بِلَادْ الشَام هيَ أَرْبَعَة دُوَلْ, سوريا و الأُرْدُن و فِلِسْطِين ولُبْنَان.
مِن نَاحِيَة المَسَاحَة سوريا أَكْبَر شَي, بَعْدَين الأُرْدُن وبَعْدَهَا فْلِسْطِينْ وأَصْغَر شِي لُبْنَان.
الأُرْدُن فِي الجَنُوب وفِيهَا البَحْر المَيِّت, أَغْلَب سُكَّانْهَا مِن فِلِسْطِين وأَهَلْهَا إِسْمَهُم النَشَامَى.
لُبْنَان فِي الغَرْب و جُزْء كَبِير مِنْهَا سَاحِل, كَمَان فِيهَا جِبَال وطَبِيعَتْهَا جَمِيلَة.
فِلْسِطِين كَمَان فِي الغَرْب وأَغْلَب مُدُنْهَا عَلَى السَاحِل. فِيهَا أَولْ القِبْلَتَين (المَسْجِد الأَقْصَى).
سُورْيَا فِي الشَمَال وجُزْء صَغِير مِنْهَا عَلَى السَاحِل بس كَمَان يَمُر خِلَالْهَا نَهْر الفُرَات ودِجْلَة. طَبَعًا عَاصِمَتْهَا دِمَشْق أَقْدَم عَاصِمَة بِالتَارِيخ.


Gulf Dialect (Level 2)

بلاد الشام \ Levantine Countries

La mia città è una città speciale, unica al mondo, ma anche molto simile a tutte le altre. Si trova nel nord-est della penisola italiana, sul Mare Adriatico. Si chiama Venezia. Ci sei mai stato/a?
Venezia è una città molto, molto antica. Ancora oggi possiamo camminare tra i palazzi d’epoca, visitare le chiese medievali, andare a vedere le opere d’arte nei musei. Per questo motivo ci sono sempre tanti turisti, d’estate e d’inverno, in primavera e in autunno.
In tutte le altre città del mondo ci sono strade asfaltate e macchine, autobus e tram. A Venezia, invece, ci sono i canali: i canali sono dei corsi d’acqua salata. Invece delle macchine, ci sono le barche.
Nelle città normali le persone camminano sui marciapiedi; a Venezia camminiamo sui ponti.
Per andare al lavoro o a scuola andiamo alla fermata ad aspettare il vaporetto. I vaporetti sono autobus sull’acqua.
Nonostante tutto questo, Venezia è una città come le altre: c’è un ospedale, ci sono le università e le scuole. Ci sono i supermercati, i mercati e i negozi di alimentari. Ci sono due cinema dove possiamo guardare i film con gli amici e tanti ristoranti dove mangiare cibo delizioso.
C’è anche un famoso festival del cinema e un celebre festival d’arte e architettura.
Viviamo in belle case antiche e trascorriamo le giornate come le persone di tutte le città del mondo: lavoriamo o studiamo, andiamo in palestra o a fare yoga, passeggiamo o andiamo al bar con gli amici.
Ci sono solo due parchi pubblici, purtroppo un po’ piccoli, perché a Venezia non c’è spazio per costruirne di più grandi. Ma non importa, perché alcune delle altre isole della laguna sono immerse nel verde.

//Want to learn more Italian? Check out the link -> https://cocai-italiano.com/

Cocai italiano - Podcast for Italian learners

La mia città

Con más de 500 años de historia, los tamales son uno de los platillos típicos más emblemáticos dentro de la gastronomía mexicana.

Los tamales son uno de los platillos típicos más emblemáticos dentro de la gastronomía mexicana, ya sea como parte de la dieta diaria o para celebrar algunas de las festividades más importantes del año, como Navidad o el Día de la Candelaria.

Por ello, compartimos la historia de los tamales, platillo típico en la gastronomía mexicana.

Los tamales son uno de los platillos típicos más emblemáticos de la gastronomía mexicana, los cuales consisten en masa de harina de maíz rellena de carne, pollo, chile u otros ingredientes, envuelta en hojas de mazorca de maíz o plátano y cocida al vapor.

Este platillo viene del vocablo “tamalli”, que significa “envuelto” en náhuatl, aunque el origen de este platillo ha sido un tema de discusión en diferentes países de Latinoamérica, siendo México el país señalado por diversos historiadores como la cuna de esta receta.

Así, los tamales forman parte de la dieta diaria, por ejemplo, en las famosas "guajolotas" de la Ciudad de México, aunque también son populares en celebraciones como Navidad, Año Nuevo o el Día de la Candelaria, usualmente acompañados con bebidas tradicionales como café, chocolate, atole o champurrado.

Aunque el origen del tamal es un tema que se disputa en diversos países latinoamericanos como Chile, Perú, Argentina y Bolivia, diversos historiadores han señalado que este se originó en la zona centro de México, al ser la región de origen del maíz.

De acuerdo con Sahagún, los mexicas usaban carne de pavo, flamencos, ranas, ajolotes, conejos y pescados para rellenar la masa envuelta en hojas de maíz además de otros ingredientes como calabaza, frijoles y chile.

También, se sabe que este platillo era cocinado de forma comunitaria para celebrar grandes fiestas religiosas, como el agradecimiento por la fertilidad de la Tierra, ofrenda a los muertos y diversos eventos sociales.



Spanish México

LOS TAMALES

Enjoy the fourth podcast from Culture To Grow which allows you to travel the world from the comfort of your home, your car, or if you are still half asleep in your bed. 

This episode provides you with a glimpse of how two international students view US high schools and the differences they have seen compared to their country's educational systems.



Culture To Grow

Episode 4: International Students Perspective of US High Schools

In this episode, I talk about why elaborating real authentic language examples is ALWAYS better than simplification.

The Grammarian Podcast

A beginners guide to acquiring a foreign language - Part 3 "The importance of elaboration over simplification of language teaching materials"

Enjoy in this short story called SMELOST, or in English COURAGE, that tells us about two seeds and their attitude towards life! After listening to this beautiful story, try to solve the quizzes.
Срећно учење! / Srećno učenje!


SERBIAN TO GO

Смелост – Smelost (A short story for B1-B2 level)

今日（きょう）のテーマは、


日本人（にほんじん）は「とても」を言（い）わない？
We Japanese don't say "TOTEMO" 


じゃあ、何（なに）を使（つか）うの・・・？
So, use what...?


NANAのにほんごpodcast 

日本人（にほんじん）は「とても」を言（い）わない？ | We Japanese don't say "TOTEMO" 

"口" - kǒu

Meaning (字义)
Primary Meaning: The primary meaning of "口" is "mouth."
For example: 
她张开口唱了一首美妙的歌。 (Tā zhāng kāi kǒu chàng le yī shǒu měi miào de gē.)
 She opened her mouth and sang a beautiful song.

Extended Meanings: It can also refer to anything that resembles a mouth, such as an opening, entrance, or a measure word for people in a household.

Usage (用法)

The character "口" is used in various contexts in the Chinese language, including as a radical in other characters, in compound words, and in idiomatic expressions.

As a Radical:
    "口" is a common radical in Chinese characters, often related to speech or the mouth, such as "吃" (chī, to eat) and "唱" (chàng, to sing).

Measure Word: 
"口" is used as a measure word for counting family members or things with openings.

例如：
一家四口。 (Yì jiā sì kǒu 。) -A family of four.
两口井。 (Liǎng kǒu jǐng .) -Two wells

In Compound Words:

口语 (kǒu yǔ): Spoken language
 For example: 
他学习汉语口语非常努力。 (Tā xuéxí Hànyǔ kǒuyǔ fēicháng nǔlì.)
 He studies spoken Chinese very diligently.

人口 (rén kǒu): Population
For example: 
这个城市的人口超过了一百万。 (Zhège chéngshì de rénkǒu chāoguò le yī bǎi wàn.)
The population of this city exceeds one million.

出口 (chū kǒu): Exit or export
For example:
请从出口离开。 (Qǐng cóng chūkǒu líkāi.)
Please exit through the exit.

Idiomatic Expressions:
心口如一 (xīn kǒu rú yī): (literal: heart and mouth as one) 

Epitomizes honesty and integrity. It describes a person who expresses their true thoughts and feelings without deception, earning the trust and respect of others.

For example:
他是个心口如一的人。 (Tā shì gè xīn kǒu rú yī de rén.)
He is a person who says what he thinks .

口是心非 (kǒu shì xīn fēi):  (literal: mouth is, heart isn't)
it is an idiom used to describe people who are insincere or deceitful, saying one thing while meaning another. 

For example:
她总是口是心非，让人难以信任。(Tā zǒng shì kǒu shì xīn fēi, ràng rén nán yǐ xìnrèn.)
She always says one thing but means another, making it hard to trust her.

每日一字

Netflix now has 10 million subscribers in Japan, according to the streaming company.

It got to that number during the first half of 2024, so it may be even higher by now — and it's double the number of subscribers Netflix had in the country four years ago.

It's believed that new Japanese shows on the platform — including Tokyo Swindlers, The Queen of Villains and The Boyfriend — have helped the streaming service get more subscribers.

"Japan in particular is a country which wants to see a lot of its own content so we strongly feel the need to produce it," said Kaata Sakamoto, Netflix's vice president of content for Japan.

He added that the company wants to produce more content that will be popular with people in Japan, including more sports and comedy shows.

Subscribers around the world have also been enjoying Japanese content on the platform. It's the third-most-watched non-English-language content on Netflix, after Korean and Spanish. And Japanese anime shows and movies have been watched more than 1 billion times on Netflix in the last year.

Sakamoto said there are plans to make more anime for the platform, but he wants to find "stories that have never been told before."

Netflix first came to Japan in 2015. In 2023, it was the most popular streaming service in the country, with about 22% of the market share.

Around the world, Netflix has more than 280 million subscribers.