Mandarin Chinese Reference List

Mandarin Chinese Reference List Q & A

Mandarin Q & A #1: Isn’t Mandarin Chinese and Simplified Chinese the same thing?

Mandarin Chinese is a spoken language (sometimes referred to as “dialect” rather than “language”). Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese are written languages. While it is common to presume something labeled as “Chinese” in language is Mandarin, it can be another spoken language, such as Cantonese.

Mandarin Q & A #2: Can you explain the different marks in the pinyin?

These are tone marks. I’m not a Chinese language instructor, so I recommend searching the Internet for several examples explaining this.

Mandarin Q & A #3: Shifu? What do you mean, Shifu? It’s Sifu! There’s even a game called Sifu.

This is a Shirahime: Heaven’s Princess Reincarnation question. Shirahime is called Shifu sometimes. There are a lot of connotations for that, including how it would even be written (see table). In Shirahime’s case it means master, like a martial arts master. As to Shifu vs Sifu, it’s Mandarin vs Cantonese. Shifu is the Mandarin term and Sifu is the Cantonese one.

Reference List Table

Entries checked with Pleco. I have used this dictionary for a long time and highly recommend it.

Appears In List:

  • Shirahime: Shirahime: Heaven’s Princess Reincarnation (Bleach: Across the Dimensions)
  • Xuě: Xuě Nǚshén and Jiàngxuě (Original Characters)

Sorted alphabetically by Mandarin Pinyin

Mandarin PinyinSimplified ChineseAppears InEnglish
Jiàngxuě降雪XuěSnowfall
Nǚshén女神XuěGoddess
Shifu师傅 or 师父Shirahimemaster worker*
Xuě雪XuěSnow
Xuě Nǚshén雪女神XuěSnow Goddess

* Shifu: There’s a lot to unpack in this one. A lot more to say as to when it is 师傅 or 师父. Also see Q & A #3.

This page will be updated as the rest of the site is updated. Expect several entries from Shirahime: Heaven’s Princess Reincarnation.