Self-introduction 自我介绍

There are basically two different situations in which you do self-introduction. One situation is you need to introduce yourself to another person; another situation is you need to introduce yourself to a group of strangers.

A simple self-introduction includes: your name, the place where you come from, and then add some more pleasantry.

There are several different ways to tell your name. They are:

Since we are in such a busy world that everything needs to be done quickly, most people do prefer the first two ways. 

Next, you need to tell people where you are from, such as your homeland, home country, the company you are working for etc. 

At last, show the others more pleasantry.

If you are introducing yourself to another person, you need to say:

Another common way is: 

If you are introducing yourself to two or more people, you need to say:

Let's see some examples:

Example 1:

Mike is introducing himself to another person.

 

Example 2:

Mike is introducing himself to a group of people.

Or

More simple greetings, please refer to   Greetings

Usage of 没有

Usage One:
没有 basically means 'not have'. Here 有 functions as a verb which means 'to have'; and 没 functions as an adverb to negate the verb.
For example,
A-- Do you have a pen?
       你有笔吗？
B-- I don't have a pen.
      我没有笔。

Click the following video to hear the sound:

Sometime, we shorten 没有 as 没. So the dialogue above can also be:
A-- Do you have a pen?
你有笔吗？
B-- I don't have a pen.
我没笔。
Click the following video to hear the sound:

Usage Two:
没有 functions as auxiliary to negate the verb in past tense and perfect tense. It can also be shortened as 没。
For example,
I didn't eat breakfast this morning.
今天早上我没有吃早饭。
or
今天早上我没吃早饭。

I haven't gone to China.
我没有去过中国。
or
我没去过中国。
Click the following video to hear the sound.

The phrase 没有关系 is highly frequently used in our daily life. It means 'it's okay/ it's alright '
For example,
(Person A stepped on person B's foot by accident.)
A--  Sorry.
对不起。
B-- That's alright.
没有关系
or
没关系。

Another example,
Student--  Sorry, I didn't do homework.
对不起，我没有做家庭作业。
or
对不起，我没做家庭作业。
Teacher -- It's okay.
没有关系。
or 
没关系。
Click the following video to hear the sound:

国人讲普通话闹出的笑话1 (Joke about Speaking Mandarin)

普通话中众多的同音字、近音字为学习者带来了不少的麻烦。不仅是外国人，国内一些省份的人在说普通话时也会闹出不少的笑话。   
Those homophones and characters that sounds very similar to each other cause lots of trouble for Mandarin learners. Not only the foreigners, even the people from some provinces of China will make a show of themselves when they speak Mandarin.

下面的一则笑话是关于广东人的。
The following joke is about Guangdong people.

一个广东地方干部陪同外地干部到城郊参观，兴高采烈地说：“坐在船头看郊区，越看越美丽”，结果外地干部们听成了“坐在床头看娇妻”，一个个掩嘴窃笑。因此有句俗话，叫“天不怕，地不怕，就怕广东人说官话”。
A local government officer of Guangdong province is accompanying some government officers from other place on visiting the suburban area. "The suburban area looks so beautiful when we are sitting in the fore and enjoying the scenery." He comments excitedly. But in the other officers' ear, he says, " She looks so beautiful when I watch my lovely wife in the bed." Everyone sniggers at him. So there is a saying, " Nothing is more scary than hearing a Guangdong person speaks Mandarin."  

Do you know why this funny things happened in this joke?
Because here are couple of words that sounds similar to each other:

Reading classic novel in Chinese -- 小王子 The Little Prince 7

For some reason, I can not insert my Youtube video directly into my blogger now. Don't know what's going on...  Hope they will fix this problem soon..

Well, another way I can do now is just set the link below.
Part One:

Part Two:

Reading classic novel in Chinese -- 小王子 The Little Prince 6

Stewed tofu with beech mushroom 蟹味菇烧豆腐

Stewed tofu with beech mushroom

（蟹(xiè) 味(wèi) 菇(gū) 烧(shāo) 豆(dòu) 腐(fǔ)）

Ingredients:

tofu                                         14 ~ 16 oz
beech mushroom                     3 oz
garlic                                       4 cloves
star anise                                 2 stars
oyster sauce                             2 ~ 3 tbsp
corn starch                               1 tsp
cooking wine                           1 tbsp

Directions:

Step 1.              Cut the garlic into fine thread; rinse the beech mushroom; rinse the tofu, dry it with paper towel; then cut the tofu into 1/4 inch thick pieces;

Step 2.              Mix 2~3 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp corn starch with 4~ 6 tbsp water;

Step 3.              Heat up 2 tbsp oil ; add in star anise; fry about 4~5 minutes at medium heat; then add in garlic, fry till garlic turn golden crisp;

Step 4.              Add in the tofu; keep frying the tofu until both sides become golden crisp;

Step 5.              Add in the beech mushroom, 1 tbsp cooking wine, and 1 tbsp water; then put on the lid and simmer for 3 ~ 5 minutes;

Step 6.              Pour in the mixture from step 2, blend all the ingredients well.

Noodle salad 凉拌粉丝

Noodle salad（凉(liáng) 拌(bàn)  粉(fěn) 丝(sī)）

Ingredients:

mungbean starch noodle         2.5 oz
bean sprouts                            5 oz
spinach                                    5 oz
red bell pepper                        1 medium size
green onion                             2 pieces
ginger                                      0.2 oz
garlic                                       3~ 4 cloves
egg                                          2
roasted cashew                        1.2~1.5 oz
soy sauce                                 1 tbsp
salt                                           1/2 tsp
black vinegar                           1.5 tbsp
white sugar                              1.5 tbsp
sesame oil                                1 tbsp
prickly ash oil                          1 tbsp
chili pepper oil                         1 tbsp
chicken extract                        1/2 tbsp

Directions:

Step 1.              Cut the red bell pepper into fine thread; mince the ginger and garlic;

Step 2.              Make the salad sauce with: 1/2 tbsp chicken extract, 1.5 tbsp white sugar, 1.5 tbsp black vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp prickly ash oil, 1 tbsp chili pepper oil, 1/2 tsp salt ; then add in ginger and garlic into the salad sauce;

Step 3.              Crush the roasted cashew, set aside;

Step 4.              Add a pinch of salt into the egg, then batter it.

Step 5.              Heat up 1 tbsp oil, fry the egg; then slice the egg when it cool down, set aside;

Step 6.              Boil water, blanch the vegetables, then take them out and put them into ice water to cool down;

Step 7.              Boil water to cook the noodle; when the noodle is done, take them out and put them into ice water to cool down;  

Step 8.              Drain the ice water, mix all the vegetable, noodle, egg and salad sauce together, sprinkle the green onion and roasted cashew. It’s ready to serve. J