The Latest Mandarin Chinese Language Lessons
Excellent Materials for You to Learn Chinese Mandarin Language
Latest Lessons
BBQ and the Little Trumpet Upper Intermediate
What is a Chinese barbecue like? What do people eat? What is a "barbecue district"? What exactly is a "little trumpet"? Find out answers to all these questions and more, in this summertime Chinese lesson.
food
Cold Noodles Intermediate
No one wants to eat cold rice, but cold noodles, on the other hand, are a popular summer staple in China. In this culinary lesson, learn how to make a Chinese cold noodle dish.
food, cooking
Is it Spicy? Newbie
Chinese food is well known for its variety, and one of those variable factors is spiciness. In this Chinese lesson, learn how to clearly ask if something is spicy or not. Just don't complain to us if you can't handle the heat!
food, spicy
Chinese Ethnic Minorities Beijing Standard Time
Contrary to popular belief, China is in fact not quite as homogenous as people believe. There are in fact 56 government-recognized ethnic groups within China (including the overwhelming Han majority). In Greg’s inaugural podcast, David and Greg discuss traditional music along with the customs of a few select minority groups within China. Greg also shares his experience living alongside ethnic minorities in rural Yunnan province. What kind of experience have you had with ethnic minorities in China? As always, please feel free to share your thoughts with us below!
ethics
Strong Qing Wen
You may not have ever thought about it, but many things can be "strong" in English, from work ethics to performances to manly brutes. In this lesson we tackle the more physical variety (like the manly brutes), focusing on cases where the Chinese does not match up. So strong coffee, strong winds, strong perfume... it's all in this Chinese lesson!
strong, body
孙悟空三打白骨精（第四集） Advanced
做了好事应该得到表扬才是。可是如果一个人做了好事不但没有得到表扬，反而受到了责备和惩罚，他的心情会怎么样呢？郁闷？愤怒？委屈？心碎？......哎，这个可怜的倒霉蛋就是孙悟空了，明明打死的是妖怪，却还要受紧箍咒的折磨。你说冤不冤啊？
story, Buddhism, culture, literature
Didn't you get my email? Pre Intermediate
There are many reasons to believe that someone may not have received your email. Whether you're a conspiracy theorist or simply need to remind a technology-challenged co-worker, this Chinese lesson will equip you to ask someone if he got your email.
office, work, email
Retired Life Upper Intermediate
What does retirement mean to the Chinese elderly? Just pensions and a bunch of sitting around? Fortunately, some old folks have more interesting aspirations. In this Chinese lesson, we take a positive and a negative look at life after work.
daily life, old people
Lucky Day Intermediate
Sometimes you just have one of those days where everything goes right and you're in a great mood all day long. In this Chinese lesson, follow along this story about a series of fortunate events and learn what made this guy's day so lucky.
feelings, daily life, music, diary
Swearing at a Driver Elementary
"Aggressive" would be a kind way to describe the driving style you'll witness on the streets of mainland China. For the most part, the pedestrian population regards this driving behavior with amazing tolerance, but every now and then you'll witness a conflict. In this PG-13 Chinese lesson, listen in as a driver gets told off.
daily life, language
Keeping Pets in China Beijing Standard Time
Many Western and Chinese people love to keep a dog as one of their family members. In China, in addition to dogs, you can find cats, birds, fish or even pigs that Chinese people love to keep as their pets. But do you have any idea how complicated acquiring a license for your lovely dog in Shanghai is? Today, Jenny and David are going to explore the journey of keeping a pet in China, with the help of our guest, Phil, who shares his own experience with owning a Shiba here. Enjoy it and leave us comments as always. Additionally, check out our newbie lesson on pets and our upper-intermediate lesson on bringing pets into China!
animals, pets
A Tearful Farewell and Warm Welcome News and Features
We're back in the studio with another News and Features show. Today is a sad day for ChinesePod subscribers and staff alike because we're saying goodbye to Jason, our translator who has done a splendid job at ChinesePod. He's moving to Taiwan to start a new adventure. At the same time, we are really happy to introduce our new translator, Greg, a big boy from Seattle. What will happen when old meets new? What pearls of wisdom will Jason have to impart? Tune in and check it out.
news
Going and Leaving Qing Wen
Chinese has three really common ways to express "going" and "leaving," and the overlap with English in ways that you might not be entirely clear on. In this Qing Wen, the team looks at some key verbs and maps it all out for you. Listen in, and leave inappropriate use of 去 (qù), 走 (zǒu), and 离开 (līkāi) behind!
verb, place
Unlucky Day Intermediate
Sometimes you just have one of those days where everything goes wrong and you're in a terrible mood all day long. In this Chinese lesson, follow along this story about a series of unfortunate events and learn what made this guy's day so miserable.
relationships, feelings, diary, daily life
Detective Li 3: The Broken Glass Upper Intermediate
The story continues, and we learn in this episode that Detective Li is an eccentric man who may be hiding a few secrets. We also take a break from the murder cases as our favorite Chinese Sherlock turns his powers of deduction to the antics of some naughty neighborhood kids. [上集答案：暗号是“五木：朝阳区”。其中，“五木”就是森林公园；冒号是2点钟；“朝”是十月十日；“朝阳”指早晨、凌晨；“区”从字形上看，就是指东边出口。所以暗号隐藏的内容就是 —— 十月十日凌晨2点，森林公园东边出口。]
detective story, police, appearance
Monthly Data Plan Intermediate
If you're from a place like the United States, you might be used to paying exorbitant monthly fees for your cellular phone service. In China, the fees can be very low indeed even including data, but there's a secret: you need to sign up for a monthly service plan. In this Chinese lesson, learn how to abandon pay-as-you-go and get on a data plan.
technology
Broken Pipe Elementary
If you're staying in a Chinese apartment, sooner or later something is going to go wrong, and you'll need to find the right person to fix the problem. In this Chinese lesson, our fearless tenant contacts the building management about a broken pipe.
daily life, address
Leisure-time Activities and Mahjong Beijing Standard Time
What do you do after work? Go out to bars? How about joining your Chinese colleagues and going out to karaoke, arguably young Chinese peoples' favorite leisure activity. While elderly Chinese don't necessarily love KTV, they do far more than just sitting inside and watching TV. In today's show, David, Jason and our guest, Miss He, will tell you how Chinese people spend their leisure-time. Also, we will talk about the greatest game that almost every Chinese person knows, Mahjong. So how about the Chinese people you know? What do they usually do? Feel free to log on and share with us! If you want more info on on leisure activities in China, take a look at ChinesePod's lessons on mahjong and karaoke!
leisure, mahjong, activities
Manly Men and Womanly Women Qing Wen
Every culture has its own ideas of what makes a man manly or what makes a woman womanly. In this Chinese lesson, the Qing Wen team takes a look at some of the vocabulary used to describe manly (and not so manly) men, and womanly (and not so womanly) women.
personality, people, culture