting browsers, icon can be added to the home screenIn the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline in supporting browsers. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
How did the Pharaoh that Moses and Aaron dealt with prove himself to be a bozo? How have many Chinese scholars acted similarly?
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A news feed for this blog is available here.
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
What are some Mandarin expressions related to blood that are good for Mandarin field language learners to know?
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better for Lesson 61 of the Learn From the Bible book has been added to the following resource:
can be used offline in supporting browsers, icon can be added to the home screenIn the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline in supporting browsers. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
The Mandarin Expression of the Week is:
Should we Chinese field language learners view the Learn From the Bible book as being “just stories for children”?
Comments are enabled on this blog, so if you are so inclined, comment away!
A news feed for this blog is available here.
[NOTE: For spiritual food (which is for you yourself to learn spiritual things from, and which ideally should be in your own mother tongue), please go to jw.org.
The supplementary language-learning material mentioned in this post is for helping you to learn about how the Mandarin language is used in an official publication, so that you will be better able to help others in the Mandarin language field.]
Proofread Pīnyīn web material (more correct than computer-generated Pīnyīn like that displayed by apps like Equipd, and more mobile-friendly than PDFs) or better for Lesson 60 of the Learn From the Bible book has been added to the following resource:
can be used offline in supporting browsers, icon can be added to the home screenIn the above resource, the following web material is now available for the Mandarin Learn From the Bible book:
Note that like most of the other Pīnyīn Plus web material resources, the above resource can be used offline in supporting browsers. Also, an icon can be added to the home screen with supporting browsers.
[NOTE: While the organization expresses valid general concerns here about posting copies of official publications to the Internet, there are good legal and spiritual reasons for concluding that those concerns do not apply to this particular material, since such material should NOT be considered to be infringing on copyright, and since such material is specifically designed to be, NOT SPIRITUAL FOOD, but rather, material FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING. See this disclaimer for more information.]
