Elementary | Buying a Bike

Don't be fooled by the bottles of Russian vodka collecting dust by our water cooler, or the small bottle of baijiu on Amber's desk: the drug of choice here at ChinesePod is caffeine. And while it may be socially-acceptable to quaff a few cups of either while working, one too many will shoot your judgment and send coworkers fleeing in terror. Listen to this podcast and learn how to use Mandarin Chinese to fend off booze-bedraggled assailants. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0629

14 Juli 202314min

Screeching scooter brakes, cacophonous construction and prolonged iPod use to block it all out is a China dweller’s recipe for auditory undoing. Before you end up bidding an early retreat to the world of grandpa hearing aids, listen (while you still can) to this podcast and learn about being hard of hearing, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0702

12 Juli 202320min

No, this is not another in our 'taking the classroom to the bathroom' series of Mandarin lessons. Rather, this lesson is about having to get going. So, next time you're waiting as your significant other is performing their getting ready ritual, you will have the words to get him/her rolling. Listen to this podcast and learn to nag a little, a la Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0624

10 Juli 202311min

In China, potential injuries are lurking around every corner. Prepare yourself... when your foot is stomped on for the twenty-fourth time in one bus commute, you will be crying out for a tensor bandage with the best of them. Not to mention the repetitive strain injury from dinging your bicycle bell at those rogue taxi drivers. Listen to this podcast, and learn about getting hurt, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0693

7 Juli 202312min

For those of us all sweaty in our China summer, this lesson has a special significance. We want to know how to voice our complaints to the weather gods that be. In this podcast, learn to bellyache over the heat, in Mandarin Chinese. Now, if only we could learn how to do a rain dance... Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0620

5 Juli 202310min

Clowns freak people out. They have weird hair, and what's with the big shoes? 10 million crying children can't be wrong. Who came up with clowns, anyway? And who came up with a Chinese lesson on clowns? Some sicko, likely... but the next time one comes up to you, at least you'll have the language to tell it to go away. Listen to this podcast and join the anti-clown campaign, Mandarin-style. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0683

3 Juli 202315min

Never thought we'd one day be just another illiteracy statistic, but, alas, learning Mandarin can be a humbling undertaking. If you just wrote down your name and the squinting clerk is turning the paper upsidedown, sideways and backward, this podcast is for you. Do not be daunted! Listen and learn how to get someone to write a Chinese character for you. And do not despair--literacy initiatives have worked in developing countries. There's hope for us yet. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0616

30 Juni 202311min

Men everywhere know about the fury of the woman scorned, but that holds nothing in comparison to that of a hormone-raging, pubescent, Sweet Valley High novel-reading youth. In this podcast we revisit our Chinese friend Yang Jie, and this time, she's furious. Follow along as the diary leaves the page and turns into a reality-show-gone-bad lesson in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0806

28 Juni 202315min