ChinesePod - Beginner

Elementary | Yang Jie's Diary: The Final Episode

November 20, 2023 08:00 - 16 minutes - 38.7 MB

All good stories have to come to an end, including the saga of our friend Yang Jie. She kinda got sick of writing, as diary-keepers usually do. Plus, we were starting to feel like creeps, slinking into her room every night to sneak a peek. In this podcast, find out how things turn out for Yang Jie and co-stars. How do you say in Chinese: "She's not that into you..." Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0847

Newbie | Turn on the Light, Turn off the Light

November 17, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 29.4 MB

Open the lights and turn off the door, er, I mean, turn on the lights and close the door... why is this so confusing? Just get in here and pretend you love me. Close the lights if you have to. In this podcast, a Mandarin Chinese lesson on how to turn on/off the lights. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0744

Elementary | Tomb Sweeping Day

November 15, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 39.5 MB

Today is Tomb Sweeping Day. The special day of paying respect to ancestors, lighting incense, making burnt offerings, and, like any self-respecting Chinese holiday... lighting off firecrackers. The holiday also favored by those with money to burn. So open up your wallet, light up your money, and listen to this podcast to learn more in Mandarin about the traditions of tomb sweeping. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0842

Newbie | Handsome Boy

November 13, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.5 MB

Oh, look at him. He's a cross between Tony Leung and a young Ken Carroll. No, more like Chow Yun Fat meets John Pasden. Those are the handsome boys in this neck of the woods... how about yours? Listen to this podcast and learn how to talk about them, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0737

Elementary | April Fool's

November 10, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 34.8 MB

Being a new language student, everyday can feel like Fool's Day, so think of today as a day to celebrate fools. Take your turn laughing at someone else. Pull the worst fool-causing prank you can, and spend the next year reliving it during those moments of Mandarin learning mortification. In this podcast, we help, with the ole not-so-original but oh-so-easy-to-pull-off Chinese 'hot-sauce-in-your-food' prank. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0838

Newbie | A Taxi for Tired Feet

November 08, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.2 MB

Though they scare us, rip us off at times, and don’t wash the white seat covers nearly enough, there’s nothing like the vindication of winning the taxi battle and claiming your prize of a ride home. This lesson reminds us of all the times we almost wanted to kiss the taxi driver that finally stopped for us on a rainy day. Listen and learn how to snag your taxi, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0732

Elementary | Art Museum

November 06, 2023 08:00 - 16 minutes - 36.8 MB

Everyone knows there are a lot of fakes in China. Fake prada, fake watches, fake art students... yes, those too. So stay away from those sweet looking Nanjing Lu predators, and stick to the real art museums of China. Where treasures of jade bok choy and 50,000 renditions of West Lake lie awaiting your discovery. Educate yourself, art-wise and Mandarin-wise, in this lesson. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0833

Newbie | Ten Four

November 03, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 28.6 MB

No, it's not a lesson on CB radio lingo, good buddy. Rather, it's those pesky Chinese tones again. In this podcast, a Mandarin lesson to dissect the difference in sound between the perfect 10 and oft-maligned 4. Listen in, and you'll be blowing them away with the 'forty lions' tongue twister at the next game show that comes your way. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0728

Elementary | Baseball

November 01, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 35.2 MB

Babe Ruth barnstormed in Shanghai, and MLB says baseball was the "unofficial sport" of the People's Liberation Army in the 1940's. But 60 years later, only five Mandarin swinging ball players have made it to the big leagues, all coming from the talent pools of Taiwan. Opening day is 'round the corner, so listen to this podcast and take a swing at this lesson on "fat-big-chunky-piece-of-stick ball". Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0830

Newbie | Hold the MSG

October 30, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.8 MB

Some people are addicted to coke, others to crystal meth, but for the Chinese, the white powder of choice is none other than MSG. True, the MSG high leads to jacked up tasting pleasure, but if you want to avoid the crash, you might want to ‘just say no.’ Listen to this podcast to learn how--do your part in the War on MSG. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0724

Elementary | Cheering

October 27, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 36 MB

Whether you've headed to this lesson because you're feeling a little lethargic in your study efforts, or because the idea of a cheerleader egging you on brings you some sort of post-jock high school flashback comfort, you're sure to gain a little spring in your step. Listen to this podcast when you're feeling down--Jenny will wave her pompoms and teach you to study Mandarin and not give up. Jiayou everybody! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0827

Newbie | Key Card

October 25, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 27.2 MB

Just when you learned the Chinese word for 'key', technology had to come in and mess it all up for you. In this podcast, check-in to your hotel with us, in Mandarin, and feel the sense of accomplishment of finding your room, all in Chinese! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0721

Elementary | Dublin

October 23, 2023 08:00 - 14 minutes - 33.1 MB

In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet....Ken Carroll!?? Whilst Ken may not be as hot as Molly Malone, he certainly knows his way about Dublin. Listen to the Sino-Irish man himself as he takes you on a Mandarin Chinese tour through the streets of the capital of Ireland with all its pubs, pints, and...eh... leprechauns. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0823

Newbie | Chinese Breakfast

October 20, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 30.4 MB

The visions you're having of glistening bacon and bottomless coffee might very soon be dashed. A lumpy curdled bowl of soy product and noodles a la oil don't appeal at 7:00 am? Wait till you taste... you just might come over to the Chinese side of breaky. This ain't no mini-wheats. 5,000 years in the development, learn in this podcast how to eat breakfast, China-style. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0717

Elementary | Going Dutch

October 18, 2023 08:00 - 18 minutes - 42.2 MB

The 'Warring Bills' period of Chinese history is officially over for all ChinesePod users. An international treating treaty has been declared, and it involves a handy little phrase that will be an instrument in achieving restaurant check peace. Listen to this podcast to learn what it is, and make your contribution to world Chinese dinner table harmony. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0819

Newbie | So Tall!

October 16, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 30 MB

Granted, the 'you're tall' compliments have gotten fewer and farther between since Yao Ming had to come on the scene and wreck it for all of us. However, you can still milk some around here... just get some high heeled boots. Listen to this podcast, which will teach you not only to tell someone your height, in Mandarin Chinese, but also teach all you imperialists to think metric. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0713

Elementary | Event Times

October 13, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 26 MB

We are not talking about the starting time of your own athletic competition... the last of which was probably field day at your junior high school where you took home the purple "honorable mention" ribbons in every event you entered. We are talking about the best athletes in the world, and they are going to be here in China before you know it. So sit back in your lazy boy, grab some Cheetos and a cold one, and listen to this here podcast. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0814

Newbie | Give Me a Kiss

October 11, 2023 08:00 - 10 minutes - 24.5 MB

Mouths were intended to be used for so much more than speaking Chinese. Sometimes the language of love communicates better than the best vocabulary, so it never hurts to get a little lip service... In this podcast, get smoochy-smoochy with us and learn to ask for a kiss, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0709

Elementary | Bank Hours

October 09, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 35.3 MB

You've camped out for U2 tickets, queued for boxing day sales... but the bank? Waiting outside the bank before it opens is a national pastime and community social event in China. So take your number (ah, so this is why they line up at the screech of dawn), take a seat and hunker down for your lesson in patience. While you wait, listen to this podcast on bank hours in Chinese and secure your teller time. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0801

Newbie | That's enough tea

October 06, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 25.3 MB

The kind host refilling your tea for the twenty-fourth time is indeed generous, but for those of us with TB (tiny bladder), we just might need to learn to tell them when to quit. Listen to this podcast, and learn to graciously decline another cup in Mandarin Chinese. Either that, or just sip slower. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0704

Elementary | Equestrian

October 04, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 25.9 MB

Long before Catherine the Great made equestrian famous, people used to jump things on horseback. But not in China. Considering their stature and overuse of the word ma, if any nation should dominate a sport, it's the Chinese in equestrian. Sadly this isn't the case, due to an ancient declaration of karaoke as the national sport. In this podcast, learn about this Olympic sport, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0798

Newbie | Forget It

October 02, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 30.5 MB

Quite possibly the most useful phrase around, 'forget it' has been well-used by many a sulky teenager, dejected lover, pms-ing girlfriend and/or frustrated communicator. Listen in to this podcast, and learn how to get the most out of this multi-faceted conversation concluder, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0700

Elementary | Finding One's Seat

September 29, 2023 08:00 - 14 minutes - 33.8 MB

Even though your waiguoren butt is not going to fit in these seats, you'll at least be able to find the right one. Avoid becoming the event sideshow whilst dislodging said bum from said seat in front of an audience of 50,000. Study this lesson and you'll know how to find your correct seat in Mandarin. Listen to the podcast while running on the treadmill and kill two birds with one stone. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0786

Newbie | Do you have a girlfriend?

September 27, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.4 MB

Of course, being a single man-about-town in a city chock-full of laowai-hungry gals this phrase will not come in handy at all. But, on the off-chance you find yourself being pursued, listen to this podcast and learn the language of getting hit-on, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0696

Elementary | Whatever...

September 25, 2023 08:00 - 16 minutes - 36.8 MB

Coined phrase of sulky teenagers and pet phrase of indecisive girlfriends. When you know what you don't want but not what you do want, turn to this lesson to learn how to non-commit, in Mandarin Chinese. In this podcast, a motley assortment of ambiguous phrases for the indecisive amongst us. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0782

Newbie | How is business?

September 22, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 39.4 MB

Now, due to being asked so many personal questions by nosy neighbors, we know you all were waiting for the lesson on 'none of your business.' However, in addition to gossip, doing business in China is another great topic of conversation. Listen in to this podcast and learn to turn the conversation around from your own business to real business, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0690

Elementary | The Super Bowl

September 20, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 34.8 MB

Glendale, Arizona. The home of Super Bowl XLII. No, that's not a world record sized wok, it's football, American style. The New England Patriots are trying to break every record by winning the Super Bowl to cap an undefeated season over the New York Giants... Writer may sound like a fan but only watches for the commercials. Worlds collide in this podcast as you learn about it all, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0777

Newbie | Are you OK?

September 18, 2023 05:00 - 11 minutes - 26.7 MB

Someone's fallen and they can't get up. You want to help, but likely due to the stress of the whole ordeal, you've forgotten every Chinese word you know. By this time you are wishing for a Life Alert alarm with a direct line to ChinesePod's Mandarin Emergency response team. The 24 hour helpline is in the works... in the meantime what you need this podcast where you can learn how to show your fellow feeling, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0687

Elementary | Cold from Biking

September 15, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 41.2 MB

If the potholes, rogue taxis and silent electric bikes passing on the right don't get ya, cold will! Sure, snow pants and moon boots seem cumbersome, but when that Tibetan front blows in, you won't mind the rubberneckers staring at you as you pass. They can just go stick their tongues on a frozen pole somewhere for all you care. In this podcast, learn how to bundle up, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0771

Newbie | A Ghost Outside

September 13, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 29.9 MB

With Halloween making its marketing inroads to modern China, the ghosts are sure to follow. Turn out the lights, shine a flashlight on your face and get spooky, with some ghost stories in Mandarin. Listen to this podcast and learn some shivers-up-the-spine Chinese words to help you. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0685

Elementary | Diving

September 11, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.4 MB

Though diving out of the way of oncoming vehicles has not yet been included in the Olympic roster, that could change any day now. Hey, don't laugh... if the 'Women's Hammer Throw' can make it in, this is more than feasible. Listen to this lesson on the hardcore street diving's more elegant cousin, Olympic diving, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0767

Newbie | Pumpkin Food

September 08, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 27.9 MB

While Linus is keeping his Great Pumpkin vigil in the pumpkin patch, his counterparts in China are doing their own chowing down on the culinary delights that pumpkin season brings. Listen in to this podcast, and learn in Mandarin what the Chinese do with their leftover jack-o-lanterns as the fall air crisps and comfort food beckons. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0681

Elementary | No Kidding

September 06, 2023 08:00 - 14 minutes - 33.5 MB

It may seem quaint or funny, maybe even a little melodramatic, but when you need it and find yourself flailing in the green, oolong, bubble tea sea... your coffee compulsion is no joke. When desperation begins to lead you down the path to instant Folgers, a $10 cup of coffee may just be what stands between you and the point of no return. Listen to this podcast, and learn to pay the price of dependency, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0763

Newbie | Phone Call for the Boss

September 04, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 28.8 MB

With the chorus of cell phones belting out staticky Chinese pop songs and Crazy Frog remixes, identifying your ring tone can be a challenge, at best. In this podcast, learn how to identify whose phone is ringing, in Mandarin, and save your already half-deaf ears from the mad cacophony. Or, better yet, put on the vibrator alert. It makes for a nice back pocket massage. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0672

Elementary | Too Picky

September 01, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 39.7 MB

You may feel that it is your God-given right to not have the eyes of your shrimp staring back at you from the plate. Or that bones in your fish are nothing but a potential throat-lodging disaster. But keep in mind, there are others in distant lands who feel that chewing a bagel with cream cheese has a texture like snot smeared onto a worn out shoe sole. So don't be picky... and listen to this Chinese lesson to hear how fussy sounds in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0758

Newbie | Speaking and Writing

August 30, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 28.6 MB

It is said that the ability to speak and write is what separates us from the monkeys. Now, if you want to be the Monkey King, then try your hand at learning to speak and write Mandarin. In this podcast, a good start, where you will learn to talk about speaking and writing Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0667

Elementary | Preparing for the Heat

August 29, 2023 08:00 - 14 minutes - 33.5 MB

When you come to Beijing in August for the Olympics, you'll meet a sea of umbrellas and wonder if you watched the wrong weather report. If the Chinese know one thing, it's how to stay out of the heat. Listen to this podcast for a Mandarin lesson on how to keep your cool... even when you get a spoke in the eye due to haphazard umbrella management. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0754

Newbie | Something to Do Tomorrow

August 25, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.8 MB

With a new ChinesePod podcast coming out every day, all Cpoddies everywhere always have something to do tomorrow. So, listen to this lesson on how to tell someone you've got stuff goin' on. (Also comes in handy as an excuse for deflecting unwanted Karaoke invitations.) Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0663

Elementary | Getting Water Delivered

August 23, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 39.3 MB

There was once a fair maiden who lived five stories up, no water to drink, not even a cup. How DOES a princess hire a 60 year old man to carry a five gallon jug of water up the stairs? Using this podcast! And you too can quench your thirst for Mandarin with a Chinese lesson about how to get water delivered. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0750

Newbie | Finding the Teacher

August 22, 2023 08:23 - 14 minutes - 33.7 MB

The title of this lesson may bring back painful childhood memories of that field trip to the museum; the one where you got lost somewhere between the Egyptian pharaohs and the Chinese cabbage carved from jade. Maybe it was that self same ethereal cabbage that inspired you to learn Mandarin. So here you are. And here is our podcast on 'Finding the Teacher.' Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0661

Elementary | Hawaii

August 18, 2023 08:00 - 15 minutes - 35.3 MB

Let's face it, it's December, we'd all rather be there than here... those more fortunate are, those of us less fortunate are sitting here listening to this lesson. Jealousy gets you nowhere, of course, except resenting your cold unheated China apartment. So, put a conch shell up to your ear, and listen to this podcast instead. You'll be dreaming of Mandarin hula girls and Chinese tan lines in no time. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0745

Newbie | Too Fat

August 16, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 29.2 MB

Finally, a place where to be fat is to be glorious. So, next time your friend tells you've gotten fat since coming to China, don't start looking for some fad no-rice carbo diet. Bask in all your paunchy grandeur. You've come to the right place! Listen to this podcast, to learn how to talk fat with the rest of them, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0657

Elementary | The Dice Game

August 14, 2023 08:00 - 17 minutes - 40 MB

This ain't no slummy fuzzy pink dice dangling from some cracked rearview mirror, peeps. We're talking dice of the hardcore, extreme-sport-gaming-variety. Learn these dice or lose your shirt. We're gonna teach you--yes, not only Mandarin but also drinking games. Listen to this podcast, and may your fuzzy dice forever hang on that Impala dashboard with pride. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0742

Newbie | Don't Leave

August 11, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 26.3 MB

You've spent the last year glued to your headphones in a "The Fix" induced trance-like chant. One day you wake up and your significant other is packing his/her bags, accusing you of joining an online Mandarin-learning cult. ChinesePod is no homewrecker, thus we provide this podcast in which you can learn to beg someone not to leave. True, saying it in Chinese might not be the best conflict-resolving approach, but at least you're communicating, right? Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/...

Elementary | Tennis Anyone?

August 09, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 30.7 MB

Pop quiz. We know you are all Jenny Zhu's biggest fans. But while you're all a-sighing over her, what makes little Jenny Zhu's heart go pitter-patter? Guesses? In the meantime, listen to this lesson on Olympic tennis and get a hint into the inner longings of the heart of Teacher Jenny, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0735

Newbie | Eating Tofu

August 07, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 30.6 MB

So, you're thinking a lesson on eating tofu sounds about as bland as that spongy white square of mush on your plate? That's what you thought... Truth is, there is nothing more racy than an affinity for 'eating tofu.' Confused? Don't let someone else have the last laugh. Listen to this podcast and find out the 'spicy' side of tofu, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0648

Elementary | Buying a Bouquet of Flowers

August 04, 2023 08:00 - 13 minutes - 31.1 MB

This friendly reminder lesson goes out to all you boyfriends, husbands, secret admirers, penpals, joe blows and stalkers in the land... buy some flowers for your lady on the way home tonight. In this podcast, you'll get the language you need to do it right, in Mandarin Chinese. And don't forget to revisit the 'Give me a kiss' lesson, to really milk it for what it's worth. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0730

Newbie | Knowing the Teacher

August 02, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 28.7 MB

Listening to ChinesePod podcasts every day, one gets to know many profound things from teachers Ken and Jenny. But of course, to quote the infamous Miss Zhu, there are many layers in meat, many layers to learning Mandarin, and... to add another... many layers of 'knowing' things. Learn in this lesson about two of the types of 'knowing', in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0644

Elementary | World Records

July 31, 2023 08:00 - 12 minutes - 28.6 MB

Put down the bowl of... what IS that... there's no world record for eating the most chicken feet, and you fell asleep three hours after setting out to break the world's record of staying awake the longest. Plus it's seriously time to throw away that storage unit full of Pocky stick wrappers. In this podcast, learn about REAL world records in Mandarin Chinese... the Olympic kind. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0726

Newbie | What's tomorrow?

July 28, 2023 08:00 - 11 minutes - 27.4 MB

So you download the BitTorrent file of 500 ChinesePod podcasts and hole yourself up for days on end learning Mandarin and laughing along with Ken and Jenny. You finally tear yourself away, glassy-eyed and ears ringing. As you come out squinting to the light of day, you realize you have been in a ChinesePod induced time-warp. What day is it? Listen to this podcast and find out. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0640

ChinesePod - Beginner

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