Explore every episode of the podcast Mandarin From the Ground Up
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
Daily Practice (Normal Speed) - S3 - Lesson 08
25 juin 2024
00:05:24
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 practice This 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, guests
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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：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.
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] Translation
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, guests
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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：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.
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 practice This 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 retire
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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)!
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...
S3 ~ 07 ~ Handsome brother goes to work 帥哥上班
31 oct. 2023
00:27:25
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 retire
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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)!
Thanks to Vicky Sun for being the voice of 慧芬 Hùi fēn.
Daily Practice (Slow Speed) - S3 - Lesson 06
13 sept. 2023
00:12:28
SLOW SPEED VERSION
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 practice This 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 water
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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?
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.
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 practice This 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 water
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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?
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.
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 water
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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?
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.
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 practice This 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 / now
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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
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 practice This 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 / now
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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
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 / now
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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
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.
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
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!
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.
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
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!
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 / 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)
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
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!
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.
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)
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!
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.
Comparative Phrases Here 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)
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!
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.
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)
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
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 lesson
We 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.
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)
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
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.
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 pinyin 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
Translation of the story I'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.
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 <3
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.
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 pinyin 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
Translation of the story I'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.
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 supporting member Consider becoming a supporting member today. Your support will enable me to keep paying the costs of hosting the podcast and this website. And if enough people join, I will even be able to put more time into making a wider variety of materials for you.
I have lots of ideas, including a series specifically designed to help you master the tones, another series on pronunciation, a video series about “Mandarin Power Tools,” more fun dialogues, and much beyond that.
It’s up to you, and it doesn’t take a lot. Even if everyone pitches in a small amount, it will make all the difference. And as a member, you will be among the first to know about this new material.
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 recording
You'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.
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.
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.
- Isaac
Lesson 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!
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S2 ~ 15 ~ 你這樣太辛苦了！Part 2 + Questions
03 févr. 2023
00:13:45
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!
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!
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?
After listening to Season 2, Lesson 14, 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 recording
You'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.
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!
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!
新年快樂！Happy Lunar New Year! In honor of the new year, this dialogue involves lots and lots and lots of food, prepared by Mrs. Kang (康太太). Can you guess what else is happening?
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 (Chinese characters only): (scroll down for pinyin and the translation)
計程車
那裡有計程車！
你要不要坐計程車？
因為我找不到計程車，所以我遲到了
隔壁
我住在隔壁
隔壁有一間餐廳
不要吵到隔壁的人！
約會（約）
不好意思，今天我有約
你的約會怎麼樣？
我們太久沒有約會了！
講話
你會講中文嗎？
我妹妹不想跟你講話
亂講（亂）
不要亂講！
我弟弟很愛亂講
不好意思，我家很亂
講話不能亂講！
直接
你講話太直接
我現在要直接去了
我今天不跟你約，我要直接回家
辛苦
謝謝！辛苦了！
下班了！辛苦了大家！
我的工作太辛苦
跟這個人講話好辛苦
煮
煮飯
你喜歡煮飯嗎？
煮水
煮湯
邀請（請）
今天我請你！
謝謝你的邀請
我想請你來我家
準備
你準備好了嗎？
趕快準備！
等一下，我還沒準備好！
Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):
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
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.
After listening to S02 Lesson 12, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes it stick.
README: How to use this recording
You'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.
A transcript of the dialogue is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
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.
In this new dialogue, Mrs. Kang (康太太) arrives with the water and something else that Xiao-Li (小李) hasn't seen before. And she receives a surprise phone call...
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 (Chinese characters only):
自己
沒關係，我自己來！
這是我自己做的
你自己看吧
小心
開車要小心！
小心不要吃太多
路上小心
變，變成 or 變得
今天變熱了
他看到你變得很開心！
他太累了，變成我開車
被
咖啡被我喝了！
餅乾都被吃掉
貓咪被你嚇到
外
外國
外面
外帶
本來
我本來以為你是他的妹妹！
我本來還想吃蛋糕，可是蛋糕已經沒了
你本來想說什麼？
需要
我需要一點時間
你需要什麼嗎？
我需要你的幫忙！
上班
上班好累！
你幾點上班？
我明天需要上班
下班
下班了！回家了！
我今天需要早一點下班
你下班要做什麼？
幾點
現在幾點？
你都幾點睡覺？
你要坐幾點的車？
忙
我今天很忙
我先去忙
我現在有一點忙
完
我還沒用完！
書你看完了嗎？
趕快把東西吃完！
Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):
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.)?
After listening to S02 Lesson 10, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking five minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes it stick.
README: How to use this recording
You'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.
A transcript of the dialogue is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
We'll hear the line-by-line translation of the dialogue from S02 Episode 8, and then we'll further reinforce the vocabulary and practice answering some questions with a mock interview.
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)
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
小李：便利商店在哪裡？
阿明：那裡的路口有一家，我帶你去
小李：好，要走多久？我快熱死了！
阿明：差不多五分鐘，很近！
小李：好，走吧！
康太太：不好意思，不好意思
阿明：欸？我們嗎？
康太太：不好意思，我是你的鄰居！我姓康。
阿明：康太太你好，我叫阿明，這個是小李，小李才是你的鄰居
康太太：啊你是他的朋友！
阿明：對
康太太：這麼好！
阿明：對，然後我們正要去...
康太太：你知道嗎齁，這裡不能停車！
阿明：是喔...
康太太：是的！你要趕快開去對面的停車場才對
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！
康太太：不行，這裡常常會有警察來看
小李：阿明，怎麼辦？
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！
康太太：沒問題，來我們家坐一下！
阿明：太感謝了！
小李：真的嗎？謝謝你！
康太太：不客氣，趕快進來坐！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and 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!
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?"
I've been several times. Last month I went there to sing karaoke!
Thanks for listening!
Wan...
Daily Practice Session - S2 - Lesson 08
20 nov. 2021
00:04:09
After listening to S02 Lesson 08, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking four minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes progress!
README: How to use this recording
You'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.
A transcript of the dialogue is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
小李：便利商店在哪裡？
阿明：那裡的路口有一家，我帶你去
小李：好，要走多久？我快熱死了！
阿明：差不多五分鐘，很近！
小李：好，走吧！
康太太：不好意思，不好意思
阿明：欸？我們嗎？
康太太：不好意思，我是你的鄰居！我姓康。
阿明：康太太你好，我叫阿明，這個是小李，小李才是你的鄰居
康太太：啊你是他的朋友！
阿明：對
康太太：這麼好！
阿明：對，然後我們正要去...
康太太：你知道嗎齁*，這裡不能停車！
阿明：是喔...
康太太：是的！你要趕快開去對面的停車場才對
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！
康太太：不行，這裡常常會有警察來看
小李：阿明，怎麼辦？
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！
康太太：沒問題，來我們家坐一下！
阿明：太感謝了！
小李：真的嗎？謝謝你！
康太太：不客氣，趕快進來坐！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and 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!
We'll hear the line-by-line translation of the dialogue from S02 Episode 06, and then we'll further reinforce the vocabulary and practice answering some questions with a mock interview.
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 (中文 only):
阿明：終於把行李都整理好了
小李：對，我好累，而且我出了很多汗
阿明：你要記得喝水哦
小李：這裡好熱！
阿明：哈哈！這就是台灣！很熱吧。
小李：我都忘記台灣夏天有這麼熱
阿明：那你怎麼不開冷氣呢？
小李：哦對耶！我都忘記有冷氣了！這樣好多了！
阿明：美國沒有冷氣嗎？
小李：我住的地方沒有，只有暖氣
阿明：哇！那邊一定很冷！
小李：其實還好，只是很常下雨。欸？冰箱是空的！
阿明：當然是空的啊！你才剛剛回來而已！
小李：對耶，我真的太渴了，沒辦法思考
阿明：那，我們趕快去便利商店買一瓶冰水吧！
小李：好，那我把冷氣關掉
Complete dialogue & translation (w/ pinyin and 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.
After listening to S02 Lesson 6, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking three minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes progress!
README: How to use this recording
You'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.
A transcript of the dialogue is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
阿明：終於把行李都整理好了
小李：對，我好累，而且我出了很多汗
阿明：你要記得喝水哦
小李：這裡好熱！
阿明：哈哈！這就是台灣！很熱吧。
小李：我都忘記台灣夏天有這麼熱
阿明：那你怎麼不開冷氣呢？
小李：哦對耶！我都忘記有冷氣了！這樣好多了！
阿明：美國沒有冷氣嗎？
小李：我住的地方沒有，只有暖氣
阿明：哇！那邊一定很冷！
小李：其實還好，只是很常下雨。欸？冰箱是空的！
阿明：當然是空的啊！你才剛剛回來而已！
小李：對耶，我真的太渴了，沒辦法思考
阿明：那，我們趕快去便利商店買一瓶冰水吧！
小李：好，那我把冷氣關掉
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and 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.
Learning a new language can become a gateway to exploring an undiscovered side of yourself. Find out how in this lesson. In the dialogue, Xiao-Li (小李) and A-Ming (阿明) realize there's nothing to drink in Xiao-Li's apartment.
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.
One fun, engaging way you can give your Mandarin learning a boost is by conducting interviews with your Mandarin-speaking language parents, friends, or teachers. In this lesson, I offer some advice about how to turn the interview into a powerful language-learning tool. Then, we'll hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from Lesson 04.
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)
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
阿明：我們到了！
小李：我真的好久沒有回家。
你會緊張嗎？
有一點
你在擔心什麼？
我擔心我家裡有很多蟑螂！
是哦。。。你家不是很乾淨嗎？
是啊，蠻乾淨的，可是。。。
那應該沒問題吧
也是，可是。。。
那我們先進去吧，我幫你拿行李
好，麻煩你了
不會，你先去開門
天哪！
怎麼了？
好多蟑螂！怎麼辦？
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and 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.
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 (A-Ming or Xiao-Li) 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 is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
阿明：我們到了！
小李：我真的好久沒有回家
阿明：你會緊張嗎？
小李：有一點
阿明：你在擔心什麼？
小李：我擔心我家裡有很多蟑螂！
阿明：是哦。。。你家不是很乾淨嗎？
小李：是啊，蠻乾淨的，可是。。。
阿明：那應該沒問題吧
小李：也是，可是。。。
阿明：那我們先進去吧，我幫你拿行李
小李：好，麻煩你了
阿明：不會，你先去開門
小李：天哪！
阿明：怎麼了？
小李：好多蟑螂！怎麼辦？
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and 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.
阿明：你會緊張嗎？
Nǐ huì jǐnzhāng ma?
Are you nervous?
小李：有一點
Yǒu yīdiǎn
A little.
阿明：你在擔心什麼？
nǐ zài dānxīn shénme?
What are you worried about?
小李：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!
阿明：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?
小李：是啊，蠻乾淨的，可是。。。
Shì a, mán gānjìng de, kěshì...
It is, it’s pretty clean, but...
阿明：那應該沒問題吧
Nà yīnggāi méi wèntí ba
Then it shouldn’t be a problem.
小李：也是，可是。。。
yěshì, kěshì...
That’s true, but…
阿明：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.
What makes a good language parent, and how do you find one? In this episode I share some tips based on my own language learning experience. In the dialogue, 小李 is finally home after a long absence, and 阿明 notices that he seems a little nervous.
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 (Chinese characters only):
緊張
我好緊張
你為什麼緊張？
你在緊張什麼？
擔心
我很擔心
我很愛擔心
不要擔心
乾淨
我的家很乾淨
我很愛乾淨
這是乾淨的嗎？
應該
應該是吧
這應該是乾淨的
你不應該這樣說
先
我先走了！
你先吃吧！
那我先回家
拿
我拿，好不好？
這個給你拿
不要拿走
麻煩你了
怎麼了？
怎麼辦？
Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):
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.
After listening to S02 Episode 03, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking two minutes a day to practice listening and imitating the dialogue. Repetition makes progress!
If you want to practice reading along in Chinese, here is the dialogue written out in Chinese characters only (you can find the translation and pinyin below that):
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 have a question about any details from a lesson, feel free to drop me a line!
We all acquire language in the same way, and it has nothing to do with talent or aptitude. In this lesson, we get the line-by-line translation of the dialogue and complete the picture from Lesson 01.
Lesson Outline:
Introduction: We all learn languages the same way, and talent has nothing to do with it.
Listen to the dialogue at normal speed.
Get the translation line-by-line, and try to infer the meaning of the parts you don't know yet.
Listen to the dialogue at normal speed again, and repeat during the pauses.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
阿明：小李，你回來了！
小李：阿明，好久不見！
阿明：真的好久不見。美國還好嗎？
小李：美國很好啊，但我還是很開心回到台灣
阿明：我也很開心看到你
小李：謝謝你來接我
阿明：不客氣！小事情
小李：還是很謝謝你啊
阿明：你在飛機上有吃東西嗎？
小李：沒有欸，我都在睡覺
阿明：你餓了嗎？
小李：有一點餓
阿明：你看，我買什麼給你：你最喜歡的鍋貼！
小李：哇！真的假的！阿明，你好貼心！
阿明：還好啦，趕快吃！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):
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.
After listening to S02 Episode 1, start reinforcing what you've learned by taking four minutes a day to practice listening and speaking the dialogue. Repetition makes progress!
A transcript of the dialogue is available below. First, it is written out in only Chinese characters for those who are learning characters and want to practice reading along. Then it is written out with the translation and pinyin.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
阿明：小李，你回來了！
小李：阿明，好久不見！
阿明：真的好久不見。美國還好嗎？
小李：美國很好啊，但我還是很開心回到台灣
阿明：我也很開心看到你
小李：謝謝你來接我
阿明：不客氣！小事情
小李：還是很謝謝你啊
阿明：你在飛機上有吃東西嗎？
小李：沒有欸，我都在睡覺
阿明：你餓了嗎？
小李：有一點餓
阿明：你看，我買什麼給你：你最喜歡的鍋貼！
小李：哇！真的假的！阿明，你好貼心！
阿明：還好啦，趕快吃！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):
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.
We're back for another season! In this episode, Xiao-Li (小李) comes back to Taiwan.
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'll introduce some of the key words and phrases, and we'll let your language intuition work to try and figure out the rest. It's ok if you don't get all or even most of it; it's the challenge of grappling with the exercise that makes us grow, not simply knowing the right answer.
Tomorrow, I will release the dialogue on its own, so that you can start to practice and master the material more and more over time. 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:
Introduction: Language is music.
Dialogue at normal speed.
Dialogue at slow speed. Listen and repeat.
Learn some vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue.
Listen to the dialogue at normal speed again. See if you pick out any of the new words or phrases you just learned.
Dialogue at slow speed again. 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:
Chinese characters only (scroll down for pinyin and translation):
回
來
回來
還好
你還好嗎？
我還好啊
還好啦！
還是
我還是很開心
還是很謝謝你
到
回到
我們到了
我看到你
我買到了
飛機
上
飛機上
你在飛機上做什麼？
車上
路上
路上小心
都在
我都在睡
你都在吃
貼心
你好貼心
你最貼心
你真貼心
趕快
趕快吃！
趕快去！
趕快來！
趕快買！
好久不見
真的假的
With pinyin and translation:
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
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?)
Language as collaboration
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.
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.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)
Ah-Ming (M)：小李，我問你喔，你有兄弟姊妹嗎？
Xiao Li (L)：我有一個姊姊
M：她做什麼工作？
L：她是醫生。你呢？你有兄弟姊妹嗎？
M：有，我有一個弟弟，還有一個妹妹
L：那，他們做什麼工作？
M：他們沒有在工作，他們還在唸書
L：還在唸書？他們幾歲？
M：我的弟弟29歲，我的妹妹27.
L：他們那麼大，還在唸書？
M：對啊，這樣不好嗎？
L：沒有不好啊...
M：唸書很重要啊
L：對啊，對啊，很重要啊
M：對啊
L：對啊
M：幹嘛
L：沒事
M：你很無聊
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation)
Ah-Ming (M)：小李，我問你喔，你有兄弟姊妹嗎？
Xiǎo lǐ, wǒ wèn nǐ ō, nǐ yǒu xiōngdì zǐmèi ma?
Xiao Li, I ask you oh, do you have any siblings?
Xiao Li (L)：我有一個姊姊
Wǒ yǒu yīgè jiě jie
I have an older sister.
M：她做什麼工作？
Tā zuò shénme gōngzuò?
She does what work?
L：她是醫生。你呢？你有兄弟姊妹嗎？
Tā shì yīshēng. Nǐ ne? Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?
She's a doctor. And you? Do you have any siblings?
M：有，我有一個弟弟，還有一個妹妹
Yǒu, wǒ yǒu yīgè dìdì, hái yǒu yīgè mèimei
I have, I have a younger brother, I also have a younger sister.
L：那，他們做什麼工作？
Nà, tāmen zuò shénme gōngzuò?
Then, they do what work?
M：他們沒有在工作，他們還在唸書
Tāmen méiyǒu zài gōngzuò, tāmen hái zài niànshū
They aren't working, they're still studying.
L：還在唸書？他們幾歲？
Hái zài niànshū? Tāmen jǐ suì?
Still studying? How old are they?
M：我的弟弟29歲，我的妹妹27.
Wǒ de dìdì èrshíjiǔ suì, wǒ de mèimei èrshíqī.
My younger brother is 29 years old, my younger sister is 27.
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.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)
Ah-Ming (M)：你吃飽了嗎？
Xiao Li (L)：吃好飽！
M：不好意思，我們要買單！
Waiter (F)：好的，這樣五百八
M：好，來
L：等一下！你要請我嗎？
M：對啊，你剛來台灣，當然要請你啊
L：不行，上次你請我，這一次換我請你啦！
M：不要啦！我請你就好，等我去美國你再請我
L：很不好意思
M：不用不好意思！你來我的地盤，當然我請你啊
L：那好吧...
M：不好意思，這裡一千，麻煩你
F：收你一千，請稍等一下... 好，找你四百二！
M：好， 謝謝！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation)
Ah-Ming (M)：你吃飽了嗎？
Nǐ chī bǎole ma?
Are you full?
Xiao Li (L)：吃好飽！
Chī hǎo bǎo!
So full!
M：不好意思，我們要買單！
Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒmen yāo mǎidān!
Excuse me, we'll take the check!
Waiter (F)：好的，這樣五百八
Hǎo de, zhèyàng wǔbǎi bā
Ok, that'll be five hundred eighty.
M：好，來
Hǎo, lái
Ok, here.
L：等一下！你要請我嗎？
Děng yīxià! Nǐ yàoqǐng wǒ ma?
Wait a sec! You're going to treat me?
M：對啊，你剛來台灣，當然要請你啊
Duì a, nǐ gāng lái táiwān, dāngrán yàoqǐng nǐ a
Yeah, you just came to Taiwan, of course I'm treating you.
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.
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)
Ah-Ming (M): 菜都上了！你快試試看！
Xiao Li (L): 好
M：好吃嗎？
L：好吃！但很辣！
M：你會怕辣嗎？
L：還好，不會，我喜歡
M：那就好，要不要喝一點茶？
L：好
M：來，我幫你倒
L：謝謝
M：鍋貼也吃看看吧
L：那是什麼？
M：美國沒有鍋貼嗎？
L：有啊，可是美國的鍋貼看起來有一點不一樣
M：我們這裡的鍋貼很好吃，你吃就知道了
L：裡面有什麼？
M：裡面有肉跟高麗菜，很好吃！
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation)
Ah-Ming (M): 菜都上了！你快試試看！
Cài dōu shàngle! Nǐ kuài shì shìkàn!
The food's all here! Hurry up and try it!
Xiao Li (L): 好
Hǎo
Ok!
M：好吃嗎？
Hǎo chī ma?
Is it good?
L：好吃！但很辣！
Hǎo chī! Dàn hěn là!
It's good! But really spicy!
M：你會怕辣嗎？
Nǐ huì pà là ma?
Are you afraid of spice?
L：還好，不會，我喜歡
Hái hǎo, bù huì, wǒ xǐhuān
Not really, I'm not, I like it.
M：那就好，要不要喝一點茶？
Nà jiù hǎo, yào bùyào hè yīdiǎn chá?
That's good then. Do you want to drink some tea?
L：好
Hǎo
Sure.
M：來，我幫你倒
Lái, wǒ bāng nǐ dào
Here, I'll help you pour.
L：謝謝
Xièxiè
Thanks.
M：鍋貼也吃看看吧
Guōtiē yě chī kàn kàn ba
Also try the potstickers!
L：那是什麼？
Nà shì shénme?
What is that?
M：美國沒有鍋貼嗎？
Měiguó méiyǒu guōtiē ma?
America doesn't have potstickers?
L：有啊，可是美國的鍋貼看起來有一點不一樣
Yǒu a, kěshì měiguó de guōtiē kàn qǐlái yǒu yīdiǎn bù yīyàng
It does, but America's potstickers look a little bit not the same.