Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learning a new language requires ...

When my sister and I were growing up in Richmond, Va., my mother would make subtle comments about my sister’s body — noting how she was 胖 (pàng), which means fat in Chinese, or that her skin was too ...

There are a dozen terms native Chinese speakers use to describe what English speakers refer to as the “Chinese language.” Each of those terms has its own cultural and sometimes political affiliation.