Mailbag time. Phoebe’s moving to China in a week, Jasmine’s torn between Simplified and Traditional, Mark nails his first all-Mandarin order, Anna shares tonal research, and Katie reminds us to slow down. We talk avoiding the foreigner bubble, finding a “language parent,” sleep habits, and why progress feels slow, until it doesn’t.

Send your story: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Practice Mandarin listening with a native Taiwanese Mandarin speaker and English support. We cover cold-weather camping at 3°C, off-grid power, food, health, and planning a sensible motorbike tour through Europe. Great for beginners to intermediate, HSK prep, and heritage Chinese/Taiwanese learners keeping both languages fresh.

You’ll learn: camping and travel vocab, opinion phrases, modal verbs for suggestions, health/food terms, and natural Taiwanese rhythm.

Resources

• Free transcripts/clips on our YouTube (search “Mandarin Monkey listening practice”)

• Book a lesson with a Taiwanese teacher (all levels)

• Mailbag: send a short story (Mandarin or English) to [email protected]

 for feedback

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Listener Mailbag is stacked: Mandarin at the bus stop, writing a sky-lantern wish in Pingxi, ordering dinner in Kunming with zero English, the strange peace of visa lines with a podcast in your ears, and a market auntie gifting a spring onion for luck. Plus: dogs, Edinburgh place names, and whether American English secretly makes more sense. Perfect for immersive Mandarin listening practice - Ula in Mandarin, Tom in English - so you can follow along and pick up real phrases in context.

Send your story for a future episode: [email protected]

Book lessons / join the community: mandarinmonkey.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hump day chat with bilingual Mandarin + English listening practice baked in. We tackle a parenting standoff over toys at school, how “Thrill of the Fight” in VR turned into a 12-round sweat fest, whether gua sha helps or just hurts, Halloween safety (and trunk-or-treat), British politeness vs Taiwanese directness, and a surprisingly decent side hustle: cleaning garages for cash.

Send us a story for Friday’s Listener Mailbag: [email protected]

Lessons, hangouts, intensives: mandarinmonkey.com

Topics: Mandarin listening practice, VR boxing, gua sha scraping, UK vs Taiwan culture, Halloween UK, trunk or treat, side hustles, bilingual conversation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever tried to learn Mandarin while you sleep?

One listener did — and his girlfriend woke up to him whispering “māma” all night.

In this episode, we read your wildest Mandarin stories:

🧠 Sleep-learning experiments gone wrong

🐟 The “train station” that turned into a pet shop

💔 The couple arguing about the third tone

🙊 Why Chinese speakers don’t say “bless you”

and much more from our Listener Mailbag.

This is real Mandarin listening practice — with jokes, accents, and stories from actual learners.

📬 Send us your story: [email protected]

🎧 Listen anywhere: mandarinmonkey.com/podcast

🗣️ Book lessons: mandarinmonkey.com/lessons

🎥 Shorts & clips: @MandarinMonkey

#LearnMandarin #MandarinPodcast #MandarinListening #ChineseTones #LanguageLearning #MandarinMonkey

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This one’s part London adventure, part Mandarin listening practice.

Tom celebrated his birthday and 10-year anniversary with Ula — a surprise visit from Auntie Kara, a Studio Ghibli stage show (“My Neighbour Totoro”), London’s best steak at Steak & Company, and an escape-room fail that turned into a win… with only 18 seconds left on the clock.

It’s a bilingual Chinese–English episode, so you’ll get real, natural Chinese with clear English context — perfect for learners who want genuine Mandarin conversation, not classroom scripts.

🎧 What’s inside:

• Life in the UK told in Mandarin + English
• Real couple conversation for natural listening practice
• Studio Ghibli, London travel, and the best wagyu steak we’ve ever had
• Why escape rooms are secretly relationship tests
• How to use fun topics like these to learn real-life Chinese

📍 Chapters:

0:00 – Hump Day & intro chaos

2:45 – Birthday surprise & planning

6:40 – London trip + Totoro show

12:30 – Japanese restaurant adventure

17:40 – Theatre review

22:00 – Covent Garden wander + 5G rant

25:10 – Best steak in London: Steak & Company

30:20 – Underground games & escape-room fail

39:00 – Alice in Puzzleland redemption

43:50 – Westfield, mystery board game & wrap-up

Want to learn Mandarin with us?

Book a free trial lesson: https://mandarinmonkey.com

Say hi: [email protected]

#ChinesePodcast #MandarinListening #LearnChinese #BilingualPodcast #LondonTravel #StudioGhibli #EscapeRoom

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listener Mailbag is back. This week your stories cover first Mandarin wins, night market fails, and everything in between. We read your emails about dreaming in tones, KTV redemption songs, taxi mistakes, and the joy of ordering food without pointing. You’ll hear how small slips turn into lasting lessons, why confidence matters more than beer bravery, and how to keep learning when tests and tones trip you up.

Send your story: [email protected]

Lessons, hangouts, and intensives: mandarinmonkey.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn Mandarin through real conversations. Episode 422 covers wild camping, from rain and wind in the UK to snakes and bears in Taiwan. Pick up camping words in Chinese, hear how to talk about fishing and food, and enjoy bilingual chat in English and Mandarin.

Key Mandarin words from this episode:

野营 (yě yíng) – wild camping

帐篷 (zhàng péng) – tent

篝火 (gōu huǒ) – campfire

蚊子 (wén zi) – mosquito

獾 (huān) – badger

蛇 (shé) – snake

熊 (xióng) – bear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your emails, your questions, your Mandarin struggles.

In this first Listener Mailbag, we tackle:

• Tone panic ordering 牛肉麵

• How to pronounce 出去 without tripping

• ü vs u, and why “iu” sounds like “yo”

• Zhuyin vs Pinyin — which works in Taiwan

• Why HSK tests don’t prepare you for street speed

• Training your ears to real Mandarin

• Karaoke learning, flashcard guilt, and more

Email your questions to [email protected] and we might answer them next time.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Mandarin really that hard to learn? How long does it take? Should you learn simplified or traditional characters? In this episode, we answer the most-searched questions about learning Mandarin and share real tips from our own experience.

You’ll learn:

How to start learning Mandarin

Whether tones really matter

The fastest way to get conversational

Free and paid tools that work

How to stay motivated and avoid the plateau

Grab your free Mandarin lesson at MandarinMonkey.com and join a global community of learners.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.