ChinesePod - Beginner

There are cats to love (white, fluffy kittens) and cats to hate (those gold ones waving their strange little arm at the till in the Chinese restaurant). However, love them or hate them, you probably wouldn't mind a little one to keep you company (they make patient language partners). If so, you're going to have to learn how to use your Mandarin to bond with the rice-eating cats of China. Listen to this podcast, and learn how! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0576

Your wonder-twin powers won't activate and the kryptonite is sapping the Mandarin from your very brain. The frustration is making you feel like kicking some bad-guy booty? Or perhaps you feel like withdrawing to your lair... wrapped up in your cape, crying for mommy. You need the man of steel. Listen to this podcast and let Chinese Superman save the day. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0655

Don't think of moving house as a pain. Think of it as an excuse for throwing a house-warming bash. Invite us! We'll bring a nice plant. In this podcast, learn how to tell someone that you are moving, using Mandarin Chinese. And, who knows... the more people you try out these phrases on, the more chance you have that someone might actually get the hint and offer to pitch in (bribing with beer and pizza helps for this aspect, of course). Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0572

Some cyclists train for years before hitting the track in the Olympics. Other cyclists buy a $30 bicycle and are thrown onto the gritty pavement of a Chinese city to learn from their hard knocks. One such lesson learned being: never pass on the right for risk of being spat on by an old man (sorry, post-traumatic flashback). Listen to this podcast and learn all about the more refined side of cycling, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0646

With the onset of summer vacation, mothers everywhere are familiar with the refrain: "I'm bored!" Now, if you decide to join the kids in a two-month long loafing, better get your whining down pat. In this podcast, learn how to complain about being bored, in Mandarin Chinese. Alternatively... research shows that the cure to boredom is dusting off that enthralling 3,000 Chinese characters book you bought on an ambitious shopping trip months ago. So, there's always options. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0569

After months of painstakingly writing Chinese characters, we recommend you take a moment to vent your frustrations by grabbing a felt marker and angrily drawing squares, circles, and triangles all over that Chinese textbook. It's strangely liberating, actually. Then, listen to this podcast so you can explain in Mandarin to your teacher what exactly you were doing when she rebukes you for defacing school property. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0637

Now, we know that when names consist mainly of a medley of Xs, Qs and Zs, it can be easy to lose it under pressure. So, when that friend that you just ran into is looking into your eyes with an anticipative look, you might just, understandably, come up short. This situation affords two choices: calling them Li Xiansheng (you just could be right!), or listening in to this podcast, so you can learn how to 'fess up that you've forgotten someone's name, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0560

It would be remiss to have a Mandarin lesson on training for the Olympic Games without a Chinese learning analogy to go with. So... Ken is your coach. Jenny, your cheerleader. The daily podcast is your pep talk. The expansion sentences are your cross-training and the exercises are, well, your exercises. Please don't eat too much while listening and whatever happens, don't injure yourself. And, if you get burned out, think of Jenny with her pompoms, and all will be right in the world once again. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0633

You've just stepped out from the office when a frenzied pack of language students senses your presence and rushes over with English greetings. We've all been there and know this is one of those things about China that can be both sweet as well as incredibly frustrating. How you deal with it is your call. But since pretending you're from Xinjiang isn't always an option, it's useful to have a few tricks up your sleeve for steering conversations back to Mandarin. This podcast covers the easiest way: asking them to speak Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0556

Writing classy lessons about bodily functions may be considered a difficult task by some. One lesson better left to the naughty neighborhood kids, perhaps. But, we at ChinesePod know that there are certain times where acting out what you are trying to get across in polite company is just a big no-no. We are up to the task. A prequel to the clogged toilet lesson--this podcast, where we take the classroom to the bathroom. Learn about 'number two,' in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0622