It's OK to feel tired sometimes, and acknowledging it is part of staying motivated. In this episode, you'll learn how to ask and talk about feelings, especially that feeling of needing some rest.

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Learning a language is the project of a lifetime. There's usually a starting point -- that day you decide will be your first day learning Mandarin, say -- but there's never a stopping point. From that moment forward, the language is alive with you, a part of you.

It's important to make sure the language is working for you, and not the other way around. This means finding ways of using it for things that are intrinsically rewarding, even from day one. Connecting with people is a big one. And, let's be honest, there are also few things more rewarding than talking about yourself to someone who is really listening.

In this episode you'll start to learn how to do that. You'll be able to ask another person how they're feeling, and by observing and imitating what they say, you'll add more feeling states to your vocabulary. And, yes, you'll be able to say that you're tired. That's a handy one.

A note about pronunciation: The vocabulary list below includes the Chinese characters and the pinyin romanization system. The advantage of pinyin for English speakers is that it uses the familiar symbols of the Latin alphabet. The disadvantage is that English speakers are easily deceived into thinking these familiar symbols represent the same sounds they do in English. They don't. That said, pinyin can be a useful system to learn, but you must rely on your ears first, eyes second. 

Don't expect to be able to pronounce anything just by reading the pinyin; the romanization is just a reference to jog your memory. the language exists primarily in its sounds, which is why daily listening and imitation practice is so important. 

Episode vocabulary:

• 還好 :: hái hǎo :: OK / so-so
• 怎麼 :: zěnme :: how
• 了 :: le :: [past tense, change of state, etc.]
• 怎麼了 :: zěnmele :: What's wrong? What's up?
• 怎麼說 :: zěnme shuō :: How do you say...?
• 累 :: lèi :: tired
• 也 :: yě :: also
• 我們 :: wǒmen :: we/us
• 都 :: dōu :: all
• 今天 :: jīntiān :: today
• 大家 :: dàjiā :: everybody

About learning Chinese characters
Teaching Chinese characters is outside the scope of this podcast, but if you are learning Chinese characters through another course or method, you can use the transcript below to follow along.

Learning characters can be a fulfilling project, and can help you to remember and differentiate similar-sounding words. And, of course, it opens up more avenues for practicing your Mandarin, such as reading (books, children's books, comic books) and corresponding with Chinese speakers via email and other messaging apps. I highly encourage you to give it a try!

However, if the thought of memorizing all those characters now gives you a headache, rest assured: you can start speaking Mandarin without being able to read or write. Millions of preliterate children speak Mandarin fluently, and so can you! If and when you are ready to start learning the characters, already speaking some Mandarin will make it that much easier. 

The bottom line is this: Don't let anything stop you or discourage you. The best method is the method you actually use, and any method you choose is better than no method at all! Find a way to move forward. You can always make adjustments later. 

Dialogue transcript:

• M：你好
• L：你好
• M：你好嗎？
• L：我嗎？
• M：對啊，你啊
• L：我還好
• M：怎麼了？
• L：我有一點累
• M：我也有一點累
• L：你也累了？
• M：對啊，我也累了
• L：我們都累了
• M：對啊，好像今天大家都累了

Thanks for listening! 

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