In this lesson, we'll talk about the single most important thing you should be doing for your spoken Mandarin. We'll also learn how to talk about food, and how to make plans to go eat with other people.

Have you ever had the experience of studying a language for a long time, of feeling like you should be able to speak it by now, but then when the opportunity arises you get stuck, or maybe even get cold feet and make some excuse as to why you're not ready yet? If so, the question you should be asking yourself isn't why this happens, but why you didn't make it happen sooner.

Nobody speaks well on their first try, no matter how long they've spent preparing for it. 

This podcast -- or any other podcast, app, or class for that matter -- is not going to singlehandedly turn you into a Mandarin speaker. The only thing that's going to do that is talking to another human being, and doing it often. It doesn't matter if it's online or offline, as long as it's a real, live person.

If this podcast is doing its job, you'll walk into those first conversations equipped to have an interesting talk. You'll be able to make educated guesses or even understand some of what the other person is saying, and you'll have some idea how to make yourself understood. But it's still not going to be pretty. You'll make mistakes, have misunderstandings, and have to abandon ship on a lot of things you thought you knew how to say. No matter what you do, remember to find ways to make it fun for yourself. That's what will keep you motivated to keep practicing.

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. A language exists primarily in its sounds, which is why daily listening and imitation practice is so important. 

Lesson vocabulary:

• 最 :: zuì :: most
• 吃 :: chī :: to eat
• 韓國 :: hánguó :: Korea
• 菜 :: cài :: vegetables / cuisine
• 拉麵 :: lāmiàn :: ramen
• 晚餐 :: wǎncān :: dinner ("evening meal")
• 要不要 :: yào bùyào :: [do you want...?]
• 一起 :: yīqǐ :: together
• 餐廳 :: cāntīng :: restaurant
• 久 :: jiǔ :: a long time
• 車 :: chē :: car
• 開 :: kāi :: to open
• 開車 :: kāichē :: to drive a car
• 時候 :: shíhòu :: time
• 什麼時候 :: shénme shíhòu :: when
• 他 :: tā :: [third person singular pronoun]
• 餓 :: è :: hungry
• 就 :: jiù :: [keep an eye on this word]

About learning Chinese characters

Teaching Chinese characters is outside the scope of this podcast, but if you are learning Chinese characters with 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 learn to speak Mandarin fluently, and so can you! If and when you are ready to start learning the characters, already speaking some Mandarin will also 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. And most of all, enjoy! 

Dialogue transcription

• M: 小李，你最喜歡吃什麼？
• L：我最喜歡吃韓國菜，你呢？
• M：我也喜歡吃韓國菜，但我最喜歡吃拉麵
• L：我要去吃晚餐了，你要不要跟我一起去？
• M：好啊，但你要去哪吃？
• L：我要去韓國餐廳，很久沒去
• M：好啊，你開車嗎？
• L：對啊，我開車去
• M：什麼時候？
• L：等一下就要去了
• M：他們也有麵嗎？
• L：有啊
• M：那好，我們一起去吧，我餓了！

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