URL
Lesson Introduction
Welcome to the Mandarin Chinese intro lesson set for absolute beginners! By the end of the week you will be able to understand some of the most common Mandarin Chinese words and phrases. Listen in and you’ll also be able to show off with a few sentences yourself in no time!. In this lesson, we’ll teach you how to make friends! Or, at least the very first step: greetings. In this podcast you’ll learn how to greet people in Mandarin Chinese, ask them how they are, and reply when they ask you. As for what to talk about after that, you’ll just have to listen to the next lesson!
says
SamJuly 18, 2006
Wow!! Very interesting side of the course. I have never seen it before. Thanks Ken and Jenny!!
says
AlexisJuly 19, 2006
Haha, my Dad was listening in on the podcast even though he already knows Mandarin. And he was totally caught up in it too! I like Ken and Jenny!
says
NannyOggJuly 30, 2006
Cool, I always wondered how to say 'good morning' in addition to just 你好 I have been using this to greet my chinese friend, and will need to work on good afternoon for when I meet them at different times ^^ NannyOgg
says
SarahAugust 7, 2006
I kind of did things backwards with Chinese pod. After subscribing to the 7 day free trial, I when straight to tones, and then went back and listened to the "Good Morning" podcast. Actually, I found this to be extremely useful, because after listening to the tone podcasts over and over, and practicing in the car on the way to work, or even while washing dishes, I was able to pick out some of the tones in the "Good Morning" podcast without being told what they were by Ken and Jenny. Now I can say goodmorning to my Asian Studies professor in Chinese and he'll actually understand what I'm saying. Thanks so much!
says
ChristianAugust 11, 2006
I was wondering about "ma" and "ne", the two question particles. It is never specified in the podcast if they are interchangeable or ot. Could I just as well say "ni hao ne?" or "ni ma?". If they are not interchangeable, then I suppose there is some grammatical explanation which will come up later on, but in the meantime I just wanted to ask if they are better used exactly as they appear on the lesson at all times, or if we can sort of experiment with them.
says
AuntySueAugust 12, 2006
Christian, I'm only a student but I'll give you my ideas. Someone who knows more might correct me later. There are many ways of making a question. One of the simplest ways of making a question is to start with a statement and add "ma" at the end. If you want to try this on your own, go ahead, it's fun, but only use "ma". "Ni ne?" is a phrase meaning "and how about you?", or "what about you?". It is already a question, so it doesn't need "ma" to make it become a question. You'll see more special phrases using "ne" later on, but no, it is not used the same way as "ma". For now, it's just part of a handy phrase that we can use to avoid repeating the whole of the last question.
says
ChristianAugust 13, 2006
Thanks, AuntySue!
says
tintinAugust 14, 2006
So then what question is Jenny asking at the beginning of every podcast, after Ken says "this is Chinepod"? Whatever she's saying ends with "ma"....
says
AuntySueAugust 27, 2006
Does anyone else find the third (last) Review Exercise really hard? It contains a few words that weren't presented earlier. I don't get definitions when I hold the mouse over them, and can't add them to Word Bank. I can't work out what the second sentence means "Zaoshang tianqi _____ bu hao", unless the missing word is hen, but hen wasn't accepted as correct. Help!
says
ChinesePodAugust 29, 2006
Christian, It's always great to experiment with any language you're learning (particularly if you can talk to native speakers). The sentences we teach in the Newbie lessons are definitely worth memorizing, however. -John
says
ChinesePodAugust 29, 2006
tintin, Jenny is saying, 你会说中文吗？ (Nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?). This means, "Can you speak Chinese?" Notice then when forming a question sentence with 吗, you just take a regular sentence and then add 吗 onto the end. You don't have to do all the crazy rearranging when you ask questions that you do in English and many other European languages. -John
says
ChinesePodAugust 29, 2006
AuntySue, You are correct -- there is a problem with that exercise. We apologize for any frustration it may have caused. We are on the case. -John
says
AuntySueSeptember 1, 2006
Aha, thanks for that, John. What a relief that it's not me! :-) You've made my day. When I went back there to make sure that I hadn't been having a "senior moment" first time round, suddenly it all made sense, which had me running around checking the labels on my pill bottles again... until I saw you'd fixed it. :-) That's one more thing that makes this better than a textbook.
says
Indra YeeSeptember 19, 2006
Lesson 4 is currently broken. Can you guys fix it?
says
ChinesePodSeptember 19, 2006
Indra Yee, I checked the archive entry, MP3 download, online MP3 playback, PDF transcript, review materials, and lesson plan. All seem fine to me. Can you explain exactly what is broken? Thanks, John
says
Indra YeeSeptember 19, 2006
When I click on lesson 4, I got a blank page. I checked on 2 different computers and both machines give the same result. This is the url that show in address bar: http://www.chinesepod.com/podcast/2005/09/01/intro-4/ I wish I can submit the screenshot to this. Thanks for your quick reply, Indra
says
Indra YeeSeptember 19, 2006
Never mind it looks like I just need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen. It has 3 pages of blank screen then the content show on the bottom of the page.
says
OliviaSeptember 19, 2006
Indra Yee , I check the problem you said. I understand the problem. If you roll down the website, you can see the lesson.
says
fcnOctober 1, 2006
hi, the link for the PDF is broken (您所查找的页面不存在). BTW, I expected the trial lessons to be fully downloadable, pdf included, even without login. Am I wrong? A torrent for the full trial package would be a good thing as, as the previous comments said, we (users) usually download a batch and use it at our own pace.
says
ChinesePodOctober 1, 2006
fcn, I checked the PDF links and they seem to be working fine. You do need to sign up for the 7 day free trial and log in to download the PDF files, though. -John
says
Jon R HavensOctober 1, 2006
Only one more free lessons to review before I sign up. Have tried many books, tapes, etc. but this beats all and not expensive. I think it is good you show both simplied as well as traditional Chinese characters for those in different geographic locations. However, a bit academic since I am not sure when I can get advanced enough to tackle character memorization. Anyway shows your attention to details. I read about your web sit in "China Daily Newspaper"....wish I had seen it a year ago. I plan to stay in China for life so about time I got some qualified help.
says
fcnOctober 2, 2006
for the broken pdf link, I was refering to the link called "Transcript" in this page and pointing to http://www.chinesepod.com/pdfs/chinesepod_7Days_Free_Trial_1.pdf Oh, and I don't really expect to have to create a login for a trial. I understand I should.
says
shabirOctober 4, 2006
wow! i love this website ! i really do not have words to appreciate Great Ken and Great Jenny! i think now the dream i have even had to learn chinese would come true now !!!
says
GhaferOctober 25, 2006
Hi, its good to listen chinese online voice classes, i am working in China and for me its quite usefull, to learn chinese at my earliest, Do let me know that is there any CD availalbe for those lesson, So we can download , or its only available for the subscribers,
says
EileenOctober 26, 2006
Hi Ghafer, All the mp3 files from ChinesePod are free. Unfortunately, we don't have CDs but you can download these lessons off of the website itself or you can subscribe to iTunes to get the daily podcasts. :D
says
RichOctober 27, 2006
Brilliant! Have bought books, but they always fail to capture interest, this service is such a good learning resource! Just wanted to say :)
says
Scott RobinsonOctober 29, 2006
Hi, Just jumped into the free trial. Great format and approach. In the dialog it sounds like one of the speaker pronounces "ma" as "mang". Is this just my bad ear or are there accents involved or what? Also would suggest having the word "transcript" as part of the file name so it is easier in the downloading and saving process. Your site rocks! Thanks much. Scott (Mandarin Moose)
says
ChinesePodOctober 29, 2006
Scott, It is "ma," it's just that you're not used to the sounds of Mandarin. Perhaps it's pronounced a little more nasally than you would expect. Thanks for your suggestion; we take all those to heart. -John
says
SallyBRNovember 3, 2006
Same here, Scott - I immediately thought they were saying "busy" (mang) and of course it made absolutely NO sense I just subscribed to the site today - I've been studying Mandarin on my own for 2 months, using all kinds of free (and paid) softwares. THis site rocks indeed - this dialogue is a bit slow, but maybe as the lessons progress they will be more like they speak in real life? (lightning fast....) :-)
says
KatieNovember 14, 2006
What a useful first lesson!! I've already shared with one of my students "Ni hao ma?" We have a student in our school who is from China...and I see her maybe twice a week. I'm very temped to ask her "Ni hao ma?", but what if I don't get "Wo han hao" back? Do we learn other responses to "Ni hao ma?" later on? I'd be a little shy to just walk up to her and ask "Ni hao ma?"... but perhaps I should just start with "Ni hao?"? I've introduced myself to her, but I don't know her really well. Xièxie in advance! (:
says
KatieNovember 14, 2006
I agree with Scott. the "ma" and the "han" sound like they'd be transcribed with the phonetic character for "ng" or- the "n" with the "j" added on to the right leg. (I don't know how to type phonetic characters on my computer.) So, the "ng" sound is all a part of Mandarin? I pronounced it nasally the way they did too, but perhaps I shouldn't? And also... I've noticed that what little Chinese I've heard so far has a very musical quality to it. This has led me to ask a few questions: 1.) Has anyone ever transcribed Chinese phrases or words into a musical sense? As in, put the tones to music notes? 2.) When people sing in Chinese, are the "tones" still there? (I have yet to listen to any Chinese music, and I really want to!) 3.) Do I have to have the same "pitch" (think musically, here) as the speakers? Or can I get my point across if my musical pitch is a bit flat? I'm thinking that tones really aren't "tones" at all, but rather, a position where sounds come from in the mouth/face/throat/nasal region. (I still wish I had my French linguistics textbook!) Xièxie! (:
says
ChinesePodNovember 14, 2006
Katie, The "ng" (/ŋ/) sound does exist in Mandarin, but not in the particle "ma" or the word "hen." 1. I've never heard of such a "musical approach" to Chinese. 2. No, when you sing in Chinese you ignore the normal tones. 3. The pitch is relative. So you have to change pitch to get the tones right, but you don't have to match other speakers exactly. No problem! -John
says
CheyenneNovember 21, 2006
That was AMAZING!
says
KupercayaNovember 27, 2006
Can this podcast and the others after it be downloaded into iTunes? My podcast starts with the 7-day trial and then everything after that. But, I'd like to get them all. 謝謝!
says
KupercayaNovember 27, 2006
Never mind! I found the link, and feel appropriately foolish! 不好意思! =P
says
tiNovember 30, 2006
This chinese pod is awesome, i feel like i am learning so easily thank to Jenny and Ken. Although my parents are Chinese and speak mandarin and other chinese language, for me it always was a mystery. I know a dialect called "teo Chew", the grammar is very similar, but the vocabulary is very different. My parents would use madarin to talk about me and my brothers among themselves. hahaha.... I am so thrilled about this, i want to know what they say about us and surprise them when i'll go back to France to visit them. So this first lesson is so well structure, so easy to get. Again thanks Chinesepod.
says
Horse N. BuggyDecember 8, 2006
Ni Hao! I love the first lesson. I wanted to follow up on the "musical" quality someone else mentioned. The first dialog sounds very sing-songy. I can't tell if that is because they are speaking so slowly and enunciating very well or if that is a quality of the language. (I suspect it is a function of both.) At this point, I know it would be virtually impossible to re-record the lessons. However, I would like to suggest that after all the slow repetitions of the dialog there should be at least one or two at normal conversation speed. It may be difficult for the beginner to discern the words, but it will at least get them (me) accustomed to the rhythm and pace of conversation. I also have a question about the pronunciation of xie xie. I have studied Russian so when I listen to the Chinese pronunciations, I have two alphabets to use for comparison. When Jenny pronounces the word for us in English conversation with Ken, it sounds like she says "shey shey" (like the English "shun" without the "n"). But when she says it in Chinese in the dialog, it sounds like she says "tsey tsey" (like the ts or cz sound in Russian for the word tsar or czar). The first involves projecting the jaw out like you have an underbite with your tongue hovering in the middle of your mouth but not really touching the roof of your mouth. The second keeps the jaw inline with your top teeth with the tongue up against your top front teeth. If that makes any sense, which is correct?
says
ChinesePodDecember 10, 2006
Horse N. Buggy, Thank you for the feedback. You're not the only one to request regular speed in the lower level dialogues. We are working it into the method. Regarding 谢谢 (xièxie)... It's neither "shey shey" nor "tsey tsey". I think the most easily understood approximation would be to say "sye sye." (Just add the "s" sound to the front of the English word "yes," and remove the final "s" sound.) In fact, some romanization systems write that pinyin "x" as "hs" ("hsieh-hsieh"). In any case, the pinyin "x" is not the same as "sh," and the vowel sound is not "ey" but "ye." I don't know Russian, but I looked up Russian phonology and compared it with that of Mandarin. They do share the same IPA consonant sounds, so I suppose you can find that Mandarin "x" in the sounds of Russian. ChinesePod is working on a more comprehensive guide to pinyin and pronunciation. In the meantime, you might check out my own website's section on pronunciation: Pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese. I hope that helps. -John
says
AndrewDecember 28, 2006
When I right click to "Save As..." where it says "Link to Download this Episode," "Save As" is grayed out. I can't save the lessons to my iPod. I'm having Kupercaya's problem (see above, 11/28), but I'm apparently not as smart as Kupercaya as to have figured it out. Could someone please enlighten me? I love these lessons and want to be able to listen to them on my commute!
says
AndrewDecember 28, 2006
P.S. I found the "Newbie" link on iTunes, and now I have episodes 41 through 141, but I still don't know how to access 1 through 40.
says
CameronJanuary 2, 2007
I began studying Mandarin in September 06 as a student assistant for the Chinese teacher at my school and came to love the language (especially the entomological and pictographic roots of the characters). But you know, there really aren't very good systems that work for me. Textbooks are alright, but a little slow and, well "bookish." Other software and programs are costly and usually limited strictly to the basics. BUT, when my teacher stumbled across ChinesePod for me, I was amazed! So, this could really be the key to my eventual proficiency. However, upon going through lesson 1 intro, I noticed in the lesson plan and exercises, additional vocabulary is given that Ken and Jenny did not introduce in the Podcast. I am just wondering will these vocabulary words be used again, in a format where I can add them to my word bank? Words such as "mama," "baba," and "tianqi."
says
AuntySueJanuary 3, 2007
Andrew, don't do the right click thing, try it with a normal click. The reason is because that link is not the file itself, but a link that will expose the file. I think it might be designed for people who aren't as smart or careful as you and just blindly click on things, so that it works for them. My computer's not the same as yours, so give that normal (left) click a try, and let us know if I'm right or wrong.
says
ChinesePodJanuary 4, 2007
Hi Cameron, Good question. The best way to add these kinds of new words to your word bank would be to search our other podcasts for the lessons on these subjects (i.e. for māma, bàba, tiānqì, you could do a search for lessons on family, and weather). We have definitely covered these topics in other podcasts, so you should have no problem finding them. Once you use the podcasts on these subjects, you will be able to reinforce the use of these new words, as well as add them to your word bank! Hope that helps! ~amber :D
says
markJanuary 24, 2007
I just starting to learn and have listened through the show 2 or 3 times. When learning the language do you'll find it better to focus on the language not worrying about the symbols when your first trying to learn it or do you find it more helpful to learn the symbols as you do each leasson?
says
ChinesePodJanuary 25, 2007
Hi Mark, I guess it depends on your learning style. But characters are such a big part of Chinese, I think its a good idea to start learning them as early as possible. Later, it will help you to understand Chinese better. And, remember, Chinese is the type of language that gets easier the longer you study it (I think). So by diving in all the way now and putting in the hard work, it will pay off in the long run. That's just my humble opinion, as a fellow learner! ~amber :)
says
AdrianFebruary 6, 2007
Hi there, Does anyone know the answer to 9) in the Lesson Plan - "My father is very bad this afternoon" I answered: Baba hen bu hao However, I was unsure as to whereabouts in the sentence to place xiawu (afternoon)? Thanks, A
says
AndreaFebruary 6, 2007
Adrian, I haven't seen the lesson 9 worksheet, but time-word terms like "xiawu" often come before the subject-predicate, or at the the front of the sentence. ex: Xiawu wo baba hen bu hao. ([this] afternoon my father is very bad) Jintian xiawu wo baba hen bu hao (This afternoon my father is very bad) Jintian means today. Hope this has been helpful, and of course Chinesepod's explanations/translations will trump mine. --Andrea
says
AndreaFebruary 6, 2007
Adrian : also, I believe you can also use the following formula: Wo baba xiawu hen bu hao. or Wo baba jintian xiawu hen bu hao. I'm curious to see how the Chinesepod team answers as well.
says
AdrianFebruary 7, 2007
Thanks Andrea for those suggestions, much appreciated.
says
jenny zhuFebruary 7, 2007
Andrea and Adrian, You opened and closed a grammar discussion better than I could ever do. Andrea, you summed up the use of time words perfectly. You trumped us!
says
Aaron BenningfieldFebruary 24, 2007
If I buy a membership, is there a way to download all lessons at once?
says
ChinesePodFebruary 24, 2007
Hi Aaron, Yes, you can download all of the lessons through bittorrent files (if you do not know how to do this, you can find instructions in our help section!). The bittorrent seed files are located on the lesson archive page, on the left hand side. If you sign up for any of the RSS feeds in iTunes (or another reader), you can also download all the past mp3's by expanding the feed title (click on it), then selecting each lesson you wish to download. Hope this helps! Any more questions you can send us at chinesepod at gmail dot com. Colleen
says
WilliamMarch 23, 2007
This is just one thing I dont understand, I suppose it is because I am only 16 years old lol, but I notice in people's writing they are using alot of X's. In this case what sound is the "x" making, a "Z" sound or a "KS" sound?
says
ChinesePodMarch 25, 2007
Hi William, Yes, the pinyin symbols often have a different pronunciation from their english equivalents. For the most accurate pronunciation, please see our pinyin pronunciation chart, which is in the "Learning Center" tab, where you can click on the different sounds and hear a native speaker of Chinese pronounce them for you. ~amber :)
says
JeabMarch 30, 2007
Hi my name jeab. I have just seen this website in the first time.I used to study Chinese basic lesson about 9 months. I really like this, but i have a problem after i finished lesson. I never speak it to another. I would like to speak it fluently and skill please advice me.
carlositos says
Hi, is it possible to download all past lessons at once via itunes or so? I think I read it somewhere here on the site but I cannot find the comment anymore. Thanks for the help.April 23, 2007
hellohill says
I come from Chinese, I want to study english,I found this website is a good place where can learn 汉语, haha, have everybody who can teach me english? I can teach you some 汉语 what I know,haha:)April 22, 2007
excuter says
Hi, Jeab I listend to some other lessons earlier and I don´t have anyone to speak chinese to too. I deal with it by repeating the vocab at work when nobody´s around so nobody can complane ;-) a wise man said it´s better to put on a candle then to curse the darknessApril 17, 2007
darkbright says
Excellent lesson. Lookinbg forward to the next one.April 16, 2007
chentiangemalc says
Seems like a good site. A previous comment about Chinese not being described musically is incorrect. Chinese tones have been recorded musically in Chao Yuen Ren's A Grammar of Spoken Chinese (Berkley: University of California Press, 1968), p. 26. For a sample of that diagram you can see a document I started working on (although VERY VERY incomplete and way too wordy - it does have musical diagram of tones though) http://www.tiange.com.au/documents/IntroductionToChineseLanguage_Incomplete.pdfApril 24, 2007
thuy says
this is a great site! thanks alot!April 23, 2007
vlink2003 says
I think you created a really great site... So far, the best i've seen... Thank you indeed!April 23, 2007
excuter says
Hi, carlositos just in case you still didn´t found out about it there´s a rss feed up on the site to do that. ;-) excuterApril 23, 2007
gualba says
great! i've just joined a mandarim special class for travellers...and i thought this podcast is important and useful! thanx a lot!April 26, 2007
juanpablogomez says
HEY THANKS, IT'S VERY HELPFULL!!! FROM MEXICO!!!April 28, 2007
daniloren says
VERY NICE ! HI,I'VE JUST BEGUN AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT MANDARIN ISN'T SO COMPLICATE AT FIRST VIEW. XIÈXIE !April 28, 2007
vudn says
It's very nice to know this website. I will spend more time on Chinese learning. Hope to be good at Chinese to communicate with all of you. Cheer!May 2, 2007
tristhan83 says
I've just started! looks cool! From one spanish in ShenzhenApril 29, 2007
huilan says
I keep hearing from many friends about chinesepod. One girl said this program forces you to learn chinese. Perhaps that's what I need! I never remember to download it when I get to the office. Finally this morning I started listening to the newbie. But I want to explore getting to an intermediate level. Thanks. HuilanApril 30, 2007
dwd303 says
I took two years of Chinese in College years ago and this is great! Great explanations and exercises!April 30, 2007
riaz says
i have taking language lessons for the last year and a half.after listening your dialogue and the method of explaination it is great feelings thanks Jenny and KenMay 2, 2007
martha says
i like chinesepod to.my brother teaches me. harveyJune 12, 2007
martha says
i dont no? sorryJune 12, 2007
leao says
Nice method.June 13, 2007
kkksamkkk says
Thank you, you both are great teachers for me and many others who are interested in Chinese.June 13, 2007
etailers says
Greetings from Colombia. This lesson rules. RegardsMay 3, 2007
stevezhu says
Very goodMay 4, 2007
azal says
hello ... i m said from morocco .i m intrested in learning chinese .i did discover your web site recently .but i think that it s great . but please is all 500 lesson free .May 4, 2007
nonigirl2006 says
Excellent lesson, loved it! I have just started learning and It was a fabulous review. It helped me a lot with the Characters which I hadn't spent much time on. Wow!May 4, 2007
alworcs says
The MP3 files for all six Intro lessons have a .htm extension on them (I haven't tried any other lessons yet to see if they have the same problem. Windows Media Player will play them, so they're ok, but it does give a wraning about being the wrong file type. Cheers, AlMay 5, 2007
mryong says
Excellent lesson. I love it. Thank youMay 5, 2007
kushagra says
Excellent stuff guys,never thought learning chinese would be this much fun and easy,love it!!!May 6, 2007
amer says
hello, I am from middle east and working as a doctor . I can speak five languages but about chinese i feel deficulty, so i was in searching for a web site that can help me to learn this language. I am thankful for the web designer and sponsor as well. thanks for ken and jenny for such a nice conversation . Thanks a lot. and keep it up, byeMay 7, 2007
vinicius says
very good material ^^!May 7, 2007
rachel116 says
GREAT LESSONMay 7, 2007
hikarujw says
Very neat, I enjoyed it alot.May 9, 2007
rjhinrichs says
Would it be possible to see the words at the same time that they are being pronounced. If not, I have an idea in Second Life.May 9, 2007
yueyue says
晚上好！ wow..I really like it how you explain everything. I tried many programs already, but this is the best so far...not boring at all^^ 谢谢May 9, 2007
ann1ka says
Wooohoooo! Learning and learning some more. Love this site! Xie xie ni!May 10, 2007
rain says
郁闷，走错地方了，我来学英语 的，不好意思！May 10, 2007
benficos says
The most Wonderful program i have ever seen in my life, and i don't expect to find something like that not only for it's simplicity, but also it encourages anyone who is hesitating to learn a new language to go ahead and start learning CHINESEMay 11, 2007
englishlearner says
Who want to learn Chinese!! I can help you !Please add my MSN ID mr-luhailong8966@hotmail.comMay 12, 2007
mkyzka says
Dear ChinesePod, I've been coming to your site 3 days in the row and I have got a really important things to say. First of all, I am in love, I am totally love struck with your inductive method of instruction and with the user friendly outlay of the site. Secondly, may I suggest something. I feel that though flash cards and concentration game do help in memorizing characters, it is not enough in actually learning Chinese characters. Many would agree that they play an important role in Chinese, so if you guys could invest in this your website would be priceless. Why don't you in flash cards introduce to the learner character in this format: One card: big sized (size does matter) character,audio file and tiny english translation. Opposite card will show slowly : 1. writing manner of the character. 2. visual presentation about strokes quantity and order 3. and finally if you could teach in the same section, of what components the character consists of and in what other characters it could be found and how it affects the meaning. I think that's the only weak spot. And if you fix it, I promise to be faithful to CPod and not to look for other learning resources that cover character writing. Otherwise, thank you and I love you all, especially Aric -:)) he is incredibly cute. MalikaMay 12, 2007
cailliette says
Hi, is there a course teaching me how to write characters (stroke order) ?May 13, 2007
linda00 says
Hello Cailliette, it is very hard to make it clear in short words. My suggestion is you can do more practise. If you can remember (read and write )the stroke order is nothig. BTW, I am a chinese.May 14, 2007
briseis12 says
help! i can't download the mp3 files... eveytime i try to download it, it's in a html and not in an mp3 format... :(May 16, 2007
sen05 says
how do i download all the lessons?May 18, 2007
dugrands says
Thanks guys, you are my heros... I can't help but learn things here and use them in my local restaurant amazing people. Keep it up pals!!!!May 18, 2007
lethienket20051969 says
Toi muon tai phan mem de hoc tieng Hoa , o dau ? ai biet chi dum! Thanks.May 21, 2007
lethienket20051969 says
Toi muon tai phan mem de hoc tieng Hoa , o dau ? ai biet chi dum! Thanks.May 21, 2007
lethienket20051969 says
Toi muon tai phan mem de hoc tieng Hoa , o dau ? ai biet chi dum! Thanks.May 21, 2007
tommyle says
quá hay, xin cám ơn các bạn Very good, thank you very muchMay 21, 2007
tiramisueggtart says
HiMay 22, 2007
squalen says
hi..^^ ni hao~!! renshi ni hen gaoxing~!May 23, 2007
altaf5 says
Keep up the good workMay 23, 2007
vaskis4life says
cool... this is fun!May 23, 2007
hansgeneral says
Very good teacher !!!!June 13, 2007
kane1994 says
HiMay 24, 2007
cassie says
hello fellow people!!! im learing chinese!! (im a zebra fish)May 24, 2007
hawkaye007 says
I've got a quick question for those in the know, how much diff. is there between Taiwanese spoken Mandarin and Chinese spoken Mandarin? I know the diff. between traditional and simplified writing, but need to know the diff. between the spoken. Thanks, love the site.May 25, 2007
jennyzhu says
A huge welcome to new poddies. It's wonderful to see comments on such an early lesson. This one is like dinosaur in cpod time. Hawkaye007, The difference between Mainland and Taiwan Mandarin is complex. Besides writing, the respective standard speech sounds quite different to a more seasoned ear. I'd say that the standard Taiwan speech sounds a bit more rounded and 'cutsy'' than the Mainland. But this is just the crudest comparison. I wish I could express it with more clarity... Anyone?May 26, 2007
conchocho says
HiMay 27, 2007
moniqueinchina says
Seems to be great, can't wait to go on with the lessons !May 28, 2007
ahmad says
so niceMay 30, 2007
manivel1234 says
Hi, Its good to listen chinese online voice classes, i am working in China and for me its quite usefull, to learn chinese at my earliest. Thanks a lot for Cpod.May 31, 2007
nika says
Hi, don't feel how for english-speaking person, but for russian one, it is all like jammed voice on a chewed tape. But english sounds great!! And one more reason because of which I 'll bear this chewing is my thirsty for a new language and love for graphics-hieroglifs.June 2, 2007
tatloanimexica says
when i look for the phrase Good Morning in a dictionary i get this: zaoan, what is the difference between zaoan and zaoshanghaoJune 2, 2007
vannesterovitch says
how I make to place this program in Spanish?June 2, 2007
tatloanimexica says
vannesterovitch creo yo que chinesepod solo está disponible para los anglo parlantes que desean adentrarse en el entendimiento del mandarín, sería bueno que también estuviese en español pero también hay que comprender que la demanda por el servicio por parte de los que hablamos español es en sumo inferior a la de los que hablan inglés.June 3, 2007
beianqingfeng says
hi,I am a chinese.I went to here to improve my English and nice to see you,friends.June 3, 2007
says
Hi, I have a question....I want to see the Chinese Chartacters but they only show up as squares and question (?) marks.....any help???June 3, 2007
leviathan says
Hi acerney, i had some problems myself with the display, http://chinesepod.com/help on the left sidebar Click "technical Questions" and then click "Displaying Chinese Characters"June 3, 2007
amber says
tatloanimexica, 早安 (zǎoān) is the most common way to say "good morning" in Taiwan, but is rarely used in mainland China. 早上好 (zǎoshāng hǎo) is commonly used in mainland China. or you can just use the short-form: 早 (zǎo), which is commonly used in both Taiwan and mainland China.June 3, 2007
tatloanimexica says
Thanks amber, now it really makes sense to me.June 4, 2007
says
levianthan 谢谢. I figured out how to change it. (I changed my display name from acerney)June 4, 2007
yesyesyes says
感谢June 7, 2007
dewey123 says
我 喜欢 吃 抄饭 和 吃 鸡 与 牛奶June 7, 2007
bunnymad says
我的中文教是吴 筝。 请问 我要帮助我的在英管 - grammar - 清写我。 何 卧室高兴！ ：）June 7, 2007
yangqun says
you can say :我喜欢吃炒饭和鸡肉，喜欢喝牛奶。June 9, 2007
kitty says
That half naked guy in the picture above is obviously 'So Gay!June 16, 2007
harouna says
so good n, infact it s an interresting idea to have this web site it really help us to understand and practice our poor chinese language prononciation... Xiexie nimen Ken& JennyJune 16, 2007
johnsonlee says
if someone would like to seek for a chinese friend,contact with me.my skype username is "nick_name_feifeili". look forward you indeed!June 19, 2007
tasos says
I am an experienced ESL teacher.. and would be willing to teach English in exchange for Mandarin lessons... email me if intrestedJune 19, 2007
azerdocmom says
Jenny, Hawkaye007 I think there are a few distinct differences noticeable to the "seasoned listener" between Taiwan vs. mainland Mandarin. First, the mainlanders speak with more of a rolled "sh" and "ch" vs. a simple "s" and "ca" e.g. she4 vs. si4 (the #4), cha4bu4duo1 vs ca4bu4duo1. Also, mainlanders tend to have more of a rolled "r" sound to the end of their sentences. Jenny, John, is this correct?June 19, 2007
teresita says
thanks for this wonderful site for learning mandarin. for a newbie, your site is great...keep up the good work especially for all of us who desire to learn the mandarin language.June 20, 2007
tvb1lover says
Hey, Im so glad 2 kno this site, ur works r awsome! I luv it, Im desperate 2 kno chinese & finally I lean abit from Here... KEEP ON THE GREAT WORKS GUYZ! =]July 3, 2007
tvb1lover says
Oh sorry, I hv a problem, HOW can I download that full MP3 download, bcoz Wen I click that link doesnt work at all. Appreciate any helP! ;)July 3, 2007
johnb says
tvb1lover, can you drop us a line at chinesepod [at] gmail.com and describe the problem you're having, and we'll help you out. :)July 3, 2007
orenac says
My Mandarin has improved from my first lessons, I'm very much interested in learning lots more. Finally something worth learning on the internet. Thanks.July 5, 2007
lunetta says
I was looking at the expansion sentences and started wondering what happens if 不 is misplaced and put before 很. It's an easy mistake to make for a newbie but it must change the meaning of the frase?July 8, 2007
gillilaf says
Nice siteJuly 8, 2007
kilamir says
I have a lot of chinese friends and I have always wanted to learn some mandarin. These podcasts are so fun. The way Ken and Jenny conversate with each other makes it enjoyable to learn chinese!July 8, 2007
spaggetti says
A really interesting experience. Useful for stand alone learning an groupware as well.July 10, 2007
john2902 says
Very good, I will make good use of this, I am having fun learning, carry on the good work A big thank you to Chinese PodJuly 15, 2007
atin says
lets start my girl friend will be so happy .she is a chinese and this is the perfect gift for her if i could talk and show my feelings through the mere words in chinese:)July 20, 2007
vargman13 says
This is soo great...It's easy simple...I like it very much...Thank you Ken and Jenny!!!July 23, 2007
marwita01 says
That's very interesting ,I Love Chinese Language Thank you Ken & Jenny Thank's to Chinese PodJuly 25, 2007
jlinchina says
Um, anyone know how to remove the photo I uploaded for my avatar? I tried to upload a different one, but it did not save? Xie XieJuly 27, 2007
rich says
The picture you uploaded was probably too big. It needs to be like under 100K or something similar to that. It doesn't tell you when your avatar is too big (which I think it should, since sometimes even though I cropped a picture, I didn't realize I was still over the limit), it will just bump you back to your profile and you will see your old avatar. Only way I know how to remove it is to right click on the default avatar (like Marwita01's above) and save it, then use that as your avatar and you will be back to like before you had one. -RJuly 27, 2007
jlinchina says
Thank you!August 2, 2007
jlinchina says
Sorry, I suppose I should say: 谢谢!August 2, 2007
victor19840806 says
AZERDocMom you said the differences between Taiwan and Mainland accent is correct.Not only between taiwan and mainland,just in mainland,the northern part and the southern part 's Mandarin are different,but the standard Mandarin is base on the BeiJing accent,so it's more familiar with some northern parts' accent.August 4, 2007
az90925 says
其实这些都不是什么大问题，要记住＂世上无难事，只怕有心人．＂我们一起努力吧！so learn more we can be rich! honk luoAugust 4, 2007
roxachina says
I am a chinese, but I live in Costa Rica. This course is very interesting and I was learning Chinese-Mandarín.August 5, 2007
diegolo says
I am in Palawan, Philippines. Studying to speak Mandarin for two months now. If you can help me my email address is diegolo_69@yahoo.com. This site helps so much! Mabuhay kayo!August 5, 2007
az90925 says
回头是场空，大地回冬，－－任然在途中只好相信雨过后有彩虹－－－－－ by honk luoAugust 6, 2007
mukaltin says
Hey everyone! Im from Russia, Moscow. I fall in love with chinese culture and just started to learn Mandarin by myself. These lessons are pretty great and help me learn material perfectly. Ken and Jenny are great :D It's hard enough to find such an online courses with a podcasting in Russian, so your website helps me a lot! Looking forward for the next lessons! 再见。August 8, 2007
tatloanimexica says
i listened this lessons and comparing the pronunciation against that one of a taiwanese translator i found that you in the lesson pronounces 也as "ye", and the translator pronounces it as "ih" or like a long i sound and thus the "e" remains silent. I wonder if this divergence has to be with the differences between mainland china and taiwan speakers or something else.August 11, 2007
mohit says
Earlier i used to thought It's very difficult to learn chinese,but the these gals n guys r teaching is very nice. It has made chinese learning very easy.But if anybody there who could tell me the meaning of mandarin chinese,taiwan mandarin etc.I am bit confused between them.August 13, 2007
yydhyf says
This is more like English Chinese. Just a Chinese translation of English greetings. But Chinese don't greet people like this.August 16, 2007
yydhyf says
Chinese usually greets people like this: A says: zao3 shang4 hao3! (Good morning.) B answers: zao3 shang4 hao3! (Good morning.) And sometimes people use a simplified version: A says: zao3 (Morning.) B answers: zao3 (Morning.) After "Good Morning", there is no this kind of stuff like "How are you? I am fine. And you? I am fine, too." Chinese don't express themselves like that. But if two people are chatting, if they didn't say "Good morning" "Good morning" ahead, it is quite popular for people to have this dialogue such as "How are you? I am fine. And you? I am good, too."August 16, 2007
yydhyf says
Actually there is no "Taiwan Mandarin". In the whole China, there is only one Mandarin, as there is only one China. The difference that people appreciate when Taiwanese speaks Mandarin is the same as when people in Fujian (a province in Southeastern China) speak Mandarin. They don't differentiate "f" and "h", "r" and "l", "s" and "sh"... This basically reflects the impact of their dialect on them. As everybody knows, most of Taiwanese speaks Fujian dialect. Most of people living in the south of Fujian speak Fujian dialect. This kind of slight difference in pronunciation also exists in other provinces of China. It doesn't uniquely happen to Fujian or Taiwan. An interesting thing is that it is so easy for people in China south to understand people in North when they communicate with each other in Mandarin. But it is difficult for people in North to understand people in South speaking Mandarin.August 16, 2007
yydhyf says
Since there is only one Mandarin, obviously there is only one version of Chinese characters. Taiwan and Mainland are using the same Chinese characters. The difference is nowadays the Chinese characters which people in Mainland are using has been simplified for the convenience of reading and writing since 1949. The traditional Chinese characters effective in Taiwan and the way they mark the pronunciation are exactly the same as what people in China mainland was using before 1949.August 16, 2007
matzhao says
so cool...August 16, 2007
chanmikim says
verygood:)August 17, 2007
teagy says
I was wondering if all of the Chinese Pod lessons taught Standard Mandarin in pu tong hua (普通话) and not 华语 or 国语.August 18, 2007
saby says
thank you for this the most amazing site if you want to learn chinese Saby from SloveniaAugust 24, 2007
quison says
Thanks for the clarification yydhyf. I think you are right in saying that this is more of a translation and "English Chinese". However, do chinese use "Ni hao ma?" to each other? I heard that you only use this question if you are really close to the chinese person .. maybe the chinese pod staff can shed some light in this.August 26, 2007
seef says
hello 我非常喜欢这个地址，August 26, 2007
mauribacache says
good, excelente, etc. this language is not too hard to study (if you like languages tough!!)August 29, 2007
kattkitty says
Very nice, easy to understand.August 29, 2007
salitos says
FABULOSO!!!! muy muy util! GRACIAS !September 4, 2007
hungquoc says
wo ye fei chang xi huan zhe ge di zhi!September 4, 2007
hungquoc says
mình là người việt nam rất thích học tiếng Trung Quốc, Rất mong các bạn chỉ giáo phương pháp học và tài liệu tham khảo. Xie xie!September 4, 2007
chinabelle07 says
thank you! this is a very interesting course. thank you jen and ken.September 7, 2007
mark24173 says
This looks to be a very interesting introduction to Chinese. As I speak and read Japanese, I hope that I will have a slight headstart with reading the kanji, leaving me free to concentrate on pronunciation. In the first dialogue, the pronunciation of 上 is written as "shang" but sounds very much like the "g" is not pronounced. Is this the case, or is it my ears?September 9, 2007
Kyle says
The 'g' should be pronounced there. Otherwise you get a 'shan' sound, which is very different.September 9, 2007
tuan says
i love this web that is the first my chinese teacher.September 10, 2007
innayatniazi says
Hi Friends, I am new to the site, I like it because it will be good source for me to learn chinese language. I want to learn Chinese Language becuase I love china and it country people because of their love to their traditions. Any nation who love his tradition and make hard work will make progress in the world, & I can see these both things in Chinese. I want some one to chat me on MSN (@hotmail) Messenger, because i mostly use this messenger. If some one want to help me personally learn chinese language, Please send me e-mail, i will add u in my messenger. my ID is innayat_niazi@hotmail.com ThanksSeptember 10, 2007
alvinho says
Xiawu hao.... I knew about this website a couple of minutes ago. I must confess I'm in love with it....the listening lessons are pretty good and good enough for a deaf guy like me...I've been thinking of postponing the beginning of the Mandarin classes for only next year but as I've found out this website I've changed my mind....keep up good work by offering such a good teaching quality....I hope to acquire so many expressions and words so that I may do well in any dialogue. As I'm studying hard both English and Spanish, I decided to take the lessons twice a week in order not to be crazy over too much stuff for studying. Greetings from Salvador, Brazil.September 13, 2007
macabrefreak says
This is wonderful. I work overnight and most of the time I am bored out of my mind. I am so happy that I came upon these lessons. Now I am basically getting paid to learn a new language.September 17, 2007
donkey says
xie xie very, very muchSeptember 19, 2007
dedan says
dopeSeptember 20, 2007
obivaughan says
I studied Mandarin for three years in high school. I'm so happy to have found a great site like this online to see what I can learn again and remember from so many years ago.September 24, 2007
forte says
Very Educational!September 26, 2007
tarkonis says
Hello everyone.. I am learning Japanese at the moment and I learned the hiragana and katakana first so I could read the words.. but in mandarin, it's a bit confusing. Does each character mean one word? If so can i just start learning the characters as I would vocab? In japanese, one Kanji can have many different readings when combined with other characters and kana. how shuld I be progressing with the characters in these lessons? Cheers!! TarkonisSeptember 27, 2007
nankimcda says
I'm so happySeptember 28, 2007
Kyle says
@ tarkonis I don't know anything about Japanese, but from your description above it sounds like Chinese and Japanese characters have a lot in common. That is, one Chinese character may have different meanings when placed alongside others. For example, 生活 (live/life) 生病 (to become ill) 学生 (student) My personal opinion is that the best way to learn characters is in combination with others. Knowing any two characters' individual meaning does not guarantee that you'll know the meaning of them when put together.September 28, 2007
tonank says
Free education! Thank you! You are great!September 30, 2007
jjohnson says
This is awesome! This site is very impressive. Thank youOctober 2, 2007
tarkonis says
Thanks Kyle :) So to clarify, when I see the phrase 早上好 I learn the words 早上 and 好？October 7, 2007
siberia says
Hello everyone I am a chinese girl. I studied medicine for five years in high school in china.It's so happy that find so many friends learn chinese.I am very glad to teach anyone who want learn chinese.It's free.Only I want is make friends.You can contact me with msn. f.siberia@hotmail.comOctober 15, 2007
galoosh33 says
I can't open the Podcast MP3, it opens as a text file for some reason! Can anyone help me? I really want to be able to listen!October 18, 2007
dbuell says
Make sure you right click on the download link. In the dropdown menu that results, left click on Save Target As. . . When the download window opens, you may have to change the file type to mp3. Look for whatever is after the dot in the file name. If it's not .mp3, you need to change it by either - selecting Audio MP3 from the dropdown menu at the bottom of the download window or - deleting whatever is after the dot in the file name and typing in mp3 Then click on The Save button.October 18, 2007
dbuell says
If you want to just listen on your computer but not download the file for putting onto a portable MP3 player, just click on DIAL or FULL on the left end of the control that is just below the picture for the lesson.October 18, 2007
erinbrault says
HiOctober 18, 2007
goten12 says
hi everybody, hi doctor nickOctober 20, 2007
bluewater says
hello all from miami, I just started learning chinese. i have two questions; first can anyone recommend a INTRO book to writing and reading. second; if anyone in miami wants to trade english or spanish lessons for help with chinese-please email me. thank you, randallOctober 20, 2007
davefish84 says
Gee whiz... This sure is splendid guys!!October 21, 2007
Kyle says
@ bluewater I highly recommend the New Practical Chinese Reader series as an intro to everything Mandarin. Good stroke-by-stroke introduction to writing, as well as practical dialogues to practice reading and build vocabulary. There are currently 5 volumes, with the 6th to be available soon (or so I've read).October 21, 2007
tomquen says
I want to learn to say this:" my kung fu is better than yours". :) Ken & Jenny are great!October 21, 2007
trevelyan says
@tomquen, try... 我的 功夫 比 你的 好 wo3de5 gong1fu5 bi3 ni3de5 hao3 my kungfu compares-to yours goodOctober 21, 2007
achiewing says
hi. im wendy. i'm trying to learn to speak mandarin. if anyone out there wants to help me and help me out kindly email me or chat me in my msn account its achiewing@hotmail.com thanks! and hoping as you teach me we can be more friends as well =) chinesepod is totally amazing and the best! keep up the good work la=) xie xie =)October 22, 2007
flashatizer says
Ni hao. Very interesting and perfectly detailed. Every question I had when going through this was answered somewhere in this. :) zianjian xiexieOctober 22, 2007
mertsipal says
I want some help about download.Can I download Mp3 lessons on ChinesePod? How can I Download and where can I download Thanks for helping...October 23, 2007
mertsipal says
Aha I found How can I download but thanks a lot:) If you wanna talk me on msn mertsipal@msn.com We can learn Chinese and we can do practise in MSN boxes thanks ChinesePod!...October 23, 2007
agni777 says
照片里的女孩子美极了！!!!^@^October 26, 2007
AuntySue says
Hi agni777, welcome to the best group of Chinese studying friends on the net! You seem to be enthusiastic about learning, which is great to see. This particular lesson is for newbies, and happens to be one that many choose as their very first experience of learning a couple of Chinese words. That means they might not yet be able to see your Chinese characters on their computers, and certainly wouldn't understand them, so I'll try to help out. You said you think the young woman in the picture is very beautiful. I agree with you, she's lovely! I hope you enjoyed listening to the lesson as well. A lot of us more advanced students listen to the newbie lessons, because they are always entertaining and we pick up a lot of cultural information too. Jenny and Ken also provide a good model for when we want to help other students. agni777, you might like to try some of the higher levels too, because you seem to have quite a talent for Chinese! You will find a lot of interesting material and students to share ideas with. Attention Newbies: At the ChinesePod Students Forum, we've been talking about linking up via Skype. I'd like to encourage any newbies, no matter how new, to join us. You'd be very welcome, and you could even try out your first few words with any of the more advanced students, or just say hello in English first time round. Just remember that we're all students, your classmates, and we all make mistakes sometimes. OK, a lot :) http://forum.chinesepod.com/viewtopic.php?t=2317October 26, 2007
agni777 says
你好！ 我知道了！ 可惜我不会英语：（！, 所以不一切明白了。 我写对了吗？ 我的汉语水平还不太高，不过我天一天都练习。 我非学汉语不可！！！October 26, 2007
Kyle says
@ agni777 说实话,最好的情况就是我们都不会说一个普通的语言,比如英语. 这样我们都必须用汉语沟通. 不过,对新手看来用英语比较方便. 反正, 我们都跟你用汉语挺好.October 26, 2007
agni777 says
这是好得很！ 我们能用汉语说话！October 26, 2007
d1blackmogul says
This is great!!! I just did the first lesson. It will probably take me a week to master this good morning conversation, but i will.October 27, 2007
cnflansh says
GOODOctober 28, 2007
agni777 says
Wo hen xihuan zhege kewen de fayin!October 29, 2007
huanghai says
谢谢 Jenny, KenOctober 29, 2007
AuntySue says
I was going to translate all that talk in Chinese to English, so that the newbies wouldn't feel ostracised within their own introductory learning space, but I can't do it. Even with dictionaries, your Chinese is too hard for me to work out. Sorry. I did pick up that agni777 can't speak English, I think that's what he said. No problem, there's lots of other places around here where Chinese chat will be understood and appreciated. d1blackmogul, don't try to rush. Some people seem to jump in with both feet and manage a lesson per day or more, but it took me two weeks to get my head around the first lesson, and the speed only slowly picked up. So you're not alone! Don't sit still with the lesson you're working on, though. You can "play with" several lessons each day while you "work on" one for several days. The main thing you need to do for the first few weeks or months is get used to the sound, without trying to remember or speak anything. Especially if you memorise as slowly as me! There's hundreds of newbie lessons. Take the pressure off yourself for a while, just load up your mp3 player or computer and let it run. These podcasts can become your entertainment, like listening to the radio. They're all really fun to listen to if you don't "try to study" them just yet. Only give the honour of study to your favourites. Judge for yourself whether my approach will work for you or not, and do whatever feels right, because we're all different.October 30, 2007
akemichan says
muzukashii~~~~November 3, 2007
puapei says
I have just signed up today and I was wondering if someone could give me a few tips on how to get the podcasts to work. When I click on the podcast links my screen fills with boxes and other symbols. The fix link works though. Do I need to download some kind of reader onto my computer? Any help would be appreciated.November 9, 2007
kevinchinesepod says
I think you have to chage the extension to .mp3 if your trying to download it. Hope it helpsNovember 9, 2007
kenshinmd says
im a newbie too. same problem with my pc.. all boxes.. do i have to download something for my pc?November 9, 2007
kevinchinesepod says
Open the Windows Control Panel. (If the Control Panel is in "Category view") Select "Date, Time, Language and Regional options." Open the "Regional and Language Options" icon. Choose the "Languages" tab, and ensure the "Install files for East Asian languages" is checked, as per the screenshot below: Click the "Details" button to open the "Text services and input languages" dialog. If "Chinese" is not listed in the "Installed Services" box, click "Add". In the "Input Language" list, choose "Chinese (PRC)". The "Keyboard layout" should default to "Chinese (Simplified) - Microsoft Pinyin IME 3.0". Click "Ok" on both dialogs to return to the "Regional and Language Options". Click "Ok", you will probably need to insert your Windows CD for the files to be installed. The language bar should now have appeared in the bottom right of the taskbar. It should default to English - "EN". Click on the "EN" button to show the available languages: By changing the language to "CH", you can now type in Pinyin. You can change the current language by pressing "ALT" + "SHIFT" on your keyboard. Thanks to chinese-tools.comNovember 10, 2007
thomasclark1 says
This Lesson has helped me learn alot about saying goo morning.November 10, 2007
sheepinriver says
哈哈，汉语难学的原因就在于太灵活了。想挑战汉语最高境界的人去学文言文吧，比如去读唐诗。November 10, 2007
gemagoulart says
It´s wonderful how fast I am learning this language through the chinespodcast. You guys are amazing.Thank you for your classes. Alex from BRAZILNovember 10, 2007
puapei says
Thank you Kevin for your advice. I will try your suggestion.November 12, 2007
trustymutsi says
"Hen" seems to be pronounced "Hun" in the lesson, but it's written in the "pdf" as "Hen". Why does it change so much when spoken? I've also heard some podcasts where they pronounce the word "Hen". Thanks for any help.November 15, 2007
AuntySue says
The word hen is pronounced differently by different speakers at different times, but not very different. Sometimes we hear a definite "hen" like the English word, and often it is that neutral sound like in the final e of "happen" or just "hn". But I've never heard it sound, to my ears, as open as the hun in "hundred". I wouldn't try to pin it down too much, because Mandarin speakers vary just like English speakers do.November 15, 2007
trustymutsi says
Thank you so much!November 16, 2007
triphazard says
Carositos, I think you can get the new lessons through the RSS feed possible through iTunes, but I am not sure about old lessons. You may want to try downloading the lessons as you go, or trying to find them somewhere in one big pack.November 20, 2007
chiafangt says
To teagy: pu tong hua (普通话) = 华语 = 国语. To Chinese peopel: Do Chinese people use "你好吗？" in daily life? Or is it just an English translation?November 20, 2007
goulnik says
chiafangt, not "你好吗？", just "你好" or "早" 等等November 20, 2007
roger313 says
Hi everyone... My Name is Roger Dogan... I have a wife and her name is Jenny... but its not Jenny of Ken! It's Jenny of Mr. Dogan I love her very much and I want to learn because of my wife Chinese... and this Chinesepod is a great experience... thanks Ken and Jenny and of course My Wife Jenny (My Miss Jing) Take care folks and enjoy life/loveNovember 24, 2007
AuntySue says
Welcome, Roger, I'm really pleased you have joined us. Anyone with a Chinese wife called Jenny must have excellent taste! You should find here everything you need to launch your Chinese studies, including how to say sweet things to your wife. There's a great community of fellow students (like myself) who love to help each other. Join in some of the conversations if you have time, and get to know us, because we'd like to get to know you too.November 24, 2007
howard97 says
I can't download the mp3 only chinesepod_A0001pr.htm please help howard97December 3, 2007
asmaafaris says
I cant download it either =/ I really want this one! Xièxie =]December 3, 2007
amber says
hi everyone, The MP3 is back now. Sorry for the inconvenience!December 4, 2007
asmaafaris says
It still won't work! x.xDecember 4, 2007
AuntySue says
It works fine for me. Can you download the mp3 files for other lessons OK? What browser are you using? Do you do a right-click with the mouse on the download link?December 4, 2007
asmaafaris says
Well, I can download other mp3 files easily, and i do the right click. But when I wanna save it, it saves as a HTML document (and at other mp3-files, it saves as MPEG-3 files), so it wont work. I use IE 7December 4, 2007
nsa93190 says
Thank you so much Ken and Jenny! I've been self teaching myself Chinese since summer. I get it all done perfectly, writing my 86th characters but my pronounciation is extremely bad even though I have a pinyin chart. You both have made my day!December 10, 2007
gelatina says
Hey ): Can somebody teach me how to podcast? I just don´t understand how to use podcastsDecember 10, 2007
AuntySue says
With cheating: This is really easy and quick. Right-click on the mp3 file for a lesson, and download it. Then click on what you downloaded, to play it on your computer any time. If you have a mp3 player you could copy the mp3 file over to there, too. That way gets boring after a while, though, because you have to remember to get the file each time. Podcasting, using the proper software, just means you don't have to remember to get the newest files any more, they come by themselves. Without cheating: Get a free podcast-fetching program, like either Juice or iTunes, and set it up on your computer. Read its instructions to see how, it's not very hard. Tell that program that you want the podcast that's at http://chinesepod.com/feed/public and tell it what time to go out and check each day for the latest new files. Then those files will turn up on your computer automagically whenever they are published. The special way for ipods: If you use an ipod, you'll have to subscribe to chinesepod at the itunes store site (it's free) so that you get everything in the right format to send it across to your ipod. I think that's sort of right, but sorry, I don't know anything about that stuff because I use a standard mp3 player that takes ordinary mp3 files. The efficient way: Subscribe to chinesepod and you get a personal feed. You can use the "Your Feed" link (on the bottom of chinesepod pages for subscribers) to set up which lesson levels you want to be sent to you, as well as extra stuff like PDFs and more. Then instead of telling your software to get the latest files from http://chinesepod.com/feed/public, now you don't. You tell it some other place which is the special one set up just for you. The Your Feed web page here will tell you what place to tell your software to go to, so you can copy and paste it in. You have many ways to choose from, including the few I've mentioned. It's up to you what suits you best. And no, none of us are experts, we all fiddled around until we found some way we liked and kinda stuck with it :-)December 10, 2007
user25258 says
i agreeDecember 11, 2007
rvanriper says
I learned more in this first lesson then I did using Rosetta Stone for a week. I believe it is the approach in that this is how you would hear Chinese in conversation. I like it very much!December 15, 2007
monalisa67 says
Just wondering about the tonal marking. First, if there is no marking, what tone is that? Second, is it marked on this site as an aid, or is it marked in the natural languageDecember 16, 2007
jairoc78 says
Hola, soy Colombiano, desde hace muchos años quiero aprender Mandarín. Hoy estaba checando el periódico de mi país y salia la noticia del Spanishpod entre y de una vez me inscribí en el curso de Mandarín, tengo muchas expectativas y se que tendré muchas dificultades debido a que no se ingles, empiezo a hacer todo a través de traductores, deseen me buena suerte y bueno gracias por esta oportunidad. Hello, I am Colombian, for many years I want to learn Mandarin. Today was checando the newspaper from my country and I saw the news of Spanishpod between and once I enrolled in the course of Mandarin, I have high expectations and I will have many difficulties because they were not English, start to do everything through translators, I wish good luck and good thank you for this opportunity.December 17, 2007
jhonf79 says
hi , soy de medellin colombia y estoy feliz con el curso de mandarin, desde hace mucho he querido aprender este idiomaDecember 30, 2007
jhonf79 says
graciasDecember 30, 2007
megbritt says
monalisa67, An absence of a tone marking indicates a neutral tone. It's unstressed and is sometimes referred to as the fifth tone.January 5, 2008
bliss says
zaoshang hao!January 7, 2008
swan999 says
This is great, I am learning Mandarin at school, but this helps me pronounce much better.January 9, 2008
daizi says
All I can say about this lesson is: 好久不见! Hǎojiǔbujiàn! Long time no see!January 9, 2008
siyue6287 says
it is really a helpful website to learn chinese,while for me it is really good website to learn english.i started from the newbie stage so that i can learn more english. the lower the stage the more english they speak. what's more, i like to look over the discussions of each lesson.if anyone has any problem of learning chinese,and if i can figure it out in english,i would like to help anyone who loves chinese. let's make progress together. wish everybody has a wonderful experience of learning chinese!January 15, 2008
fabiangm says
Muy buena la clases GRACIASJanuary 20, 2008
lawrencet says
how do you say the words 'at night' ? for example, how to say this sentence :i study mandarin at night?January 20, 2008
amber says
Hi lawrencet, 我晚上学中文 (Wǒ wǎnshang xué Zhōngwén)January 21, 2008
bage says
A lot of Thanks ( in vietnamese "Cám ơn nhiều" ) Great useful siteJanuary 23, 2008
lucky2685 says
Nice Good~~ I'm South Korean. 짜오 썅 하오January 27, 2008
jyoong says
niceJanuary 28, 2008
jackfrombelgium says
Hi, Supplementary Vocabulary ta1 = she not sie Thanks JackJanuary 29, 2008
connie says
Hi, jackfrombelgium Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed! 谢谢你！January 29, 2008
plogultech says
我很愿意和各位交朋友。让我们共同进步吧。February 4, 2008
jidoujoe says
Thank you guys for this. My girlfriend's parents are also from Shanghai and speak Shanghainese but they of course also speak mandarin. I've studied Japanese for 4 years and only when beginning studying Mandarin do I realise just how different the two languages are. XiexieFebruary 11, 2008
amigaleal says
i am speak spanish but this course is so good for me, thanks you. 谢谢February 12, 2008
machiatto34 says
Wow! This is GREAT! I know that using this site and its took, I am going to have a blast learning to speak Mandarin! I am like so excited!February 16, 2008
carsak says
simply wow...good stuff =)February 18, 2008
wjaiwf says
actually,they do not often use the sentence such as "ni hao ma?" "wo hen hao..." . You may say "ni hao " "ni hao".That's more exactlly.and greeting is not like ask and then answerFebruary 28, 2008
vitaspencer says
plogultech和rain 同学也是中国人啊,呵呵~March 1, 2008
aussigirl says
Difficult, but hopefully will become easier.March 6, 2008
mondiboy says
How do i get the free trial the link does not seem to work and i also want to down load the podcast to my mobile on a free trial is this possible?March 8, 2008
pjkachu says
It's easy to listen and very useful. Thank youMarch 11, 2008
erikays says
what an amazing site, im teaching myself and my 3 year old son. hes picking it up really fast and hes just crazy about it. thank you!March 11, 2008
zaf125zr says
man now gotta payMarch 13, 2008
hanka says
早！(zao3) Now we like to say one word. I'm chinese,do you want to make friends with me? I'm in shanghai,maybe we could teach each other our native langauge!March 16, 2008
sunnydang says
Hi anonymous: I'm Sunny from China ,a Chinese tutor .I'm glad to answer you questions. Ma and ne are not interchangeable. For example in lesson good morning,we can ask ni hao ma?(你好吗?) but we can't say ni hao ne?(你好呢?) You may ask ni ne?(你呢?) but can't ask ni ma?(你吗?) I hope this is helpful!March 17, 2008
burnise says
Well i'm a new girl to learning chinese so will you all give me some timeMarch 18, 2008
vuonghuong1985 says
Tớ là Hương là người Việt Nam và đang sống tại Hà Nội. Tớ rất thích Trung Quốc nên muốn tìm hiểu nhiều về ngôn ngữ cũng như nền văn hoá của Trung Quốc.Bây giờ tớ mới "Start".Tim được trang web hay quá nhưng mà lại toàn Tiếng Anh, mà Tiếng Anh của tớ dở lắm.Biết làm thế nào bi giờ???March 21, 2008
alige227 says
yeah, i like it , it's a very intresting dialogue, i can practice my audition here, hehe,March 23, 2008
timspencer03 says
Hi, nice site, i have been learning mandarin for two years, drifting from books, to CD's and web sites. I have been looking for a stuctured approach to learning and hope this will be it. But even after two years i ask for the bill in Chinese and the guy asks me how i want my egg, tones are importantMarch 23, 2008
clay says
Timspencer03, welcome to Cpod! here some some tone lessons to keep that waiter in check. http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-fourth-tone/discussion http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-third-tone/discussion http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-second-tone/discussion http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-first-tone/discussionMarch 24, 2008
light487 says
In a later lesson, I forget which one now, the topic dicusses that "ni hao ma?" is not commonly used because the ma? is implied within the context of meeting of the two people and the relationship they already have with each other... I wonder how much of this will occur as I begin to learn Mandarin? I know that I first need to learn the the basics and proper grammar to have a good foundation before learning truisms and common uses but I also don't want to learn bad habits like this, and sound like a tourist.. how can avoid this from happening?March 24, 2008
buschstadium310 says
that one is awsome!!March 31, 2008
jlee901 says
is there a chinese alphabetMarch 31, 2008
syusuke says
actually , "ni hao ma?" is seldom be used in daily conversation, we often use it in writing context~April 1, 2008
bremerk says
April 2, 2008
ratnagurung says
i like the lay out of the websiteApril 5, 2008
zorro9wow says
要是中国学英语的网站也做得这么精致该多好...April 9, 2008
jhjeong80 says
This site is really informative..April 13, 2008
chamik says
Can someone tell me how to put a dialogue on my MP3 playerApril 15, 2008
emayonline says
It is very good,but i find another good place for study Chinese , you can publish anything about Chinese Learning. Video, Characters,Sentences and so on. you can learn very well from there,they are website address is : http://www.emayonline.com.cnApril 16, 2008
ramennoodles says
Very basic dialogue. I'm not new, but even these lessons can be appreciated.April 17, 2008
sillyboy says
This is my first comment here, just 1 question tho, I basically just started learning Mandarin and was wondering how long on the average do ppl start to learn Mandarin and can speak it really good ? I know it takes time and everyone is different but still wondering how long it has taken some ppl to speak mandarin well ? On a side note, I learn alot better hearing Ken and Jenny then teach mandarin then anyone else, ashame in the later lessons Ken isn't with Jenny to keep teaching, anywho cya ^_^April 20, 2008
shooter says
This is my very first lesson from chinesepod and I am very impressed. I have just for fun studied Mandarin for about 2 years but have very little interaction with others learning or speaking the language - to hear the conversations and the teachers bringing the language to life is just sensational.. thank you. I am having trouble downloading Podcast MP3 files and the Dialogue MP3 files - can any one help? is it jsut me? 谢谢你们。 再见！May 7, 2008
catherinewhitmire says
Shooter, when I downloaded the podcast, they were coded in Windows Explorer as HTM files. If you change the extension to .MP3, it should workMay 8, 2008
hamad says
very good lessonsMay 12, 2008
funk89 says
Very nice lesson indeed, but I can't seem to download it either, I also get a whole page full of letters when I tryMay 12, 2008
blade says
Hi! this chinesepod is really great, lessons helpfull...thanks! Can anyone tell which possibilities are after 7 days trial period???May 13, 2008
boran says
blade, After the trial period, you'll still be able to listen to the lesson podcasts and participate in the discussion forums for free. If you still want the PDF transcripts or any of the study tools, there are Basic or Premium subscriptions. Look at ChinesePod Subscription Information for more information.May 13, 2008
trangbabii says
Wow, thanks so much Ken and Jenny. These pods are plentiful helpful. Im TRYing to learn mandarin so i can watch taiwanese dramas without gluing my eyes to the subs lol. Thanks again!May 13, 2008
nesevis says
Hi! I've always wanted to pick up a third language (aside from Norwegian and English) and thought I'd make it Chinese! I've applied for the introductory course at the University of Oslo this coming autumn and already ordered the textbooks. However, finding ChinesePod is the most pleasant surprise imaginable! This is exactly the sort of site and concept that makes the Internet such a good learning tool. I applaud your efforts! A small question: since nǐhăo ("hello") and nǐ hăo ("you good") are essentially the same words, do you distinguish them in pronunciation, or is the difference contextual? My untrained ear couldn't hear the difference. And on a tangent: if any of you are using a European or a Norwegian keyboard, what's the easiest way to find the proper accents when writing with roman characters. I had to go rummaging through the character map (windows+run, type "charmap") to manually copy them. Thanks again!May 17, 2008
light487 says
@nesevis: The difference is in the context. You will find, as you explore Chinese language more, that it is a very implied language. nǐ hǎo - literally means "you good". It's a bit like saying hello to someone with the phrase, "How you goin'?" In most cases you aren't really asking how the person is, just that it's casual way of saying hello. nǐ hǎo ma? is literally "you good?". The particle "ma" has made it into a question to invoke a response from the other person as to how they are. Another way of asking how someone is, which is similar but also is more direct would be "nǐ hǎo bù hǎo?" meaning, "you good not good?". With this question, the other person is forced to respond with a kind of true or false/yes or no/good or not good response. Also, for a pinyin IME, try the following link: http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?t=13005May 17, 2008
AuntySue says
Welcome, nesevis! There is no difference at all between nǐhăo and nǐ hăo, it's pronounced the same and it has the same meaning, "hello". Remember too that in Chinese there are no spaces at all within a sentence, so it would always be seen as 你好. If you dissect 你好 into a meaning for each of its characters, sure, you find "you" and "good", but nobody really feels as if that is the meaning, it just means hi. I hope someone else can help you with writing accented letters for pinyin, because I never bothered to learn, too lazy. I just use the numbers for the tones, e.g. ni3hao3, because I find that very quick to type for my own notes. Some people find that easy, but many say my way is too difficult.May 17, 2008
AuntySue says
Oh, I see you have been given the answer while I was typing :-)May 17, 2008
nesevis says
Thank you both! Reading the chinese signs is going to be a challenge, I think. All I see nǐhăo as is (diagonal, scattered F) (J meets short-legged R) (an open L on top of a J) (squiggly 7). Not the easiest to remember ;) Wǒ jiào Chris, by the way!May 17, 2008
gefei says
yay! even though this is so totaly easy for me since im in media its still fun to get a good reminder.May 17, 2008
gefei says
just wondering ,is there a higher level than media ?even media is sorta easy can you make up a higher level like super duper hard or something?May 17, 2008
AuntySue says
Hi gefei. You'd do better asking that question in a media level classroom or general conversation area, don't you think? Then people who want the answer might see it, too. People reading here are mostly newcomers encountering a Chinese lesson for the first time. In case anyone's wondering about the media word above, no he's not in the media business. :-) We have levels starting with Newbie, Elementary...etc, going up to "Media" as the name for the top level of difficulty. Everyone can use as many levels as they like at once, you don't have to graduate or anything.May 17, 2008
geotol says
Hi everyone I am new in Cpod. My first impression.....wow. I was looking for something like this. My only comment is that it would be nice if the words and phrases of the "Expansion" were included in the Lesson pdf file.May 18, 2008
djamelbarae says
我很喜欢chinese podMay 18, 2008
djamelbarae says
please help me to get PDF lessonsMay 18, 2008
kos301 says
wow, good stuff. And Ken sounds really American, hahaMay 19, 2008
grenouille says
Hi everyone, I'm new ! :) At university, I was told "good morning" was "ni zao". Is it just a shortened form, maybe ? Or is it not very common ? Chinesepod is great - ideal as an extra on top of my university lessons !! (I also enjoy SpanishPod ! Can't wait for other languages !!!) ThankyouMay 21, 2008
light487 says
@kos301: Ken is British.. well Irish actually I think he mentioned in a very early lesson. I think he has been living in Shanghai for 12 years now.. I seem to remember him mentioning that he'd been in Shanghai for 11 years in a lesson about a year or so ago. @grenouille:May 21, 2008
light487 says
oops.. I meant "Zǎo by itself is enough to say "Good Morning" really." but I put it in between the wrong kind of parentheses so the page thought I was writing an HTML tag and hid it.May 21, 2008
auntie68 says
Hi light487. Another way of referring to the morning is "上午" (shang4wu3), which makes a lot of sense compared with 下午. Chinese books which are divided into volumes are usually referred to as "上册“ (shang4ce4; Vol. 1) and "下册“ （xia4ce4; Vol.2). In school, Chinese textbooks which would be referred to as "1A" and "1B", in English, would be 1上 and 1下, in Chinese. That's how Chinese minds see the world!May 21, 2008
grenouille says
Thanks for the info, light487. Actually, as I learnt it, the day is divided into 5 parts : zao shang, shang wu, zhong wu, xia wu, wan shang (sorry about the lack of accents !) I'd never heard of qing zao though !May 21, 2008
auntie68 says
Hi grenouille. 清早 is a very lovely -- and well-used -- Chinese expression meaning, "at first light (of day)".May 21, 2008
auntie68 says
But it can also refer to the early hours of the morning...May 21, 2008
changye says
Hi auntie68, Welcome back to forums. I love the word "早晨" (zao3 chen), though I myself love to sleep late in the morning.May 21, 2008
light487 says
I would have thought your chubby dog would be waking you up before day break for her first snack of the day! :)May 21, 2008
a00506757 says
hi, I'm having some troubles to download de podcast od 128 Mbps. I couldn't download any of the podcast, only the fix mp3 and the pdf. What I can do?May 22, 2008
funk89 says
I just paid for a months subscription, but I still can't download the podcast... If it doesn't work why do you advertise for it?May 25, 2008
dieuhuong297 says
June 10, 2008
I 'm a newbie. Hopfully my Chinese can speed up thanks to Chinesepod.com (^*^)
houban says
June 10, 2008
My first time here. I started trying to learn on my own and found this first lesson a little easy, but certainly see how this approach is going to vault me past my current abilities using the approach I have been. Thanks.
littlenacho says
June 13, 2008
I loved that podcast. It's my first time learning chinese i found it extremely helpful because it's easyer 2 use than other things like another site i used it wasn't as easy as this is. And another great thing is i can do it without being disturbed. Thanks.
elfpages says
June 17, 2008
Wow--great site. I'm not great at computers, so i think it will take me awhile to learn how to maximize the use (just stumbled on the rolling mouse thing).
ngocttk says
June 18, 2008
So interesting and helpful! Thanks ChinesePod! You save my dream :)
abusafeeya says
June 19, 2008
Dear All,
Honestly I didn't imagine to find such great and professional website. You guys are doing magic. Learning Mandrine has never been such easy.
This is my very early first time to try to learn about chinese. Off course I went to google and inserted some key words for the seach criteria to find your website as the first choice.
Great I will continue learning and sending you feedbacks which you might find precious.
Best Regards,
Abusafeeya
lordtone says
June 19, 2008
You guys rock
found you on itunesU edUcation was looking for nothing in particular and then when I checked your site, I remembered that I had wanted to learn another language as part of my lifes journey. I have just completed my first lesson and I beleive I could get by with a morning greeting and possibly even a evening one. xiexie
keep up the cool site
regards
beverlyriley says
June 22, 2008
Going to China in September. This is a great way to get ready for a better experience.
xie xie!
bailey89 says
June 22, 2008
is probably asking a really silly question but hay wat the hell....wat are all the squares all about?
mayor_bombolini says
June 22, 2008
baily89,
Are you asking about the avatars?
You can go to your profile and load in a photo or some other jpeg file. Every time you post your avatar will show up.
earljhoover says
June 22, 2008
this is by far the easiest way to learn chinese i have discovered so far... but i have to ask...
why are there numbers after every word when you do the exercises in pinyin?
caughtin says
June 22, 2008
hi earlijhoover,
It should be pinyin's tone.
mayor_bombolini says
June 23, 2008
baily89,
Your computer may not be set up to reag Chinese Characters. See the Help Section.
macallus88 says
June 24, 2008
How do you pronounce very/hen3 is it hen or hin?
injun says
June 24, 2008
我很喜欢
caughtin says
June 25, 2008
culloose, it should be 'hen3'.
macallus88 says
June 25, 2008
so it's pronounced as hen and not hin like http://www.1jn.com/chinese/pinyin.html says
pulosm says
June 25, 2008
"hen" (and the e and en in pinyin in general) is pronounced like "uh" in English or like the "e" in french. So "hen" should be pronounced like "hun" (as in Atila the Hun).
macallus88 says
June 25, 2008
I see from that site they have a "uh" sound, just that for H + EN it says HIN, s'pose I shouldn't be using that to check the phonetic spelling
thanks
pulosm says
June 25, 2008
culloose:
I just checked that site. It's pretty awful. I wouldn't use that. Learn pinyin. It is consistent if you learn all its rules. I'm not sure I know where you can learn this, but it shouldn't be too hard to find!
macallus88 says
June 25, 2008
ok, thanks
chungkhcn says
June 26, 2008
thanks you alot for building this website. I appreciate its helpfulness.
ncmuck says
June 27, 2008
I have been trying to learn Chinese for a while, I have tried many websites but ChinesePod is the very best, and the next best is distant behind.
Let me be good with learning Chinese. My goal is to make a speech in Mandarin Chinese at my office Chinese New Year (Feb, 2009) day celeberations.
houban says
June 27, 2008
Emccac,
好运 Hao yun Good Luck, I am new here to chinesePod as well and I too have tried several other things before settling here. I think one of things that will make this successful is the ability to immerse yourself in the language and culture without actually being physically located in China.
thenhbushman says
July 3, 2008
seems that the server at amasonaws.com is down quite a lot.
fukkev says
July 9, 2008
I'm a real beginner but hope to improve to some basics in a short time. After living in Japan for a long time and getting to know that language I hope that Chinese will also fall into place. I'm glad I found this site. The best since starting.
d1438 says
July 10, 2008
actually,the first lesson is not real Chinese or manderin.we Chinese do not say ni3 hao3 ma?wo3 hen3 hao3.this is English Chinese,directly translated from how are you?fine,i am fine.and you?
if you say these to Chinese,we will be kind of confused,we will feel weird
calkins says
July 10, 2008
d1438, could you please give some examples that are more natural to Chinese?
I thought 你怎么样 (nǐ zěnmeyàng) was a natural way to ask "what's new?" or "how's it going?", but even that seems to get strange reactions.
Any suggestions? Thanks.
d1438 says
July 10, 2008
nǐ zěnmeyàng means what about you or how about you?
you can say 'zuì jìn zěn me yànɡ a ?' or 'zuì jìn hái hǎo bɑ ？'
means 'how's it going recently?' and ' is everything ok?'
probably they will reply' hái xínɡ' 'bú cuò ' 'hěn hǎo ' means 'ok;not bad;good'
michellejane says
July 11, 2008
Thanks a lot! You guys make learning Mandarin easy and interesting.
onkodobonko says
July 14, 2008
Guys this website is really great!
So happy It's here and free, open for everybody.
Thanks
linglavie says
July 19, 2008
Ken and Jenny, genius!!!! I love the site, thanks a million! XXX
janenguyen9 says
July 23, 2008
Amazing....... for the beginner like me. The course's very details. Appreciate it very much Ken & Jenny.....
Can you add one more guiding abt handwritting too?
luvleemimi523 says
July 24, 2008
Very easy to learn. I feel like i can already greet a very fluent mandarin speaking person. xie xie. : )
fergubond says
July 24, 2008
Hello everyone! I just wanted to say hi and thank you to the chinesepod crew. I'm going to China in a couple weeks and want to prepare myself as best I can in a short time. The site seems great!
Thanks!
shinny says
July 25, 2008
fergubond ,welcome to China,I believe you will have a great travel.
joshwarr says
July 27, 2008
Wow this is great! i can say some basics i think i am going to have to learn this in sixthform in september this will really get me ready and better than the other pupils.
Thankyou
hkboy says
July 29, 2008
Yes, it's a great resource. I took a year off to study Cantonese and now I'm starting Mandarin from the beginning.
I remember seeing someone posting some of the "most essesntial" lessons to study for a beginner and then possibly just listening to the new ones and choosing the ones you like.
Which lessons would you recommend for the complete newbie?
itachiuchiha99 says
July 29, 2008
nehaoma
xiaohu says
July 29, 2008
Wo hen hao!
Especially because this is the first of the re-recorded older lessons I've ever heard. GREAT JOB GUYS! The sound quality is crystal clear and it feels just like the other lessons, not sticking out like a sore thumb like the older lessons tended to do.
VERY COOL!
maha2008 says
August 1, 2008
Siesye.....Thank you in Chinese!!!!!!!
maridewaal says
August 1, 2008
To Chinesepod ,crew and friends.
Thanks for this introduction to Mandarin for beginners like me ,that one day like to travel to your beautifull country, and hope to be welcomed by lovely sights like you! shinny. Xie Xie. :-)
kesimi says
August 4, 2008
Hi! I m writting you from Spain. I am planning to visit China in 2010....I hope to learn some sentences. Xie Xie
josedwin says
August 4, 2008
HI-.mi name is edwin ..i need to learn chinese¡¡
xiaohu says
August 4, 2008
Josedwin,
Hi my user name is Xiao Hu. If you want to we can learn Chinese together. You can e-mail me through my profile if you have any questions about Chinese, or post them here on the boards, I'll be happy to help.
Good luck with your studies!
Xiao Hu
andieollet says
August 5, 2008
I cannot believe that from just 4 lessons I am able to pick up the words I have learned. I can watch a movie in mandarin and i just start laughing because i understand a word. i know it may seem crazy just listening to 4 podcasts but this has been so helpful. i now try to say xiexie when i know a person is chinese and he/she has assisted me. i think people are thankful that i at least try. thanks so much. i know my pronounciation is definitely not at its best but i will keep trying and with the support of chinese people everywhere, I believe i will learn the pronounciations. Oh xiexie Ken and Jenny.....xiexie....lol! :)
widiasmoro says
August 11, 2008
Allo Ken and Jenny..suatu hal yang luar biasa bisa belajar bahasa mandarin dari inovasi kalian. sekarang ku bisa lebih lancar..
grant356 says
August 12, 2008
Nihao, Is it just me or is the links broken lol ?
im 15 and learnin chinese just as a hobby , and i cant get lesson 1 etc because the links arent letting me download it... help !
benchannevy says
August 12, 2008
I'm really overwhelmed! I went through the endless
commentary. Awsome!!
As Jen said, Ken nicely phrased it: we're to learn
inductively chinese, the Cpod way!
kristie1981 says
August 14, 2008
This website looks really awesome and easy to learn from so far. I recently decided that I would really like to start and learn mandarin. Mainly because I am in a very serious relationship and he happens to speak mandarin chinese along with his family and I would really like to not only learn for myself but also to be able to be more active in conversations and things. And I figured it would be good to learn for the future when we decide to start a family for our kids to be able to see that I know how to speak mandarin as well.
I look forward to learning a great deal through this site. Thank you so much for putting up such a great website that seems very easy to use as well.
thriple says
August 14, 2008
台灣人都說早安!午安!晚安!
不說早上好!!!
mohashems says
August 15, 2008
You realy did some thing greate.Thanks and keep it up please
lauradz says
August 17, 2008
Can you clarify if Zao means good morning?
Xiexie.
john says
August 18, 2008
lauradz,
早 (zǎo) literally means "early," but it's also short for 早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo) or 早安 (zǎo'ān), both of which mean "good morning."
xiaohu says
August 18, 2008
John,
I think we'd be remiss not to mention that the Chinese people never really say, 早安 (zǎo'ān), just 早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo) or 早 (zǎo), and 早 (zǎo) is by far the most common way to say it.
calkins says
August 18, 2008
Xiaohu, that made me think of something. The only way I've heard of saying "goodnight" is 晚安 wǎn'ān. Are there any other ways to say it?
changye says
August 18, 2008
Hi calkin,
I hear that “你好” was “officially” adopted as a greeting after the middle of twentieth century, because there wasn’t a Chinese greeting exactly equal to “How are you?” in English until then.
At first, 你好 was a little awkward greeting used mainly when Chinese met foreign people, which is the reason why this famous phrase is not so frequently used among natives even now.
And I guess that the same can be said for 早安 and 晚安, which I think were probably introduced as counterparts of “Good morning” and “Good night” relatively recently. Just a wild guess.
blackangel says
August 19, 2008
Very good i have study chinese as my 4th language this helps alot when books dont show you how to pronounce as a local :-) thanks...
pawit2523 says
August 24, 2008
这是很好
jiazhen08 says
August 25, 2008
我很开心! I finally found a site that offers a lot of great Chinese lessons! Thanks Chinese Pod!
danzi says
August 25, 2008
realy good! i love chinese culture and have always wanted to speak there language and pod cast is a great help.
tanks a lot!
iriskim222 says
August 25, 2008
Ive been learning these lessonsㅠㅠ
shaharom says
August 29, 2008
I love this site very much. great interactive
turnerkl3 says
August 31, 2008
This is my 1st time on this site and I love it!! I'm going to a chinese class and this is very helpful! Now down to business. I'm confused on some of the exercises. For instance the exercise where you have to drag the word over. I kept getting two right and when I restarted it and did it again in a different way I only get two right.
kasmanto says
September 2, 2008
thanks to jenny and ken, this is very interesting, i can learn mandarin and english at the same time, cause both languages are foreign language for me, I speak indonesia language only. thanks very much
zazen says
September 4, 2008
Brilliant! Got me speaking Mandarin and signing up all in the space of 10 mins! Great job guys.
A quick question: Is it discouraged that people learn spoken Mandarin with the Pin yin to begin with and later add the Chinese characters to their vocab? Being a westerner they are so alien to me and are slightly daunting at this stage.
Xiexie
amber says
September 5, 2008
hi zazen,
I think its really a matter of personal preference. But I would try to learn the characters along with the spoken Mandarin. Because later it can be hard to catch up once your spoken gets a lot farther ahead than your reading ability.
That being said, it also depends on what your goals are, what you will be using your Chinese for. That may determine the amount of time you want to put in actually studying characters. It is a big time investment!
clarob says
September 6, 2008
Hi, 我很不好 is "I'm very bad", I wonder if 我不很好, changing bu and hen position is a possible answer too, and if it means "I'm not very good". Thank you 谢谢
xiaohu says
September 6, 2008
Zazen,
From the perspective of a fellow Westerner, I've been learning Chinese for 6 years now (I just celebrated my 6 year anniversary 3 weeks ago), and I've spent alot of time learning the Chinese characters. While you can learn to communicate just fine using Pinyin to study and listening to podcasts, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND learning characters right from the start. If you are serious about learning a language, it's an absolute MUST to be literate in it. Certainly the characters seem daunting in the beginning, but soon you'll be able to see the logic behind them, and how the forms kind of become self-explanitory in a way.
Learning characters, in the long run is a great help to learning vocabulary, sentence structure, grammer etc., because once you learn to read, suddenly the newspaper, the phone book, a brochure, a website, the back cover of a new DVD all become your teacher.
Trust me on this, one of the coolest things I can think of is being literate in Chinese!
amber says
September 7, 2008
hi clarob,
我不很好。(Wǒ bù hěn hǎo) is incorrect.
You would say:
我不太好。
(Wǒ bùtài hǎo.)
我不是很好。
(Wǒ bù shì hěn hǎo.)
rody0908 says
September 15, 2008
hello;
Very interesting website. 谢谢.
yase1 says
September 16, 2008
Hi.i liked Chinese pod very very well and i can say it's the easiest way that i can learn fast i'm a new student in Huazhong University of Science and technology and my major is Medicine
and my Chinese name is 亚瑟
Thanks alot
kotomoto says
September 18, 2008
ohh my gash, i'm so glad to find a good website to learn chinese language.. i can speak Arabic and English and now chinese language is my third language will be
yingguoren23 says
September 22, 2008
'ohh my gash' is an unfortunate typo.
leleshein says
September 25, 2008
大家好 ！
pril0413 says
September 26, 2008
It's cool but how about the spelling? Where did we possibly see it? For effective writting.
bababardwan says
September 26, 2008
pril0413,
If you scroll to the top of the page ,you'll see that we're currently under the discussion tab.Just to the right of that you will see dialogue,vocabulary,expansion and exercise tabs which I recommend you explore as they have the Chinese characters,pinyin,and English.Hope this helps.
nickle57 says
September 26, 2008
I just recently found this site and joined yesterday. I have a couple questions. 1. How long should it take following the lessons and practicing before someone should be able to feel comfortable listening and understanding someone talking Madarin?
2. If the beginning lessons show ways of saying phrases that aren't used by people actually living in China then what purpose is it to learn them. I work with a lot of different nationalities and they struggle with English sometimes. I would think it would be weird to show someone English in a way which no English person would speak.
That being said I have gone through a few of the lessons and really have enjoyed them. I work with about 6 manufacturing plants in China and would love to be able to converse with them without making them always have to use their broken english (Which is way better than my current non-existent Madarin) :)
Cheers.
dann says
September 26, 2008
I'm colombian and i'm really interested because mandarin is a beautifull lenguage
pearltowerpete says
September 26, 2008
Hi nickle57
Great to see you around here. We're looking forward to helping you learn useful Chinese.
Your first question is tough to answer. It depends on how much time you're willing/able to spend each day on studying Chinese. I have known people who got surprisingly fluent in less than six months (and many who couldn't say "hello" after years living here). If you make full use of the resources here and make time to study a bit every day, you may surprise yourself at how fast you learn.
Your second question is easier to answer. Our lessons are written by Chinese people from all over this country. Especially at the lower difficulty levels, they are written with a particular eye toward daily life and useful phrases. And our philosophy is to make learning fun with lively dialogues (I speak from experience that these are more colorful than any textbook I've used) and multiple teaching formats (podcasts, videos, PDF transcripts, etc.).
So on behalf of the CPod team let me welcome you aboard. I look forward to seeing you around on the forums.
nickle57 says
September 26, 2008
Thanks for the welcome. I have gone over the first 6 lessons about twice so far. I am really enjoying the site. I can't wait to see how far I get in 2 or 3 months.
Thanks again
amer6726 says
September 27, 2008
first of all , a lot of thanks to Mr.John for his efforts.
I have one question about the chinese alphabetic,
I would like to learn it before i go to this lesson .
Where shall i start from ?
Amro
fred_02071622 says
September 28, 2008
This lesson remind me the the very beginning I learn English. At those days, what I practice day and night is the dialogue below:
Good morning.
Good morning.
How are you?
Fine, thank you. And you?
Very well, thank you.
In those days, it's difficult to memorize their pronunciations, so we just put down some Chinese phrases with similar pronunciations to help. For example, under the line of "good morning", we put down the chinese words "鬼摸你", which means the ghost is touching you. It's funny, and easier for us to memorize, but it had no so good impact on our pronuciation.
I just suggest that maybe people learning Chinese could use similar method to help them to memorize. But please don't rely on it much, or it will badly affect you pronunciation.
bahualpha says
September 29, 2008
Thanks to God that I find you guys.
And I pray that God continue to guide and protect you all for your excellent work.
Thank you.
dann says
September 29, 2008
i am confuse4d that is traditional or simplified characters???please help me!!!
macallus88 says
September 29, 2008
dann,
This is simplified. If you mouse-over a simplified character under Dialogue or Expansion you will see both simp. and trad. (trad. on bottom, sometimes the same).
nickle57 says
September 30, 2008
I still have trouble pronouncing hěn. I keep wanting to say it like the english word hen. It is the same with the word Zhōngguórén. I can't say the rén part of the word. I wish I knew some people who speak chinese locally so I could get them to tell me what I am doing wrong. I am almost ready to annoy some of the people who work at one of our local Chinese restaurants. I hear them speaking Chinese in the back. Maybe I could get some pointers before they throw me out.
dann says
September 30, 2008
thank you very much!!!!!!!
sueb says
October 7, 2008
Hi! I'm a total beginner - in my first couple of weekes in Guangzhou! The Newbie pods are really helping me to get the feel of the sound of the language, but I'm having trouble remembering things and keep having to go over the lesson again! I have a small suggestion Ken and Jenny. Everyone has different strategies for learning, right, and I find I need to see the dialogue transcript at the same time as hearing it. Is this possible? Also, I would find it useful (when I'm going over the lesson yet again!) to be able to click on a part of it, hear it repeated, and repeat it myself. Hope you can help!
bababardwan says
October 7, 2008
sueb,
sueb says:"and I find I need to see the dialogue transcript at the same time as hearing it. Is this possible?"
Yes;just download the PDF which is the 5th download option.
sueb says:Also, I would find it useful (when I'm going over the lesson yet again!) to be able to click on a part of it, hear it repeated, and repeat it myself
This is also available.If you look at the top of the page you'll see 5 tabs.Currently we're on the discussion tab.Just to the right of that is the dialogue tab.Click on that and you'll see the lessons dialogue.You will see red arrows to the right of each sentence;if you click on that you'll hear the audio for that sentence.The vocab tab lets you hear individual new words.Good luck.
sueb says
October 7, 2008
Thanks bababardwan!
A question about the pdf file. I had found this, but is it possible to have it open on the screen at the same time as listening to the dialogue?
bababardwan says
October 7, 2008
sueb,
You're welcome [ bu4 ke4 qi ].Definitely possible to open on the screen at the same time as listening to the dialogue.There are different ways of doing this,but as you have to download both the audio and seperately also download the pdf I usually save both files to somewhere on my computer.Then it's just a matter of opening both files.
nicodemus says
October 11, 2008
Jenny y Ken, los felicito, por la leccion, resultó muy ilustrativa y con un estilo muy bueno y original.
pepeelgrillo says
October 14, 2008
VERY GOOD
tomservo says
October 17, 2008
Azt gondolom ez jó lesz.
我想非常好!
pkhuong1960 says
October 18, 2008
Very interesting ! Thanks Chinesepod. :)
nivoboy says
October 19, 2008
Nagyon jó!
hen hao!!
mohyediniahmad says
November 2, 2008
Hi, I realy appreciate and thanks for this excelent site"Chinesepod" , now I can learn chinese
as i wished for several times,you are realy doing the best.thanks a lot.
gamezila1987 says
November 4, 2008
Very good site! I'll be here to stay :)