Little Mandarin: Learn Chinese through culture and real life – Details, episodes & analysis

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Little Mandarin: Learn Chinese through culture and real life

@themandarinedit

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/4d. Total Eps: 156

Welcome to Little Mandarin — your weekly podcast for Chinese language, culture, and real life. New episodes every Tuesday. A space for curious learners, working professionals, and anyone who wants to learn, improve, or reconnect with Chinese. Expect useful everyday language, cultural insight, a bit of history, and a closer look at modern Chinese life. ▶ Lessons: preply search：xinyue z. https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1750365014.903645&ep= ▶ YouTube: The Mandarin Edit

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S2E22 Sorry, I’m Busy Tonight🙏 (How to Politely Decline in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 22

Season 2 · Episode 22

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 19:18

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In Lesson 22, we’re learning how to politely decline an invitation in Mandarin.

Sometimes people invite you to dinner, coffee, a movie, or something on the weekend — and you want to say no without sounding too direct.

In this episode, you’ll learn useful phrases like:

不好意思，我今天有点儿忙。
Sorry, I’m a little busy today.

我想去，但是今天不行。
I want to go, but today doesn’t work.

下次吧。
Maybe next time.

我们下次再约。
Let’s meet another time.

We’ll also look at why Chinese refusals often go “around the corner” a little: saying sorry first, giving a soft reason, and leaving space for next time.

A simple but very useful episode for real-life Mandarin conversations.

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S2E21 Can You Speak Chinese? 会 vs 能🗣️ (Ability and Possibility in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 21

Season 2 · Episode 21

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 16:36

In Lesson 21, we’re learning two very useful ways to say “can” in Mandarin:

会 and 能

They can both be translated as “can,” but they are not the same.

会 is usually about a learned skill — something you know how to do, like 我会说中文, 我会开车, or 我会做饭.

能 is more about possibility, permission, or whether the situation allows something, like 我今天能去, 我现在不能喝咖啡, or 我今天不能开车.

We’ll also look at one very common question:

你会说中文吗？
Can you speak Chinese?

And we’ll practise natural answers like 我会说一点儿中文 and 一点点.

By the end of this episode, you’ll understand the basic difference between 会 for skill and 能 for possibility.

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S2E20 Challenge: Describe Your Day in Chinese🗓️ (Stage 2 Recap) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 20

Season 2 · Episode 17

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 20:33

Lesson 20 is the final recap of Stage 2.

In this challenge episode, we’ll put together everything we learned in the last few lessons: time, daily actions, drinks, sentence order, small connecting words, and 不 / 没.

The goal is simple: describe a normal day in Mandarin.

You’ll practise sentences like 我早上七点起床, 我早上喝一杯咖啡, 我上午九点去公司, 我中午十二点吃饭, and 我晚上看电影，然后睡觉.

We’ll also review why Mandarin often puts time early in the sentence, and how Chinese daily routines usually move in a clear order: morning, noon, afternoon, evening.

By the end of this episode, you should be able to say a short daily routine in Mandarin using words and patterns you already know.

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S2E19 Two Ways to Say No🙅🏻‍♀️ (不 vs 没 in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 19

Season 2 · Episode 19

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 18:21

In Lesson 19, we’re learning two important ways to say “no” in Mandarin:

不 and 没

They can both make a sentence negative, but they are not used in the same way.

In this episode, we’ll review patterns you’ve already seen, like 是 / 不是 and 有 / 没有, then look at the difference between sentences like:

我不喝咖啡。
I don’t drink coffee.

我没喝咖啡。
I didn’t drink coffee.

You’ll learn how 不 often works for general negation, habits, choices, or things that are not true, while 没 often works for absence, not having something, or actions that did not happen.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to say things like 我不是学生, 我不喝茶, 我没有时间, and 我没吃早饭.

Before the next lesson, remember to review the earlier episodes about 是 / 不是 and 有 / 没有.

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BONUS: How to Say My, Your, Her, and Their in Mandarin🎧 (The Possessive 的)

Season 2 · Episode 18

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 11:29

In this bonus episode, we’re learning one simple beginner use of 的: the possessive 的.

This is the word Mandarin uses to say things like my, your, her, and their.

The basic structure is:

pronoun + 的 + noun

You’ll learn phrases like 我的咖啡, 你的电脑, 她的手机, and 他们的学校, and practise simple sentences like 这是我的猫 and 这是我的咖啡.

We’ll also briefly look at why native speakers sometimes drop 的 with close relationships, like 我妈妈 instead of 我的妈妈.

A short and useful bonus if you want to understand one of the most common small words in Mandarin.

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S2E18 Small Words That Make You Sound Human🪡 (和, 也, 然后 in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 18

Season 2 · Episode 18

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 16:01

In Lesson 18, we’re learning three small but very useful words that make Mandarin sentences sound more natural:

和 — and / with
也 — also / too
然后 — then / and then

These words help you connect simple ideas, instead of speaking in separate little sentences.

You’ll learn how to say things like 手机和电脑, 我和朋友看电影, 我也学中文, and 我吃饭，然后睡觉.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to connect nouns, talk about doing something with someone, say “also / too,” and describe two actions in order.

And don’t miss the bonus episode for this lesson, where we’ll talk about 的, the small word Mandarin uses for phrases like my family, your teacher, his book, and her phone.

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S2E17 A Very Chinese Sentence Order🧩 (Time + Action + Object in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 17

Season 2 · Episode 17

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 21:34

In Lesson 17, we’re learning a very important Mandarin sentence order:

subject + time + action + object

In English, you can say: I drink coffee in the morning.
But in Mandarin, we usually say: 我早上喝咖啡。

The time often comes before the action.

In this episode, we’ll build fuller everyday sentences with words you already know, like 喝, 吃, 看, and 学.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to say sentences like 我早上喝咖啡, 我中午吃午饭, 我下午学中文, and 我晚上看电影.

A simple but very important episode if you want your Mandarin sentence order to sound cleaner and more natural.

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S2E16 Coffee or Tea? What You Drink Tells a Story☕🍵 (How to Talk About Drinks in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 16

Season 2 · Episode 16

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 20:51

Coffee or tea?

In Lesson 16, we’re learning how to talk about drinks in Mandarin with the verb 喝.

You’ll learn useful drink words like 水, 咖啡, 茶, 牛奶, 果汁, 可乐, 啤酒, 红酒, 热水, and 奶茶.

We’ll also learn how to use 一杯 to say things like 一杯咖啡, 一杯茶, and 一杯水.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to say simple sentences like 我喝咖啡, 我不喝茶, and even a longer sentence like 我早上七点喝一杯热水.

Culture note: in China, 茶 usually means real tea leaves, or sometimes flowers — not just a tea bag.

And don’t miss the bonus episode for this lesson: Top 20 Most Useful Measure Words in Mandarin.

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BONUS: Top 20 Most Useful Measure Words in Mandarin🎧 (Chinese + English Translation)

Season 2 · Episode 16

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 08:05

This bonus episode is a clean beginner list of the top 20 most useful measure words in Mandarin.

In Chinese, we often need a measure word between a number and a noun. For example: 一杯咖啡, 一本书, 一个人.

In this episode, you’ll hear common measure words like 个, 杯, 瓶, 碗, 本, 张, 件, 家, 间, 台, 块, 份, and 次.

No long grammar explanation — just the Chinese, the pinyin, and the basic English meaning or common use.

A simple episode to save, replay, and use as a quick review when you start building longer Mandarin sentences.

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S2E15 I Wake Up at 7🌅 (How to Talk About Basic Actions with Time in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 15

Season 2 · Episode 15

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 14:04

In Lesson 15, we’re learning how to attach time to action in Mandarin.

You’ll learn a few very useful daily verbs like 起床, 去公司, 吃饭, 回家, and 睡觉, and more importantly, the sentence structure behind them:

subject + time + action

We’ll also look at one key difference between English and Chinese: English usually uses a preposition like at, while Mandarin often just puts the time directly before the action.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to say simple sentences like 我七点起床 and 我九点去公司 much more naturally.

And don’t miss the bonus episode for this lesson, where I’ve prepared a list of the top 20 most useful verbs in Mandarin.

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Little Mandarin: Learn Chinese through culture and real life – Details, episodes & analysis

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Little Mandarin: Learn Chinese through culture and real life – Details, episodes & analysis

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