Podcast Episodes

106 - Learning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuyin and IPA

Season 1 Episode 106

Which transcription system should you use when learning Mandarin: Pinyin, Zhuyin or perhaps IPA? Let’s discuss their pros and cons!

Link to article 1: Learning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuy…

Published on 2 years, 10 months ago

105 - 10 ways of using games to learn and teach Chinese

Season 1 Episode 105

Games are great for learning languages. Here are ten ways you can use games to learn or teach Chinese as a second language!

Link to article: 10 ways of using games to learn and teach Chinese: https:/…

Published on 2 years, 10 months ago

104 - Hacking Chinese Podcast two-year anniversary Q&A

Season 1 Episode 104

How do you stop translating in your head? Is it worthwhile to study a Pinyin chart? And how do you learn traditional characters after learning simplified?

Link to article: Hacking Chinese Podcast two…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

103 - How to learn Chinese characters as a beginner

Season 1 Episode 103

Whole books have been written about how the Chinese writing system works, and really understanding Chinese is a lifelong adventure, but what do you do as a beginner when asked to memorise a list of c…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

102 - 7 ways to write Mandarin tones

Season 1 Episode 102

There are many ways of writing down the tones of Mandarin beyond the standard tone marks. Which are they and what pros and cons do they have for learners?

Link to article: 7 ways to write Mandarin to…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

101 - Chinese language question triage: When to ask whom about what

Season 1 Episode 101

When learning Chinese, questions about the language pop up all the time, but what's the best way to answer them?

Link to article: Chinese language question triage: When to ask whom about what: https:…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

100 - The most common Chinese words, characters and components for language learners and teachers

Season 1 Episode 100

A good  principle for choosing what to learn is to focus on the most useful things first, but how do you know what's most useful? Frequency lists can be helpful, but are often misused.

Link to articl…

Published on 2 years, 11 months ago

99 - How to become fluent in Chinese

Season 1 Episode 99

Being fluent in Chinese is more about being good at applying what you know, rather than knowing everything. Many students focus too much on learning new things, and neglect mastering what they've alr…

Published on 3 years ago

98 - How to learn from your mistakes and errors when learning Chinese

Season 1 Episode 98

Making mistakes is a natural part of learning Chinese, but how can you make sure you learn as much as possible from the mistakes you make? The answer can be anything from "ignore it" to "stop everyth…

Published on 3 years ago

97 - Do you have to learn to write Chinese characters by hand?

Season 1 Episode 97

Chinese characters are beautiful, but they take a long time to learn, especially if you want to be able to write them by hand. But do you actually need handwriting? When might you be required to writ…

Published on 3 years ago