ChinesePod Groups
Language & Study
Explore the many facets of Mandarin with other learners! Groups here include everything from “Chinese Idioms” to “Study Strategies” .
Chinese Culture
Squeezing in five thousand years of history and culture, this section is for all things China!
General Interest
If you have something to share, and you’re not sure quite where to go, take a look here!
Schools
Team-up with your classmates to study together in your own private group. Teachers, why not set up your own group to support your students online!
Meet-ups
Connect with fellow learners in your city; you can study together online and organize meet-ups offline!
Companies
Do you know other people studying Chinese in your company? These groups are designed to help you get connected.
Find a Group: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, All
Popular Groups
Chinese Culture - Chinese Music (515)
A group to cover all aspects of Chinese music, whether it be Beijing Opera, Shanghai Techno or Taiwanese Pop. Bring on the 音乐！
Language & Study - Study-Strategy (469)
Use this group to share your own study-strategy as well learn from others'.
General Interest - Vocabulary Picture of the Day (393)
As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Hopefully in this case, it's worth a thousand 汉字 (hànzì)! This group aims at teaching vocabulary using the visual aid of photography. I'll try to post a new photo everyday, including traditional and simplified characters, pinyin, audio, an English definition, and example sentences. The hanzi will also have links to nciku, where you can learn more detailed information about the characters. I'm going to try to keep this sweet and simple. Suggestions on improvements are definitely welcomed. I'd also be thankful if you pointed out any mistakes. Please feel free to post your own vocab. photos, add to existing posts, etc. If you'd like to use the same format I do, you can get instructions here: http://chinesepod.com/community/conversations/post/3545 Otherwise, post your vocab. picture any way you like!
Language & Study - I Have a Question (324)
This group is for ANYBODY who has a question about Chinese. If you a question, just make a post and let fellow poddies and/or staff help you out. Any and all questions are welcome. It's that simple. What are the advantages of posting your questions here? A) many people can help you, B) other people can also learn from your question, and C) it will be easier for you or other people to find again later if need be.
General Interest - Character Points (253)
The goal of this group is to gain or deepen insights into the Chinese writing system. The target group are "Hanzi newbies" and more advanced students alike. The group is open for all kinds of character related discussions - be it on etymology, variants, similarities, or tricks for memorizing. It is also conveived to be a container for links to interesting writing related tools and sites. It was originally designed as a resurrection of my neglected Character groupings - which I will continue to add here over time.
Language & Study - Chinese Idioms (241)
Here is a collection of Chinese Idioms. An Idiom is a set phrase of saying that carries a particular meaning. In English there are many such phrases. For instance, " A rolling stone gathers no moss" is a common idiom. Idioms are created via shared cultural experiences. Sometimes they come from classic texts. Other times they come from the words of famous movies or actors. Examples include "I'll be Back" from the movie "The Terminator", or "To Be or Not to be" from Shakespere. [成语] （chéng yǔ）'Chinese Idioms' are short sayings usually consisting of four characters. It's one thing to learn to understand such expressions in Chinese text, but a completely different thing to actively use them in your own phrases. If you don't know a large number of Chinese idioms, it can be difficult to spontaneously find suitable expressions for different occasions. Here are some of them: bā八miàn面wēi威fēng风 bá miáo zhù zhăng 拔苗助长 bá拔miáo苗zhù助zhăng长 băi fā băi zhōng 百发百中 băi百fā发băi百zhōng中 băi găn jiāo jí 百感交集 băi百găn感jiāo交jí集 bái miàn shū shēng 白面书生 bái白miàn面shū书shēng生 băi wén bù rú yī jiàn 百闻不如一见 băi百wén闻bù不rú如yī一jiàn见 băi zhé bù náo 百折不挠 băi百zhé折bù不náo挠 bān mén nòng fŭ 班门弄斧 bān班mén门nòng弄fŭ斧 bàn tú ér fèi 半途而废 bàn半tú途ér而fèi废 bào xīn jiù huŏ 抱薪救火 bào抱xīn薪jiù救huŏ火 bēi gōng shé yĭng 杯弓蛇影 bēi杯gōng弓shé蛇yĭng影 bèi shuĭ yī zhàn 背水一战 bèi背shuĭ水yī一zhàn战 bì gōng bì jìng 必恭必敬 bì必gōng恭bì必jìng敬 biāo xīn lì yì 标新立异 biāo标xīn新lì立yì异 bié kāi shēng miàn 别开生面 bié别kāi开shēng生miàn面 bīn zhì rú guī 宾至如归 bīn宾zhì至rú如guī归 bīng guì shén sù 兵贵神速 bīng兵guì贵shén神sù速 bìng rù gāo huāng 病入膏肓 bìng病rù入gāo膏huāng肓 Anyone is welcome to post or comment. Please post in both Chinese and English as this is for Newbies as well as advanced students. - 高搏鴻
General Interest - Transcripts with Tal (206)
Many poddies find being able to see a transcript of the lesson podcast very useful. The main purpose of this group is to gather together in one place links to podcast transcripts which diligent poddies have produced and shared. Feedback, support, thanks and help are also welcome.
General Interest - Chinese short texts (182)
One thing I have found useful when studying Chinese is to read as much Chinese as possible. Since it is very time consuming to look up all the characters I like to use annotation tools. Here I will publish several texts from the net that come both with and without annotation. Everyone is more than welcome to share their own texts. The audience for those texts is primarily newbie to elementary. For more advanced learners there is a very nice group with Chinese news that might suit them better. There will be short texts mixed with children’s stories and songs lyrics.
General Interest - Chinese with the iPhone (171)
A group for the exchange of experiences, resources, and tips regarding the utilization of an iPhone for Chinese purposes.
General Interest - 中文吧 (165)
THIS GROUP IS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH 汉字 ONLY. (Sorry for screaming in all caps, but it must be emphasized.) Keeping that condition in mind, please join and make a post about (almost) anything you want, and of course, please participate in other discussions as much as possible so that this group can thrive. Although the forum is fairly open, avoid topics and comments that are considered 'sensitive' as it is hoped that this group will be inclusive and not exclusive. 中国人欢迎你们来参加! If you have trouble expressing something you want to write, first write your idea out in 汉字 as best as you can, then highlight the questionable text, and finally go to the 'I Have a Question' group to ask your question in English (http://chinesepod.com/community/groups/view/212). Are there any exceptions to the 汉字 only rule? Yes, occasionally writing an English word or acronym is acceptable if for some reason it would be strange or difficult to write it in 汉字 (such as some proper nouns). No complete sentences in English, though!
Language & Study - Grammar Questions (146)
This is a general group for all of your grammar related questions. Help answer questions, ask the CPod team, or just visit to learn more about Chinese grammar.
General Interest - Character Insanity (143)
Characters (汉字/漢字) are the biggest hurdle facing many learners on their path to Chinese excellence. In this group we're going to cover the 3000 most common characters and their usage.
General Interest - The ChinesePod Inner Circle (140)
Welcome to ChinesePod Groups! In ChinesePod Groups you can find other users who share the same interests and goals as you do. You can create a group, or join one that you like. It’s easy to join an existing group. When you find one that interests you, you can join by simply clicking on the name of the group and then selecting ‘apply’. Or if you’re more of the pioneering sort, you can also start your own group by clicking on "Create Your Own Group.” Congratulations. You are now officially a groupie. Jump right in with your newfound pals and add your dynamic to the community. New requirement for acceptance to this group! You have to have an avatar image, and you have to have your own username (not user####).
General Interest - Technical Problems on Site (131)
This is a group designed to allow users to (1) report problems and bugs on the site (2) receive updates on fixes from CPod about problems and bugs and (3) find out if problems and bugs have been fixed. If reporting a bug, the following information can greatly speed up the process of fixing the problem: (1) the nature of the problem and (2) how often it occurs. The more details you can provide, the better. Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks to Bodawei and rjberki, and others, for their suggestion that we centralize these messages.
Chinese Culture - 真好吃的! (130)
Someone finally had to step up to the plate: This is the perfect group for you foodies, gourmets and gourmands out there and all those who can't get enough of food-related vocab. Let's embark on a culinary journey through the whole of China (and her cuisine embassies abroad). Whether the sheer look of 凤爪 gives you goosebumps, Qingdao Beer is as exotic as you dare venture, whether Hotpot cannot be hot enough for you or you constantly confuse zhōnglà and zhònglà or even if all the Chinese food you have ever tasted was beef-flavoured instant noodles, 欢迎你! Together we'll explore the intricacies of Chinese cooking, share experiences and recipes.
Meet-ups - Australia (127)
Summer, beaches, the footy, kangaroos, didgeridoos, chazwozzas, learning Chinese and a good brew. If you love any of these then this is the place to be. 再扔一只虾在烧烤架上!!
Meet-ups - Expats Living in China (123)
A group for 'lao wai' living and working in China. A place to ask and answer questions about life in China. A place to talk about the joys and frustrations of life in this strange but wonderful culture.
Meet-ups - Taiwan (121)
大家好 from the 7-11 capitol of the world! This is a group for anyone interested in discussing Taiwanese culture, experiences in Taiwan, Taiwanese food, travel, or the differences in written and spoken Mandarin. From DanShui to KenDing, it\'s the group that aims to cover it all! Let\'s pack this place tighter than the ShihLin night market!