Mandarin From the Ground Up

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) M：阿芬！你來了！ F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。 M：沒事！趕快進來坐！ F：謝謝。 M：你看起來好喘！ F：唉，爬樓梯真的好喘！ M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。 F：我好久沒運動。 M：沒關係，現在可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。 L：你好。 F：嗨。 M：來，慧芬，要不要吃麵包？小李做的！ F：好厲害！ M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！ F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？ L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。 M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。 F：你寫小說嗎？ L：沒有。但那是我的目標。 M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！ F：我最愛唱歌！ M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。 L：我不用了。 F：你真的很害羞。 M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。 L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前… M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！ L：還是我先去吃蛋糕… M：你不要逃避了啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！ L：什麼？ M：我家的規定。 L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。 F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。 L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？ F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？ L：哦… 蔡琴的。 M：老靈魂。 L：哈哈，對啊。 F：好，點好了。 L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心… M：不要害羞！ L：不能錄音哦。 M：沒有人會錄音！ 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 下班電梯放鬆慧芬律師放心麵包健康麵包作家害羞認真作家目標唱歌唱歌害羞拜託大家陌生陌生放心蛋糕…唱歌辣椒夢中

Lesson Outline: 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) M：阿芬！你來了！ F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。 M：沒事！趕快進來坐！ F：謝謝。 M：你看起來好喘！ F：唉，爬樓梯真的好喘！ M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。 F：我好久沒運動。 M：沒關係，現在可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。 L：你好。 F：嗨。 M：來，慧芬，要不要吃麵包？小李做的！ F：好厲害！ M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！ F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？ L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。 M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。 F：你寫小說嗎？ L：沒有。但那是我的目標。 M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！ F：我最愛唱歌！ M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。 L：我不用了。 F：你真的很害羞。 M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。 L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前… M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！ L：還是我先去吃蛋糕… M：你不要逃避了啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！ L：什麼？ M：我家的規定。 L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。 F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。 L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？ F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？ L：哦… 蔡琴的。 M：老靈魂。 L：哈哈，對啊。 F：好，點好了。 L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心… M：不要害羞！ L：不能錄音哦。 M：沒有人會錄音！ 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 下班電梯放鬆慧芬律師放心麵包健康麵包作家害羞認真作家目標唱歌唱歌害羞拜託大家陌生陌生放心蛋糕…唱歌辣椒夢中大家耐心害羞錄音錄音 Notes: 夢中人

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) 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ 麗麗：可以。 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ 阿明：可以了！ 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 小李：很酷的夢想！ 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 小李：聽起來很有趣！ 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 小李：好可憐！ 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 小李：那然後呢？ 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 小李：沒錯！ 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 小李：有道理。 麗麗：所以我離職了。 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 小李：你一定很難過。 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this...

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) 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ 麗麗：可以。 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ 阿明：可以了！ 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 小李：很酷的夢想！ 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 小李：聽起來很有趣！ 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 小李：好可憐！ 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 小李：那然後呢？ 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 小李：沒錯！ 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 小李：有道理。 麗麗：所以我離職了。 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 小李：你一定很難過。 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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) 小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？ 麗麗：可以。 小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？ 阿明：可以了！ 小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？ 麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。 小李：很酷的夢想！ 麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。 小李：所以你念了什麼系？ 麗麗：我念電腦科學。畢業後我在大公司上班。我們買賣進口的電腦系統。 小李：聽起來很有趣！ 麗麗：很無聊！我賺了很多錢，但每天都覺得很痛苦。不知道到底活著是為了什麼。而且身體還出了一些狀況。因為沒有胃口，所以變得很瘦。 小李：好可憐！ 麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。 小李：那然後呢？ 麗麗：後來我發現了，害怕失敗只是一個藉口。或許寫劇本只是一個幻想啊，但至少要試試看才知道。 小李：沒錯！ 麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。 小李：有道理。 麗麗：所以我離職了。 小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？ 麗麗：沒有。她很憤怒，她說我會後悔，還說最好不要再看到我了。 小李：你一定很難過。 麗麗：讓媽媽生氣是不可避免的啊！重點是，我現在的工作是寫劇本。我成功了！ 小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？ 麗麗：她早就忘記了。 康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？ 小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪… 阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。 康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！ 小李：真的。真的很厲害。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

SLOW VERSION 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) 阿明，你在幹嘛？ 我在看電視。 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ 我不去了。 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ 我忘記了。 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ 抱歉，小李。 阿明，你怎麼了？ 你看！ 看什麼？ 你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。 我沒看到。 它說這個社會… 這個社會怎麼了？ 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ 戶外嗎？ 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ 你確定這樣OK嗎？ 可以啦！我也來翹課。 謝謝小李。 不客氣，阿明。 我好鬱悶！ 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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) 阿明，你在幹嘛？ 我在看電視。 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ 我不去了。 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ 我忘記了。 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ 抱歉，小李。 阿明，你怎麼了？ 你看！ 看什麼？ 你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。 我沒看到。 它說這個社會… 這個社會怎麼了？ 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ 戶外嗎？ 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ 你確定這樣OK嗎？ 可以啦！我也來翹課。 謝謝小李。 不客氣，阿明。 我好鬱悶！ 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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) 阿明，你在幹嘛？ 我在看電視。 不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！ 我不去了。 什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？ 我忘記了。 你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！ 你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。 阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？ 抱歉，小李。 阿明，你怎麼了？ 你看！ 看什麼？ 你看見了嗎？電視上的報導。 我沒看到。 它說這個社會… 這個社會怎麼了？ 變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！ 就算是，你還是要繼續活下去啊！不能放棄！阿明，你多久沒去外面？ 戶外嗎？ 我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。 但是，我害怕遇到教授。 那我們不要往教室的方向，我們就去… 動物園吧。我們去看大象，好不好？你最愛的大象！ 你確定這樣OK嗎？ 可以啦！我也來翹課。 謝謝小李。 不客氣，阿明。 我好鬱悶！ 會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support this podcast ★

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. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！ Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián! 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") Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only) S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ K：你終於開門了！ S：你有什麼需求嗎？ K：我要抓狂了！ S：你的精神看起來不太好。 K：當然啊！ S：怎麼了？ K：我的兒子。 S：你的兒子怎麼了？ K：他要出國了！ S：是嗎？ K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ S：你有在干涉嗎？ K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ S：然後呢？ K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 K：可是生活有規則啊！ S：你需要跟他溝通。 K：我不行！你要幫我！ S：… 你要買空調嗎？ K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 S：謝謝光臨！ 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support 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. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！ Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián! 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") Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only) S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ K：你終於開門了！ S：你有什麼需求嗎？ K：我要抓狂了！ S：你的精神看起來不太好。 K：當然啊！ S：怎麼了？ K：我的兒子。 S：你的兒子怎麼了？ K：他要出國了！ S：是嗎？ K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ S：你有在干涉嗎？ K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ S：然後呢？ K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 K：可是生活有規則啊！ S：你需要跟他溝通。 K：我不行！你要幫我！ S：… 你要買空調嗎？ K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 S：謝謝光臨！ 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support 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: 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. 雖然公園非常安全，阿姨居然失眠！ Suīrán gōngyuán fēicháng ānquán, āyí jūrán shīmián! 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) S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？ K：你終於開門了！ S：你有什麼需求嗎？ K：我要抓狂了！ S：你的精神看起來不太好。 K：當然啊！ S：怎麼了？ K：我的兒子。 S：你的兒子怎麼了？ K：他要出國了！ S：是嗎？ K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！ S：你有在干涉嗎？ K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！ S：然後呢？ K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！ S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。 K：可是生活有規則啊！ S：你需要跟他溝通。 K：我不行！你要幫我！ S：… 你要買空調嗎？ K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。 S：謝謝光臨！ 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! ★ Support 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. 還好男友沒有拿起啤酒騎馬，危險！ Háihǎo nányǒu méiyǒu náqǐ píjiǔ qímǎ, wéixiǎn! 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) M：你還好嗎？ K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？ M：怎麼了？ K：他被罰款了！ M：為什麼被罰款？ K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。 M：你很愛你的兒子。 K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。 M：很合理！ K：而且他的牙齒很完整！ M：...是嗎？ K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！ M：所以... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！ M：賣牛奶還好吧。 K：不合法！ M：沒有人是完美的。 K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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. 還好男友沒有拿起啤酒騎馬，危險！ Háihǎo nányǒu méiyǒu náqǐ píjiǔ qímǎ, wéixiǎn! Comparative Phrases Here are some phrases that combine the tone pairs we've learned so far in lessons one to three. 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) M：你還好嗎？ K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？ M：怎麼了？ K：他被罰款了！ M：為什麼被罰款？ K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。 M：你很愛你的兒子。 K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。 M：很合理！ K：而且他的牙齒很完整！ M：...是嗎？ K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！ M：所以... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！ M：賣牛奶還好吧。 K：不合法！ M：沒有人是完美的。 K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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. 超市需要音樂，醫院需要安靜！ Chāoshì xūyào yīnyuè, yīyuàn xūyào ānjìng! 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) L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？ M：我生病了！ L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。 M：不是，是工作壓力啦。 L：你需要去醫院嗎？ M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。 L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？ M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。 L：是哦。好，我尊重你。 M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。 L：你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。 M：你要做蛋糕給我？！ L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。 M：生日雞蛋？ L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂… M：你好幽默。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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. 超市需要音樂，醫院需要安靜！ Chāoshì xūyào yīnyuè, yīyuàn xūyào ānjìng! 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) L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？ M：我生病了！ L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。 M：不是，是工作壓力啦。 L：你需要去醫院嗎？ M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。 L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？ M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。 L：是哦。好，我尊重你。 M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。 L：你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。 M：你要做蛋糕給我？！ L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。 M：生日雞蛋？ L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂… M：你好幽默。 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 Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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. 導遊本來以為美國草莓打折！ Dǎoyóu běnlái yǐwéi měiguó cǎoméi dǎzhé! 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 我朋友是警察。 Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá.他以前很想要減肥。 Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi. 可是他感覺很難！ Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán! 因為他女兒每次旅行都會買奶油餅乾。 Yīnwèi tā nǚ'ér měi cì lǚxíng dōu huì mǎi nǎiyóu bǐnggān. 警察請求他女兒不要再買， Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi, 女兒說不行， nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng, 餅乾很有名， bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng, 吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！ chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú! 我覺得警察很可憐！ Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián! 最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。 Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí. 她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。 Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián. 然後女兒不能去旅行。 Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng. 雖然減肥的問題解決了，但是警察還是很倒霉。 Suīrán jiǎnféi de wèntí jiějuéle, dànshì jǐngchá háishì hěn dǎoméi. 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. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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. 導遊本來以為美國草莓打折！ Dǎoyóu běnlái yǐwéi měiguó cǎoméi dǎzhé! 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 我朋友是警察。 Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá.他以前很想要減肥。 Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi. 可是他感覺很難！ Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán! 因為他女兒每次旅行都會買奶油餅乾。 Yīnwèi tā nǚ'ér měi cì lǚxíng dōu huì mǎi nǎiyóu bǐnggān. 警察請求他女兒不要再買， Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi, 女兒說不行， nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng, 餅乾很有名， bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng, 吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！ chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú! 我覺得警察很可憐！ Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián! 最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。 Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí. 她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。 Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián. 然後女兒不能去旅行。 Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng. 雖然減肥的問題解決了，但是警察還是很倒霉。 Suīrán jiǎnféi de wèntí jiějuéle, dànshì jǐngchá háishì hěn dǎoméi. 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. Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! ★ Support this podcast ★

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: 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. Support this podcast in just a few clicks. Lesson Outline: Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only): Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation): Thanks for listening! ★ Support this podcast ★

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): Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation): Enjoying the podcast? Help keep it alive: ★ Support this podcast ★ Thanks for listening!

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: 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: TEDx Talk on the Echo Methodliterally can't heardistinguish Lesson Outline: Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (Chinese characters only): (scroll down for pinyin and the translation) Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation): Thanks for listening! Enjoying this podcast? Become a member, get extra content, and keep it going! ★ Support this podcast ★