Elementary | A New Jug for the Water Cooler

No, we are not talking about the Ron Burgundy type of class, we are talking about the kind you go to...or at least supposed to go to. So don't skip class, and definitely don't skip this podcast. You will slowly become as wise as a miniature Buddha with yet another Chinese lesson under your belt. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0793

3 Jan 202412min

If you think the people all look alike, wait until you see the luggage coming out of the conveyor belt. Apparently 394 of the 395 other passengers bought their black $15 'Samsonite' luggage from the same Pearl Market back alley. Mistaken luggage identity crisis.... what to do? Find it or not, fear not... there's more luggage where that came from... and underwear shops... and Chinese lesson podcasts to get you there. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0915

2 Jan 202413min

Oft over looked due to its timid tone and quiet presence, this Mandarin Chinese tone is anything but passive. In this podcast, we visit the sometimes forgotten and difficult to define tone that makes love, not war... impartially takes no sides and conscientiously objects to raising its voice. Its only flaw is perhaps a slight tendency toward wimpiness, but hey it'll never get in your face... the neutral tone. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0788

29 Dec 20237min

You've been stuck on city streets too long. Lace up your shoes, point in the direction of trees, and trade in red China for green with this podcast on hiking. Whether it's the trails of Yangming Shan, the pseudo-hills of She Shan, or the dizzying cliffs of Huang Shan, explore the woods that inspired the Chinese painters and poets of old, and see the China behind the bustle Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0907

27 Dec 202313min

Here we arrive at the last stage in the rise and fall of the four tones of Mandarin Chinese, and poor fourth is a bit of an enigma. Due to his angry tone of voice and overbearing sharpness, some find it hard to get to know him. In this podcast, we peel back the layers and help fourth tone make peace with his inner child. He's not mad, just misunderstood. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0784

25 Dec 20236min

The apparatus may be the same. The venue, similar--give or take a few trees. The wafts of the mouth-watering scent of roasting flesh. You begin to reminisce over the long days of summers past-- replete with hot dogs, steak, jacket potatoes... but WAIT. What do you see... whaaat the... Yes, the medium is the same, but the materials are very, very different. Listen to this podcast and learn about Chinese barbecue. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0898

22 Dec 202315min

The third tone is basically the middle child of the Mandarin line-up. It gets abused like a red-headed step child. Sometimes it's third, sometimes it gets ridden roughshod by second tone, and sometimes it straps a fourth tone on for good times. Third tone suffers from low self-esteem and is still trying to find its true self. Listen to this podcast and give the third tone the love it missed out on as a child. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0780

20 Dec 20237min

Yeaaaah, you've been known to chang a little ge when no one is around. So, stop the bashful act... have a few beers if that helps... and get your KTV on. Select a forgotten 80s tune (Purple Rain is a rousing melody), turn on the reverb. Wrestle the microphone from your partner in song, and see a side of the Chinese you never knew existed. Listen to this podcast and learn how to join in, in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0892

18 Dec 202314min