ChinesePod - Beginner

Few things in life are certain: 1. Life 2. Death 3. A non-English speaking barber might struggle in getting that “feathered” look you’re after So, it’s John and Jenny to the rescue, in the wind-blown form of a lesson on “getting a do”. In this podcast learn how to communicate some essentials to your friendly neighborhood barber cutting right there on the sidewalk in Mandarin Chinese. ChinesePod--not afraid to wear ours up, and away from the face. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0161

We don’t know if you heard but, (if not—were you on Mars?) Beijing’s got the Olympics here in 2008. So we thought we’d make sure you can hold your own in a conversation with a Beijingerrrr (those “r’s” will make sense when you come)—or anyone, for that matter—about all the excitement. In this podcast we teach you Olympic terms in Mandarin Chinese…and if you’re lucky, Jenny will be honest about her “shot-put” background. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0247

In Chinese, you often encounter single characters that have multiple related meanings. This has the potential to confuse learners because sometimes it is hard to make connections between component characters and their meanings within multiple-character words. That's why we created this Character Mind Map series, where we focus on characters and the words they make up.Today, we're talking about 蛋 and all the interesting words using this character. Let's check them out! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4350

Now you’ve used your Mandarin skills to find the hotel, check-in, order in some room service—but wait! There is something essential you forgot to learn how to say. In this podcast, we aid you in making a phone call to the front desk to ask for some essential items, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0242

In our previous newbie tone change series, we have introduced the tone change rules for 不, 一, two third tones, and three third tones. Just like many other aspects in the Chinese language, tone changes are more nuanced than the rules you see in textbooks. That's why for the elementary tone change series, we decided that we would reinforce the rules with the help of dialogues that you hear in everyday conversations. Practice and familiarize yourselves with the sounds, and you'll be a tone master in no time! In this episode, we're going to learn and practice the tone change rules for consecutive third tones through a conversation in a restaurant. Let's check it out right now! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4345

You just thought the “what’s that, what’s this” went out at 7 years old…wrong. From the moment you realize that 山 means (and looks like a) “mountain,” you’ll be hooked. You’ll want to learn more. We want to help. The world wants you to listen. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0239

Chengyu are Chinese idioms that consist of four characters. Although they originate from classical Chinese, Chengyu remain as an important aspect in both spoken and written language. They may seem erratic and confusing to you at first since they don’t follow the usual sentence order and their meanings depend heavily on context. But don’t worry, in this Chengyu series, we will introduce simple Chengyu made up with all the characters that you already knew, and you can infer the actual meaning by looking at the separate characters! In this lesson, let’s take a look at four Chengyu with numbers 七 (seven) and 八 (eight) in them! Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/4341

Let’s face it, all excuses aside, you learn Chinese to be cool – the same reason we buy gifts abroad for people, the same reason we send postcards. What’s that? You don’t know how to send a letter? By all means, let us help. In this podcast, come with us to the post office and learn how to mail a letter in China, using Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0235

Know the difference between “Wang Fu Jing” and “Nan Jing Lu”? In one place you can find “The Bund”, in the other you’ll eat a “bun”…know the towns we’re talkin’ bout (Willis)? The two centers of the middle country, of course! In this podcast, Ken and Jenny referee the Beijing VS. Shanghai rumble. You will learn to talk about China’s two most famous cities using Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0156

In Indonesia it’s “Bali Belly,” Mexico “Montezuma’s Revenge,” and in China… commonplace. There’s a good chance that despite how tasty those hairy crabs look (or not), your tummy might disagree. In this podcast learn how to express your stomach woes in Mandarin Chinese (You’ll notice we didn’t make this an intermediate lesson as *detail* isn’t needed). Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0229