Learning Mandarin does make me yearn for the simplicity of English "yes" and "no." But I have to admit, each word in Mandarin works a lot harder than it does in

Learning Mandarin does make me yearn for the simplicity of English "yes" and "no." But I have to admit, each word in Mandarin works a lot harder than it does in English, so you can often say a heck of a lot in just one or two syllables.