Mandarin From the Ground Up

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Learn to speak Mandarin the same way you learned your native language: by imitating what you hear. Every dialogue is adapted from real-life conversations with students who are learning Mandarin Chinese from the ground up, just like you. No memorizing, no grammar lessons, no superhuman willpower, just the sounds of Chinese, your ears, and you. Let's start speaking Chinese for real this time. New lesson every Wednesday. Subscribe to start building your Mandarin from the ground up! Logo artwork: https://www.instagram.com/alexwawowa/

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    • Jun 25, 2024 LATEST EPISODE
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    • 11m AVG DURATION
    • 78 EPISODES
    • 2 SEASONS

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    Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 08

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 5:24


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 08, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking six minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season:In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording.Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability.Magic Phrase (4-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-2 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 櫃台負責配合客人Guìtái fùzé pèihé kèrén櫃台 / guìtái / reception, front desk負責 / fùzé / to be responsible for, to take responsibility for配合 / pèihé / to cooperate with客人 / kèrén / customers, guestsTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)L：嘿，教授，你叫我過來？P：小李，你進來。我要談談你的論文。L：我的論文內容，你看完了嗎？P：我看完了，你的論文主題很… 特別：「地球鳳梨種植的範圍跟價格」…L：我知道，我知道，你好奇我的調查是怎麼進行的。P：其實… 這麼說不如說…L：我去年去印尼做調查，我發現印尼竟然沒有任何鳳梨！P：不過，真正的問題更大…L：我知道了！是數學的問題，例如鳳梨在不同季節的價格不正常。P：不是這個…L：這些數學問題確實很複雜，而且你知道我不太擅長數學。P：所以我…L：但我認為這是一個過程。我一定會克服！我會練習數學…P：好了！夠了！問題不是數學，問題是… 鳳梨。L：問題是鳳梨？P：對，鳳梨這個話題，不適合作為論文題目！L：不適合？P：對！所以，很抱歉，我只能拒絕你目前的論文。L：不會吧！P：很遺憾。L：不如…. 我就換個主題重寫！P：你有時間嗎？怕時間不足，你的論文快到期了。L：我可以的！我證明給你看！P：好，那你要換什麼主題？L：我來寫… 酪梨！「酪梨的價格地圖」… 你覺得怎麼樣？Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  àL：嘿，教授，你叫我過來？Hēi, jiàoshòu, nǐ jiào wǒ guòlái?Hey, professor, you called me over?P：小李，你進來。我要談談你的論文。Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ jìnlái. Wǒ yào tán tán nǐ dì lùnwén.Xiao Li, come in. I want to discuss your thesis.L：我的論文內容，你看完了嗎？Wǒ dì lùnwén nèiróng, nǐ kàn wán le ma?The contents of my thesis, you finished reading it?P：我看完了。你的論文主題很… 特別：「地球鳳梨種植的範圍跟價格」Wǒ kàn wán le, nǐ dì lùnwén zhǔtí hěn… tèbié: 「Dìqiú fènglí zhòngzhí de fànwéi gēn jiàgé」I finished reading it. The topic of your thesis is very… special: 「Earth's pineapple growing regions: range, and prices」L：我知道，我知道。你好奇我的調查是怎麼進行的。Wǒ zhīdào, wǒ zhīdào. nǐ hàoqí wǒ de diàochá shì zěnme jìnxíng de.I know, I know. You're curious how I undertook my survey.P：其實… 這麼說，不如說…Qíshí… zhème shuō bù rú shuōActually, it would be better to say…L：我去年去印尼做調查，我發現印尼竟然沒有任何鳳梨！Wǒ qùnián qù yìnní zuò diàochá, wǒ fāxiàn yìnní jìngrán méiyǒu rènhé fènglí!Last year I went to Indonesia to do a survey, I realized Indonesia doesn't have any pineapples at all!P：不過，真正的問題更大…Bùguò, zhēnzhèng de wèntí gèng dà...But, the real problem is bigger…L：我知道了！是數學的問題，例如鳳梨在不同季節的價格不正常。Wǒ zhīdàole! Shì shùxué de wèntí, lìrú fènglí zài bùtóng jìjié de jiàgé bù zhèngcháng.I know! It's the math problems. For example, pineapples in different seasons have abnormal prices.P：不是這個…Bùshì zhège…It's not this…L：這些數學問題確實很複雜，而且你知道我不太擅長數學。Zhèxiē shùxué wèntí quèshí hěn fùzá, érqiě nǐ zhīdào wǒ bù tài shàncháng shùxuéThese math problems are indeed very complicated, and you know I'm not too good at math.P：所以我…Suǒyǐ wǒ…So I…L：但我認為這是一個過程。我一定會克服！我會練習數學…Dàn wǒ rènwéi zhè shì yīgè guòchéng. Wǒ yīdìng huì kèfú! Wǒ huì liànxí shùxué…But I believe this is a process. I will definitely overcome it! I will practice math…P：好了！夠了！問題不是數學，問題是… 鳳梨。Hǎole! Gòule! Wèntí bùshì shùxué, wèntí shì… fènglí.Ok! Enough! The problem isn't math, the problem is… pineapples.L：問題是鳳梨？Wèntí shì fènglí? The problem is pineapples?P：對，鳳梨這個話題，不適合作為論文題目！Duì, fènglí zhège huàtí, bùshìhé zuòwéi lùnwén tímù!Yes, pineapples, this topic, it's not suitable to be taken as a thesis topic!L：不適合？Bùshìhé?Not suitable?P：對！所以，很抱歉，我只能拒絕你目前的論文。Duì! Suǒyǐ, hěn bàoqiàn, wǒ zhǐ néng jùjué nǐ mùqián dì lùnwén.That's right! So, I'm sorry, I can only reject your current thesis.L：不會吧！Bù huì ba! No way!P：很遺憾。Hěn yíhàn. It's a pity.L：不如…. 我就換個主題重寫！Bùrú…. Wǒ jiù huàn gè zhǔtí chóng xiě! How about… I just change my topic and rewrite it!P：你有時間嗎？怕時間不足，你的論文快到期了。Nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma? Pà shíjiān bùzú, nǐ dì lùnwén kuài dào qí le.Do you have time? I'm afraid there's not enough time. Your thesis is almost due.L：我可以的！我證明給你看！Wǒ kěyǐ de! Wǒ zhèngmíng gěi nǐ kàn!I can do it! I'll prove it to you!P：好，那你要換什麼主題？Hǎo, nà nǐ yào huàn shénme zhǔtí?Okay, so what thesis topic will you change to?L：我來寫… 酪梨！「酪梨的價格地圖」…Wǒ lái xiě… lùo lí! 「Lùo lí de jiàgé dìtú」I will write about… avocados! 「Avocados, a map of prices.」Thanks for listening. And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    earth chinese normal lesson speed indonesia pl taiwan lp sh xi languages gu mandarin repetition pb lb tones avocados daily practice zh p h
    S3 ~ 08 ~ The front desk is responsible 櫃台負責配合客人！

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2024 25:55


    Show notes:Here is a link to my conversation with Mischa Wilmers on his I'm Learning Mandarin podcast. Taipei Shorts, an annual theater event that showcases multilingual theater written, directed, and performed by local artists in Taipei. Lesson Outline:[00:21] Intro / updates / announcements [03:53] Magic Phrase: 櫃台負責配合客人[05:56] A ramble on tones, context, and imitation[11:52] Dialogue[14:43] TranslationMagic Phrase (4-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-2 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 櫃台負責配合客人Guìtái fùzé pèihé kèrén櫃台 / guìtái / reception, front desk負責 / fùzé / to be responsible for, to take responsibility for配合 / pèihé / to cooperate with客人 / kèrén / customers, guestsTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)L：嘿，教授，你叫我過來？P：小李，你進來。我要談談你的論文。L：我的論文內容，你看完了嗎？P：我看完了，你的論文主題很… 特別：「地球鳳梨種植的範圍跟價格」…L：我知道，我知道，你好奇我的調查是怎麼進行的。P：其實… 這麼說不如說…L：我去年去印尼做調查，我發現印尼竟然沒有任何鳳梨！P：不過，真正的問題更大…L：我知道了！是數學的問題，例如鳳梨在不同季節的價格不正常。P：不是這個…L：這些數學問題確實很複雜，而且你知道我不太擅長數學。P：所以我…L：但我認為這是一個過程。我一定會克服！我會練習數學…P：好了！夠了！問題不是數學，問題是… 鳳梨。L：問題是鳳梨？P：對，鳳梨這個話題，不適合作為論文題目！L：不適合？P：對！所以，很抱歉，我只能拒絕你目前的論文。L：不會吧！P：很遺憾。L：不如…. 我就換個主題重寫！P：你有時間嗎？怕時間不足，你的論文快到期了。L：我可以的！我證明給你看！P：好，那你要換什麼主題？L：我來寫… 酪梨！「酪梨的價格地圖」… 你覺得怎麼樣？Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  àL：嘿，教授，你叫我過來？Hēi, jiàoshòu, nǐ jiào wǒ guòlái?Hey, professor, you called me over?P：小李，你進來。我要談談你的論文。Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ jìnlái. Wǒ yào tán tán nǐ dì lùnwén.Xiao Li, come in. I want to discuss your thesis.L：我的論文內容，你看完了嗎？Wǒ dì lùnwén nèiróng, nǐ kàn wán le ma?The contents of my thesis, you finished reading it?P：我看完了。你的論文主題很… 特別：「地球鳳梨種植的範圍跟價格」Wǒ kàn wán le, nǐ dì lùnwén zhǔtí hěn… tèbié: 「Dìqiú fènglí zhòngzhí de fànwéi gēn jiàgé」I finished reading it. The topic of your thesis is very… special: 「Earth's pineapple growing regions: range, and prices」L：我知道，我知道。你好奇我的調查是怎麼進行的。Wǒ zhīdào, wǒ zhīdào. nǐ hàoqí wǒ de diàochá shì zěnme jìnxíng de.I know, I know. You're curious how I undertook my survey.P：其實… 這麼說，不如說…Qíshí… zhème shuō bù rú shuōActually, it would be better to say…L：我去年去印尼做調查，我發現印尼竟然沒有任何鳳梨！Wǒ qùnián qù yìnní zuò diàochá, wǒ fāxiàn yìnní jìngrán méiyǒu rènhé fènglí!Last year I went to Indonesia to do a survey, I realized Indonesia doesn't have any pineapples at all!P：不過，真正的問題更大…Bùguò, zhēnzhèng de wèntí gèng dà...But, the real problem is bigger…L：我知道了！是數學的問題，例如鳳梨在不同季節的價格不正常。Wǒ zhīdàole! Shì shùxué de wèntí, lìrú fènglí zài bùtóng jìjié de jiàgé bù zhèngcháng.I know! It's the math problems. For example, pineapples in different seasons have abnormal prices.P：不是這個…Bùshì zhège…It's not this…L：這些數學問題確實很複雜，而且你知道我不太擅長數學。Zhèxiē shùxué wèntí quèshí hěn fùzá, érqiě nǐ zhīdào wǒ bù tài shàncháng shùxuéThese math problems are indeed very complicated, and you know I'm not too good at math.P：所以我…Suǒyǐ wǒ…So I…L：但我認為這是一個過程。我一定會克服！我會練習數學…Dàn wǒ rènwéi zhè shì yīgè guòchéng. Wǒ yīdìng huì kèfú! Wǒ huì liànxí shùxué…But I believe this is a process. I will definitely overcome it! I will practice math…P：好了！夠了！問題不是數學，問題是… 鳳梨。Hǎole! Gòule! Wèntí bùshì shùxué, wèntí shì… fènglí.Ok! Enough! The problem isn't math, the problem is… pineapples.L：問題是鳳梨？Wèntí shì fènglí? The problem is pineapples?P：對，鳳梨這個話題，不適合作為論文題目！Duì, fènglí zhège huàtí, bùshìhé zuòwéi lùnwén tímù!Yes, pineapples, this topic, it's not suitable to be taken as a thesis topic!L：不適合？Bùshìhé?Not suitable?P：對！所以，很抱歉，我只能拒絕你目前的論文。Duì! Suǒyǐ, hěn bàoqiàn, wǒ zhǐ néng jùjué nǐ mùqián dì lùnwén.That's right! So, I'm sorry, I can only reject your current thesis.L：不會吧！Bù huì ba! No way!P：很遺憾。Hěn yíhàn. It's a pity.L：不如…. 我就換個主題重寫！Bùrú…. Wǒ jiù huàn gè zhǔtí chóng xiě! How about… I just change my topic and rewrite it!P：你有時間嗎？怕時間不足，你的論文快到期了。Nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma? Pà shíjiān bùzú, nǐ dì lùnwén kuài dào qí le.Do you have time? I'm afraid there's not enough time. Your thesis is almost due.L：我可以的！我證明給你看！Wǒ kěyǐ de! Wǒ zhèngmíng gěi nǐ kàn!I can do it! I'll prove it to you!P：好，那你要換什麼主題？Hǎo, nà nǐ yào huàn shénme zhǔtí?Okay, so what thesis topic will you change to?L：我來寫… 酪梨！「酪梨的價格地圖」…Wǒ lái xiě… lùo lí! 「Lùo lí de jiàgé dìtú」I will write about… avocados! 「Avocados, a map of prices.」Thanks for listening. And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    earth chinese indonesia pl taiwan responsible dialogue lp sh xi languages gu mandarin pb lb taipei tones avocados front desk zh p h
    Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 07

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 6:20


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 07, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking six minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season:In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording.Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability.Magic Phrase (4-1)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-1 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 帥哥上班，外公退休Shuàigē shàngbān, wàigōng tuìxiū帥哥 / shuàigē / handsome man上班 / shàngbān / to go to work外公 / wàigōng / maternal grandfather退休 / tuìxiū / retired, to retireTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)M：阿芬！你來了！F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。M：沒事！趕快進來坐！F：謝謝。M：你看起來好喘！F：唉，爬樓梯真的好喘！M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。F：我好久沒運動。M：沒關係，現在可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。L：你好。F：嗨。M：來，慧芬，要不要吃麵包？小李做的！F：好厲害！M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。F：你寫小說嗎？L：沒有。但那是我的目標。M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！F：我最愛唱歌！M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。L：我不用了。F：你真的很害羞。M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前…M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！L：還是我先去吃蛋糕…M：你不要逃避了啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！L：什麼？M：我家的規定。L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？L：哦… 蔡琴的。M：老靈魂。L：哈哈，對啊。F：好，點好了。L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心…M：不要害羞！L：不能錄音哦。M：沒有人會錄音！Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à M：阿芬！你來了！ Ā fēn! Nǐ láile! A-Fen, you're here! F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。 Hēi! Bù hǎoyìsi chídàole. Wǒ gānggāng cái xiàbān.  Hey! Sorry, I'm late. I just got off work. M：沒事！趕快進來坐！ Méishì! Gǎnkuài jìnlái zuò! No worries! Hurry up and come in! F：謝謝。 Xièxie. Thank you. M：你看起來很喘。 Nǐ kàn qǐlái hǎo chuǎn! You look really out of breath. F：唉，爬樓梯好喘！ Yeah, climbing the stairs is really tiring (makes one out of breath)! Āi, pá lóutī zhēn de hěn chuǎn! M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。  Duì, wǒmen méiyǒu diàntī. Zhǐhǎo ràng nǐ yùndòng yīxià. Yeah, we don't have an elevator. No other choice but to make you exercise a bit. F：我好久沒運動。 Wǒ hǎojiǔ méi yùndòng. I haven't exercised in a long time. M：沒關係，這裡可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。 Méiguānxì, xiànzài kěyǐ fàngsōng. Xiǎo lǐ, zhè shì wǒ de péngyǒu, huì fēn, tā shì lǜshī. It's ok, you can relax here. Xiao Li, this is my friend, Hui Fen. She's a lawyer. L：你好。 Nǐ hǎo. Hi. F：嗨。 Hāi. Hi. M：來，慧芬，要不要吃**麵包？**小李做的！ Lái, huì fēn, yào bùyào chī miànbāo? Xiǎo lǐ zuò de! Here, Hui-Fen, do you want to eat some bread? Xiao Li made it! F：好厲害！ Hǎo lìhài! That's amazing! M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！ Nǐ kěyǐ fàngxīn, tā de miànbāo hěn jiànkāng! You don't have to worry, his bread is really healthy. F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？ Hǎohǎo chī! Nǐ kāi miànbāo diàn ma? It's so good! Do you have a bakery? L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。 Méiyǒu, qíshí, jiùshì, è… wǒ shì yīgè… è… zuòjiā. No, actually, I mean, uh, I'm a, uh… writer. M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。 Xiǎo lǐ hěn hàixiū, kěshì tā shì yīgè hěn rènzhēn de zuòjiā. Xiao Li is really shy, but he's a very serious writer. F：你寫小說嗎？ Nǐ xiě xiǎoshuō ma? Do you write novels? L：沒有，但那是我的目標。 Méiyǒu. Dàn nà shì wǒ de mùbiāo. No, but that's my goal. M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！ Lái, wǒmen xiān zuò. Zhènghǎo yào kāishǐ chànggē! Come one, let's sit down first. We're just about to start singing! F：我最愛唱歌！ Wǒ zuì'ài chànggē! I love singing! M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。 Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ hái méi diǎn gē, duì ba. Xiao Li, you haven't ordered yet. L：我不用了。 Wǒ bùyòngle. I'm alright. (No need.) F：你真的很害羞。 Nǐ zhēn de hěn hàixiū. You're really shy. M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。 Xiǎo lǐ, bàituō, chàng yī shǒu gěi dàjiā tīng. Ránhòu wǒ jiù fàngguò nǐ. Xiao Li, please, sing one song for everyone, then I'll let you off the hook. L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前… Kěshì, zài hěnduō mòshēng rén de miànqián… But, in front of strangers… M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！ Shénme mòshēng rén? Wǒmen dōu shì péngyǒu, nǐ fàngxīn! What strangers? We're all friends! Don't worry! L：還是我先去吃蛋糕… Háishì wǒ xiān qù chī dàngāo… Or maybe I'll go have some cake first… M：你不要逃避啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！ Nǐ bùyào táobìle la! Bù chànggē, nǐ yào chī làjiāo! Don't run away! If you don't sing, you have to eat chili peppers. L：什麼？ Shénme? What? M：我家的規定。 Wǒjiā de guīdìng. House rules. L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。 OK,OK, hǎo la. Wǒ chàng. Ok, ok, fine. I'll sing. F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。 Nǐ yào chàng shénme? Wǒ bāng nǐ diǎn. What do you want to sing? I'll help you order. L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？ È… mèngzhōngrén? Hǎo ma? Uh… dream lover? Ok? F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？ Wángfēi de háishì càiqín de? Wang Fei's or Cai Qin's? (Referring to two songs with the same title) L：哦… 蔡琴的。 Ó… càiqín de. Oh, Cai Qin's. M：老靈魂。 Lǎo línghún. Old soul. L：哈哈，對啊。 Hāhā, duì a. Haha, yeah. F：好，點好了。 Hǎo, diǎn hǎole. Ok, it's already ordered. L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心… Zhème kuài! Hǎo, qǐng dàjiā yào yǒu nàixīn… So fast! Ok, everyone, be patient with me… M：不要害羞！ M: Bùyào hàixiū! Don't be shy! L：不能錄音哦。 Bùnéng lùyīn ó. No recording. M：沒有人要錄音！ Nobody's going to record! Méiyǒu rén huì lùyīn!  Notes: The song in this episode is 夢中人 by 蔡琴.  Thanks to Vicky Sun for being the voice of 慧芬 Hùi fēn.  Thanks for listening. And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    house chinese normal lesson speed taiwan mn xi languages hurry mm ml mandarin repetition lb tones fn lk referring daily practice mw fen l'h lm shu fh fw ln zh f yeah
    S3 ~ 07 ~ Handsome brother goes to work 帥哥上班

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2023 27:25


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Review of tone pairs from lessons one through six.  [02:30] Magic Phrase: 帥哥上班，外公退休 [08:20] Dialogue [11:40] Translation [23:07] Dialogue, one more time at normal speed Magic Phrase (4-1)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-1 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 帥哥上班，外公退休Shuàigē shàngbān, wàigōng tuìxiū帥哥 / shuàigē / handsome man上班 / shàngbān / to go to work外公 / wàigōng / maternal grandfather退休 / tuìxiū / retired, to retireTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)M：阿芬！你來了！F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。M：沒事！趕快進來坐！F：謝謝。M：你看起來好喘！F：唉，爬樓梯真的好喘！M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。F：我好久沒運動。M：沒關係，現在可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。L：你好。F：嗨。M：來，慧芬，要不要吃麵包？小李做的！F：好厲害！M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。F：你寫小說嗎？L：沒有。但那是我的目標。M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！F：我最愛唱歌！M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。L：我不用了。F：你真的很害羞。M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前…M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！L：還是我先去吃蛋糕…M：你不要逃避了啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！L：什麼？M：我家的規定。L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？L：哦… 蔡琴的。M：老靈魂。L：哈哈，對啊。F：好，點好了。L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心…M：不要害羞！L：不能錄音哦。M：沒有人會錄音！Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à M：阿芬！你來了！ Ā fēn! Nǐ láile! A-Fen, you're here! F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。 Hēi! Bù hǎoyìsi chídàole. Wǒ gānggāng cái xiàbān.  Hey! Sorry, I'm late. I just got off work. M：沒事！趕快進來坐！ Méishì! Gǎnkuài jìnlái zuò! No worries! Hurry up and come in! F：謝謝。 Xièxie. Thank you. M：你看起來很喘。 Nǐ kàn qǐlái hǎo chuǎn! You look really out of breath. F：唉，爬樓梯好喘！ Yeah, climbing the stairs is really tiring (makes one out of breath)! Āi, pá lóutī zhēn de hěn chuǎn! M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。  Duì, wǒmen méiyǒu diàntī. Zhǐhǎo ràng nǐ yùndòng yīxià. Yeah, we don't have an elevator. No other choice but to make you exercise a bit. F：我好久沒運動。 Wǒ hǎojiǔ méi yùndòng. I haven't exercised in a long time. M：沒關係，這裡可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。 Méiguānxì, xiànzài kěyǐ fàngsōng. Xiǎo lǐ, zhè shì wǒ de péngyǒu, huì fēn, tā shì lǜshī. It's ok, you can relax here. Xiao Li, this is my friend, Hui Fen. She's a lawyer. L：你好。 Nǐ hǎo. Hi. F：嗨。 Hāi. Hi. M：來，慧芬，要不要吃**麵包？**小李做的！ Lái, huì fēn, yào bùyào chī miànbāo? Xiǎo lǐ zuò de! Here, Hui-Fen, do you want to eat some bread? Xiao Li made it! F：好厲害！ Hǎo lìhài! That's amazing! M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！ Nǐ kěyǐ fàngxīn, tā de miànbāo hěn jiànkāng! You don't have to worry, his bread is really healthy. F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？ Hǎohǎo chī! Nǐ kāi miànbāo diàn ma? It's so good! Do you have a bakery? L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。 Méiyǒu, qíshí, jiùshì, è… wǒ shì yīgè… è… zuòjiā. No, actually, I mean, uh, I'm a, uh… writer. M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。 Xiǎo lǐ hěn hàixiū, kěshì tā shì yīgè hěn rènzhēn de zuòjiā. Xiao Li is really shy, but he's a very serious writer. F：你寫小說嗎？ Nǐ xiě xiǎoshuō ma? Do you write novels? L：沒有，但那是我的目標。 Méiyǒu. Dàn nà shì wǒ de mùbiāo. No, but that's my goal. M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！ Lái, wǒmen xiān zuò. Zhènghǎo yào kāishǐ chànggē! Come one, let's sit down first. We're just about to start singing! F：我最愛唱歌！ Wǒ zuì'ài chànggē! I love singing! M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。 Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ hái méi diǎn gē, duì ba. Xiao Li, you haven't ordered yet. L：我不用了。 Wǒ bùyòngle. I'm alright. (No need.) F：你真的很害羞。 Nǐ zhēn de hěn hàixiū. You're really shy. M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。 Xiǎo lǐ, bàituō, chàng yī shǒu gěi dàjiā tīng. Ránhòu wǒ jiù fàngguò nǐ. Xiao Li, please, sing one song for everyone, then I'll let you off the hook. L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前… Kěshì, zài hěnduō mòshēng rén de miànqián… But, in front of strangers… M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！ Shénme mòshēng rén? Wǒmen dōu shì péngyǒu, nǐ fàngxīn! What strangers? We're all friends! Don't worry! L：還是我先去吃蛋糕… Háishì wǒ xiān qù chī dàngāo… Or maybe I'll go have some cake first… M：你不要逃避啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！ Nǐ bùyào táobìle la! Bù chànggē, nǐ yào chī làjiāo! Don't run away! If you don't sing, you have to eat chili peppers. L：什麼？ Shénme? What? M：我家的規定。 Wǒjiā de guīdìng. House rules. L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。 OK,OK, hǎo la. Wǒ chàng. Ok, ok, fine. I'll sing. F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。 Nǐ yào chàng shénme? Wǒ bāng nǐ diǎn. What do you want to sing? I'll help you order. L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？ È… mèngzhōngrén? Hǎo ma? Uh… dream lover? Ok? F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？ Wángfēi de háishì càiqín de? Wang Fei's or Cai Qin's? (Referring to two songs with the same title) L：哦… 蔡琴的。 Ó… càiqín de. Oh, Cai Qin's. M：老靈魂。 Lǎo línghún. Old soul. L：哈哈，對啊。 Hāhā, duì a. Haha, yeah. F：好，點好了。 Hǎo, diǎn hǎole. Ok, it's already ordered. L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心… Zhème kuài! Hǎo, qǐng dàjiā yào yǒu nàixīn… So fast! Ok, everyone, be patient with me… M：不要害羞！ M: Bùyào hàixiū! Don't be shy! L：不能錄音哦。 Bùnéng lùyīn ó. No recording. M：沒有人要錄音！ Nobody's going to record! Méiyǒu rén huì lùyīn!  Notes: The song in this episode is 夢中人 by 蔡琴.  Thanks to Vicky Sun for being the voice of 慧芬 Hùi fēn.  Thanks for listening. And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    house brothers chinese taiwan dialogue mn translation xi languages hurry mm ml mandarin lb handsome tones fn lk referring mw fen l'h lm shu fh fw ln zh f yeah
    Daily Practice (Slow Speed) - S3 - Lesson 06

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 12:28


    SLOW SPEED VERSIONAfter listening to Season 3, Lesson 06, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking ten minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season:In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording.Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability.Magic Phrase (4-3)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-3 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 下午下雨，地鐵漏水Xiàwǔ xiàyǔ, dìtiě lòushuǐ下午 / xiàwǔ / afternoon下雨 / xiàyǔ / to rain地鐵 / dìtiě / subway, subway system漏水 / lòushuǐ / to leak waterTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？麗麗：可以。小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？阿明：可以了！小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。小李：很酷的夢想！麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。小李：所以你念了什麼系？麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。小李：聽起來很有趣！麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。小李：好可憐！麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。小李：那然後呢？麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。小李：沒錯！麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。小李：有道理。麗麗：所以我離職了。小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。小李：你一定很難過。麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？麗麗：她早就忘記了。康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！小李：真的。真的很厲害。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ Ok, let's start. Can we take a video? Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma? 麗麗：可以。 Sure. Kěyǐ. 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready? Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma? 阿明：可以了！ Ready! Kěyǐle! 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid? Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme? 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 I've loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays. Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn. 小李：很酷的夢想！ That's a really cool dream! Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng! 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky. Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn. 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ So what did you major in? Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì? 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems. Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng. 小李：聽起來很有趣！ That sounds really interesting! Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù! 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn't know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn't have any appetite, I became really thin. Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu. 小李：好可憐！ That's so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful) Hǎo kělián! 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn't have the courage to change. Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn. 小李：那然後呢？ And then? Nà ránhòu ne? 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure. Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào. 小李：沒錯！ That's right! Méicuò! 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life. Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé. 小李：有道理。 That makes sense. Yǒu dàolǐ. 麗麗：所以我離職了。 So I quit my job. Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle. 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ Wow! Did your mom support you? Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma? 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again. Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle.  小李：你一定很難過。 You must have been really upset. Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò. 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded! Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle! 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ Congratulations! And… what about your mother? Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne? 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 She forgot a long time ago. Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle. 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ Hello, are you saying something bad about me? Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma? 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… Uh, no, we're uh… interviewing… E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 Lili is telling us about her current work! Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò. 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right? O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba! 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 Truly. Truly awesome. Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese lesson speed taiwan congratulations wa xi languages mandarin repetition lili ming hu tones daily practice zh
    Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 06

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 7:36


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 06, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking ten minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season:In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording.Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability.Magic Phrase (4-3)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-3 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 下午下雨，地鐵漏水Xiàwǔ xiàyǔ, dìtiě lòushuǐ下午 / xiàwǔ / afternoon下雨 / xiàyǔ / to rain地鐵 / dìtiě / subway, subway system漏水 / lòushuǐ / to leak waterTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？麗麗：可以。小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？阿明：可以了！小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。小李：很酷的夢想！麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。小李：所以你念了什麼系？麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。小李：聽起來很有趣！麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。小李：好可憐！麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。小李：那然後呢？麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。小李：沒錯！麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。小李：有道理。麗麗：所以我離職了。小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。小李：你一定很難過。麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？麗麗：她早就忘記了。康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！小李：真的。真的很厲害。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ Ok, let's start. Can we take a video? Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma? 麗麗：可以。 Sure. Kěyǐ. 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready? Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma? 阿明：可以了！ Ready! Kěyǐle! 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid? Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme? 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 I've loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays. Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn. 小李：很酷的夢想！ That's a really cool dream! Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng! 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky. Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn. 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ So what did you major in? Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì? 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems. Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng. 小李：聽起來很有趣！ That sounds really interesting! Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù! 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn't know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn't have any appetite, I became really thin. Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu. 小李：好可憐！ That's so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful) Hǎo kělián! 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn't have the courage to change. Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn. 小李：那然後呢？ And then? Nà ránhòu ne? 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure. Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào. 小李：沒錯！ That's right! Méicuò! 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life. Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé. 小李：有道理。 That makes sense. Yǒu dàolǐ. 麗麗：所以我離職了。 So I quit my job. Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle. 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ Wow! Did your mom support you? Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma? 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again. Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle.  小李：你一定很難過。 You must have been really upset. Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò. 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded! Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle! 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ Congratulations! And… what about your mother? Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne? 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 She forgot a long time ago. Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle. 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ Hello, are you saying something bad about me? Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma? 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… Uh, no, we're uh… interviewing… E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 Lili is telling us about her current work! Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò. 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right? O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba! 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 Truly. Truly awesome. Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese normal lesson speed taiwan congratulations wa xi languages mandarin repetition lili ming hu tones daily practice zh
    S3 ~ 06 ~ The subway is leaking! 地鐵漏水！

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 30:24


    The long-awaited episode 06 is finally here! This lesson's dialogue is longer than usual, so let's get right to it.  Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [04:21] Magic Phrase: 下午下雨，地鐵漏水！ [07:22] Dialogue [11:00] Translation [25:09] Dialogue, slowed down Magic Phrase (4-3)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-3 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 下午下雨，地鐵漏水Xiàwǔ xiàyǔ, dìtiě lòushuǐ下午 / xiàwǔ / afternoon下雨 / xiàyǔ / to rain地鐵 / dìtiě / subway, subway system漏水 / lòushuǐ / to leak waterTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？麗麗：可以。小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？阿明：可以了！小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。小李：很酷的夢想！麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。小李：所以你念了什麼系？麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。小李：聽起來很有趣！麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。小李：好可憐！麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。小李：那然後呢？麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。小李：沒錯！麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。小李：有道理。麗麗：所以我離職了。小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。小李：你一定很難過。麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？麗麗：她早就忘記了。康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！小李：真的。真的很厲害。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ Ok, let's start. Can we take a video? Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma? 麗麗：可以。 Sure. Kěyǐ. 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready? Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma? 阿明：可以了！ Ready! Kěyǐle! 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid? Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme? 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 I've loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays. Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn. 小李：很酷的夢想！ That's a really cool dream! Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng! 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky. Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn. 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ So what did you major in? Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì? 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems. Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng. 小李：聽起來很有趣！ That sounds really interesting! Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù! 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn't know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn't have any appetite, I became really thin. Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu. 小李：好可憐！ That's so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful) Hǎo kělián! 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn't have the courage to change. Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn. 小李：那然後呢？ And then? Nà ránhòu ne? 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure. Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào. 小李：沒錯！ That's right! Méicuò! 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life. Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé. 小李：有道理。 That makes sense. Yǒu dàolǐ. 麗麗：所以我離職了。 So I quit my job. Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle. 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ Wow! Did your mom support you? Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma? 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again. Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle.  小李：你一定很難過。 You must have been really upset. Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò. 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded! Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle! 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ Congratulations! And… what about your mother? Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne? 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 She forgot a long time ago. Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle. 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ Hello, are you saying something bad about me? Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma? 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… Uh, no, we're uh… interviewing… E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 Lili is telling us about her current work! Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò. 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right? O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba! 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 Truly. Truly awesome. Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    Daily Practice (Slow Speed) - S3 - Lesson 05

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2023 8:28


    SLOW VERSION After listening to Season 3, Lesson 05, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking eight minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season:In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording.Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability.Magic Phrase (4-4)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-4 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 忘記過去，注意現在Wàngjì guòqù, zhùyì xiànzài忘記 / wàngjì / to forget過去 / guòqù / the past, passed, over, finished 注意 / zhùyì / to pay attention to, to be careful of現在 / xiànzài / nowTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)阿明，你在幹嘛？我在看電視。不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！我不去了。什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？我忘記了。你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？抱歉，小李。阿明，你怎麼了？你看！看什麼？你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。我沒看到。它說這個社會…這個社會怎麼了？變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？戶外嗎？我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。但是，我害怕遇到教授。那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！你確定這樣OK嗎？可以啦！我也來翹課。謝謝小李。不客氣，阿明。我好鬱悶！會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 阿明，你在幹嘛？ Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma? A-Ming, what are you doing? 我在看電視。 Wǒ zài kàn diànshì. I'm watching TV. 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle!  Don't waste time! We need to go to class! 我不去了。 Wǒ bú qùle. I'm not going. 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma? What do you mean? Of course you're going! Did you finish your homework? 我忘記了。 Wǒ wàngjìle. I forgot. 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào! You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report! Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage." 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn.  You go first, I'm going to sleep. Goodbye. 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè? A-Ming, how are you going to graduate? 抱歉，小李。 Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ. I'm sorry, Xiao Li. 阿明，你怎麼了？ Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele? A-Ming, what's wrong with you? 你看！ Nǐ kàn!  Look! 看什麼？ Kàn shénme?  See what? 電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？ Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma?  The report on TV. Did you see it? Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?  我沒看到。 Wǒ méi kàn dào.  I didn't see it. 它說這個社會… Tā shuō zhège shèhuì…  It said, this society… 這個社會怎麼了？ Zhège shèhuì zěnmele?  What's wrong with this society? 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì! The speed of change is too fast. It's definitely the end of the world. 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn?  Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can't give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside? 戶外嗎？ Hùwài ma?  ...Outdoors? 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià. Let's go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise. 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu.  But I'm afraid of running into the professor. 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng! Then let's not go in the direction of the classroom. Let's go… to the zoo! Let's go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants! Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?   你確定這樣OK嗎？ Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma?  Are you sure that's OK? 可以啦！我也來翹課。 Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè.  It's fine! I'll skip class too. 謝謝小李。 Xièxie xiǎo lǐ.  Thank you, Xiao Li. 不客氣，阿明。 Bú kèqì, ā míng.  Don't mention it, A-Ming. 我好鬱悶！ Wǒ hǎo yùmèn!  I'm so gloomy. 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào. It'll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 05

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2023 6:00


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 05, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.How to practiceThis episode's daily practice session doesn't include spoken instructions, but the process is the same as previous episodes of this season: In the first part, you'll hear a short snippet of the dialogue, followed by a pause of 2-4 seconds. During the pause, try to echo aloud exactly what you heard. In the second part, the dialogue plays again without pauses. Try to shadow the dialogue by repeating it aloud simultaneously with the recording. Note that in both parts, speaking aloud is important, as this practice helps you gain confidence making the sounds of Mandarin, increasing your speaking fluency over time. It also gives you invaluable feedback, as you hear the sounds coming out of your mouth, and can compare them to the sounds you just heard. If only done once or twice, this might not seem to have much effect; repeated on a daily basis, however, this is a powerful mechanism for bootstrapping your pronunciation and speaking ability. Magic Phrase (4-4)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-4 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 忘記過去，注意現在Wàngjì guòqù, zhùyì xiànzài忘記 / wàngjì / to forget過去 / guòqù / the past, passed, over, finished 注意 / zhùyì / to pay attention to, to be careful of現在 / xiànzài / nowTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)阿明，你在幹嘛？我在看電視。不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！我不去了。什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？我忘記了。你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？抱歉，小李。阿明，你怎麼了？你看！看什麼？你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。我沒看到。它說這個社會…這個社會怎麼了？變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？戶外嗎？我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。但是，我害怕遇到教授。那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！你確定這樣OK嗎？可以啦！我也來翹課。謝謝小李。不客氣，阿明。我好鬱悶！會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 阿明，你在幹嘛？ Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma? A-Ming, what are you doing? 我在看電視。 Wǒ zài kàn diànshì. I'm watching TV. 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle!  Don't waste time! We need to go to class! 我不去了。 Wǒ bú qùle. I'm not going. 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma? What do you mean? Of course you're going! Did you finish your homework? 我忘記了。 Wǒ wàngjìle. I forgot. 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào! You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report! Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage." 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn.  You go first, I'm going to sleep. Goodbye. 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè? A-Ming, how are you going to graduate? 抱歉，小李。 Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ. I'm sorry, Xiao Li. 阿明，你怎麼了？ Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele? A-Ming, what's wrong with you? 你看！ Nǐ kàn!  Look! 看什麼？ Kàn shénme?  See what? 電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？ Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma?  The report on TV. Did you see it? Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?  我沒看到。 Wǒ méi kàn dào.  I didn't see it. 它說這個社會… Tā shuō zhège shèhuì…  It said, this society… 這個社會怎麼了？ Zhège shèhuì zěnmele?  What's wrong with this society? 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì! The speed of change is too fast. It's definitely the end of the world. 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn?  Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can't give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside? 戶外嗎？ Hùwài ma?  ...Outdoors? 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià. Let's go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise. 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu.  But I'm afraid of running into the professor. 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng! Then let's not go in the direction of the classroom. Let's go… to the zoo! Let's go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants! Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?   你確定這樣OK嗎？ Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma?  Are you sure that's OK? 可以啦！我也來翹課。 Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè.  It's fine! I'll skip class too. 謝謝小李。 Xièxie xiǎo lǐ.  Thank you, Xiao Li. 不客氣，阿明。 Bú kèqì, ā míng.  Don't mention it, A-Ming. 我好鬱悶！ Wǒ hǎo yùmèn!  I'm so gloomy. 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào. It'll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    tv professor chinese normal lesson speed taiwan outdoors goodbye bi sh xi languages mandarin repetition ming hu tones ji daily practice zh
    S3 ~ 05 ~ Forget the past 忘記過去

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2023 24:46


    We can't understand a language outside the context of the people who live it and speak it. A human language cannot be contained in an artifact like a dictionary or even a database, because it is a living thing, which exists through the people who live by it. From the standpoint of learning a language, this point is essential. Not incidentally, rare cases notwithstanding, the human brain is not particularly good at memorizing facts or data. Consider how many things you learned in school that you've already forgotten. The kind of information that we do tend to remember, indeed that we may absorb and retain permanently without even trying, is how things make us feel. Feelings are how we make meaning from experience.  This makes all the difference, because if we view a language as a collection of symbols that have no personal meaning for us, then learning it becomes an almost impossible task. But if, during the learning process, we allow the language to move us, to make us feel something, to change us personally, then we start to tap into the source of our language genius.  When learning a language, pay attention to how what you are learning makes you feel, and seek out resources and people that make you feel something... anything!  Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [03:36] Magic Phrase [04:22] Break down and practice the Magic Phrase [09:55] Dialogue [12:23] Translation of the Dialogue [20:52] Dialogue, Slow Version Magic Phrase (4-4)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 4-4 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 忘記過去，注意現在Wàngjì guòqù, zhùyì xiànzài忘記 / wàngjì / to forget過去 / guòqù / the past, passed, over, finished 注意 / zhùyì / to pay attention to, to be careful of現在 / xiànzài / nowTranscript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)阿明，你在幹嘛？我在看電視。不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！我不去了。什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？我忘記了。你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？抱歉，小李。阿明，你怎麼了？你看！看什麼？你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。我沒看到。它說這個社會…這個社會怎麼了？變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？戶外嗎？我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。但是，我害怕遇到教授。那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！你確定這樣OK嗎？可以啦！我也來翹課。謝謝小李。不客氣，阿明。我好鬱悶！會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à 阿明，你在幹嘛？ Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma? A-Ming, what are you doing? 我在看電視。 Wǒ zài kàn diànshì. I'm watching TV. 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle!  Don't waste time! We need to go to class! 我不去了。 Wǒ bú qùle. I'm not going. 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma? What do you mean? Of course you're going! Did you finish your homework? 我忘記了。 Wǒ wàngjìle. I forgot. 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào! You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report! Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage." 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn.  You go first, I'm going to sleep. Goodbye. 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè? A-Ming, how are you going to graduate? 抱歉，小李。 Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ. I'm sorry, Xiao Li. 阿明，你怎麼了？ Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele? A-Ming, what's wrong with you? 你看！ Nǐ kàn!  Look! 看什麼？ Kàn shénme?  See what? 電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？ Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma?  The report on TV. Did you see it? Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?  我沒看到。 Wǒ méi kàn dào.  I didn't see it. 它說這個社會… Tā shuō zhège shèhuì…  It said, this society… 這個社會怎麼了？ Zhège shèhuì zěnmele?  What's wrong with this society? 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì! The speed of change is too fast. It's definitely the end of the world. 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn?  Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can't give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside? 戶外嗎？ Hùwài ma?  ...Outdoors? 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià. Let's go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise. 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu.  But I'm afraid of running into the professor. 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng! Then let's not go in the direction of the classroom. Let's go… to the zoo! Let's go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants! Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair?   你確定這樣OK嗎？ Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma?  Are you sure that's OK? 可以啦！我也來翹課。 Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè.  It's fine! I'll skip class too. 謝謝小李。 Xièxie xiǎo lǐ.  Thank you, Xiao Li. 不客氣，阿明。 Bú kèqì, ā míng.  Don't mention it, A-Ming. 我好鬱悶！ Wǒ hǎo yùmèn!  I'm so gloomy. 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào. It'll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    tv professor chinese feelings taiwan outdoors dialogue goodbye bi translation sh xi languages mandarin ming hu tones ji zh forget the past
    Daily Practice (Slow Speed) - S3 - Lesson 04

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2023 7:04


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 04, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking a few minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.Magic Phrase (1-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 1-2 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián!雖然 / suīrán / although, even though公園 / gōngyuán / park ("public garden") 非常 / fēicháng / extremely ("not common, not normal")安全 / ānquán / safe阿姨 / āyí / aunt, auntie, a woman approximately the age of one's parents居然 / jūrán / unexpectedly, surprisingly 失眠 / shīmián / to suffer from insomnia ("lose sleep") Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？K：你終於開門了！S：你有什麼需求嗎？K：我要抓狂了！S：你的精神看起來不太好。K：當然啊！S：怎麼了？K：我的兒子。S：你的兒子怎麼了？K：他要出國了！S：是嗎？K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！S：你有在干涉嗎？K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！S：然後呢？K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。K：可是生活有規則啊！S：你需要跟他溝通。K：我不行！你要幫我！S：… 你要買空調嗎？K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。S：謝謝光臨！Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma? Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this.  K：你終於開門了！ Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le! You finally opened!  S：你有什麼需求嗎？ Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma? Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?) K：我要抓狂了！ Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le! I'm about to go mad! S：你的精神看起來不太好。 Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo. Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn't look very good. K：當然啊！ Dāngrán a! Of course! S：怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong? K：我的兒子。 Wǒ de érzi. My son. S：你的兒子怎麼了？ Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo? What's wrong with your son? K：他要出國了！ Tā yào chūguó le!  He's leaving the country! S：是嗎？ Shì ma? Oh? K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó! He says he doesn't want me to interfere with his personal life. S：你有在干涉嗎？ Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma? Are you interfering? K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí! I'm not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth! S：然後呢？ Ránhòu ne? And then? K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule! He doesn't listen! He's a terrible son! S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn. Why don't you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him. K：可是生活有規則啊！ Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a! But life has rules! S：你需要跟他溝通。 Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng. You need to communicate with him. K：我不行！你要幫我！ Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ! I can't do it! You have to help me! S：… 你要買空調嗎？ … Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma? …Do you want to buy an air conditioner? K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ.  Never mind, I guess I'll try communicating. Thanks. S：謝謝光臨！ Xièxiè guānglín! Thank you for coming!  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese lesson speed taiwan sr kd xi languages mandarin repetition sn kt tones kn km kk sz daily practice kw
    Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 04

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2023 4:57


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 04, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.Magic Phrase (1-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 1-2 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián!雖然 / suīrán / although, even though公園 / gōngyuán / park ("public garden") 非常 / fēicháng / extremely ("not common, not normal")安全 / ānquán / safe阿姨 / āyí / aunt, auntie, a woman approximately the age of one's parents居然 / jūrán / unexpectedly, surprisingly 失眠 / shīmián / to suffer from insomnia ("lose sleep") Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？K：你終於開門了！S：你有什麼需求嗎？K：我要抓狂了！S：你的精神看起來不太好。K：當然啊！S：怎麼了？K：我的兒子。S：你的兒子怎麼了？K：他要出國了！S：是嗎？K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！S：你有在干涉嗎？K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！S：然後呢？K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。K：可是生活有規則啊！S：你需要跟他溝通。K：我不行！你要幫我！S：… 你要買空調嗎？K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。S：謝謝光臨！Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma? Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this.  K：你終於開門了！ Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le! You finally opened!  S：你有什麼需求嗎？ Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma? Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?) K：我要抓狂了！ Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le! I'm about to go mad! S：你的精神看起來不太好。 Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo. Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn't look very good. K：當然啊！ Dāngrán a! Of course! S：怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong? K：我的兒子。 Wǒ de érzi. My son. S：你的兒子怎麼了？ Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo? What's wrong with your son? K：他要出國了！ Tā yào chūguó le!  He's leaving the country! S：是嗎？ Shì ma? Oh? K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó! He says he doesn't want me to interfere with his personal life. S：你有在干涉嗎？ Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma? Are you interfering? K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí! I'm not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth! S：然後呢？ Ránhòu ne? And then? K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule! He doesn't listen! He's a terrible son! S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn. Why don't you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him. K：可是生活有規則啊！ Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a! But life has rules! S：你需要跟他溝通。 Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng. You need to communicate with him. K：我不行！你要幫我！ Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ! I can't do it! You have to help me! S：… 你要買空調嗎？ … Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma? …Do you want to buy an air conditioner? K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ.  Never mind, I guess I'll try communicating. Thanks. S：謝謝光臨！ Xièxiè guānglín! Thank you for coming!  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese normal lesson speed taiwan sr kd xi languages mandarin repetition sn kt tones kn km kk sz daily practice kw
    S3 ~ 04 ~ The park is extremely safe 公園非常安全

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2023 22:35


    Be mindful of how you're feeling when you practice these lessons. Are you feeling excited and energized? Tired and doubtful? Distracted? Focused? Without passing any judgment on how you feel, observing your feelings or state of mind can offer clues about how and whether you might want to adjust your practice. For example, about a month ago I noticed that my language practice was starting to bore me a little. This was after many months of smooth sailing, during which I had been feeling motivated and everything had seemed interesting. Suddenly, I found myself getting distracted more and more easily, and even skipping days of practice. Instead of heaping on the self-judgment, as I might have done in the past, this time I decided to listen to what this feeling was telling me. After some introspection, I realized I had been starting to get burned out. At first I had been ignoring this feeling, because I felt so much pressure to keep improving. Recognizing and accepting the source my of waning motivation was a huge relief. I wound up deciding to take a short break, and then continue practicing but with an emphasis, for the time being, on just speaking with real people, which I personally have always found the greatest motivator for learning another language.  As with life, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to learning a language, which is why tuning into your internal state now and then can be such a helpful source of guidance.  Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [01:55] Introduction part 2: Slowing down the magic phrase practice [02:50] Magic Phrase [04:16] Break down and practice the Magic Phrase [11:55] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue [13:59] Translation of the Dialogue [19:56] Dialogue, Slow Version Magic Phrase (1-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 1-2 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián!雖然 / suīrán / although, even though公園 / gōngyuán / park ("public garden") 非常 / fēicháng / extremely ("not common, not normal")安全 / ānquán / safe阿姨 / āyí / aunt, auntie, a woman approximately the age of one's parents居然 / jūrán / unexpectedly, surprisingly 失眠 / shīmián / to suffer from insomnia ("lose sleep") Tone Pair Safari (1-2)Once we are familiar with the 1-2 tone pair, we listen to a new dialogue that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear.Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？K：你終於開門了！S：你有什麼需求嗎？K：我要抓狂了！S：你的精神看起來不太好。K：當然啊！S：怎麼了？K：我的兒子。S：你的兒子怎麼了？K：他要出國了！S：是嗎？K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！S：你有在干涉嗎？K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！S：然後呢？K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。K：可是生活有規則啊！S：你需要跟他溝通。K：我不行！你要幫我！S：… 你要買空調嗎？K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。S：謝謝光臨！Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma? Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this.  K：你終於開門了！ Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le! You finally opened!  S：你有什麼需求嗎？ Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma? Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?) K：我要抓狂了！ Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le! I'm about to go mad! S：你的精神看起來不太好。 Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo. Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn't look very good. K：當然啊！ Dāngrán a! Of course! S：怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong? K：我的兒子。 Wǒ de érzi. My son. S：你的兒子怎麼了？ Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo? What's wrong with your son? K：他要出國了！ Tā yào chūguó le!  He's leaving the country! S：是嗎？ Shì ma? Oh? K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó! He says he doesn't want me to interfere with his personal life. S：你有在干涉嗎？ Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma? Are you interfering? K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí! I'm not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth! S：然後呢？ Ránhòu ne? And then? K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule! He doesn't listen! He's a terrible son! S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn. Why don't you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him. K：可是生活有規則啊！ Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a! But life has rules! S：你需要跟他溝通。 Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng. You need to communicate with him. K：我不行！你要幫我！ Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ! I can't do it! You have to help me! S：… 你要買空調嗎？ … Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma? …Do you want to buy an air conditioner? K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ.  Never mind, I guess I'll try communicating. Thanks. S：謝謝光臨！ Xièxiè guānglín! Thank you for coming!  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese safe park tired taiwan sr focused dialogue translation kd xi languages distracted slowing mandarin sn kt tones kn km kk sz kw
    Daily Practice Session - S3 - Lesson 03

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2023 3:31


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 03, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress.Magic Phrase (2-3)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 2-3 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 還好男友沒有拿起啤酒騎馬，危險！Háihǎo nányǒu méiyǒu náqǐ píjiǔ qímǎ, wéixiǎn!Tone Pair Safari (2-3)Once we are familiar with the 2-3 tone pair, we listen to a new dialogue that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear.Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)M：你還好嗎？K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？M：怎麼了？K：他被罰款了！M：為什麼被罰款？K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。M：你很愛你的兒子。K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。M：很合理！K：而且他的牙齒很完整！M：...是嗎？K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！M：所以... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！M：賣牛奶還好吧。K：不合法！M：沒有人是完美的。K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à M：你還好嗎？ Nǐ hái hǎo ma? Are you okay?  K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？ Wǒ érzi zěnme zhème cánrěn? How could my son be so cruel?  M：怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong? / What's up? / What happened?  K：他被罰款了！ Tā bèi fákuǎnle! He received a fine! / He was fined (monetary)! M：為什麼被罰款？ Wèishéme bèi fákuǎn? Why was he fined?  K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。 Wǒ shì yīgè chuántǒng de māmā, kěshì tā ràng wǒ hěn fánnǎo. I'm a traditional mother, but he makes me worry a lot / gives me a lot of trouble.   M：你很愛你的兒子。 Nǐ hěn ài nǐ de érzi. You really love your son.  K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。 Wǒ ràng tā měitiān chī píngguǒ, hěn yíngyǎng. I make / let him eat an apple every day, it's very nutritious.  M：很合理！ Hěn hélǐ! That makes sense! / Very sensible!  K：而且他的牙齒很完整！ Érqiě tā de yáchǐ hěn wánzhěng! Furthermore, his teeth are all intact / very complete!  M：...是嗎？ ... Shì ma? Yeah? / Really?  K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！ Jiéguǒ, tā qù yóuyǒngchí mài niúnǎi, jiù bèi fákuǎn! After all that / as a result / in the end, he goes to the swimming pool and sells milk, and receives a fine!  M：所以...  Suǒyǐ... So...  K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！ Wǒ tài yúchǔn. Yīdìng shì nàgè yáogǔn yīnyuè ràng tā biànchéngle móguǐ!  I'm so stupid. It must be that rock music, it made him turn into a devil / demon / monster!  M：賣牛奶還好吧。 Mài niúnǎi hái hǎo ba. Selling milk isn't so bad, right?  K：不合法！ Bù héfǎ!  It's illegal / not legal!  M：沒有人是完美的。 Méiyǒu rén shì wánměi de. Nobody is perfect.  K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。 Hěn míngxiǎn, tā zài mófǎng tā de bàba. It's obvious, he's imitating his father.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese selling lesson taiwan mn sh languages mm mandarin repetition kt tones km kb kh daily practice mw kw mh mz
    S3 ~ 03 ~ Dangerous horse riding 拿起啤酒騎馬危險！

    Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2023 17:06


    Today's tone pair, 2-3, is easily confused with the one we learned in episode one, 3-2. Today we'll spend some time practicing differentiating between them. Then we'll hear another fun (slightly absurd) dialogue to practice our listening skills, and absorb some new words.  Lesson Outline: [00:21] Magic Phrase [04:27] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase [05:43] Practice phrases using tone pairs we've learned so far [08:42] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue [09:54] Translation of the dialogue [15:16] Hear the dialogue again Magic Phrase (2-3)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 2-3 tone pair. We use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 還好男友沒有拿起啤酒騎馬，危險！Háihǎo nányǒu méiyǒu náqǐ píjiǔ qímǎ, wéixiǎn!Comparative PhrasesHere are some phrases that combine the tone pairs we've learned so far in lessons one to three.  女兒游泳 Nǚ'ér yóuyǒng (The) daughter swims 王子很驕傲 wángzǐ hěn jiāo'ào (The) prince is very proud / arrogant.  如果失敗，有機會成長 rúguǒ shībài, yǒu jīhuì chéngzhǎng If (you) fail, there is an opportunity to grow / mature. Tone Pair Safari (2-3)Once we are familiar with the 2-3 tone pair, we listen to a new dialogue that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear.Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)M：你還好嗎？K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？M：怎麼了？K：他被罰款了！M：為什麼被罰款？K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。M：你很愛你的兒子。K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。M：很合理！K：而且他的牙齒很完整！M：...是嗎？K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！M：所以... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！M：賣牛奶還好吧。K：不合法！M：沒有人是完美的。K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à M：你還好嗎？ Nǐ hái hǎo ma? Are you okay?  K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？ Wǒ érzi zěnme zhème cánrěn? How could my son be so cruel?  M：怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong? / What's up? / What happened?  K：他被罰款了！ Tā bèi fákuǎnle! He received a fine! / He was fined (monetary)! M：為什麼被罰款？ Wèishéme bèi fákuǎn? Why was he fined?  K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。 Wǒ shì yīgè chuántǒng de māmā, kěshì tā ràng wǒ hěn fánnǎo. I'm a traditional mother, but he makes me worry a lot / gives me a lot of trouble.   M：你很愛你的兒子。 Nǐ hěn ài nǐ de érzi. You really love your son.  K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。 Wǒ ràng tā měitiān chī píngguǒ, hěn yíngyǎng. I make / let him eat an apple every day, it's very nutritious.  M：很合理！ Hěn hélǐ! That makes sense! / Very sensible!  K：而且他的牙齒很完整！ Érqiě tā de yáchǐ hěn wánzhěng! Furthermore, his teeth are all intact / very complete!  M：...是嗎？ ... Shì ma? Yeah? / Really?  K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！ Jiéguǒ, tā qù yóuyǒngchí mài niúnǎi, jiù bèi fákuǎn! After all that / as a result / in the end, he goes to the swimming pool and sells milk, and receives a fine!  M：所以...  Suǒyǐ... So...  K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！ Wǒ tài yúchǔn. Yīdìng shì nàgè yáogǔn yīnyuè ràng tā biànchéngle móguǐ!  I'm so stupid. It must be that rock music, it made him turn into a devil / demon / monster!  M：賣牛奶還好吧。 Mài niúnǎi hái hǎo ba. Selling milk isn't so bad, right?  K：不合法！ Bù héfǎ!  It's illegal / not legal!  M：沒有人是完美的。 Méiyǒu rén shì wánměi de. Nobody is perfect.  K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。 Hěn míngxiǎn, tā zài mófǎng tā de bàba. It's obvious, he's imitating his father.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

    practice chinese selling horses dangerous taiwan mn translation sh languages mm mandarin kt tones km kb kh mw kw mh mz horse riding
    Daily Practice Session - S3 - Lesson 02

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2023 5:05


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 02, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes progress. Magic Phrase (1-4)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 1-4 tone pair. In this lesson, we use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 超市需要音樂，醫院需要安靜！Chāoshì xūyào yīnyuè, yīyuàn xūyào ānjìng!Tone Pair Safari (1-4)Once we are familiar with the 1-4 tone pair, we listen to a new dialogue that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear.Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？M：我生病了！L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。M：不是，是工作壓力啦。L：你需要去醫院嗎？M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。L：是哦。好，我尊重你。M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。L：你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。M：你要做蛋糕給我？！L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。M：生日雞蛋？L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂…M：你好幽默。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone identification. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？ Shēngrì kuàilè! Āi? Nǐ bù gāoxìng? Happy birthday! Huh? You're unhappy? M：我生病了！ Wǒ shēngbìngle! I'm sick! L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。 Nǐ shēngrì nǐ jiù shēngbìng! Shì bùshì yīn wéi tiānqì. Wǒ bǎ chuānghù guānbì. You got sick on your birthday! It's because of the weather, isn't it. I'll close the window. M：不是，是工作壓力啦。 Bùshì, shì gōngzuò yālì la. It's not that, it's pressure from work. L：你需要去醫院嗎？ Nǐ xūyào qù yīyuàn ma? Do you need to go to the hospital? M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。 Wǒ bù xiāngxìn yīyuàn huì bāngzhù wǒ. I don't believe the hospital will help me. L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？ Yīnwèi yīshēng bù zhuānyè? Háishì yīnwèi yīyuàn lǐ de kōngqì bù hǎo? Because the doctors are unprofessional? Or because the hospital has bad air? M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。 Wǒ fāxiàn yīyuàn bù tài gānjìng. I realized the hospital isn't very clean. L：是哦。好，我尊重你。 Shì ó. Hǎo, wǒ zūnzhòng nǐ. Oh. Ok. I respect you. (implies: I respect your decision.) M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。 [Tànqì]… zhèlǐ hǎo ānjìng. Sigh... It's so quiet here. L：嘿！你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。 Hēi！Nǐ kàn! Wǒ gānggāng jīngguòle chāoshì, wǒ mǎile jīdàn. Hey, look! I just passed by a supermarket. I bought eggs. M：你要做生日蛋糕給我？！ Nǐ yào zuò dàngāo gěi wǒ?! You're going to make a birthday cake for me?! L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。 Bùshì a, wǒ yào jiān dàn gěi nǐ. No, I'm going to fry eggs for you. M：生日雞蛋？ Shēngrì jīdàn? Birthday eggs? L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂… Nǐ yào tīng yīnyuè ma? Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè… Do you want to listen to music? Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you… M：你好幽默。 Nǐ hǎo yōumò. You're so humorous. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    S3 ~ 02 ~ Supermarkets need music 超市需要音樂！

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2023 14:30


    Let's learn another tone pair! Can you hear which one it is? Learning the pronunciation of a foreign language can sometimes feel strange, even scary. Pronunciation is such a personal thing -- it's part of who we are, and how we express ourselves. When we start to imitate another language, it's easy to start feeling like "this isn't me." If you find yourself feeling that way, try to just observe the feeling without judging either yourself or the language. You might even take it as a good sign, because it means you're going outside your own comfort zone!Learning a new pronunciation system -- a new way of expressing yourself through sound -- is an opportunity to expand your sense of yourself. But don't expect it to happen all at once. Our ears are specially tuned to the sounds of our own native language(s), and at first, we won't be able to hear or pronounce the sounds of another language nearly so precisely.So ease yourself into the new language. Let yourself have fun. Exaggerate the sounds as you imitate them -- especially the tones! More than likely, what sounds like exaggeration to you is actually just the normal pronunciation of an unfamiliar language. About today's lessonWe start by hearing another silly phrase composed entirely of today's tone pair. You'll probably never need to say this particular phrase, but that's also not the point. By practicing listening to and imitating exactly what we hear, we are strengthening our Mandarin listening and speaking muscles, and simultaneously sensitizing our ears to this tone pattern. Next, we will hear a natural dialogue with a lot of words that use the same tone pair, giving our ears a chance to practice recognizing it in natural speech. And of course we'll get to learn a lot of new useful words and phrases in the bargain. Ready?  Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [00:49] Magic Phrase [03:31] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase [05:45] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue [07:55] Translation of the dialogue [11:55] Hear the dialogue one more time Magic Phrase (1-4)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 1-4 tone pair. In this lesson, we use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 超市需要音樂，醫院需要安靜！Chāoshì xūyào yīnyuè, yīyuàn xūyào ānjìng!Tone Pair Safari (1-4)Once we are familiar with the 1-4 tone pair, we listen to a new dialogue that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear. Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？M：我生病了！L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。M：不是，是工作壓力啦。L：你需要去醫院嗎？M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。L：是哦。好，我尊重你。M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。L：你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。M：你要做蛋糕給我？！L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。M：生日雞蛋？L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂…M：你好幽默。Transcript of the dialogue (w/ pinyin and translation)Use this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？ Shēngrì kuàilè! Āi? Nǐ bù gāoxìng? Happy birthday! Huh? You're unhappy? M：我生病了！ Wǒ shēngbìngle! I'm sick! L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。 Nǐ shēngrì nǐ jiù shēngbìng! Shì bùshì yīn wéi tiānqì. Wǒ bǎ chuānghù guānbì. You got sick on your birthday! It's because of the weather, isn't it. I'll close the window. M：不是，是工作壓力啦。 Bùshì, shì gōngzuò yālì la. It's not that, it's pressure from work. L：你需要去醫院嗎？ Nǐ xūyào qù yīyuàn ma? Do you need to go to the hospital? M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。 Wǒ bù xiāngxìn yīyuàn huì bāngzhù wǒ. I don't believe the hospital will help me. L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？ Yīnwèi yīshēng bù zhuānyè? Háishì yīnwèi yīyuàn lǐ de kōngqì bù hǎo? Because the doctors are unprofessional? Or because the hospital has bad air? M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。 Wǒ fāxiàn yīyuàn bù tài gānjìng. I realized the hospital isn't very clean. L：是哦。好，我尊重你。 Shì ó. Hǎo, wǒ zūnzhòng nǐ. Oh. Ok. I respect you. (implies: I respect your decision.) M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。 [Tànqì]… zhèlǐ hǎo ānjìng. Sigh... It's so quiet here. L：嘿！你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。 Hēi！Nǐ kàn! Wǒ gānggāng jīngguòle chāoshì, wǒ mǎile jīdàn. Hey, look! I just passed by a supermarket. I bought eggs. M：你要做生日蛋糕給我？！ Nǐ yào zuò dàngāo gěi wǒ?! You're going to make a birthday cake for me?! L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。 Bùshì a, wǒ yào jiān dàn gěi nǐ. No, I'm going to fry eggs for you. M：生日雞蛋？ Shēngrì jīdàn? Birthday eggs? L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂… Nǐ yào tīng yīnyuè ma? Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè… Do you want to listen to music? Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you… M：你好幽默。 Nǐ hǎo yōumò. You're so humorous. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    Daily Practice Session - S3 - Lesson 01

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2023 5:17


    After listening to Season 3, Lesson 01, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the material. Repetition makes it stick.Part 1: Magic Phrase (3-2)This phrase is composed entirely of words that use the 3-2 tone pair. In this lesson, we use it to practice identifying and then pronouncing the tones, hearing how they interact with each other in context. 導遊本來以為美國草莓打折！Dǎoyóu běnlái yǐwéi měiguó cǎoméi dǎzhé!Part 2: Tone Pair Safari (3-2)Once we are familiar with the 3-2 tone pair, we listen to a short story that is filled with more words that use this tone pair. In doing so, we sharpen our listening skills by practicing paying attention to the tones we hear. We also start to learn a bunch of useful words and phrases.Transcript of the story我朋友是警察。他以前很想要減肥。可是他感覺很難！因為他女兒每次旅行都會買奶油餅乾。警察請求他女兒不要再買，女兒說不行，餅乾很有名，吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！我覺得警察很可憐！最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。然後女兒不能去旅行。雖然減肥的問題解決了，但是警察還是很倒霉。Line by line, with pinyinUse this as a visual listening guide, or if you want to check your tone comprehension. Tones are indicated by marks above the letters in the pinyin transliteration, as follows: (1)  ā  (2)  á  (3)  ǎ  (4)  à我朋友是警察。Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá.他以前很想要減肥。Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi.可是他感覺很難！Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán! 因為他女兒每次旅行都會買奶油餅乾。Yīnwèi tā nǚ'ér měi cì lǚxíng dōu huì mǎi nǎiyóu bǐnggān.警察請求他女兒不要再買，Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi,女兒說不行，nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng,餅乾很有名，bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng,吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú!我覺得警察很可憐！Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián!最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí.她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián.然後女兒不能去旅行。Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng. 雖然減肥的問題解決了，但是警察還是很倒霉。Suīrán jiǎnféi de wèntí jiějuéle, dànshì jǐngchá háishì hěn dǎoméi.Translation of the storyI'd like to encourage you to listen through the whole lesson at least once before you look at the translation. Then you can decide if and when to look, depending on your level. Especially if your Mandarin comprehension is already good enough that you understood 20% or more of the story just by listening, then it might be valuable for you to continue listening repeatedly in the days to come, observing how your comprehension improves with each listen. Once you are familiar with the sounds, you can look at the translation to fill in any missing pieces. That said, there is no one correct way to do this. If you feel a strong desire to read the passage and understand it all before you continue with the listening practice, that's still valid.  我朋友是警察。 Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá. My friend is a police officer.  他以前很想要減肥。 Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi. Before, he really wanted to lose weight.  可是他感覺很難！ Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán! But he felt it was very difficult!  因為他女兒每次旅行都會買奶油餅乾。 Yīnwèi tā nǚ'ér měi cì lǚxíng dōu huì mǎi nǎiyóu bǐnggān. Because his daughter, every time she went traveling, she would buy butter cookies.  警察請求他女兒不要再買， Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi, The police officer asked (his) daughter not to buy (them) again,  女兒說不行， nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng, (His) daughter said it's impossible,  餅乾很有名， bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng, The cookies are very famous,  吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！ chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú! Eating the cookies makes her feel very satisfied!  我覺得警察很可憐！ Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián! I feel the police officer is so pitiful (I take pity on him).  最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。 Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí. At last, the police officer's wife solved the problem.  她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。 Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián. She went gambling. After gambling, very quickly there was no more money.  然後女兒不能去旅行。 Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng. Then (their) daughter couldn't go traveling.  雖然減肥的問題解決了，但是警察還是很倒霉。 Suīrán jiǎnféi de wèntí jiějuéle, dànshì jǐngchá háishì hěn dǎoméi. Even though the weight loss problem was solved, but the police officer is still very unlucky.  Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    S3 ~ 01 ~ Tone pairs (3-2) 美國草莓打折！

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2023 21:10


    Welcome back for Season 3! In this series, we are going to do a deep dive on the tones in Mandarin. We covered tones briefly in Season 1, Episode 07, but there is still a lot more to talk about. Tones are one of those subjects that some people love and many people hate... or at least find unpleasant, and possibly somewhat frightening. It's my mission in Season 3 to dispel all your fears about tones. By the end of this season, my hope is that tones will be second nature for you.Even if you already have a good grasp of the tones, I think you'll still get something from these lessons. They are full of stories and dialogues which, aside from exhibiting each particular tone pair, are also full of useful words and phrases, and are designed to evoke silly or even absurd mental images that will make them more memorable. In this episode, I spend some time explaining the importance of tones, the significance and usefulness of tone pairs, and reviewing the basic tones with a new mnemonic device based on movement. Then we jump right in and start learning the first of 16 unique tone pairs. Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction to Season 3 [00:54] Why do we need to focus so much on tones?  [04:17] Review of the four basic tones [06:34] What are tone pairs? [10:58] How these lessons work [11:43] Lesson part 1 - Magic Phrase  [15:35] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase [16:53] Lesson part 2 - Tone Pair Safari [19:39] Thanks to supporters

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    S2 ~ 17 ~ 你人真好！Part 2 + Season Finale!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2023 16:41


    Let's hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from lesson 16.This is the final lesson of Season 2 -- a milestone for both of us. Congratulations! Every minute you spent listening is a minute you invested in yourself and your Mandarin learning. Learning a language is challenging, it takes time, and there are bound to have been moments when you felt frustrated or felt that you had hit a plateau. Whenever this happens, I find it helpful to zoom out and consider how far I've come in the past months or years. I encourage you to do the same. And remember that often it's those very moments of doubt that signal a breakthrough is about to happen. Send me your feedback!I would like to invite you to give me your feedback on the lessons so far. Here are some questions I'm particularly curious about:  Did you listen to the whole series, or just part of it? If just part, how did you choose which lessons to listen to? How helpful have you found the Daily Practice Sessions? Is there anything that made them hard to use? How was the step up in difficulty between Season 1 and Season 2? In Season 2, we spread one dialogue over two lessons, hearing the translation in the second part. What was that like for you?  Anything else you'd like to share about your experience with the podcast, or with learning Mandarin.  Thank you for taking a few minutes to answer these questions. Your feedback will influence the design of Season 3 and beyond. You can send me your answers by email, or via my new MFTGU Facebook page. Whether you're reading this roughly now-ish, or months or years after this lesson was published, I would love to hear from you.  Become a memberConsider becoming a supporting member today. If this podcast is going to continue and grow, it will only do so with support from listeners. Even just a small amount each month makes all the difference. Of course, there are benefits to being a member. You'll have access to extra practice sessions using the Echo Method, a new series of lessons designed specifically to help you master the tones, and more great practice dialogues.I'm still working on the details, such as how often I'll release extra material, and what will come first. But I plan to start introducing this content for supporting members starting this April. However, there is another benefit to signing up before then:I'm inviting anyone who joins by the end of March to have a free, one-on-one, half-hour video chat. During this chat, you can ask me any questions you want, and we can strategize about your Mandarin learning. Or, if you'd prefer, we can have a thirty-minute conversation in Mandarin, adjusted to your level. No judgments, no expectations, no stress — just having some fun speaking Mandarin together.You're the reason this podcast exists, and so I hope you take me up on this. I can't wait to meet you! Become a member here. Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [01:42] Dialogue [03:12] Translation [10:07] Dialogue (full picture) [11:35] Questions for you, the listener! Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only): 莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。 小李：沒事！她人超好。 阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？ 莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。 阿明：你人真好！ 莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？ 小李：這是什麼？ 阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？ 小李：好辣！ 阿明：慢慢喝。 莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？ 小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。 莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？ 阿明：小李是記者！ 小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。 莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？ 小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。 莉莉：聽起來很酷！ 小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。 阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。 莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！ 小李：還好，還好。 阿明：小李很謙虛。 莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？ 阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！ Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):  莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。 Sorry, my mom is always like this. Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ mā yīzhí dōu zhèyàng. 小李：沒事！她人超好。 No problem. She's super nice. Méishì! Tā rén chāo hǎo 阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？ Do you also live here? Nǐ yě zhù zài zhèlǐ ma? 莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。 No, I rent a place. But since my mom is alone now, I come home often to eat with her. Méiyǒu, wǒ zài wàimiàn zūfáng. Dànshì, yīnwèi māmā xiànzài yīgèrén, suǒyǐ wǒ chángcháng huí jiā péi tā chīfàn 阿明：你人真好！ You're so kind! Nǐ rén zhēn hǎo! 莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？ It's the right thing to do. Do you drink alcohol? Yīnggāi de. Nǐmen huì hējiǔ ma? 小李：這是什麼？ What's this? Zhè shì shénme? 阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？ Xiao Li, you've never tried Kaoliang? Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ méiyǒu hēguò gāoliang? 小李：好辣！ It's so strong! (lit. spicy) Hǎo là! 阿明：慢慢喝。 Drink slowly. Màn man hē. 莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？ I'm curious. How did you end up coming to Taiwan? Wǒ hěn hàoqí. Nǐ zěnme huì lái dào táiwān ne? 小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。 Oh, at first I came to study Chinese. After graduating, I stayed here to work. Ō, wǒ yī kāishǐ lái xué zhōngwén. Bìyè hòu wǒ jiù liú zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò. 莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？ Oh! What work do you do? Ó! Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò? 阿明：小李是記者！ Xiao Li is a journalist! Xiǎo lǐ shì jìzhě! 小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。 Ah, yeah, you could say that. I'm writing a blog. A, duì la, kěyǐ zhèyàng shuō. Wǒ zài xiě bùluògé. 莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？ A blog? What kind of blog? Bùluògé? Shénme yàng de bùluògé? 小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。 It's just like, I go to a lot of places, and then I ask the people there a lot of questions. Jiùshì wǒ qù hěnduō dìfāng, ránhòu wèn nàlǐ de rén hěnduō wèntí. 莉莉：聽起來很酷！ Sounds cool! Tīng qǐlái hěn kù! 小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。 A-Ming also helps me. He's a photographer. Ā míng yě huì bāng wǒ. Tā shì shèyǐng shī.  阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。 Xiao Li takes care of the interviewing. I'm in charge of taking pictures. Xiǎo lǐ fùzé cǎifǎng, wǒ fùzé pāizhào.  莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！ Then your Chinese is already super great! Nà nǐ de zhōngwén yǐjīng chāo hǎo de! 小李：還好，還好。 It's alright, it's alright. Hái hǎo, hái hǎo. 阿明：小李很謙虛。 Xiao Li is really modest. Xiǎo lǐ hěn qiānxū. 莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？ Well then… do you want to interview me? Nà nǐ… yào bùyào cǎifǎng wǒ? 阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！ Xiao Li, drink slowly! Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ màn man hē! Thanks for listening! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 16

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 4:05


    After listening to Season 2, Lesson 16, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening to and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes it stick.README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 16 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you just heard.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses. Try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, also aloud. This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.A transcript of the dialogue and a full translation will be published here with the release of episode 17. In the meantime, focus on what you hear, and trust your ears! 100% comprehension isn't necessary, but the more times you listen, the more accurately you'll be able to pick out the sounds of Mandarin. Want to support the podcast? ★ Support this podcast ★ Thanks for listening! 

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    S2 ~ 16 ~ 你人真好！You're so kind.

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2023 18:39


    In this lesson, we get to hear the last dialogue in Season 2! Mrs. Kang (康太太) goes to get dinner ready, leaving Xiao Li, A-Ming, and Lili to talk. What do they talk about?  Request for support I started this podcast three years ago to share my passion for learning languages. I wanted to share the ways that I found most effective for learning a difficult language like Mandarin, and to talk about the challenges that I faced and how I got through them. MFTGU has been totally self-funded since Day One. Which made total sense when I was starting out. Now, however, the podcast has grown. We are about to complete a second season of lessons. The show is reaching more and more listeners. And this presents me with an opportunity to finally put more of my time and energy into developing this project. To do this, I need your support. Your contribution will enable me to: Afford the rising costs of podcast hosting (which go up as listener counts increase). Continue to dedicate the hours of work each day necessary to make the tools and resources to help you on your Mandarin journey.  Build an improved blog and website, plus afford better equipment and help with recording and editing.  Create more innovative lesson types.  In short, your contribution will help ensure that Mandarin From the Ground Up not only continues, but keeps getting better and better! To become a supporter, you can click here and select monthly. Choose any amount you could feel good about contributing to this project. If everyone pitches in even a small amount, the future of Mandarin From the Ground Up will be secured. Thank you for being a part of this project. - IsaacLesson Notes: In the introduction, I mention the Echo Method, a technique designed by my friend, NTU Professor Karen Chung, to help students train their listening and pronunciation skills. I have benefited from this technique personally, and have seen it help students become more sensitive to the sounds of foreign language. If you would like to know more about this technique, I highly recommend Professor Chung's TEDx Talk on the Echo Method.   When we first start learning a new language, we literally can't hear some of the sounds -- the ones that don't exist in our native language. Actually, it would be more precise to say we can't distinguish the sounds. Of course we can physically hear them, we just can't tell them apart because our brains automatically interpret them as being the same. A famous example of this is most Japanese speakers' inability to distinguish between the l and r sounds in English, but this phenomenon is universal and applies to speakers of any language.  Lesson Outline: [00:22] Introduction: Request for support [01:50] Preview of future lessons, tools, and resources [06:44] Dialogue [08:19] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [15:50] Dialogue (repeat) Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (Chinese characters only):(scroll down for pinyin and the translation) 租（租房） 租房  我需要租車  這個房子是我租的  陪 你可以陪我嗎？  謝謝你陪我去看她。  你不用陪我，我自己去  畢業  你什麼時候畢業？  你有大學畢業嗎？  恭喜你畢業了！  留  我留在這  你要留著嗎？  你為什麼留下來？ 部落格 你有部落格嗎？ 酷 哇！這個很酷！ 拍照  我可以拍照嗎？  這裡不能拍照  你可以幫我拍照嗎？  寫  你會寫中文嗎？  我寫很慢  記得寫給我！  採訪  我喜歡聽採訪  記者採訪了他  我要採訪我的老師  負責  你負責拍照  我今天負責開車  他一定會負責  Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation): 租 :: zū :: to rent  租房  To rent a house or room zūfáng 我需要租車  I need to rent a car. wǒ xūyào zūchē 這個房子是我租的  This house is rented (by me). I rented this room. zhège fángzi shì wǒ zū de 陪 :: péi :: to accompany, to keep someone company.  你可以陪我嗎？  Can you keep me company? nǐ kěyǐ péi wǒ ma? 謝謝你陪我去看她。  Thank you for accompanying me to go see her. xièxiè nǐ péi wǒ qù kàn tā 你不用陪我，我自己去  You don't have to accompany me, I'll go myself. nǐ bùyòng péi wǒ, wǒ zìjǐ qù 畢業 :: bìyè :: to graduate, graduation  你什麼時候畢業？  When are you graduating? (Or: When did you graduate?) nǐ shénme shíhòu bìyè? 你有大學畢業嗎？  Did you graduate from college? nǐ yǒu dàxué bìyè ma? 恭喜你畢業了！  Congratulations on graduating! gōngxǐ nǐ bìyèle! 留 :: liú :: to stay, to remain  我留在這  I'm staying here. wǒ liú zài zhè 你要留著嗎？  Do you want to keep it? nǐ yào liúzhe ma? Note: This 著 (zhe) character indicates an action in progress. If it's new to you, don't worry about using it just yet. Just know that that's what it's doing in this phrase.  你為什麼留下來？  Why are you staying? nǐ wèishéme liú xiàlái? 部落格 :: bùluò gé :: blog你有部落格嗎？ Do you have a blog? nǐ yǒu bùluò gé ma? 酷 :: kù :: cool 哇！這個很酷！ Wow! This is really cool!  wa! zhège hěn kù! 拍照 :: pāizhào :: to take a picture  我可以拍照嗎？  Can I take a photo? wǒ kěyǐ pāizhào ma? 這裡不能拍照  You can't take pictures here. zhèlǐ bùnéng pāizhào 你可以幫我拍照嗎？  Can you take a picture for me? nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ pāizhào ma? 寫 :: xiě :: to write  你會寫中文嗎？  Can you write Chinese? nǐ huì xiě zhōngwén ma? 我寫很慢  I write really slowly. wǒ xiě hěn màn 記得寫給我！  Remember to write to me! jìdé xiě gěi wǒ! 採訪 :: cǎifǎng :: to interview  我喜歡聽採訪  I like to listen to interviews. wǒ xǐhuān tīng cǎifǎng 記者採訪了他  Journalists interviewed him. jìzhě cǎifǎngle tā 我要採訪我的老師  I'm going to interview my teacher. wǒ yào cǎifǎng wǒ de lǎoshī 負責 :: fùzé :: to be in charge of, to take responsibility for  你負責拍照  You're in charge of taking pictures. nǐ fùzé pāizhào 我今天負責開車  Today I'm responsible for driving. wǒ jīntiān fùzé kāichē 他一定會負責  He will definitely take responsibility. tā yīdìng huì fùzé Thanks for listening! Enjoying this podcast? Become a member, get extra content, and keep it going! ★ Support this podcast ★

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    S2 ~ 15 ~ 你這樣太辛苦了！Part 2 + Questions

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2023 13:45


    Let's hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from lesson 14, and then practice with a Q&A. At the end of the lesson, I suggest that you can practice answering the questions yourself, and can even send me your answers -- either written (pinyin or Chinese characters) or, better yet, as a recording of yourself speaking! Don't be afraid of making mistakes, and if you want to copy part or even all of A-Ming's answers as your own, that is fine! When learning a language, imitation is golden. Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [01:46] Translation of the dialogue [10:17] Questions and answers with A-Ming Scroll down for:  Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters) Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation) Questions and answers (Chinese characters) Questions and answers (w/ pinyin and translation) Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only): 阿明：哈囉！有人嗎？ 康太太：喔，這麼早就回來！ 小李：現在不是七點嗎？ 康太太：可是我女兒還沒下班呢！ 莉莉：媽媽，我在這裡！ 康太太：嚇死我了！莉莉！你什麼時候進來我都不知道！ 莉莉：我今天坐計程車回家，比較快。 康太太：是喔，我都沒聽到你進來的聲音。 莉莉：所以這個是你說的那個外國朋友嗎？你好。 康太太：啊對！欸你叫什麼名字？我不記得了！ 小李：你好，我叫小李，我住在隔壁。這個是我朋友阿明。 阿明：你好。 莉莉：你好，你好。 康太太：啊這個小李還沒結婚！你要不要跟他約會？ 莉莉：媽！不要亂講！不好意思，她年紀大了，講話比較直接。 小李：沒事，沒事。謝謝你邀請我們來你家。好香！ 康太太：沒有！我做得很簡單。炒蘑菇、竹筍、青菜、雞湯、清蒸魚、豬腳、白飯，就這樣而已！ 阿明：這麼多！ 康太太：還好啦！ 莉莉：媽，你這樣太辛苦了！你不用煮這麼多！ 康太太：還好啦！有客人，當然要準備多一點啊！來，請坐。東西快好了。 Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):  阿明：哈囉！有人嗎？ Hello! Is anyone here? Hā luō! Yǒurén ma? 康太太：喔，這麼早就回來！ Oh! You're back so early! Ō, zhème zǎo jiù huílái! 小李：現在不是七點嗎？ Isn't it seven o'clock now? Xiànzài bùshì qī diǎn ma? 康太太：可是我女兒還沒下班呢！ But my daughter hasn't gotten off work yet! Kěshì wǒ nǚ'ér hái méi xiàbān ne! 莉莉：媽媽，我在這裡！ Mom, I'm here! Māmā, wǒ zài zhèlǐ! 康太太：嚇死我了！莉莉！你什麼時候進來我都不知道！ You scared me to death! Lili! I don't even know when you came in! Xià sǐ wǒle! Lìlì! Nǐ shénme shíhòu jìnlái wǒ dōu bù zhīdào! 莉莉：我今天坐計程車回家，比較快。 I took a taxi home today, it's faster. Wǒ jīntiān zuò jìchéngchē huí jiā, bǐjiào kuài. 康太太：是喔，我都沒聽到你進來的聲音。 Oh. I didn't even hear you come in. Shì ō, wǒ dōu méi tīngdào nǐ jìnlái de shēngyīn. 莉莉：所以這個是你說的那個外國朋友嗎？你好。 So, is this the foreign friend you mentioned? Hi. Suǒyǐ zhège shì nǐ shuō de nàgè wàiguó péngyǒu ma? Nǐ hǎo.  康太太：啊對！欸你叫什麼名字？我不記得了！ Oh right! Hey, what's your name? I don't remember! A duì! Ēi nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? Wǒ bù jìdéle! 小李：你好，我叫小李，我住在隔壁。這個是我朋友阿明。 Hi, I'm Xiao Li. I live next door. This is my friend, A-Ming. Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào xiǎo lǐ, wǒ zhù zài gébì. Zhège shì wǒ péngyǒu ā míng. 阿明：你好。 Hi. Nǐ hǎo. 莉莉：你好，你好。 Hi. Hi. Nǐ hǎo, nǐ hǎo. 康太太：啊這個小李還沒結婚！你要不要跟他約會？ Oh this Xiao Li isn't married yet! Why don't you go on a date with him? A zhège xiǎo lǐ hái méi jiéhūn! Nǐ yào bùyào gēn tā yuēhuì? 莉莉：媽！不要亂講！不好意思，她年紀大了，講話比較直接。 Mom! Don't talk nonsense. Sorry, she's old, she speaks a little directly. Mā! Bùyào luàn jiǎng! Bù hǎoyìsi, tā niánjì dàle, jiǎnghuà bǐjiào zhíjiē. 小李：沒事，沒事。謝謝你邀請我們來你家。好香！ No worries, no worries. Thanks for inviting us to your house. It smells great! Méishì, méishì. Xièxiè nǐ yāoqǐng wǒmen lái nǐ jiā. Hǎo xiāng! 康太太：沒有！我做得很簡單。炒蘑菇、竹筍、青菜、雞湯、清蒸魚、豬腳、白飯，就這樣而已！ No it doesn't! I made it very simply. Stir-fried mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green vegetables, chicken soup, steamed fish, pig's feet, white rice, that's all! Méiyǒu! Wǒ zuò de hěn jiǎndān. Chǎo mógū, zhúsǔn, qīngcài, jītāng, qīngzhēng yú, zhū jiǎo, báifàn, jiù zhèyàng éryǐ! 阿明：這麼多！ So much! Zhème duō! 康太太：還好啦！ Nah… Hái hǎo la! 莉莉：媽，你這樣太辛苦了！你不用煮這麼多！ Mom, you're working too hard! You don't have to cook so much! Mā, nǐ zhèyàng tài xīnkǔle! Nǐ bùyòng zhǔ zhème duō! 康太太：還好啦！有客人，當然要準備多一點啊！來，請坐。東西快好了。 Nah… when there are guests, of course you should prepare a little more! Come, please sit. It's almost ready. Hái hǎo la! Yǒu kèrén, dāngrán yào zhǔnbèi duō yīdiǎn a! Lái, qǐng zuò. Dōngxī kuài hǎole. Questions and answers (Chinese characters only): (Q1) 問題：在你的國家，坐計程車很貴嗎？ (A1) 阿明：還好，在台北剛上車要七十塊。從A到B，要差不多一到兩百塊吧。 (Q2) 問題：你結婚了嗎？ (A2) 阿明：呵呵… 還沒。為什麼這樣問？ (Q3) 問題：你上次約會的時候，你去了哪裡？ (A3) 阿明：我上次約會… 我們去山上騎腳踏車！ (Q4) 問題：在你的國家，學生很辛苦嗎？ (A4) 阿明：非常辛苦！我小時候每一天八點就要上課，下午五點才下課，晚上還要去補習班！ (Q5) 問題：你會煮飯嗎？你最會煮什麼？ (A5) 阿明：呃… 我會煮泡麵！ (Q6) 問題：你會邀請朋友來你家吃飯嗎？ (A6) 阿明：來我家吃泡麵嗎？去外面吃比較好吧。 Questions and answers (w/ pinyin and translation): (Q1) 問題：在你的國家，坐計程車很貴嗎？ Zài nǐ de guójiā, zuò jìchéngchē hěn guì ma? In your country, is taking a taxi expensive?  (A1) 阿明：還好，在台北剛上車要七十塊。從A到B，要差不多一到兩百塊吧。 Hái hǎo, zài táiběi gāng shàng chē yào qīshí kuài. Cóng A dào B, yào chàbùduō yī dào liǎng bǎi kuài ba. Not really, in Taipei just after getting in the car it's 70 kuai. From A to B, it's around one to two hundred, I guess.  (Q2) 問題：你結婚了嗎？ Nǐ jiéhūnle ma? Are you married?  (A2) 阿明：呵呵… 還沒。為什麼這樣問？ Hēhē… hái méi. Wèishéme zhèyàng wèn? Heh heh... not yet. Why do you ask?  (Q3) 問題：你上次約會的時候，你去了哪裡？ Nǐ shàng cì yuēhuì de shíhòu, nǐ qùle nǎlǐ? Last time you had a date, where did you go?  (A3) 阿明：我上次約會… 我們去山上騎腳踏車！ Wǒ shàng cì yuēhuì… wǒmen qù shānshàng qí jiǎotàchē! Last time I had a date... we went to the mountains to ride bikes! (Q4) 問題：在你的國家，學生很辛苦嗎？ Zài nǐ de guójiā, xuéshēng hěn xīnkǔ ma? In your country, are students xīnkǔ (exhausted / arduous / tired / working hard)?  (A4) 阿明：非常辛苦！我小時候每一天八點就要上課，下午五點才下課，晚上還要去補習班！ Fēicháng xīnkǔ! Wǒ xiǎoshíhòu měi yītiān bā diǎn jiù yào shàngkè, xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn cái xiàkè, wǎnshàng hái yào qù bǔxí bān! Extremely xīnkǔ! When I was a kid, I had to start class every day at eight, and only got out of class at five in the afternoon. In the evening I also had to go to cram school!  (Q5) 問題：你會煮飯嗎？你最會煮什麼？ Nǐ huì zhǔ fàn ma? Nǐ zuì huì zhǔ shénme? Can you cook? What are you best at making?  (A5) 阿明：呃… 我會煮泡麵！ È… wǒ huì zhǔ pào miàn!  Uh... I can make instant noodles!  (Q6) 問題：你會邀請朋友來你家吃飯嗎？ Nǐ huì yāoqǐng péngyǒu lái nǐ jiā chīfàn ma? Do you ever invite friends to come to your house to eat?  (A6) 阿明：來我家吃泡麵嗎？去外面吃比較好吧。 Lái wǒjiā chī pào miàn ma? Qù wàimiàn chī bǐjiào hǎo ba. Come to my house to eat instant noodles? Going outside to eat is better, I think.  Thanks for listening? Want to support the podcast? ★ Support this podcast ★

    chinese mom taiwan dialogue nah translation sh xi languages mandarin stir lili ming taipei a2 a4 a3 heh a5 a6 zh
    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 14

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2023 4:53


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 14 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you just heard.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses. Try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, also aloud. This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.A transcript of the dialogue and a full translation will be published here with the release of episode 15. In the meantime, focus on what you hear, and trust your ears! 100% comprehension isn't necessary, but the more times you listen, the more accurately you'll be able to pick out the sounds of Mandarin. Want to support the podcast? ★ Support this podcast ★ Thanks for listening! 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin repeating daily practice
    S2 ~ 14 ~ 你這樣太辛苦了！You're working too hard!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2023 17:03


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [01:26] Dialogue [03:08] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [14:28] Dialogue again Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 計程車 :: jìchéngchē :: taxi  那裡有計程車！ nàlǐ yǒu jìchéngchē There's a taxi over there! 你要不要坐計程車？ nǐ yào bùyào zuò jìchéngchē?  Do you want to take a taxi? 因為我找不到計程車，所以我遲到了  yīnwèi wǒ zhǎo bù dào jìchéngchē, suǒyǐ wǒ chídàole Because I couldn't find a taxi, so I arrived late. 隔壁 :: gébì :: next door / neighbor  我住在隔壁 wǒ zhù zài gébì I live next door. 隔壁有一間餐廳 gébì yǒuyī jiàn cāntīng Next door there's a restaurant. 不要吵到隔壁的人！ bùyào chǎo dào gébì de rén Don't disturb the people next to you! 約會（約）:: yuēhuì (yuē) :: to date, to go on a date  不好意思，今天我有約 bù hǎoyìsi, jīntiān wǒ yǒu yuē Sorry, today I have plans 你的約會怎麼樣？ nǐ de yuēhuì zěnme yàng? How was your date? 我們太久沒有約會了！ wǒmen tài jiǔ méiyǒu yuēhuìle! We haven't been on a date in too long! 講話 :: jiǎnghuà :: to talk, to speak  你會講中文嗎？ nǐ huì jiǎng zhōngwén ma Do you speak Chinese? 我妹妹不想跟你講話 wǒ mèimei bù xiǎng gēn nǐ jiǎnghuà My little sister doesn't want to talk to you. 亂講（亂）:: luàn jiǎng (luàn) :: nonsense, to talk nonsense  不要亂講！ bùyào luàn jiǎng! Don't talk nonsense! 我弟弟很愛亂講 wǒ dìdì hěn ài luàn jiǎng My little brother loves to talk nonsense. 不好意思，我家很亂 bù hǎoyìsi, wǒjiā hěn luàn Sorry, my home is a mess. 講話不能亂講！  jiǎnghuà bùnéng luàn jiǎng! Don't talk nonsense! 直接 :: zhíjiē :: direct, directly, immediate  你講話太直接 nǐ jiǎnghuà tài zhíjiē You speak too directly. 我現在要直接去了 wǒ xiànzài yào zhíjiē qùle Now I'm going there directly. 我今天不跟你約，我要直接回家 wǒ jīntiān bù gēn nǐ yuē, wǒ yào zhíjiē huí jiā I can't meet you today, I have to go home directly. 辛苦 :: xīnkǔ :: exhausting, arduous, to go to a lot of trouble  謝謝！辛苦了！ xièxiè! xīnkǔle! Thank you, you worked hard! 下班了！辛苦了大家！ xiàbānle! xīnkǔle dàjiā! Work is over, everybody worked hard!  我的工作太辛苦 wǒ de gōngzuò tài xīnkǔ My work is too hard. 跟這個人講話好辛苦 gēn zhège rén jiǎnghuà hǎo xīnkǔ It's exhausting just talking to this person. 煮 :: zhǔ :: to boil, or to cook in general  煮飯 zhǔ fàn to cook rice, or just to cook 你喜歡煮飯嗎？ nǐ xǐhuān zhǔ fàn ma? Do you like to cook? 煮水 zhǔ shuǐ To boil water 煮湯 zhǔ tāng To make soup 邀請（請）:: yāoqǐng (qǐng) :: to invite, or an invitation  今天我請你！ jīntiān wǒ qǐng nǐ!  Today it's my treat! 謝謝你的邀請 xièxiè nǐ de yāoqǐng Thank you for inviting me. 我想請你來我家 wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ lái wǒjiā I want to invite you to my home. 準備 :: zhǔnbèi :: to prepare, to get ready, preparation  你準備好了嗎？ nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma? Are you ready? 趕快準備！ gǎnkuài zhǔnbèi! Hurry up and get ready! 等一下，我還沒準備好！ děng yīxià, wǒ hái méi zhǔnbèi hǎo! Wait a sec, I'm not ready yet! Want to support the podcast? ★ Support this podcast ★ Thanks for listening! 

    work chinese taiwan dialogue languages hurry mandarin
    S2 ~ 13 ~ 不要被嚇到！Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2023 21:54


    Welcome back! After a long, unplanned break, we're back to finish out Season 2 once and for all. Let's finally find out what happens to Xiao Li (L) and A-Ming (M) during their impromptu visit to Mrs. Kang's (K) house. Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [02:34] Dialogue (normal speed) [04:20] Line-by-line translation [14:17] Talking about 就 vs. 才 and auxiliary particles [19:45] Dialogue again (normal speed) Complete dialogue & translation:  K：讓你們久等了！來，你的水。 Ràng nǐmen jiǔ děngle! Lái, nǐ de shuǐ. Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, your water.  L：謝謝你！感謝。 Xièxiè nǐ! Gǎnxiè. Thank you! Thanks.  K：還有這個！ Hái yǒu zhège! Also, this!  L：這是什麼？ Zhè shì shénme? What's this?  K：這個是火龍果啊 Zhège shì huǒlóng guǒ a This is dragon fruit!  M：小李，你吃過火龍果嗎？ Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ chīguò huǒlóng guǒ ma? Xiao Li, have you ever eaten dragon fruit?  L：沒有欸！ Méiyǒu ēi! I haven't! K：來，吃看看 Lái, chī kàn kàn Come on, try it.  L：很甜！很好吃！ Hěn tián! Hěn hǎo chī! It's sweet! It's really good! K：對啊，我們自己種的！你多吃一點 Duì a, wǒmen zìjǐ zhòng de! Nǐ duō chī yīdiǎn Yeah, we grew it ourselves. Eat a lot of it! L：好！ hǎo! Ok! K：可是你要小心，你的尿尿會變成紅色的！不要被嚇到。 Kěshì nǐ yào xiǎoxīn, nǐ de niào niào huì biànchéng hóngsè de! Bùyào bèi xià dào. But be careful. Your urine will turn red. Don't be frightened.  L：尿尿會變紅色...  Niào niào huì biàn hóngsè...  Urine will turn red… ? K：等一下！喂？哦！女兒，你今天要來吃飯齁！太好了！我要介紹一個外國朋友給你。嗯嗯... 你來就知道了！ Děng yīxià! Wéi? O! Nǚ'ér, nǐ jīntiān yào lái chīfàn hōu! Tài hǎole! Wǒ yào jièshào yīgè wàiguó péngyǒu gěi nǐ. Ń ń... Nǐ lái jiù zhīdàole! Just a sec! Hello? Oh, daughter! You're coming over to eat today! Great! I want to introduce you to a foreign friend. Uh huh… you'll find out when you come.  M：剛剛是你女兒嗎？ Gānggāng shì nǐ nǚ'ér ma? Just now, was that your daughter?  K：對啊！你們今天要不要在我們家吃飯？ Duì a! Nǐmen jīntiān yào bùyào zài wǒmen jiā chīfàn? Yeah! Do you guys want to eat at our place today?  M：太不好意思了...  Tài bùhǎoyìsile... Oh, we couldn't possibly…  K：不要這麼客氣，兩個帥哥來我們當然很開心。 Bùyào zhème kèqì, liǎng gè shuàigē lái wǒmen dāngrán hěn kāixīn Don't be so polite, two handsome guys coming over, of course we'd be happy.  M：那... 小李，你覺得呢？ Nà... Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ juédé ne? Well… Xiao Li, what do you think?  L：不知道欸，我明天需要上班，今天本來要先整理一下房間。現在幾點？ Bù zhīdào ēi, wǒ míngtiān xūyào shàngbān, jīntiān běnlái yào xiān zhěnglǐ yīxià fángjiān. Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? I don't know, I have to go to work tomorrow. Today I was going to organize my room. What time is it now?  M：現在... 四點半 Xiànzài... Sì diǎn bàn Now it's… four-thirty.  K：啊我女兒都比較晚下班，不然你們先去忙，七點回來吃就可以！ A wǒ nǚ'ér dōu bǐjiào wǎn xiàbān, bùrán nǐmen xiān qù máng, qī diǎn huílái chī jiù kěyǐ! My daughter always gets off work late, how about you guys go do your thing now, and then just come back at seven.  M：好像不錯... 小李你OK嗎？ Hǎoxiàng bùcuò... Xiǎo lǐ nǐ OK ma? That doesn't sound too bad… Xiao Li, are you OK with that?  L：應該可以欸，太感謝你了，康太太！ Yīnggāi kěyǐ ēi, tài gǎnxiè nǐle, kāng tàitài! That should be alright. Thank you so much, Mrs. Kang! K：你們都太客氣了！ Nǐmen dōu tài kèqìle! You guys are too polite! M：那我們先走了 Nà wǒmen xiān zǒule Well then, we'll head out now…  K：等一下！火龍果還沒吃完吶！ Děng yīxià! Huǒlóng guǒ hái méi chī wán nèi! Wait a sec! You haven't finished the dragon fruit yet! Want to support the podcast? ★ Support this podcast ★ Thanks for listening! 

    chinese eat taiwan dialogue mn xi languages kang mandarin hu
    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 12

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2022 5:04


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 12 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you hear.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses -- try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, again aloud.This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.About the transcript:The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin repeating daily practice
    S2 ~ 12 ~ 不要被嚇到！Don't be scared!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2022 18:44


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction [01:14] Dialogue (normal speed) [03:55] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [15:45] Dialogue again (normal speed) Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 自己 / zìjǐ / self 沒關係，我自己來！/ méiguānxì, wǒ zìjǐ lái! / It's okay, I'll do it myself! 這是我自己做的 / zhè shì wǒ zìjǐ zuò de / I made this myself.  你自己看吧 / nǐ zìjǐ kàn ba / See for yourself.  小心 / xiǎoxīn / careful 開車要小心！/ kāichē yào xiǎoxīn! / Drive carefully! 小心不要吃太多 / xiǎoxīn bùyào chī tài duō / Careful not to eat too much. 路上小心 / lùshàng xiǎoxīn / Careful on the road (said when someone is leaving). 變，變成 or 變得 / biàn, biànchéng or biànde / to become, to change into 今天變熱了 / jīntiān biàn rèle / It got hot today.  他看到你變得很開心！/ tā kàn dào nǐ biàn dé hěn kāixīn! / He became so happy when he saw you!  他太累了，變成我開車 / tā tài lèile, biànchéng wǒ kāichē / He was too tired, so it became that I drove.  被 / bèi / (indicates passive voice) 咖啡被我喝了！/ kāfēi bèi wǒ hēle! / The coffee was drunk by me! 餅乾都被吃掉 / bǐnggān dōu bèi chī diào / The cookies were all eaten.  貓咪被你嚇到 / māomī bèi nǐ xià dào / The cat was scared by you.  外 / wài / outer, exterior, foreign 外國 / wàiguó / foreign country 外面 / wàimiàn / outside, exterior of something 外帶 / wàidài / "to go" or takeout (i.e., food) 本來 / běnlái / originally, at first 我本來以為你是他的妹妹！/ wǒ běnlái yǐwéi nǐ shì tā de mèimei! / I originally thought you were her younger sister!  我本來還想吃蛋糕，可是蛋糕已經沒了 / Wǒ běnlái hái xiǎng chī dàngāo, kěshì dàngāo yǐjīng méi le / I originally still wanted to eat cake, but the cake is already gone.  你本來想說什麼？/ nǐ běnlái xiǎng shuō shénme? / What were you going to say?  需要 / xūyào / to need 我需要一點時間 / wǒ xūyào yīdiǎn shíjiān / I need a little time. 你需要什麼嗎？/ nǐ xūyào shénme ma? / Do you need something?  我需要你的幫忙！/ wǒ xūyào nǐ de bāngmáng! / I need your help! 上班 / shàngbān / to go to work 上班好累！/ shàngbān hǎo lèi! / Work is so tiring!  你幾點上班？/ nǐ jǐ diǎn shàngbān? / What time do you go to work?  我明天需要上班 / wǒ míngtiān xūyào shàngbān / I need to go to work tomorrow.  下班 / xiàbān / to get off work, to leave work 下班了！回家了！/ xiàbānle! huí jiāle! / Work's over! Go home! 我今天需要早一點下班 / wǒ jīntiān xūyào zǎo yīdiǎn xiàbān / Today I need to leave work a little early.  你下班要做什麼？/ nǐ xiàbān yào zuò shénme? / What are you going to do after work?  幾點 / jǐ diǎn / what time? 現在幾點？/ xiànzài jǐ diǎn? / What time is it now?  你都幾點睡覺？/ nǐ dōu jǐ diǎn shuìjiào? / What time do you usually go to sleep?  你要坐幾點的車？/ nǐ yào zuò jǐ diǎn de chē? / What time is your "car" (bus, train, etc.)?  忙 / máng / busy, to busy oneself 我今天很忙 / wǒ jīntiān hěn máng / I'm really busy today.  我先去忙 / wǒ xiān qù máng / I'll go busy myself (with something) now.  我現在有一點忙 / wǒ xiànzài yǒu yīdiǎn máng / I'm a little busy right now.  完 / wán / complete, completion 我還沒用完！/ wǒ hái méi yòng wán! / I'm not finished ("using") yet!  書你看完了嗎？/ shū nǐ kàn wán le ma? / Did you finish reading the book yet?  趕快把東西吃完！/ gǎnkuài bǎ dōngxī chī wán! / Hurry up and eat everything!

    work chinese drive taiwan scared careful dialogue languages hurry mandarin
    S2 ~ 11 ~ 你要提醒我啦！Part 2 + Curiosity

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2022 16:19


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Talking about curiosity [04:52] Dialogue (normal speed)  [06:28] Complete translation [12:56] Explanation of the word 乖 (guāi) [14:07] Repeat the dialogue  Complete dialogue & translation:  康太太：這個是我兒子，他去年帶我去日本玩！ Kāng tàitài: Zhège shì wǒ érzi, tā qùnián dài wǒ qù rìběn wán!  Mrs. Kang: This is my son. Last year he took me to Japan (lit. 玩 wán = to play)! 小李：是哦... 你有幾個孩子？ Xiǎo lǐ: Shì ó... Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè háizi? Xiao-Li: Oh... How many kids do you have?  康太太：兩個，一個兒子一個女兒 Kāng tàitài: Liǎng gè, yīgè érzi yīgè nǚ'ér Mrs. Kang: Two, one son and one daughter.  小李：那...這個小朋友是誰呢？ Xiǎo lǐ: Nà... Zhège xiǎopéngyǒu shì sheí ne? Xiao-Li: Then... who's this little kid?  康太太：這是我的孫子，他每天都來我這裡吃晚餐，很乖！ Kāng tàitài: Zhè shì wǒ de sūnzi, tā měitiān dōu lái wǒ zhèlǐ chī wǎncān, hěn guāi! Mrs. Kang: This is my grandson, every day he comes to my place for dinner, he's very 乖!  小李：很乖？ Xiǎo lǐ: Hěn guāi? Xiao-Li: Very 乖?  康太太：對啊，很乖！他每天吃三碗白飯！啊你絕婚了嗎？ Kāng tàitài: Duì a, hěn guāi! Tā měitiān chī sān wǎn báifàn! A nǐ jué hūnle ma? Mrs. Kang: Yeah, very 乖！ Every day he eats three bowls of rice! So are you married?  小李：還沒，我才27歲 Xiǎo lǐ: Hái méi, wǒ cái èrshíqī suì Xiao-Li: Not yet, I'm only 27 years old.  康太太：27歲差不多了，你趕快去找個女朋友！不然我介紹我女兒給你，她才大你幾歲而已 Kāng tàitài: Èrshíqī suì chā bù duō le, nǐ gǎnkuài qù zhǎo gè nǚ péngyǒu! Bùrán wǒ jièshào wǒ nǚ'ér gěi nǐ, tā cái dà nǐ jǐ suì éryǐ Mrs. Kang: 27 is about right, hurry up and find a girlfriend! Or else I can introduce my daughter to you, she's only a few years older than you.  小李：哦，好啊... Xiǎo lǐ: Ó, hǎo a...  Xiao-Li: Oh, okay...  阿明：哈囉，我車子停好了，小李在嗎？ Ā míng: Hā luō, wǒ chēzi tíng hǎole, xiǎo lǐ zài ma? A-Ming: Hello, my car is parked, is Xiao-Li here?  康太太：我們在這裡 Kāng tàitài: Wǒmen zài zhèlǐ Mrs. Kang: We're over here! 阿明：小李，你喝到水了嗎？ Ā míng: Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ hē dào shuǐle ma? A-Ming: Xiao-Li, did you drink some water?  小李：還沒 Xiǎo lǐ: Hái méi  Xiao-Li: Not yet.  康太太：啊我都忘了！你要提醒我啦！我們一直在聊天！聊得太開心！哈哈！ Kāng tàitài: A wǒ dōu wàngle! Nǐ yào tíxǐng wǒ la! Wǒmen yīzhí zài liáotiān! Liáo dé tài kāixīn! Hāhā! Mrs. Kang: Oh I totally forgot! You have to remind me! We were chatting all this time, chatting was too much fun. Haha! 阿明：沒關係，小李，我們還是去便利商店買吧，比較快 Ā míng: Méiguānxì, xiǎo lǐ, wǒmen háishì qù biànlì shāngdiàn mǎi ba, bǐjiào kuài A-Ming: Never mind, Xiao-Li, let's go to the convenience store after all, it's faster.  康太太：不用啦，便利商店很遠 Kāng tàitài: Bùyòng la, biànlì shāngdiàn hěn yuǎn Mrs. Kang: Don't bother! The convenience store is so far away.  阿明：也還好吧... Ā míng: Yě hái hǎo ba... A-Ming: It's not so bad...  康太太：你等一下！冰水馬上來！ Kāng tàitài: Nǐ děng yīxià! Bīng shuǐ mǎshàng lái! Mrs. Kang: You wait a second! The ice water is coming right up.  阿明：那，好吧... 欸？小李，你在看什麼？ Ā míng: Nà, hǎo ba... Ēi? Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ zài kàn shénme? A-Ming: Alright then... huh? Xiao-Li, what are you looking at?  小李：哦，沒有，只是，這個是... 康太太的女兒 Xiǎo lǐ: Ó, méiyǒu, zhǐshì, zhège shì... Kāng tàitài de nǚ'ér Xiao-Li: Oh, nothing, just... this is... Mrs. Kang's daughter.  阿明：是喔！很可愛。 Ā míng: Shì ō! Hěn kě'ài. A-Ming: Oh! She's cute!

    japan chinese taiwan curiosity dialogue li repeat explanation sh xi languages kang mandarin zh
    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 10

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2022 4:36


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 10 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you hear.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses -- try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, again aloud.This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.About the transcript:The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin repeating daily practice
    S2 ~ 10 ~ 你要提醒我啦！You've got to remind me!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2022 15:01


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction to the dialogue [00:53] Dialogue (normal speed) [03:46] Slow version [06:30] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 孩子, 小朋友 / háizi, xiǎopéngyǒu / child or children 我有三個孩子 / wǒ yǒusān gè háizi / I have three kids. 我不喜歡孩子 / wǒ bù xǐhuān háizi / I don't like kids.  小朋友好可愛 / xiǎopéngyǒu hǎo kě'ài / (The) little kid (or kids) is so cute! 孫子, 孫女 / sūnzi, sūnnǚ / grandson, granddaughter 這是你的孫女嗎？/ zhè shì nǐ de sūnnǚ ma? / Is this your granddaughter?  你有孫子孫女嗎？/ nǐ yǒu sūn zǐ sūnnǚ ma? / Do you have any grandchildren? 你的孫子幾歲？/ nǐ de sūnzi jǐ suì? / How old is your grandson?  結婚 / jiéhūn / to marry, to get married 你結婚了嗎？/ nǐ jiéhūnle ma? / Are you married? 我們五月要結婚 / wǒmen wǔ yuè yào jiéhūn / We're getting married in May.  你結婚多久了？/ nǐ jiéhūn duōjiǔle? / How long have you been married? 男朋友, 女朋友 / nán péngyǒu, nǚ péngyǒu / boyfriend, girlfriend 你有男朋友嗎？/ nǐ yǒu nán péngyǒu ma? / Do you have a boyfriend? 這是我的男朋友 / zhè shì wǒ de nán péngyǒu / This is my boyfriend.  你的女朋友在哪？/ nǐ de nǚ péngyǒu zài nǎ? / Where's your girlfriend? 找 / zhǎo / to search, to look for 去找女朋友 / qù zhǎo nǚ péngyǒu / Go find a girlfriend.  我找不到 / wǒ zhǎo bù dào / I can't find (it)! 找到了！終於找到了！/ zhǎodàole! zhōngyú zhǎodàole! / I found (it)! I finally found (it)!  介紹 / jièshào / to introduce 讓我介紹一下 / ràng wǒ jièshào yīxià / Let me introduce (it/them) for a second. 讓我來自我介紹 / ràng wǒ láizì wǒ jièshào / Let me introduce myself.  我想把我的朋友介紹給你 / wǒ xiǎng bǎ wǒ de péngyǒu jièshào gěi nǐ / I want to introduce my friend to you.  聊天 / liáotiān / to chat 跟你聊天好開心 / gēn nǐ liáotiān hǎo kāixīn / I'm so happy chatting with you.  你們聊好久！/ nǐmen liáo hǎojiǔ! / You guys are chatting for such a long time! 你要不要跟我聊天？/ nǐ yào bùyào gēn wǒ liáotiān? / Do you want to talk with me?  遠 / yuǎn / far 要走很遠嗎？/ yào zǒu hěn yuǎn ma? / Do we need to walk far?  還好，不會太遠 / hái hǎo, bù huì tài yuǎn / Not really, it's not too far.  我家離我辦公室很遠 / wǒjiā lí wǒ bàngōngshì hěn yuǎn / My home is far away from my office.  馬上 / mǎshàng / right away (lit. "on a horse")  馬上好！/ mǎshàng hǎo! / (it will be ready) right away! 你的晚餐馬上來了！/ nǐ de wǎncān mǎshàng láile! / Your dinner is coming right away! 好，我馬上過去 / hǎo, wǒ mǎshàng guòqù / Okay, I'll go there right away.  提醒 / tíxǐng / to remind 謝謝你提醒我！/ xièxiè nǐ tíxǐng wǒ! / Thanks for reminding me! 我常常要提醒他 / wǒ chángcháng yào tíxǐng tā / I often have to remind him.  如果我忘記，你可以提醒我嗎 / rúguǒ wǒ wàngjì, nǐ kěyǐ tíxǐng wǒ ma / If I forget, can you remind me? 

    chinese taiwan dialogue languages remind mandarin
    S2 ~ 09 ~ 趕快進來坐！Part 2 + Questions

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2022 16:46


    Lesson Outline: [01:53] Dialogue (normal speed)  [03:19] Complete translation [10:00] Explanation of 才對 and 我如果把車子先開到對面去 [12:35] Mock interview (reinforcement and speaking practice) [14:40] Reference interview with A-Ming (阿明)  Complete dialogue & translation:  小李：便利商店在哪裡？ Xiǎo lǐ: Biànlì shāngdiàn zài nǎlǐ? Where's the convenience store? 阿明：那裡的路口有一家，我帶你去 Ā míng: Nàlǐ de lùkǒu yǒu yījiā, wǒ dài nǐ qù The intersection over there has one, I'll take you there. 小李：好，要走多久？我快熱死了！ Xiǎo lǐ: Hǎo, yào zǒu duōjiǔ? Wǒ kuài rè sǐle! Okay, how long of a walk is it? This heat is killing me! 阿明：差不多五分鐘，很近！ Ā míng: Chàbùduō wǔ fēnzhōng, hěn jìn! Around five minutes, it's close! 小李：好，走吧！ Xiǎo lǐ: Hǎo, zǒu ba! Okay, let's go! 康太太：不好意思，不好意思 Kāng tàitài: Bù hǎoyìsi, bù hǎoyìsi Excuse me, sorry... 阿明：欸？我們嗎？ Ā míng: Éi? Wǒmen ma? Huh? You mean us? 康太太：不好意思，我是你的鄰居！我姓康。 Kāng tàitài: Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ shì nǐ de línjū! Wǒ xìng kāng. Excuse me, I'm your neighbor! My last name is Kang. 阿明：康太太你好，我叫阿明，這個是小李，小李才是你的鄰居 Ā míng: Kāng tàitài nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào ā míng, zhège shì xiǎo lǐ, xiǎo lǐ cái shì nǐ de línjū Hello Mrs. Kang, I'm A-Ming, and this is Xiao-Li, Xiao-Li is actually your neighbor. 康太太：啊你是他的朋友！ Kāng tàitài: A nǐ shì tā de péngyǒu! Oh you're his friend! 阿明：對 Ā míng: Duì Right. 康太太：這麼好！ kāng tàitài: Zhème hǎo! That's so great! 阿明：對，然後我們正要去... Ā míng: Duì, ránhòu wǒmen zhèng yào qù...  Right, and we're just about to go... 康太太：你知道嗎齁*，這裡不能停車！ Kāng tàitài: Nǐ zhīdào ma hou, zhèlǐ bùnéng tíngchē! You know, you can't park here! 阿明：是喔... Ā míng: Shì ō...  Oh really... 康太太：是的！你要趕快開去對面的停車場才對 Kāng tàitài: Shì de! Nǐ yào gǎnkuài kāi qù duìmiàn de tíngchēchǎng cái duì Really! You've gotta hurry up and drive across to the parking lot! 阿明：可是我們正要去買一點東西，然後我就要走了，很快，十分鐘就好！ Ā míng: Kěshì wǒmen zhèng yào qù mǎi yīdiǎn dōngxī, ránhòu wǒ jiù yào zǒule, hěn kuài, shí fēnzhōng jiù hǎo! But we're just about to go buy something, and then I'm going to leave, it'll be fast, just ten minutes! 康太太：不行，這裡常常會有警察來看 Kāng tàitài: Bùxíng, zhèlǐ chángcháng huì yǒu jǐngchá lái kàn No way, police often come by here to check. 小李：阿明，怎麼辦？ Xiǎo lǐ: Ā míng, zěnme bàn? A-Ming, what are we going to do? 阿明：那... 請問，康太太，我如果把車子先開到對面去，你可以給小李一杯冰水喝嗎？他覺得很熱！ Ā míng: Nà... Qǐngwèn, kāng tàitài, wǒ rúguǒ bǎ chēzi xiān kāi dào duìmiàn qù, nǐ kěyǐ gěi xiǎo lǐ yībēi bīng shuǐ hē ma? Tā juédé hěn rè! Well then... excuse me, Mrs. Kang, if I take my car across the way right now, can you give Xiao-Li a cup of ice water to drink? He feels really hot! 康太太：沒問題，來我們家坐一下！ Kāng tàitài: Méi wèntí, lái wǒmen jiā zuò yīxià! No problem, come inside and sit down for a bit! 阿明：太感謝了！ Ā míng: Tài gǎnxièle! Thank you so much! 小李：真的嗎？謝謝你！ Xiǎo lǐ: Zhēn de ma? Xièxiè nǐ! Really? Thank you! 康太太：不客氣，趕快進來坐！ Kāng tàitài: Bù kèqì, gǎnkuài jìnlái zuò! Don't mention it, hurry up and come inside! * 齁 (hou) is a particularly Taiwanese auxiliary word, said with a nasal sound. In this case when Mrs. Kang uses it, it's sort of to emphasize or reaffirm the feeling of "you know, right?"Interview with A-Ming (阿明)： Q：你家住在什麼路口？ Q: Nǐ jiā zhù zài shénme lùkǒu? What intersection do you live at?  阿明：我住在中山北路跟民族東路附近。 Ā míng: Wǒ zhù zài zhōngshān běi lù gēn mínzú dōnglù fùjìn. I live near Zhongshan North Road and Minzu East Road.  Q：你很常去便利商店嗎？ Q: Nǐ hěn cháng qù biànlì shāngdiàn ma? Do you often go to convenience stores?  阿明：對，幾乎每天都會去。 Ā míng: Duì, jīhū měitiān dūhuì qù.  Yeah, I go almost every day.  Q：你去便利商店你會買什麼？ Q: Nǐ qù biànlì shāngdiàn nǐ huì mǎi shénme? When you go to a convenience store, what do you buy?  阿明：有時候買水，有時候買咖啡，有時候也會買啤酒。 Ā míng: Yǒu shíhòu mǎi shuǐ, yǒu shíhòu mǎi kāfēi, yǒu shíhòu yě huì mǎi píjiǔ. Sometimes I buy water, sometimes I buy coffee, and sometimes I buy beer.  Q：你比較怕熱嗎？還是比較怕冷？ Q: Nǐ bǐjiào pà rè ma? Háishì bǐjiào pà lěng? Are you relatively afraid of heat? Or relatively afraid of the cold?  阿明：我比較怕冷！我不太會怕熱。 Ā míng: Wǒ bǐjiào pà lěng! Wǒ bù tài huì pà rè. I'm more afraid of the cold! I don't really mind heat.  Q：你夏天都喝什麼？ Q: Nǐ xiàtiān dū hē shénme? What do you drink in the summer?  阿明：我夏天最喜歡喝冰拿鐵。 Ā míng: Wǒ xiàtiān zuì xǐhuān hē bīng ná tiě. In the summer I most like drinking iced lattes.  Q：你會開車嗎？你喜歡停車嗎？ Q: Nǐ huì kāichē ma? Nǐ xǐhuān tíngchē ma? Can you drive? Do you like parking?  阿明：我會開車啊！但我覺得停車很麻煩。 Ā míng: Wǒ huì kāichē a! Dàn wǒ juédé tíngchē hěn máfan. I can drive! But I feel that parking is a nuisance.  Q：你有認識警察嗎？ Q: Nǐ yǒu rènshí jǐngchá ma?  Do you know any police?  阿明：有！我姊姊就是警察！ Ā míng: Yǒu! Wǒ jiě jie jiùshì jǐngchá! I do! My older sister is a police! Q：你認識你的鄰居嗎？ Q: Nǐ rènshí nǐ de línjū ma? Do you know your neighbors?  阿明：我認識他們啊，我家對面的鄰居人都很好。 Ā míng: Wǒ rènshí tāmen a, wǒjiā duìmiàn de línjū rén dōu hěn hǎo. I know them. The neighbors across from my home are all really nice.  Q：你的鄰居來過你家嗎？ Q: Nǐ de línjū láiguò nǐ jiā ma? Have your neighbors come over to your house before?  阿明：他們好像沒有來過欸～ Ā míng: Tāmen hǎoxiàng méiyǒu láiguò āi ~ It seems they haven't been over before! Q：你去過鄰居的家嗎？ Q: Nǐ qùguò línjū de jiā ma? Have you been to your neighbors' house before? 阿明：我去過幾次，上個月我去他們家唱歌！ Ā míng: Wǒ qùguò jǐ cì, shàng gè yuè wǒ qù tāmen jiā chànggē! I've been several times. Last month I went there to sing karaoke! 

    interview chinese taiwan excuse dialogue bi explanation sh xi languages mock kang mandarin taiwanese ming zh
    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 08

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2021 4:09


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 08 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you hear.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses -- try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, again aloud.This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.About the transcript:The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin repeating daily practice
    S2 ~ 08 ~ 趕快進來坐！The adventure continues.

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2021 16:22


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] Introduction to the dialogue [01:35] Dialogue (normal speed) [03:12] Slow version (and repeat) [7:40] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [14:12] Dialogue again (normal speed)  Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 路口 / lùkǒu / intersection 這是什麼路口？/ zhè shì shénme lùkǒu? / What intersection is this? 到路口左轉 / Dào lùkǒu zuǒ zhuǎn / At the intersection, turn left. 你去前面路口等我 / Nǐ qù qiánmiàn lùkǒu děng wǒ / Go to the intersection up ahead and wait for me. 分鐘 / fēnzhōng / minutes 等我五分鐘！/ děng wǒ wǔ fēnzhōng! / Wait for me for five minutes! 十分鐘就好！/ Shí fēnzhōng jiù hǎo! / It'll just be ten minutes! 可以給我五分鐘嗎？/ Kěyǐ gěi wǒ wǔ fēnzhōng ma? / Could you give me five minutes? 差不多 / chàbùduō / more or less 差不多五分鐘 / chàbùduō wǔ fēnzhōng / Five minutes, more or less. 我差不多要走了 / Wǒ chàbùduō yào zǒule / I'm about ready to leave. 差不多了 / chàbùduōle / Just about finished. 正要 / zhèng yào / Just about to 我正要走 / wǒ zhèng yào zǒu / I'm just about to leave. 我正要吃飯 / Wǒ zhèng yào chīfàn / I'm just about to eat. 我們正要開始吃了 / Wǒmen zhèng yào kāishǐ chīle / We're just about to start eating. 對面 / duìmiàn / Across, opposite 這裡不能走，你要去對面 / zhèlǐ bùnéng zǒu, nǐ yào qù duìmiàn / You can't walk here, you have to go to the other side. 你看對面的樹 / Nǐ kàn duìmiàn de shù / Look at the tree across (from here). 我想坐在你對面 / wǒ xiǎng zuò zài nǐ duìmiàn / I want to sit across from you. 場 / chǎng / A character that shows up in a lot of words involving wide spaces. 停車場 / tíngchēchǎng / parking lot 機場 / jīchǎng / airport 廣場 / guǎngchǎng / plaza, square 市場 / shìchǎng / market 一杯 / yībēi / A measure word for cups 一杯茶 / Yībēi chá / A cup of tea. 一杯綠茶 / Yībēi lǜchá / A cup of green tea. 兩杯咖啡 / Liǎng bēi kāfēi / Two cups of coffee. 七杯冰水 / Qī bēi bīng shuǐ / Seven cups of ice water. 進來 / jìnlái / come in 趕快進來！/ Gǎnkuài jìnlái! / Hurry up and come inside! 我在忙，不要進來！/ Wǒ zài máng, bùyào jìnlái! / I'm busy, don't come in!

    chinese adventure taiwan dialogue li sh languages hurry mandarin
    S2 ~ 07 ~ 冰箱是空的！Part 2 + Questions

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2021 12:59


    Lesson Outline: [01:19] Dialogue (normal speed)  [02:21] Complete translation [07:05] Dialogue again (normal speed) [08:08] Mock interview (reinforcement and speaking practice) [11:06] Reference interview with Xiao-Li (小李)  Complete dialogue & translation:  阿明：終於把行李都整理好了 Zhōngyú bǎ xínglǐ dōu zhěnglǐ hǎole We finally finished unpacking all the luggage!  小李：對，我好累，而且我出了很多汗 Duì, wǒ hǎo lèi, érqiě wǒ chūle hěnduō hàn  Yeah, I'm so tired. And I sweat a lot!  阿明：你要記得喝水哦 Nǐ yào jìdé hē shuǐ ó  You gotta remember to drink water.  小李：這裡好熱！ Zhèlǐ hǎo rè!  It's so hot here!  阿明：哈哈！這就是台灣！很熱吧。 Hāhā! Zhè jiùshì táiwān! Hěn rè ba.  Haha! This is Taiwan! It's hot, huh? 小李：我都忘記台灣夏天有這麼熱 Wǒ dū wàngjì táiwān xiàtiān yǒu zhème rè I totally forgot Taiwan's summers were so hot.  阿明：那你怎麼不開冷氣呢？ Nà nǐ zěnme bù kāi lěngqì ne? So why don't you turn on the AC?  小李：哦對耶！我都忘記有冷氣了！這樣好多了！ Ó duì yé! Wǒ dū wàngjì yǒu lěngqìle! Zhèyàng hǎoduōle!  Oh right! I totally forgot there's AC! This is much better.  阿明：美國沒有冷氣嗎？ Měiguó méiyǒu lěngqì ma?  The US doesn't have AC?  小李：我住的地方沒有，只有暖氣 Wǒ zhù dì dìfāng méiyǒu, zhǐyǒu nuǎnqì  Where I live there isn't, there's only heating.  阿明：哇！那邊一定很冷！ Wa! Nà biān yīdìng hěn lěng!  Wow! It must be so cold there!  小李：其實還好，只是很常下雨。欸？冰箱是空的！ Qíshí hái hǎo, zhǐshì hěn cháng xià yǔ. Āi? Bīngxiāng shì kōng de!  Actually not really, it just rains a lot. Huh? The fridge is empty!  阿明：當然是空的啊！你才剛剛回來而已！ Dāngrán shì kōng de a! Nǐ cái gānggāng huílái éryǐ!  Of course it's empty! You only just got back!  小李：對耶，我真的太渴了，沒辦法思考 Duì yé, wǒ zhēn de tài kěle, méi bànfǎ sīkǎo  Oh right, I'm really too thirsty. I can't think.  阿明：那，我們趕快去便利商店買一瓶冰水吧！ Nà, wǒmen gǎnkuài qù biànlì shāngdiàn mǎi yī píng bīng shuǐ ba!  Then, let's hurry up and go to a convenience store to buy a bottle of ice water.  小李：好，那我把冷氣關掉 Hǎo, nà wǒ bǎ lěngqì guān diào Ok, then I'll turn off the AC. Interview with Xiao-Li (小李)： Q：你的家在哪裡？ Nǐ de jiā zài nǎlǐ? Where is your home? 小李：我的家在西雅圖，但我現在住在台北 Wǒ de jiā zài xīyǎtú, dàn wǒ xiànzài zhù zài táiběi My home is in Seattle, but now I live in Taipei.  Q：西雅圖很熱嗎？ Xīyǎtú hěn rè ma? Is Seattle very hot?  小李：不會，不會很熱 Bù huì, bù huì hěn rè It's not, it's not very hot.  Q：你的家有冷氣嗎？ Nǐ de jiā yǒu lěngqì ma? Does your home have AC?  小李：沒有冷氣！西雅圖不熱，所以不需要冷氣！ Méiyǒu lěngqì! Xīyǎtú bù rè, suǒyǐ bù xūyào lěngqì! There's no AC! Seattle isn't hot, so there's no need for AC.  Q：你住的地方有暖氣嗎？ Nǐ zhù dì dìfāng yǒu nuǎnqì ma? Does where you live have heating?  小李：有！冬天很冷，所以我的家有暖氣 Yǒu! Dōngtiān hěn lěng, suǒyǐ wǒ de jiā yǒu nuǎnqì It does! The winter is very cold, so my home has heating.  Q：那邊很常下雨嗎？ Nà biān hěn cháng xià yǔ ma? Does it rain often over there?  小李：對啊！每天都下雨！ Duì a! Měitiān dū xià yǔ! Yes! Every day it rains.  Q：你很渴的時候，你喜歡喝什麼？ Nǐ hěn kě de shíhòu, nǐ xǐhuān hē shénme? When you're really thirsty, what do you like to drink?  小李：我喜歡喝水啊，但我也喜歡喝茶 Wǒ xǐhuān hē shuǐ a, dàn wǒ yě xǐhuān hē chá I like to drink water, but I also like to drink tea.  Q：你家有冰箱嗎？ Nǐ jiā yǒu bīngxiāng ma? Does your home have a refrigerator?  小李：有啊！ Yǒu a! Sure! Q：你的冰箱是空的嗎？ Nǐ de bīngxiāng shì kōng de ma? Is your refrigerator empty?  小李：對啊，是空的！我剛剛回來！ Duì a, shì kōng de! Wǒ gānggāng huílái! Yeah, it's empty. I just got back! Q：你的冰箱裡面有什麼？ Nǐ de bīngxiāng lǐmiàn yǒu shé me? What's in your refrigerator?  小李：我剛剛跟你說，是空的！裡面沒有東西啊！ Wǒ gānggāng gēn nǐ shuō, shì kōng de! Lǐmiàn méiyǒu dōngxī a! I just told you, it's empty! There's nothing inside! 

    interview chinese seattle taiwan wa ac dialogue languages mock mandarin taipei zh
    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 06

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2021 2:48


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 06 twice.The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you hear.Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better).The second time, there won't be any pauses -- try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, again aloud.This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the two characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed.About the transcript:The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin repeating daily practice
    S2 ~ 06 ~ 冰箱是空的！+ Letting Yourself Explore

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 11, 2021 19:36


    Whether we like it or not, a lot of things happen in life just by accident. Some talents, skills, or passions may lie dormant, just because we never had the opportunity to uncover them. Learning a new language can be a second chance to explore what intrigues you, and to do so from an entirely different angle -- and in an entirely different language! In this episode, I talk about how learning Mandarin broadened my taste in music, and taught me the joy of singing. As promised, here are a couple of my favorite 王菲 songs: 我願意 百年孤獨 Lesson Outline: [00:21] How can learning Mandarin help you explore an undiscovered new side of yourself?  [07:17] Introduction to the dialogue [07:45] Dialogue (normal speed) [08:47] Slow version (and repeat) [11:37] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [18:03] Dialogue again (normal speed)  Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 終於 / zhōngyú / finally 終於到了！/ zhōngyú dàole! / (We've) finally arrived! 終於看到你了！/ zhōngyú kàn dào nǐle! / I finally saw you / found you! 你終於來了！/ nǐ zhōngyú láile! / You finally came! 整理 / zhěnglǐ / to organize, to pack, to tidy up 我要整理行李 / wǒ yào zhěnglǐ háng lǐ / I want to organize my luggage 麻煩你整理一下 / máfan nǐ zhěnglǐ yīxià / Please tidy up a bit 你可以幫我整理嗎？/ nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ zhěnglǐ ma? / Can you help me tidy up? 而且 / érqiě / moreover, but also 這家餐廳很好吃，而且很便宜！/ zhè jiā cāntīng hěn hào chī, érqiě hěn piányí! / This restaurant isn't just delicious, it's also cheap! 今天下雨，而且很冷 / jīntiān xià yǔ, érqiě hěn lěng / It didn't just rain today, it's also really cold. 美國的火車很貴，而且很慢！/ měiguó de huǒchē hěn guì, érqiě hěn màn! / American trains aren't just expensive, they're also slow! 出汗 / chū hàn / to sweat 我出了很多汗 / wǒ chūle hěnduō hàn / I sweat a lot (at a specific time) 我很愛出汗 / wǒ hěn ài chū hàn / I sweat a lot (in general) 記得 / jìdé / to remember 記得多喝水哦！/ jìdé duō hē shuǐ ó! / Remember to drink lots of water! 記得練習中文！/ jìdé liànxí zhōngwén! / Remember to practice Chinese! 你要記得我！/ Nǐ yào jìdé wǒ! / You must remember me! 我不記得了 / Wǒ bù jìdéle / I don't remember 其實 / qíshí / actually 其實，我不知道 / qíshí, wǒ bù zhīdào / Actually, I don't know 其實，我覺得還不錯 / qíshí, wǒ juédé hái bùcuò / Actually, I feel it's not bad 其實，我都可以 / qíshí, wǒ dū kěyǐ / Actually, I'm OK with whatever 常、常常、很常 / cháng, chángcháng, hěn cháng / often 台北常常下雨 / táiběi chángcháng xià yǔ / Taipei often rains 你常常遲到 / nǐ chángcháng chídào / You often arrive late 你常常問我這個問題 / nǐ chángcháng wèn wǒ zhège wèntí / You often ask me this question 剛剛 / gānggāng / just now 我剛剛在想... / wǒ gānggāng zài xiǎng... / I was just thinking... 我剛剛看到他！/ wǒ gānggāng kàn dào tā! / I just saw him! 你剛剛說什麼？/ Nǐ gānggāng shuō shénme? / What did you just say? 而已 / éryǐ / only, merely 一百塊而已！很便宜！/ yībǎi kuài éryǐ! Hěn piányí! / Only 100 dollars! So cheap! 你剛剛來而已！/ nǐ gānggāng lái éryǐ! / You just got here! 其實，我要你記得我，這樣而已 / qíshí, wǒ yào nǐ jìdé wǒ, zhèyàng éryǐ / Actually, I want you to remember me, that's all. 一瓶 / yī píng / one bottle (measure word) 一瓶水 / yī píng shuǐ / One bottle of water 一瓶冰水 / yī píng bīng shuǐ / A bottle of ice water 一瓶冰茶 / yī píng bīng chá / A bottle of iced tea 兩瓶冰水 / liǎng píng bīng shuǐ / Two bottles of ice water 四瓶咖啡 / sì píng kāfēi / Four bottles of coffee 關掉 / guān diào / To close, to turn off 電視要關掉 / diànshì yào guān diào / Turn off the TV 記得關燈 / jìdé guān dēng / Remember to turn off the light 音樂可以關掉 / yīnyuè kěyǐ guān diào / You can turn off the music

    tv american learning chinese explore taiwan dialogue languages mandarin taipei
    S2 ~ 05 ~ 怎麼辦？Part 2 + Interviewing in Mandarin

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2021 12:43


    Lesson Outline: [00:21] How do you conduct an interview in Mandarin?  [03:49] The three biggest reasons to do an interview in Mandarin [07:00] Dialogue (normal speed) [07:45] Complete translation [10:37] Dialogue with pauses for echoing (normal speed) Complete dialogue & translation:  阿明：我們到了！ Wǒmen dàole! We've arrived! 小李：我真的好久沒有回家。 Wǒ zhēn de hǎojiǔ méiyǒu huí jiā. I really haven't been home in a long time.  你會緊張嗎？ Nǐ huì jǐnzhāng ma? Are you nervous?  有一點 Yǒu yīdiǎn A little.  你在擔心什麼？ nǐ zài dānxīn shénme?  What are you worried about?  我擔心我家裡有很多蟑螂！ Wǒ dānxīn wǒ jiālǐ yǒu hěnduō zhāngláng! I'm worried my home has a lot of cockroaches!  是哦。。。你家不是很乾淨嗎？ Shì ó... Nǐ jiā bùshì hěn gānjìng ma? Oh… isn't your house really clean?  是啊，蠻乾淨的，可是。。。 Shì a, mán gānjìng de, kěshì... It is, it's pretty clean, but... 那應該沒問題吧 Nà yīnggāi méi wèntí ba Then it shouldn't be a problem.  也是，可是。。。 yěshì, kěshì... That's true, but…  那我們先進去吧，我幫你拿行李  Nà wǒmen xiān jìnqù ba, wǒ bāng nǐ ná xínglǐ  Well let's go in first, I'll help you carry your luggage.  好，麻煩你了 hǎo, máfan nǐle Ok, sorry to trouble you.  不會，你先去開門  bù huì, nǐ xiān qù kāimén No problem, go open the door first.  天哪！ tiān nǎ!  Oh God!  怎麼了？ Zěnmele? What's wrong?  好多蟑螂！怎麼辦？ Hǎoduō zhāngláng! Zěnme bàn? So many cockroaches! What are we gonna do? 

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    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 04

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2021 2:15


    README: How to use this recordingYou'll hear the dialogue from Lesson 04 twice. The first time, there will be a short pause after each line. During the pause, try to repeat aloud exactly what you hear. Repeating aloud is important, partly because you'll be training your speech muscles to make the sounds of Mandarin, and partly because you'll be getting feedback about how you sound (if you're listening with earbuds, I recommend practicing with one earbud out and one in, or else with both partially in, so that you can hear yourself better). The second time, there won't be any pauses -- try to "shadow" the sounds simultaneously as they are spoken, again aloud. This will help you practice stringing the sounds together and further reinforce the muscle memory speech patterns of Mandarin. If it feels way too fast, you can try shadowing only one of the two characters each time you listen. However, even then, don't expect to be able to keep up with everything at first.  It takes regular daily practice to start training your ears to have a more nuanced perception of the sounds, and to train your speech muscles to speak at natural speed. About the transcript:The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

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    S2 ~ 04 ~ 怎麼辦？+ Finding Your Language Parents

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2021 19:15


    Q: Who are the best language teachers in the world? A: Parents. Whether they do it consciously or not, parents (and parental figures) are the people who teach us how to speak our first language, from the time we're born, until we start going to school, and beyond. All parents have their failings (some more than others), but passing their language on to their children seems to be one thing that almost every parent succeeds at with flying colors. We may not be able to revert to childhood in order to learn another language, but nor do we have to. The same quality of language learning experience is available to adults too, and with only a fraction of the tears. That's what finding your "language parent" is all about. In the introduction of this episode, I talk about what makes an effective language parent, and then give you a few tips about how to find one so that you can start your "Mandarin childhood."Lesson Outline: [00:20] What makes a good language parent? [06:00] Finding your language parents [08:03] Introduction to the dialogue [08:55] Dialogue (normal speed) [09:41] Slow version (and repeat) [11:42] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue [15:24] Dialogue again (normal speed)  [16:26] Slow version again (and repeat) Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples: 緊張 / jǐnzhāng / Nervous 我好緊張 / wǒ hǎo jǐnzhāng / I'm so nervous.  你為什麼緊張？/ nǐ wèishéme jǐnzhāng? / Why are you nervous? 你在緊張什麼？/ nǐ zài jǐnzhāng shénme? / What are you nervous about?  擔心 / dānxīn / To worry, worried. 我很擔心 / wǒ hěn dānxīn / I'm really worried.  我很愛擔心 / wǒ hěn ài dānxīn / I'm a person who loves to worry.   不要擔心 / búyào dānxīn / Don't worry.  乾淨 / gānjìng / Clean 我的家很乾淨 / wǒ de jiā hěn gānjìng / My home is really clean.  我很愛乾淨 / wǒ hěn ài gānjìng / I love cleanliness, or I'm a neat freak.  這是乾淨的嗎？/ zhè shì gānjìng de ma? / Is this clean?  應該 / yīnggāi / Should 應該是吧 / yīnggāi shì ba / That should be, that should be the case.  這應該是乾淨的 / zhè yīnggāi shì gānjìng de / This should be clean.  你不應該這樣說 / nǐ bù yìng gāi zhèyàng shuō / You shouldn't say that.  先 / xiān / First, or often “right away” (“I'm gonna go do this thing right now…”)  我先走了！/ wǒ xiān zǒule! / I'm leaving now.  你先吃吧！/ nǐ xiān chī ba! / You start eating! 那我先回家 / nà wǒ xiān huí jiā / Then I'll go home now. 拿 / ná / To hold, to pick up 我拿，好不好？/ wǒ ná, hǎobù hǎo? / I'll hold it, OK? 這個給你拿 / zhège gěi nǐ ná / You hold this.  不要拿走 / búyào ná zǒu / Don't take this away.  麻煩你了 / Máfan nǐle / Sorry to trouble you 怎麼了？ / zěnmele? / What's wrong?  怎麼辦？/ Zěnme bàn? / What should we do? 

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    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 03

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2021 2:48


    阿明：你現在要去哪？ Nǐ xiànzài yào qù nǎ? Where are you going now? 小李：我要去買禮物 Wǒ yào qù mǎi lǐwù I'm going to buy presents.  阿明：送給女朋友嗎？ sòng gěi nǚ péngyǒu ma? To give to your girlfriend?  小李：不是，要送給我的家人 Búshì, yào sòng gěi wǒ de jiārén No, to give to my family.  阿明：是哦！你要買什麼？ shì o! Nǐ yào mǎi shénme? Oh! What are you going to buy?  小李：我還不知道，現在很多店都關了！ Wǒ hái bù zhīdào, xiànzài hěnduō diàn dōu guānle! I don't know yet, a lot of shops are closed now.  阿明：線上買呢？ Xiànshàng mǎi ne? What about buying online?  小李：可是我覺得我要看到、摸到才能確定 Kěshì wǒ juéde wǒ yào kàn dào, mō dào cáinéng quèdìng But I think I have to see and feel (them) to be sure.  阿明：也是... 送茶葉呢？ yěshì... Sòng cháyè ne? True... what about giving tea?  小李：他們不太懂喝茶 Tāmen bú tài dǒng hē chá They don't really appreciate tea (lit. don't understand how to drink tea).  阿明：那... 鳳梨酥呢？ nà... Fènglí sū ne? Then... how about pineapple cake? 小李：已經送過太多次了 Yǐjīng sòngguò tài duō cìle I've already given it too many times.  阿明：是哦... 買禮物真的很不簡單！ shì o... Mǎi lǐwù zhēn de hěn bù jiǎndān!  Oh... buying presents really isn't easy!  小李：你看我買的貼紙！ Nǐ kàn wǒ mǎi de tiēzhǐ! Look at the stickers I bought! 阿明：狗狗的貼紙好可愛！ Gǒu gǒu de tiēzhǐ hǎo kě'ài! The dog stickers are so cute!  小李：還有這個貼紙 Hái yǒu zhège tiēzhǐ There's also this sticker.  阿明：禁止吸煙？ jìnzhǐ xīyān? Smoking prohibited?

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    S2 ~ 03 ~ Buying presents isn't easy 買禮物很不簡單

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2021 12:06


    Lesson Outline: INTRO: I'll mention a few words that will appear in the dialogue.  DIALOGUE: Listen to the dialogue at normal speed. SLOW: Listen to the slow version and repeat.   TRANSLATION: Get the translation line-by-line, and try to infer the meaning of the parts you don't know yet. SLOW: Listen to the slow version again and repeat, trying to connect the sound to the meaning.  Complete dialogue: 阿明：你現在要去哪？ Nǐ xiànzài yào qù nǎ? Where are you going now? 小李：我要去買禮物 Wǒ yào qù mǎi lǐwù I'm going to buy presents.  阿明：送給女朋友嗎？ sòng gěi nǚ péngyǒu ma? To give to your girlfriend?  小李：不是，要送給我的家人 Búshì, yào sòng gěi wǒ de jiārén No, to give to my family.  阿明：是哦！你要買什麼？ shì o! Nǐ yào mǎi shénme? Oh! What are you going to buy?  小李：我還不知道，現在很多店都關了！ Wǒ hái bù zhīdào, xiànzài hěnduō diàn dōu guānle! I don't know yet, a lot of shops are closed now.  阿明：線上買呢？ Xiànshàng mǎi ne? What about buying online?  小李：可是我覺得我要看到、摸到才能確定 Kěshì wǒ juéde wǒ yào kàn dào, mō dào cáinéng quèdìng But I think I have to see and feel (them) to be sure.  阿明：也是... 送茶葉呢？ yěshì... Sòng cháyè ne? True... what about giving tea?  小李：他們不太懂喝茶 Tāmen bú tài dǒng hē chá They don't really appreciate tea (lit. don't understand how to drink tea).  阿明：那... 鳳梨酥呢？ nà... Fènglí sū ne? Then... how about pineapple cake? 小李：已經送過太多次了 Yǐjīng sòngguò tài duō cìle I've already given it too many times.  阿明：是哦... 買禮物真的很不簡單！ shì o... Mǎi lǐwù zhēn de hěn bù jiǎndān!  Oh... buying presents really isn't easy!  小李：你看我買的貼紙！ Nǐ kàn wǒ mǎi de tiēzhǐ! Look at the stickers I bought! 阿明：狗狗的貼紙好可愛！ Gǒu gǒu de tiēzhǐ hǎo kě'ài! The dog stickers are so cute!  小李：還有這個貼紙 Hái yǒu zhège tiēzhǐ There's also this sticker.  阿明：禁止吸煙？ jìnzhǐ xīyān? Smoking prohibited? Note about Pinyin transliteration: Pinyin can be a helpful system for comprehending and recording the pronunciation of Chinese. However, keep in mind that it's only an approximation of the way people actually speak. Tones, like many other things, are affected by the tones and sounds that occur before and after them, by the context, and pronunciation also varies by region. As a result, there will necessarily be some discrepancy between the written tones and what you actually hear a person say.(Examples from this dialogue: 狗狗 gǒu gǒu is much more commonly pronounced in Taiwan as "gǒu góu", and 買什麼 mǎi shénme is usually pronounced "mái shěnme", even though the "correct" dictionary pronunciation is that used in the original Pinyin.)The moral of all this is: Trust your ears and imitate what you hear. Written language and phonetic systems are imperfect attempts at representing language on paper, but a spoken language actually exists when people open their mouths and speak. That said, if you spot an error or have a question about any details from a lesson, feel free to drop me a line :) 

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    S2 ~ 02 ~ 你回來了！Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2021 13:08


    Lesson Outline: INTRO: Introduction: We all learn languages the same way, and talent has nothing to do with it.   DIALOGUE: Listen to the dialogue at normal speed. TRANSLATION: Get the translation line-by-line, and try to infer the meaning of the parts you don't know yet. LISTEN & REPEAT: Listen to the dialogue at normal speed again, and repeat during the pauses.    Complete dialogue: 阿明：小李，你回來了！ A-Ming: Xiao Li, you came back! Ā míng: Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ huíláile! 小李：阿明，好久不見！ Xiao Li: A-Ming, long time no see! Xiǎo lǐ: Ā míng, hǎojiǔ bùjiàn! 阿明：真的好久不見。美國還好嗎？ Really long time no see. Was the US alright?  Zhēn de hǎojiǔ bùjiàn. Měiguó hái hǎo ma? 小李：美國很好啊，但我還是很開心回到台灣 The US was great, but I'm still really happy to be back in Taiwan.  Měiguó hěn hǎo a, dàn wǒ háishì hěn kāixīn huí dào táiwān 阿明：我也很開心看到你 I'm also really happy to see you.  Wǒ yě hěn kāixīn kàn dào nǐ 小李：謝謝你來接我 Thanks for coming to get me.  Xièxiè nǐ lái jiē wǒ 阿明：不客氣！小事情 Don't be so polite! It's no biggie.  Bù kèqì! Xiǎo shìqíng  小李：還是很謝謝你啊 Still, really, thank you.  Háishì hěn xièxiè nǐ a 阿明：你在飛機上有吃東西嗎？ Did you eat anything on the plane?  Nǐ zài fēijī shàng yǒu chī dōngxī ma? 小李：沒有欸，我都在睡覺 I didn't! I slept the whole time.  Méiyǒu ēi, wǒ dōu zài shuìjiào 阿明：你餓了嗎？ Are you hungry? Nǐ èle ma? 小李：有一點餓 I'm a litte hungry.  Yǒu yīdiǎn è 阿明：你看，我買什麼給你：你最喜歡的鍋貼！ Look what I bought you. Your favorite potstickers!  Nǐ kàn, wǒ mǎi shénme gěi nǐ: nǐ zuì xǐhuān de guōtiē! 小李：哇！真的假的！阿明，你好貼心！ Wow! For real? A-Ming, you're so considerate!  Wa! Zhēn de jiǎ de! Ā míng, nǐ hǎo tiēxīn! 阿明：還好啦，趕快吃！ Nah, come on, hurry up and eat! Hái hǎo la, gǎnkuài chī!

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    Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 01

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2021 4:05


    The transcript of the dialogue will be available once the next lesson is published. For now, just focus on the sounds, and try to see what new words, meanings, or sounds you notice with each new listen. 

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin daily practice
    S2 ~ 01 ~ You're back! 你回來了！

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2021 20:04


    Learning how to digest (and even to be entertained by) material that you don't completely understand is an important skill for learning a language. In this episode, we introduce a new dialogue, but don't translate it all at once like we did in Season 1. Instead, I try to give you just enough words and phrases that you can figure out (some of) the rest of it by yourself. Tomorrow, I will release the dialogue on its own, so that you can start to practice and master the material. Repetition is important; each time you listen, you are reinforcing new connections in your brain, and you may notice things you didn't notice during previous repetitions. And in the next episode, I will translate this dialogue completely, line by line, so that you can fill in whatever gaps remain in your comprehension, possibly enjoying many "Aha!" moments. Today's Lesson Outline: INTRO: Introduction: Language is music.  DIALOGUE: Listen to the dialogue at normal speed. SLOW: Listen to the slow version and repeat.   VOCAB: Learn some vocabulary and phrases. DIALOGUE (2): Listen to the dialogue at normal speed again. See if you notice any of the new words or phrases.  SLOW (2): Listen to and repeat the slow version again, and try to picture the scene in your mind.  As a visual cue and for reference, here are the words we learn in the lesson, and example phrases: 回 / huí / return 來 / lái / to come 回來 / huílái / to come back 還好 / hái hǎo / alright, not bad  你還好嗎？/ nǐ hái hǎo ma? / Are you alright?  我還好啊 / wǒ hái hǎo a / I'm alright.  還好啦！/  hái hǎo la! / Not really, no big deal 還是 / háishì / Still..., nevertheless...   我還是很開心 / wǒ háishì hěn kāixīn / I'm still very happy  還是很謝謝你 / háishì hěn xièxiè nǐ / Still, thank you; I'm still thankful.  到 / dào / arrive; completion  回到 / huí dào / to arrive back, to return  我們到了/ wǒmen dàole / We have arrived.   我看到你 / wǒ kàn dào nǐ  / I see you (I successfully completed the action).   我買到了 / wǒ mǎi dàole / I (successfully) bought it. 飛機 / fēijī / airplane 上 / shàng / on, above, previous  飛機上 / fēijī shàng / on the plane  你在飛機上做什麼？/ nǐ zài fēijī shàng zuò shénme? / What did you do on the plane?  車上 / chē shàng / in the car  路上 / lùshàng / on the road, en route  路上小心 / lùshàng xiǎoxīn / Be careful en route (often said when someone is departing).  都在 / dōu zài / continuously, incessantly doing something  我都在睡 / wǒ dū zài shuì / I slept the whole time.   你都在吃 / nǐ dōu zài chī / You've just been eating this whole time.  貼心 / tiēxīn / Considerate, thoughtful  你好貼心 / nǐ hǎo tiēxīn / You're so considerate.   你最貼心 / nǐ zuì tiēxīn / You're the most considerate.   你真貼心 / nǐ zhēn tiēxīn / You're truly considerate.  趕快 / gǎnkuài / hurry up, quickly  趕快吃！/ gǎnkuài chī! / Hurry up and eat!   趕快去！/ gǎnkuài qù! / Hurry up and go!  趕快來！/ gǎnkuài lái! / Hurry up and come here!   趕快買！/ gǎnkuài mǎi! / Hurry up and buy it!  好久不見 / hǎojiǔ bùjiàn / Long time no see.  真的假的 / zhēn de jiǎ de / Really?! (lit. real or fake?)  Many years ago, before I starting to learn Mandarin, I took a trip to Italy. Though I spoke basically no Italian, I found that just trying to imitate the way people there spoke went a long way towards generating good will, and seemed to make many people want to try harder to communicate with me, despite the language barrier. I began to see speaking a language as a collaborative act almost like making music, where listening and imitating are important parts of playing in rhythm and staying in the same key. What I take away from this is that learning to speak any language, including Mandarin, is more an attitude than a technical skill. If you're willing to listen carefully and really open yourself up to the language -- to try your best to sound like a native speaker, even if you're a total beginner -- then you can go a long way with very little. You'll have more chances to practice, and you'll form stronger connections and make friends, which is what it's really all about. And, of course, you'll actually learn the language a lot faster. 

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    Daily Practice Session - Lesson 16

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2020 4:56


    After you've listened to Lesson 16, use this track to reinforce what you've learned with short listening and speaking practice sessions every day over the following week.

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    16 ~ Do you have any siblings? 你有兄弟姊妹嗎？

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2020 12:34


    In this lesson, Ah-Ming (阿明) and Xiao-Li (小李) ask about each other's families. This is the last episode of Season 1.

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    Daily Practice Session - Lesson 15

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2020 5:03


    After you've listened to Lesson 15, use this track to reinforce what you've learned with short listening and speaking practice sessions every day over the following week.

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin daily practice
    15 ~ Excuse me! 不好意思！

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2020 17:13


    In episode 15, I talk about how you might be misunderstanding your own forgetfulness. Meanwhile, Ah-Ming (阿明) and Xiao-Li (小李) fight over who's going to pick up the check.

    chinese taiwan excuse languages mandarin
    Daily Practice Session - Lesson 14

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 4:17


    After you've listened to Lesson 14, use this track to reinforce what you've learned with short listening and speaking practice sessions every day over the following week.

    chinese lesson taiwan languages mandarin daily practice
    14 ~ Hurry up and try it! 你快試試看！

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2020 13:32


    Ah-Ming (阿明) and Xiao-Li (小李) are enjoying the food they ordered, and we learn how to talk about trying things, whether or not you can handle spicy foods, and how to compare foods that look (or sound) different.

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