Эпизоды
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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
M：阿芬！你來了！
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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！
M：阿芬！你來了！Ā fēn! Nǐ láile!A-Fen, you’re here!F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。Hēi! Bù hǎoyìsi chídàole. Wǒ gānggāng cái xiàbān. Hey! Sorry, I’m late. I just got off work.M：沒事！趕快進來坐！Méishì! Gǎnkuài jìnlái zuò!No worries! Hurry up and come in!F：謝謝。Xièxie.Thank you.M：你看起來很喘。Nǐ kàn qǐlái hǎo chuǎn!You look really out of breath.F：唉，爬樓梯好喘！Yeah, climbing the stairs is really tiring (makes one out of breath)!Āi, pá lóutī zhēn de hěn chuǎn!M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。 Duì, wǒmen méiyǒu diàntī. Zhǐhǎo ràng nǐ yùndòng yīxià.Yeah, we don’t have an elevator. No other choice but to make you exercise a bit.F：我好久沒運動。Wǒ hǎojiǔ méi yùndòng.I haven’t exercised in a long time.M：沒關係，這裡可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。Méiguānxì, xiànzài kěyǐ fàngsōng. Xiǎo lǐ, zhè shì wǒ de péngyǒu, huì fēn, tā shì lǜshī.It’s ok, you can relax here. Xiao Li, this is my friend, Hui Fen. She’s a lawyer.L：你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hi.F：嗨。Hāi.Hi.M：來，慧芬，要不要吃**麵包？**小李做的！Lái, huì fēn, yào bùyào chī miànbāo? Xiǎo lǐ zuò de!Here, Hui-Fen, do you want to eat some bread? Xiao Li made it!F：好厲害！Hǎo lìhài!That’s amazing!M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！Nǐ kěyǐ fàngxīn, tā de miànbāo hěn jiànkāng!You don’t have to worry, his bread is really healthy.F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？Hǎohǎo chī! Nǐ kāi miànbāo diàn ma?It's so good! Do you have a bakery?L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。Méiyǒu, qíshí, jiùshì, è… wǒ shì yīgè… è… zuòjiā.No, actually, I mean, uh, I’m a, uh… writer.M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。Xiǎo lǐ hěn hàixiū, kěshì tā shì yīgè hěn rènzhēn de zuòjiā.Xiao Li is really shy, but he’s a very serious writer.F：你寫小說嗎？Nǐ xiě xiǎoshuō ma?Do you write novels?L：沒有，但那是我的目標。Méiyǒu. Dàn nà shì wǒ de mùbiāo.No, but that’s my goal.M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！Lái, wǒmen xiān zuò. Zhènghǎo yào kāishǐ chànggē!Come one, let's sit down first. We’re just about to start singing!F：我最愛唱歌！Wǒ zuì'ài chànggē!I love singing!M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ hái méi diǎn gē, duì ba.Xiao Li, you haven’t ordered yet.L：我不用了。Wǒ bùyòngle.I’m alright. (No need.)F：你真的很害羞。Nǐ zhēn de hěn hàixiū.You're really shy.M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。Xiǎo lǐ, bàituō, chàng yī shǒu gěi dàjiā tīng. Ránhòu wǒ jiù fàngguò nǐ.Xiao Li, please, sing one song for everyone, then I’ll let you off the hook.L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前…Kěshì, zài hěnduō mòshēng rén de miànqián…But, in front of strangers…M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！Shénme mòshēng rén? Wǒmen dōu shì péngyǒu, nǐ fàngxīn!What strangers? We’re all friends! Don’t worry!L：還是我先去吃蛋糕…Háishì wǒ xiān qù chī dàngāo…Or maybe I’ll go have some cake first…M：你不要逃避啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！Nǐ bùyào táobìle la! Bù chànggē, nǐ yào chī làjiāo!Don’t run away! If you don’t sing, you have to eat chili peppers.L：什麼？Shénme?What?M：我家的規定。Wǒjiā de guīdìng.House rules.L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。OK,OK, hǎo la. Wǒ chàng.Ok, ok, fine. I’ll sing.F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。Nǐ yào chàng shénme? Wǒ bāng nǐ diǎn.What do you want to sing? I’ll help you order.L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？È… mèngzhōngrén? Hǎo ma?Uh… dream lover? Ok?F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？Wángfēi de háishì càiqín de?Wang Fei’s or Cai Qin’s? (Referring to two songs with the same title)L：哦… 蔡琴的。Ó… càiqín de.Oh, Cai Qin’s...
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 -
Lesson Outline:
[00:21] Review of tone pairs from lessons one through six. [02:30] Magic Phrase: 帥哥上班，外公退休[08:20] Dialogue[11:40] Translation[23:07] Dialogue, one more time at normal speed
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
M：阿芬！你來了！
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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！
M：阿芬！你來了！Ā fēn! Nǐ láile!A-Fen, you’re here!F：嘿！不好意思遲到了。我剛剛才下班。Hēi! Bù hǎoyìsi chídàole. Wǒ gānggāng cái xiàbān. Hey! Sorry, I’m late. I just got off work.M：沒事！趕快進來坐！Méishì! Gǎnkuài jìnlái zuò!No worries! Hurry up and come in!F：謝謝。Xièxie.Thank you.M：你看起來很喘。Nǐ kàn qǐlái hǎo chuǎn!You look really out of breath.F：唉，爬樓梯好喘！Yeah, climbing the stairs is really tiring (makes one out of breath)!Āi, pá lóutī zhēn de hěn chuǎn!M：對，我們沒有電梯。只好讓你運動一下。 Duì, wǒmen méiyǒu diàntī. Zhǐhǎo ràng nǐ yùndòng yīxià.Yeah, we don’t have an elevator. No other choice but to make you exercise a bit.F：我好久沒運動。Wǒ hǎojiǔ méi yùndòng.I haven’t exercised in a long time.M：沒關係，這裡可以放鬆。小李，這是我的朋友，慧芬，她是律師。Méiguānxì, xiànzài kěyǐ fàngsōng. Xiǎo lǐ, zhè shì wǒ de péngyǒu, huì fēn, tā shì lǜshī.It’s ok, you can relax here. Xiao Li, this is my friend, Hui Fen. She’s a lawyer.L：你好。Nǐ hǎo.Hi.F：嗨。Hāi.Hi.M：來，慧芬，要不要吃**麵包？**小李做的！Lái, huì fēn, yào bùyào chī miànbāo? Xiǎo lǐ zuò de!Here, Hui-Fen, do you want to eat some bread? Xiao Li made it!F：好厲害！Hǎo lìhài!That’s amazing!M：你可以放心，他的麵包很健康！Nǐ kěyǐ fàngxīn, tā de miànbāo hěn jiànkāng!You don’t have to worry, his bread is really healthy.F：好好吃！你開麵包店嗎？Hǎohǎo chī! Nǐ kāi miànbāo diàn ma?It's so good! Do you have a bakery?L：沒有，其實，就是，呃… 我是一個… 呃… 作家。Méiyǒu, qíshí, jiùshì, è… wǒ shì yīgè… è… zuòjiā.No, actually, I mean, uh, I’m a, uh… writer.M：小李很害羞，可是他是一個很認真的作家。Xiǎo lǐ hěn hàixiū, kěshì tā shì yīgè hěn rènzhēn de zuòjiā.Xiao Li is really shy, but he’s a very serious writer.F：你寫小說嗎？Nǐ xiě xiǎoshuō ma?Do you write novels?L：沒有，但那是我的目標。Méiyǒu. Dàn nà shì wǒ de mùbiāo.No, but that’s my goal.M：來，我們先坐。正好要開始唱歌！Lái, wǒmen xiān zuò. Zhènghǎo yào kāishǐ chànggē!Come one, let's sit down first. We’re just about to start singing!F：我最愛唱歌！Wǒ zuì'ài chànggē!I love singing!M：小李，你還沒點歌，對吧。Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ hái méi diǎn gē, duì ba.Xiao Li, you haven’t ordered yet.L：我不用了。Wǒ bùyòngle.I’m alright. (No need.)F：你真的很害羞。Nǐ zhēn de hěn hàixiū.You're really shy.M：小李，拜託，唱一首給大家聽。然後我就放過你。Xiǎo lǐ, bàituō, chàng yī shǒu gěi dàjiā tīng. Ránhòu wǒ jiù fàngguò nǐ.Xiao Li, please, sing one song for everyone, then I’ll let you off the hook.L：可是，在很多陌生人的面前…Kěshì, zài hěnduō mòshēng rén de miànqián…But, in front of strangers…M：什麼陌生人？我們都是朋友，你放心！Shénme mòshēng rén? Wǒmen dōu shì péngyǒu, nǐ fàngxīn!What strangers? We’re all friends! Don’t worry!L：還是我先去吃蛋糕…Háishì wǒ xiān qù chī dàngāo…Or maybe I’ll go have some cake first…M：你不要逃避啦！不唱歌，你要吃辣椒！Nǐ bùyào táobìle la! Bù chànggē, nǐ yào chī làjiāo!Don’t run away! If you don’t sing, you have to eat chili peppers.L：什麼？Shénme?What?M：我家的規定。Wǒjiā de guīdìng.House rules.L：OK，OK，好啦。我唱。OK,OK, hǎo la. Wǒ chàng.Ok, ok, fine. I’ll sing.F：你要唱什麼？我幫你點。Nǐ yào chàng shénme? Wǒ bāng nǐ diǎn.What do you want to sing? I’ll help you order.L：呃… 夢中人？好嗎？È… mèngzhōngrén? Hǎo ma?Uh… dream lover? Ok?F：王菲的還是蔡琴的？Wángfēi de háishì càiqín de?Wang Fei’s or Cai Qin’s? (Referring to two songs with the same title)L：哦… 蔡琴的。Ó… càiqín de.Oh, Cai Qin’s.M：老靈魂。Lǎo línghún.Old soul.L：哈哈，對啊。Hāhā, duì a.Haha, yeah.F：好，點好了。Hǎo, diǎn hǎole.Ok, it’s already ordered.L：這麼快！好，請大家要有耐心…Zhème kuài! Hǎo, qǐng dàjiā yào yǒu nàixīn…So fast! Ok, everyone, be patient with me…M：不要害羞！M: Bùyào hàixiū!Don’t be shy!L：不能錄音哦。Bùnéng lùyīn ó.No recording.M：沒有人要錄音！Nobody’s going to record!Méiyǒu rén huì lùyīn!
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
The song in this episode is 夢中人 by 蔡琴. Thanks to Vicky Sun for being the voice of 慧芬 Hùi fēn.
Notes: -
Пропущенные эпизоды?
-
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
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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。
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？Ok, let’s start. Can we take a video?Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma?麗麗：可以。Sure.Kěyǐ.小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready?Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma?阿明：可以了！Ready!Kěyǐle!小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid?Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme?麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。I’ve loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays.Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn.小李：很酷的夢想！That’s a really cool dream!Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng!麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky.Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn.小李：所以你念了什麼系？So what did you major in?Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì?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。I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems.Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng.小李：聽起來很有趣！That sounds really interesting!Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù!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。It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn’t know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn’t have any appetite, I became really thin.Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu.小李：好可憐！That’s so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful)Hǎo kělián!麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn’t have the courage to change.Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn.小李：那然後呢？And then?Nà ránhòu ne?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。Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure.Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào.小李：沒錯！That’s right!Méicuò!麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life.Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé.小李：有道理。That makes sense.Yǒu dàolǐ.麗麗：所以我離職了。So I quit my job.Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle.小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？Wow! Did your mom support you?Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma?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。No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again.Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle. 小李：你一定很難過。You must have been really upset.Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò.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！Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded!Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle!小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？Congratulations! And… what about your mother?Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne?麗麗：她早就忘記了。She forgot a long time ago.Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle.康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？Hello, are you saying something bad about me?Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma?小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…Uh, no, we’re uh… interviewing…E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。Lili is telling us about her current work!Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò.康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right?O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba!小李：真的。真的很厲害。Truly. Truly awesome.Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài.
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
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Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast! -
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
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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。
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？Ok, let’s start. Can we take a video?Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma?麗麗：可以。Sure.Kěyǐ.小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready?Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma?阿明：可以了！Ready!Kěyǐle!小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid?Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme?麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。I’ve loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays.Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn.小李：很酷的夢想！That’s a really cool dream!Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng!麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky.Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn.小李：所以你念了什麼系？So what did you major in?Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì?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。I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems.Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng.小李：聽起來很有趣！That sounds really interesting!Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù!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。It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn’t know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn’t have any appetite, I became really thin.Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu.小李：好可憐！That’s so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful)Hǎo kělián!麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn’t have the courage to change.Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn.小李：那然後呢？And then?Nà ránhòu ne?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。Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure.Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào.小李：沒錯！That’s right!Méicuò!麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life.Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé.小李：有道理。That makes sense.Yǒu dàolǐ.麗麗：所以我離職了。So I quit my job.Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle.小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？Wow! Did your mom support you?Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma?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。No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again.Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle. 小李：你一定很難過。You must have been really upset.Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò.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！Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded!Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle!小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？Congratulations! And… what about your mother?Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne?麗麗：她早就忘記了。She forgot a long time ago.Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle.康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？Hello, are you saying something bad about me?Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma?小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…Uh, no, we’re uh… interviewing…E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。Lili is telling us about her current work!Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò.康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right?O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba!小李：真的。真的很厲害。Truly. Truly awesome.Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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:
[00:21] Introduction[04:21] Magic Phrase: 下午下雨，地鐵漏水！[07:22] Dialogue[11:00] Translation[25:09] Dialogue, slowed down
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
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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。
小李：好，我們開始。可以錄影嗎？Ok, let’s start. Can we take a video?Hǎo, wǒmen kāishǐ. Kěyǐ lùyǐng ma?麗麗：可以。Sure.Kěyǐ.小李：謝謝。阿明，你準備好了嗎？Thanks. A-Ming, are you ready?Xièxie. Ā míng, nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎole ma?阿明：可以了！Ready!Kěyǐle!小李：好。可以先講一下你的背景嗎？你小時候喜歡做什麼？Ok. Can you first talk a little about your background? What did you like to do when you were a kid?Hǎo. Kěyǐ xiān jiǎng yīxià nǐ de bèijǐng ma? Nǐ xiǎoshíhòu xǐhuān zuò shénme?麗麗：我從小就很愛看電影。我的夢想是寫電影的劇本。I’ve loved watching movies since I was small. My dream was to write screenplays.Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù hěn ài kàn diànyǐng. Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì xiě diànyǐng de jùběn.小李：很酷的夢想！That’s a really cool dream!Hěn kù de mèngxiǎng!麗麗：對啊。但我媽媽禁止我念電影系，她說太冒險。Yeah. But my mom forbade me from studying film. She said it was too risky.Duì a. Dàn wǒ māmā jìnzhǐ wǒ niàn diànyǐng xì, tā shuō tài màoxiǎn.小李：所以你念了什麼系？So what did you major in?Suǒyǐ nǐ niànle shénme xì?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。I majored in computer science. After graduating, I worked at a big company. We were buying and selling imported computer systems.Wǒ niàn diànnǎo kēxué. Bìyè hòu wǒ zài dà gōngsī shàngbān. Wǒmen mǎimài jìnkǒu de diànnǎo xìtǒng.小李：聽起來很有趣！That sounds really interesting!Tīng qǐlái hěn yǒuqù!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。It was so boring! I made a lot of money, but every day was suffering. I didn’t know what I was even living for. And my body even started having problems. Because I didn’t have any appetite, I became really thin.Hěn wúliáo! Wǒ zhuànle hěnduō qián, dàn měitiān dū juédé hěn tòngkǔ. Bù zhīdào dàodǐ huózhe shì wèile shénme. Érqiě shēntǐ hái chūle yīxiē zhuàngkuàng. Yīnwèi méiyǒu wèikǒu, suǒyǐ biàn dé hěn shòu.小李：好可憐！That’s so sad! (lit. poor, pathetic, pitiful)Hǎo kělián!麗麗：當時我很後悔放棄自己的夢想，但我也沒有勇氣改變。At the time I really regretted giving up on my own dreams, but I didn’t have the courage to change.Dāngshí wǒ hěn hòuhuǐ fàngqì zìjǐ de mèngxiǎng, dàn wǒ yě méiyǒu yǒngqì gǎibiàn.小李：那然後呢？And then?Nà ránhòu ne?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。Later I realized, fear of failure was just an excuse. Maybe writing scripts was only a fantasy, but you have to at least try it to know for sure.Hòulái wǒ fāxiànle, hàipà shībài zhǐshì yīgè jíkǒu. Huòxǔ xiě jùběn zhǐshì yīgè huànxiǎng a, dàn zhìshǎo yào shìshìkàn cái zhīdào.小李：沒錯！That’s right!Méicuò!麗麗：我現在的看法是，不管怎麼樣，自己的人生要自己負責。Now my view is, no matter what, you have to take responsibility for your own life.Wǒ xiànzài de kànfǎ shì, bùguǎn zěnme yàng, zìjǐ de rénshēng yào zìjǐ fùzé.小李：有道理。That makes sense.Yǒu dàolǐ.麗麗：所以我離職了。So I quit my job.Suǒyǐ wǒ lízhíle.小李：哇！那你媽媽有支持你了嗎？Wow! Did your mom support you?Wa! Nà nǐ māmā yǒu zhīchí nǐle ma?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。No. She was furious, she said I would regret it. She even said it would be better if she never saw me again.Méiyǒu. Tā hěn fènnù, tā shuō wǒ huì hòuhuǐ, hái shuō zuìhǎo bùyào zài kàn dào wǒle. 小李：你一定很難過。You must have been really upset.Nǐ yīdìng hěn nánguò.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！Making mom angry was unavoidable! The main point is, now my job is writing screenplays. I succeeded!Ràng māmā shēngqì shì bùkě bìmiǎn de a! Zhòngdiǎn shì, wǒ xiànzài de gōngzuò shì xiě jùběn. Wǒ chénggōngle!小李：恭喜！那你媽媽呢？Congratulations! And… what about your mother?Gōngxǐ! Nà nǐ māmā ne?麗麗：她早就忘記了。She forgot a long time ago.Tā zǎo jiù wàngjìle.康太太：哈囉，你們在說我的壞話嗎？Hello, are you saying something bad about me?Hā luō, nǐmen zài shuō wǒ de huàihuà ma?小李：呃，沒有，我們在，呃，採訪…Uh, no, we’re uh… interviewing…E, méiyǒu, wǒmen zài, e, cǎifǎng…阿明：麗麗在跟我們說她現在的工作。Lili is telling us about her current work!Lìlì zài gēn wǒmen shuō tā xiànzài de gōngzuò.康太太：哦！對，我女兒很厲害！她寫電影的劇本！很厲害吧！Oh! Yeah, my daughter is amazing! She writes screenplays. Awesome, right?O! Duì, wǒ nǚ'ér hěn lìhài! Tā xiě diànyǐng de jùběn! Hěn lìhài ba!小李：真的。真的很厲害。Truly. Truly awesome.Zhēn de. Zhēn de hěn lìhài.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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 / nowTranscript 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。
阿明，你在幹嘛？Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma?A-Ming, what are you doing?我在看電視。Wǒ zài kàn diànshì.I’m watching TV.不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle! Don’t waste time! We need to go to class!我不去了。Wǒ bú qùle.I’m not going.什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma?What do you mean? Of course you’re going! Did you finish your homework?我忘記了。Wǒ wàngjìle.I forgot.你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào!You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report!Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage."你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn. You go first, I’m going to sleep. Goodbye.阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè?A-Ming, how are you going to graduate?抱歉，小李。Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ.I’m sorry, Xiao Li.阿明，你怎麼了？Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele?A-Ming, what’s wrong with you?你看！Nǐ kàn! Look!看什麼？Kàn shénme? See what?電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma? The report on TV. Did you see it?Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 我沒看到。Wǒ méi kàn dào. I didn’t see it.它說這個社會…Tā shuō zhège shèhuì… It said, this society…這個社會怎麼了？Zhège shèhuì zěnmele? What’s wrong with this society?變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì!The speed of change is too fast. It’s definitely the end of the world.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？Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn? Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can’t give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside?戶外嗎？Hùwài ma? ...Outdoors?我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià.Let’s go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise.但是，我害怕遇到教授。Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu. But I’m afraid of running into the professor.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！Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng!Then let’s not go in the direction of the classroom. Let’s go… to the zoo! Let’s go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants!Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 你確定這樣OK嗎？Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma? Are you sure that’s OK?可以啦！我也來翹課。Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè. It’s fine! I’ll skip class too.謝謝小李。Xièxie xiǎo lǐ. Thank you, Xiao Li.不客氣，阿明。Bú kèqì, ā míng. Don’t mention it, A-Ming.我好鬱悶！Wǒ hǎo yùmèn! I’m so gloomy.會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào.It’ll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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 / nowTranscript 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。
阿明，你在幹嘛？Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma?A-Ming, what are you doing?我在看電視。Wǒ zài kàn diànshì.I’m watching TV.不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle! Don’t waste time! We need to go to class!我不去了。Wǒ bú qùle.I’m not going.什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma?What do you mean? Of course you’re going! Did you finish your homework?我忘記了。Wǒ wàngjìle.I forgot.你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào!You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report!Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage."你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn. You go first, I’m going to sleep. Goodbye.阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè?A-Ming, how are you going to graduate?抱歉，小李。Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ.I’m sorry, Xiao Li.阿明，你怎麼了？Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele?A-Ming, what’s wrong with you?你看！Nǐ kàn! Look!看什麼？Kàn shénme? See what?電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma? The report on TV. Did you see it?Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 我沒看到。Wǒ méi kàn dào. I didn’t see it.它說這個社會…Tā shuō zhège shèhuì… It said, this society…這個社會怎麼了？Zhège shèhuì zěnmele? What’s wrong with this society?變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì!The speed of change is too fast. It’s definitely the end of the world.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？Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn? Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can’t give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside?戶外嗎？Hùwài ma? ...Outdoors?我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià.Let’s go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise.但是，我害怕遇到教授。Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu. But I’m afraid of running into the professor.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！Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng!Then let’s not go in the direction of the classroom. Let’s go… to the zoo! Let’s go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants!Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 你確定這樣OK嗎？Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma? Are you sure that’s OK?可以啦！我也來翹課。Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè. It’s fine! I’ll skip class too.謝謝小李。Xièxie xiǎo lǐ. Thank you, Xiao Li.不客氣，阿明。Bú kèqì, ā míng. Don’t mention it, A-Ming.我好鬱悶！Wǒ hǎo yùmèn! I’m so gloomy.會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào.It’ll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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:
[00:21] Introduction[03:36] Magic Phrase[04:22] Break down and practice the Magic Phrase[09:55] Dialogue[12:23] Translation of the Dialogue[20:52] Dialogue, Slow Version
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 / nowTranscript 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。
阿明，你在幹嘛？Ā míng, nǐ zài gàn ma?A-Ming, what are you doing?我在看電視。Wǒ zài kàn diànshì.I’m watching TV.不要浪費時間！我們要去上課了！Búyào làngfèi shíjiān! Wǒmen yào qù shàngkèle! Don’t waste time! We need to go to class!我不去了。Wǒ bú qùle.I’m not going.什麼意思？當然要去啊！你的作業做好了嗎？Shénme yìsi? Dāngrán yào qù a! Nǐ de zuòyè zuò hǎole ma?What do you mean? Of course you’re going! Did you finish your homework?我忘記了。Wǒ wàngjìle.I forgot.你忘記了！這很重要欸！教授說今天你要上台報告！Nǐ wàngjìle! Zhè hěn zhòngyào ēi! Jiàoshòu shuō jīntiān nǐ yào shàngtái bàogào!You forgot! This is really important! Professor said today you need to present your report!Note: 上台 (shàngtái) literally means "to get on stage."你先去吧，我要睡覺。再見。Nǐ xiān qù ba, wǒ yào shuìjiào. Zàijiàn. You go first, I’m going to sleep. Goodbye.阿明，這樣你要怎麼畢業？Ā míng, zhèyàng nǐ yào zěnme bìyè?A-Ming, how are you going to graduate?抱歉，小李。Bàoqiàn, xiǎo lǐ.I’m sorry, Xiao Li.阿明，你怎麼了？Ā míng, nǐ zěnmele?A-Ming, what’s wrong with you?你看！Nǐ kàn! Look!看什麼？Kàn shénme? See what?電視上的報導。你看見了嗎？Diànshì shàng de bàodǎo. Nǐ kànjiànle ma? The report on TV. Did you see it?Note: Pay special attention to 報導 (bàodǎo), which means "report." Can you hear how the 4-3 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 我沒看到。Wǒ méi kàn dào. I didn’t see it.它說這個社會…Tā shuō zhège shèhuì… It said, this society…這個社會怎麼了？Zhège shèhuì zěnmele? What’s wrong with this society?變化的速度太快。一定是世界末日！Biànhuà de sùdù tài kuài. Yīdìng shì shìjiè mòrì!The speed of change is too fast. It’s definitely the end of the world.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？Jiùsuàn shì, nǐ háishì yào jìxù huó xiàqù a! Bùnéng fàngqì! Ā míng, nǐ duōjiǔ méi qù wàimiàn? Even if it is, you still have to keep on living! You can’t give up. A-Ming, how long have you not been outside?戶外嗎？Hùwài ma? ...Outdoors?我們去附近散步，好不好？你要運動一下。Wǒmen qù fùjìn sànbù, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ yào yùndòng yīxià.Let’s go for a walk nearby, ok? You need to get some exercise.但是，我害怕遇到教授。Dànshì, wǒ hàipà yù dào jiàoshòu. But I’m afraid of running into the professor.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！Nà wǒmen bùyào wǎng jiàoshì de fāngxiàng, wǒmen jiù qù… dòngwùyuán ba. Wǒmen qù kàn dà xiàng, hǎobù hǎo? Nǐ zuì'ài de dà xiàng!Then let’s not go in the direction of the classroom. Let’s go… to the zoo! Let’s go see the elephants, ok? Your favorite elephants!Note: Pay special attention to 方向 (fāngxiàng), which means "direction." Can you hear how the 1-4 tone pair differs from the 4-4 pair? 你確定這樣OK嗎？Nǐ quèdìng zhèyàng OK ma? Are you sure that’s OK?可以啦！我也來翹課。Kěyǐ la! Wǒ yě lái qiào kè. It’s fine! I’ll skip class too.謝謝小李。Xièxie xiǎo lǐ. Thank you, Xiao Li.不客氣，阿明。Bú kèqì, ā míng. Don’t mention it, A-Ming.我好鬱悶！Wǒ hǎo yùmèn! I’m so gloomy.會過去的。來，你先穿你的外套。Huì guòqù de. Lái, nǐ xiān chuān nǐ de wàitào.It’ll pass. Come on, first put on your coat.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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")
S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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！
S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma?Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this. K：你終於開門了！Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le!You finally opened! S：你有什麼需求嗎？Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma?Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?)K：我要抓狂了！Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le!I’m about to go mad!S：你的精神看起來不太好。Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo.Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn’t look very good.K：當然啊！Dāngrán a!Of course!S：怎麼了？Zěnmele?What’s wrong?K：我的兒子。Wǒ de érzi.My son.S：你的兒子怎麼了？Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo?What’s wrong with your son?K：他要出國了！Tā yào chūguó le! He’s leaving the country!S：是嗎？Shì ma?Oh?K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó!He says he doesn’t want me to interfere with his personal life.S：你有在干涉嗎？Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma?Are you interfering?K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí!I’m not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth!S：然後呢？Ránhòu ne?And then?K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule!He doesn’t listen! He’s a terrible son!S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn.Why don’t you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him.K：可是生活有規則啊！Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a!But life has rules!S：你需要跟他溝通。Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng.You need to communicate with him.K：我不行！你要幫我！Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ!I can’t do it! You have to help me!S：… 你要買空調嗎？… Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma?…Do you want to buy an air conditioner?K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ. Never mind, I guess I’ll try communicating. Thanks.S：謝謝光臨！Xièxiè guānglín!Thank you for coming!
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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")
S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？
Transcript of the dialogue (Chinese characters only)
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！
S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma?Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this. K：你終於開門了！Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le!You finally opened! S：你有什麼需求嗎？Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma?Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?)K：我要抓狂了！Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le!I’m about to go mad!S：你的精神看起來不太好。Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo.Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn’t look very good.K：當然啊！Dāngrán a!Of course!S：怎麼了？Zěnmele?What’s wrong?K：我的兒子。Wǒ de érzi.My son.S：你的兒子怎麼了？Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo?What’s wrong with your son?K：他要出國了！Tā yào chūguó le! He’s leaving the country!S：是嗎？Shì ma?Oh?K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó!He says he doesn’t want me to interfere with his personal life.S：你有在干涉嗎？Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma?Are you interfering?K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí!I’m not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth!S：然後呢？Ránhòu ne?And then?K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule!He doesn’t listen! He’s a terrible son!S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn.Why don’t you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him.K：可是生活有規則啊！Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a!But life has rules!S：你需要跟他溝通。Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng.You need to communicate with him.K：我不行！你要幫我！Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ!I can’t do it! You have to help me!S：… 你要買空調嗎？… Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma?…Do you want to buy an air conditioner?K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ. Never mind, I guess I’ll try communicating. Thanks.S：謝謝光臨！Xièxiè guānglín!Thank you for coming!
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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:
[00:21] Introduction[01:55] Introduction part 2: Slowing down the magic phrase practice[02:50] Magic Phrase[04:16] Break down and practice the Magic Phrase[11:55] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue[13:59] Translation of the Dialogue[19:56] Dialogue, Slow Version
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！
S：歡迎光臨我的空調商店，我專門賣空調！你需要什麼嗎？Huānyíng guānglín wǒ de kōngtiáo shāngdiàn, wǒ zhuānmén mài kōngtiáo! Nǐ xūyào shénme ma?Welcome to my air conditioner shop! I specialize in selling air conditioners. Do you need something?(Note: in one version of the dialogue, the speaker elides the 門 (mén) in 專門 (zhuānmén). This is another way to express the same idea. 專門 (zhuānmén) means to specialize or be a specialist in something, so 專門賣 (zhuānmén mài) means to specialize in selling a particular thing. 專賣 (zhuānmài) is simply a shortening of this. K：你終於開門了！Nǐ zhōngyú kāimén le!You finally opened! S：你有什麼需求嗎？Nǐ yǒu shé me xūqiú ma?Do you need something? (lit. do you have a requirement?)K：我要抓狂了！Wǒ yào zhuākuáng le!I’m about to go mad!S：你的精神看起來不太好。Nǐ de jīngshén kàn qǐlái bu tài hǎo.Your spirit / energy / mental state doesn’t look very good.K：當然啊！Dāngrán a!Of course!S：怎麼了？Zěnmele?What’s wrong?K：我的兒子。Wǒ de érzi.My son.S：你的兒子怎麼了？Nǐ de érzi zěnmeliǎo?What’s wrong with your son?K：他要出國了！Tā yào chūguó le! He’s leaving the country!S：是嗎？Shì ma?Oh?K：他說不要我干涉他的私人生活！Tā shuō bu yào wǒ gānshè tā de sīrén shēnghuó!He says he doesn’t want me to interfere with his personal life.S：你有在干涉嗎？Nǐ yǒu zài gānshè ma?Are you interfering?K：沒有！我只是跟他說，刷牙要堅持！Méiyǒu! Wǒ zhǐshì gēn tā shuō, shuāyá yào jiānchí!I’m not! I only said to him, you need to persist with brushing your teeth!S：然後呢？Ránhòu ne?And then?K：他不聽話！我的兒子糟透了！Tā bù tīnghuà! Wǒ de érzi zāotòule!He doesn’t listen! He’s a terrible son!S：你要不要試著不要批評他，對他溫柔一點。Nǐ yào búyào shìzhe búyào pīpíng tā, duì tā wēnróu yīdiǎn.Why don’t you try not criticizing him? Be gentler towards him.K：可是生活有規則啊！Kěshì shēnghuó yǒu guīzé a!But life has rules!S：你需要跟他溝通。Nǐ xūyào gēn tā gōutōng.You need to communicate with him.K：我不行！你要幫我！Wǒ bùxíng! Nǐ yào bāng wǒ!I can’t do it! You have to help me!S：… 你要買空調嗎？… Nǐ yāomǎi kōngtiáo ma?…Do you want to buy an air conditioner?K：沒關係啦，我試著跟他溝通好了。謝謝你。Méiguānxì la, wǒ shìzhe gēn tā gōutōng hǎole. Xièxiè nǐ. Never mind, I guess I’ll try communicating. Thanks.S：謝謝光臨！Xièxiè guānglín!Thank you for coming!
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of 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。
M：你還好嗎？Nǐ hái hǎo ma?Are you okay? K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？Wǒ érzi zěnme zhème cánrěn?How could my son be so cruel? M：怎麼了？Zěnmele?What's wrong? / What's up? / What happened? K：他被罰款了！Tā bèi fákuǎnle!He received a fine! / He was fined (monetary)!M：為什麼被罰款？Wèishéme bèi fákuǎn?Why was he fined? K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。Wǒ shì yīgè chuántǒng de māmā, kěshì tā ràng wǒ hěn fánnǎo.I'm a traditional mother, but he makes me worry a lot / gives me a lot of trouble. M：你很愛你的兒子。Nǐ hěn ài nǐ de érzi.You really love your son. K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。Wǒ ràng tā měitiān chī píngguǒ, hěn yíngyǎng.I make / let him eat an apple every day, it's very nutritious. M：很合理！Hěn hélǐ!That makes sense! / Very sensible! K：而且他的牙齒很完整！Érqiě tā de yáchǐ hěn wánzhěng!Furthermore, his teeth are all intact / very complete! M：...是嗎？... Shì ma?Yeah? / Really? K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！Jiéguǒ, tā qù yóuyǒngchí mài niúnǎi, jiù bèi fákuǎn!After all that / as a result / in the end, he goes to the swimming pool and sells milk, and receives a fine! M：所以... Suǒyǐ...So... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！Wǒ tài yúchǔn. Yīdìng shì nàgè yáogǔn yīnyuè ràng tā biànchéngle móguǐ! I'm so stupid. It must be that rock music, it made him turn into a devil / demon / monster! M：賣牛奶還好吧。Mài niúnǎi hái hǎo ba.Selling milk isn't so bad, right? K：不合法！Bù héfǎ! It's illegal / not legal! M：沒有人是完美的。Méiyǒu rén shì wánměi de.Nobody is perfect. K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。Hěn míngxiǎn, tā zài mófǎng tā de bàba.It's obvious, he's imitating his father.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! -
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:
[00:21] Magic Phrase[04:27] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase[05:43] Practice phrases using tone pairs we've learned so far[08:42] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue[09:54] Translation of the dialogue[15:16] Hear the dialogue again
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!
女兒游泳Nǚ'ér yóuyǒng(The) daughter swims王子很驕傲wángzǐ hěn jiāo'ào(The) prince is very proud / arrogant. 如果失敗，有機會成長rúguǒ shībài, yǒu jīhuì chéngzhǎngIf (you) fail, there is an opportunity to grow / mature.
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。
M：你還好嗎？Nǐ hái hǎo ma?Are you okay? K：我兒子怎麼這麼殘忍？Wǒ érzi zěnme zhème cánrěn?How could my son be so cruel? M：怎麼了？Zěnmele?What's wrong? / What's up? / What happened? K：他被罰款了！Tā bèi fákuǎnle!He received a fine! / He was fined (monetary)!M：為什麼被罰款？Wèishéme bèi fákuǎn?Why was he fined? K：我是一個傳統的媽媽，可是他讓我很煩惱。Wǒ shì yīgè chuántǒng de māmā, kěshì tā ràng wǒ hěn fánnǎo.I'm a traditional mother, but he makes me worry a lot / gives me a lot of trouble. M：你很愛你的兒子。Nǐ hěn ài nǐ de érzi.You really love your son. K：我讓他每天吃蘋果，很營養。Wǒ ràng tā měitiān chī píngguǒ, hěn yíngyǎng.I make / let him eat an apple every day, it's very nutritious. M：很合理！Hěn hélǐ!That makes sense! / Very sensible! K：而且他的牙齒很完整！Érqiě tā de yáchǐ hěn wánzhěng!Furthermore, his teeth are all intact / very complete! M：...是嗎？... Shì ma?Yeah? / Really? K：結果，他去游泳池賣牛奶，就被罰款！Jiéguǒ, tā qù yóuyǒngchí mài niúnǎi, jiù bèi fákuǎn!After all that / as a result / in the end, he goes to the swimming pool and sells milk, and receives a fine! M：所以... Suǒyǐ...So... K：我太愚蠢。一定是那個搖滾音樂讓他變成了魔鬼！Wǒ tài yúchǔn. Yīdìng shì nàgè yáogǔn yīnyuè ràng tā biànchéngle móguǐ! I'm so stupid. It must be that rock music, it made him turn into a devil / demon / monster! M：賣牛奶還好吧。Mài niúnǎi hái hǎo ba.Selling milk isn't so bad, right? K：不合法！Bù héfǎ! It's illegal / not legal! M：沒有人是完美的。Méiyǒu rén shì wánměi de.Nobody is perfect. K：很明顯，他在模仿他的爸爸。Hěn míngxiǎn, tā zài mófǎng tā de bàba.It's obvious, he's imitating his father.
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
★ Support this podcast ★
Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue! -
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。
L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？Shēngrì kuàilè! Āi? Nǐ bù gāoxìng?Happy birthday! Huh? You’re unhappy?M：我生病了！Wǒ shēngbìngle!I’m sick!L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。Nǐ shēngrì nǐ jiù shēngbìng! Shì bùshì yīn wéi tiānqì. Wǒ bǎ chuānghù guānbì.You got sick on your birthday! It’s because of the weather, isn’t it. I’ll close the window.M：不是，是工作壓力啦。Bùshì, shì gōngzuò yālì la.It’s not that, it’s pressure from work.L：你需要去醫院嗎？Nǐ xūyào qù yīyuàn ma?Do you need to go to the hospital?M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。Wǒ bù xiāngxìn yīyuàn huì bāngzhù wǒ.I don’t believe the hospital will help me.L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？Yīnwèi yīshēng bù zhuānyè? Háishì yīnwèi yīyuàn lǐ de kōngqì bù hǎo?Because the doctors are unprofessional? Or because the hospital has bad air?M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。Wǒ fāxiàn yīyuàn bù tài gānjìng.I realized the hospital isn’t very clean.L：是哦。好，我尊重你。Shì ó. Hǎo, wǒ zūnzhòng nǐ.Oh. Ok. I respect you. (implies: I respect your decision.)M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。[Tànqì]… zhèlǐ hǎo ānjìng.Sigh... It’s so quiet here.L：嘿！你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。Hēi！Nǐ kàn! Wǒ gānggāng jīngguòle chāoshì, wǒ mǎile jīdàn.Hey, look! I just passed by a supermarket. I bought eggs.M：你要做生日蛋糕給我？！Nǐ yào zuò dàngāo gěi wǒ?!You’re going to make a birthday cake for me?!L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。Bùshì a, wǒ yào jiān dàn gěi nǐ.No, I’m going to fry eggs for you.M：生日雞蛋？Shēngrì jīdàn?Birthday eggs?L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂…Nǐ yào tīng yīnyuè ma? Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè…Do you want to listen to music? Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…M：你好幽默。Nǐ hǎo yōumò.You’re so humorous.
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) àThanks 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:
[00:21] Introduction[00:49] Magic Phrase[03:31] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase[05:45] Tone Pair Safari: Dialogue[07:55] Translation of the dialogue[11:55] Hear the dialogue one more time
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。
L：生日快樂！欸？你不高興？Shēngrì kuàilè! Āi? Nǐ bù gāoxìng?Happy birthday! Huh? You’re unhappy?M：我生病了！Wǒ shēngbìngle!I’m sick!L：你生日你就生病！是不是因為天氣。我把窗戶關閉。Nǐ shēngrì nǐ jiù shēngbìng! Shì bùshì yīn wéi tiānqì. Wǒ bǎ chuānghù guānbì.You got sick on your birthday! It’s because of the weather, isn’t it. I’ll close the window.M：不是，是工作壓力啦。Bùshì, shì gōngzuò yālì la.It’s not that, it’s pressure from work.L：你需要去醫院嗎？Nǐ xūyào qù yīyuàn ma?Do you need to go to the hospital?M：我不相信醫院會幫助我。Wǒ bù xiāngxìn yīyuàn huì bāngzhù wǒ.I don’t believe the hospital will help me.L：因為醫生不專業？還是因為醫院裡的空氣不好？Yīnwèi yīshēng bù zhuānyè? Háishì yīnwèi yīyuàn lǐ de kōngqì bù hǎo?Because the doctors are unprofessional? Or because the hospital has bad air?M：我發現醫院不太乾淨。Wǒ fāxiàn yīyuàn bù tài gānjìng.I realized the hospital isn’t very clean.L：是哦。好，我尊重你。Shì ó. Hǎo, wǒ zūnzhòng nǐ.Oh. Ok. I respect you. (implies: I respect your decision.)M：【嘆氣】 … 這裡好安靜。[Tànqì]… zhèlǐ hǎo ānjìng.Sigh... It’s so quiet here.L：嘿！你看！我剛剛經過了超市，我買了雞蛋。Hēi！Nǐ kàn! Wǒ gānggāng jīngguòle chāoshì, wǒ mǎile jīdàn.Hey, look! I just passed by a supermarket. I bought eggs.M：你要做生日蛋糕給我？！Nǐ yào zuò dàngāo gěi wǒ?!You’re going to make a birthday cake for me?!L：不是啊，我要煎蛋給你。Bùshì a, wǒ yào jiān dàn gěi nǐ.No, I’m going to fry eggs for you.M：生日雞蛋？Shēngrì jīdàn?Birthday eggs?L：你要聽音樂嗎？祝你生日快樂，祝你生日快樂…Nǐ yào tīng yīnyuè ma? Zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè, zhù nǐ shēngrì kuàilè…Do you want to listen to music? Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…M：你好幽默。Nǐ hǎo yōumò.You’re so humorous.
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) àThanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue!
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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
我朋友是警察。
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
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.
我朋友是警察。Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá.My friend is a police officer. 他以前很想要減肥。Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi.Before, he really wanted to lose weight. 可是他感覺很難！Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán!But he felt it was very difficult! 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.Because his daughter, every time she went traveling, she would buy butter cookies. 警察請求他女兒不要再買，Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi,The police officer asked (his) daughter not to buy (them) again, 女兒說不行，nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng,(His) daughter said it's impossible, 餅乾很有名，bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng,The cookies are very famous, 吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú!Eating the cookies makes her feel very satisfied! 我覺得警察很可憐！Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián!I feel the police officer is so pitiful (I take pity on him). 最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí.At last, the police officer's wife solved the problem. 她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián.She went gambling. After gambling, very quickly there was no more money. 然後女兒不能去旅行。Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng.Then (their) daughter couldn't go traveling. 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.Even though the weight loss problem was solved, but the police officer is still very unlucky.Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue!
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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:
[00:21] Introduction to Season 3[00:54] Why do we need to focus so much on tones? [04:17] Review of the four basic tones[06:34] What are tone pairs?[10:58] How these lessons work[11:43] Lesson part 1 - Magic Phrase [15:35] Practice repeating the Magic Phrase[16:53] Lesson part 2 - Tone Pair Safari[19:39] Thanks to supporters <3
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
我朋友是警察。
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
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.
我朋友是警察。Wǒ péngyǒu shì jǐngchá.My friend is a police officer. 他以前很想要減肥。Tā yǐqián hěn xiǎng yào jiǎnféi.Before, he really wanted to lose weight. 可是他感覺很難！Kěshì tā gǎnjué hěn nán!But he felt it was very difficult! 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.Because his daughter, every time she went traveling, she would buy butter cookies. 警察請求他女兒不要再買，Jǐngchá qǐngqiú tā nǚ'ér bùyào zài mǎi,The police officer asked (his) daughter not to buy (them) again, 女兒說不行，nǚ'ér shuō bu xíng,(His) daughter said it's impossible, 餅乾很有名，bǐnggān hěn yǒumíng,The cookies are very famous, 吃餅乾讓她感覺很滿足！chī bǐnggān ràng tā gǎnjué hěn mǎnzú!Eating the cookies makes her feel very satisfied! 我覺得警察很可憐！Wǒ juédé jǐngchá hěn kělián!I feel the police officer is so pitiful (I take pity on him). 最後，警察的老婆解決了問題。Zuìhòu, jǐngchá de lǎopó jiějué le wèntí.At last, the police officer's wife solved the problem. 她去賭博。賭博很快就沒錢。Tā qù dǔbó. Dǔbó hěn kuài jiù méi qián.She went gambling. After gambling, very quickly there was no more money. 然後女兒不能去旅行。Ránhòu nǚ'ér bùnéng qù lǚxíng.Then (their) daughter couldn't go traveling. 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.Even though the weight loss problem was solved, but the police officer is still very unlucky.Thanks for listening! And thank you so much to the monthly supporters of this podcast, who enable this podcast to continue!
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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!
Did you listen to the whole series, or just part of it? If just part, how did you choose which lessons to listen to?How helpful have you found the Daily Practice Sessions? Is there anything that made them hard to use?How was the step up in difficulty between Season 1 and Season 2?In Season 2, we spread one dialogue over two lessons, hearing the translation in the second part. What was that like for you? Anything else you'd like to share about your experience with the podcast, or with learning Mandarin.
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.
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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.
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[00:21] Introduction[01:42] Dialogue[03:12] Translation[10:07] Dialogue (full picture)[11:35] Questions for you, the listener!
Lesson Outline:
莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。小李：沒事！她人超好。阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。阿明：你人真好！莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？小李：這是什麼？阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？小李：好辣！阿明：慢慢喝。莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？阿明：小李是記者！小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。莉莉：聽起來很酷！小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！小李：還好，還好。阿明：小李很謙虛。莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。Sorry, my mom is always like this.Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ mā yīzhí dōu zhèyàng.小李：沒事！她人超好。No problem. She’s super nice.Méishì! Tā rén chāo hǎo阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？Do you also live here?Nǐ yě zhù zài zhèlǐ ma?莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。No, I rent a place. But since my mom is alone now, I come home often to eat with her.Méiyǒu, wǒ zài wàimiàn zūfáng. Dànshì, yīnwèi māmā xiànzài yīgèrén, suǒyǐ wǒ chángcháng huí jiā péi tā chīfàn阿明：你人真好！You’re so kind!Nǐ rén zhēn hǎo!莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？It’s the right thing to do. Do you drink alcohol?Yīnggāi de. Nǐmen huì hējiǔ ma?小李：這是什麼？What’s this?Zhè shì shénme?阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？Xiao Li, you’ve never tried Kaoliang?Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ méiyǒu hēguò gāoliang?小李：好辣！It’s so strong! (lit. spicy)Hǎo là!阿明：慢慢喝。Drink slowly.Màn man hē.莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？I’m curious. How did you end up coming to Taiwan?Wǒ hěn hàoqí. Nǐ zěnme huì lái dào táiwān ne?小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。Oh, at first I came to study Chinese. After graduating, I stayed here to work.Ō, wǒ yī kāishǐ lái xué zhōngwén. Bìyè hòu wǒ jiù liú zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò.莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？Oh! What work do you do?Ó! Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?阿明：小李是記者！Xiao Li is a journalist!Xiǎo lǐ shì jìzhě!小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。Ah, yeah, you could say that. I’m writing a blog.A, duì la, kěyǐ zhèyàng shuō. Wǒ zài xiě bùluògé.莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？A blog? What kind of blog?Bùluògé? Shénme yàng de bùluògé?小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。It’s just like, I go to a lot of places, and then I ask the people there a lot of questions.Jiùshì wǒ qù hěnduō dìfāng, ránhòu wèn nàlǐ de rén hěnduō wèntí.莉莉：聽起來很酷！Sounds cool!Tīng qǐlái hěn kù!小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。A-Ming also helps me. He’s a photographer.Ā míng yě huì bāng wǒ. Tā shì shèyǐng shī. 阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。Xiao Li takes care of the interviewing. I’m in charge of taking pictures.Xiǎo lǐ fùzé cǎifǎng, wǒ fùzé pāizhào. 莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！Then your Chinese is already super great!Nà nǐ de zhōngwén yǐjīng chāo hǎo de!小李：還好，還好。It’s alright, it’s alright.Hái hǎo, hái hǎo.阿明：小李很謙虛。Xiao Li is really modest.Xiǎo lǐ hěn qiānxū.莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？Well then… do you want to interview me?Nà nǐ… yào bùyào cǎifǎng wǒ?阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！Xiao Li, drink slowly!Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ màn man hē!
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):Thanks for listening!
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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.
莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。小李：沒事！她人超好。阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。阿明：你人真好！莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？小李：這是什麼？阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？小李：好辣！阿明：慢慢喝。莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？阿明：小李是記者！小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。莉莉：聽起來很酷！小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！小李：還好，還好。阿明：小李很謙虛。莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):
莉莉：不好意思，我媽一直都這樣。Sorry, my mom is always like this.Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ mā yīzhí dōu zhèyàng.小李：沒事！她人超好。No problem. She’s super nice.Méishì! Tā rén chāo hǎo阿明：你也住在這裡嗎？Do you also live here?Nǐ yě zhù zài zhèlǐ ma?莉莉：沒有，我在外面租房。但是，因為媽媽現在一個人，所以我常常回家陪她吃飯。No, I rent a place. But since my mom is alone now, I come home often to eat with her.Méiyǒu, wǒ zài wàimiàn zūfáng. Dànshì, yīnwèi māmā xiànzài yīgèrén, suǒyǐ wǒ chángcháng huí jiā péi tā chīfàn阿明：你人真好！You’re so kind!Nǐ rén zhēn hǎo!莉莉：應該的。你們會喝酒嗎？It’s the right thing to do. Do you drink alcohol?Yīnggāi de. Nǐmen huì hējiǔ ma?小李：這是什麼？What’s this?Zhè shì shénme?阿明：小李，你沒有喝過高粱？Xiao Li, you’ve never tried Kaoliang?Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ méiyǒu hēguò gāoliang?小李：好辣！It’s so strong! (lit. spicy)Hǎo là!阿明：慢慢喝。Drink slowly.Màn man hē.莉莉：我很好奇。你怎麼會來到台灣呢？I’m curious. How did you end up coming to Taiwan?Wǒ hěn hàoqí. Nǐ zěnme huì lái dào táiwān ne?小李：喔，我一開始來學中文。畢業後我就留在這裡工作。Oh, at first I came to study Chinese. After graduating, I stayed here to work.Ō, wǒ yī kāishǐ lái xué zhōngwén. Bìyè hòu wǒ jiù liú zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò.莉莉：哦！你做什麼工作？Oh! What work do you do?Ó! Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?阿明：小李是記者！Xiao Li is a journalist!Xiǎo lǐ shì jìzhě!小李：啊，對啦，可以這樣說。我在寫部落格。Ah, yeah, you could say that. I’m writing a blog.A, duì la, kěyǐ zhèyàng shuō. Wǒ zài xiě bùluògé.莉莉：部落格？什麼樣的部落格？A blog? What kind of blog?Bùluògé? Shénme yàng de bùluògé?小李：就是我去很多地方，然後問那裡的人很多問題。It’s just like, I go to a lot of places, and then I ask the people there a lot of questions.Jiùshì wǒ qù hěnduō dìfāng, ránhòu wèn nàlǐ de rén hěnduō wèntí.莉莉：聽起來很酷！Sounds cool!Tīng qǐlái hěn kù!小李：阿明也會幫我。他是攝影師。A-Ming also helps me. He’s a photographer.Ā míng yě huì bāng wǒ. Tā shì shèyǐng shī. 阿明：小李負責採訪，我負責拍照。Xiao Li takes care of the interviewing. I’m in charge of taking pictures.Xiǎo lǐ fùzé cǎifǎng, wǒ fùzé pāizhào. 莉莉：那你的中文已經超好的！Then your Chinese is already super great!Nà nǐ de zhōngwén yǐjīng chāo hǎo de!小李：還好，還好。It’s alright, it’s alright.Hái hǎo, hái hǎo.阿明：小李很謙虛。Xiao Li is really modest.Xiǎo lǐ hěn qiānxū.莉莉：那你… 要不要採訪我？Well then… do you want to interview me?Nà nǐ… yào bùyào cǎifǎng wǒ?阿明：小李，你慢慢喝！Xiao Li, drink slowly!Xiǎo lǐ, nǐ màn man hē!
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):Enjoying the podcast? Help keep it alive:
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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.
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Lesson Notes:
In the introduction, I mention the Echo Method, a technique designed by my friend, NTU Professor Karen Chung, to help students train their listening and pronunciation skills. I have benefited from this technique personally, and have seen it help students become more sensitive to the sounds of foreign language. If you would like to know more about this technique, I highly recommend Professor Chung's TEDx Talk on the Echo Method. When we first start learning a new language, we literally can't hear some of the sounds -- the ones that don't exist in our native language. Actually, it would be more precise to say we can't distinguish the sounds. Of course we can physically hear them, we just can't tell them apart because our brains automatically interpret them as being the same. A famous example of this is most Japanese speakers' inability to distinguish between the \l\ and \r\ sounds in English, but this phenomenon is universal and applies to speakers of any language.
[00:22] Introduction: Request for support[01:50] Preview of future lessons, tools, and resources[06:44] Dialogue[08:19] Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue[15:50] Dialogue (repeat)
Lesson Outline:Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (Chinese characters only):
租（租房）租房 我需要租車 這個房子是我租的 陪你可以陪我嗎？ 謝謝你陪我去看她。 你不用陪我，我自己去 畢業 你什麼時候畢業？ 你有大學畢業嗎？ 恭喜你畢業了！ 留 我留在這 你要留著嗎？ 你為什麼留下來？部落格 你有部落格嗎？酷 哇！這個很酷！拍照 我可以拍照嗎？ 這裡不能拍照 你可以幫我拍照嗎？ 寫 你會寫中文嗎？ 我寫很慢 記得寫給我！ 採訪 我喜歡聽採訪 記者採訪了他 我要採訪我的老師 負責 你負責拍照 我今天負責開車 他一定會負責
(scroll down for pinyin and the translation)
租 :: zū :: to rent 租房 To rent a house or roomzūfáng我需要租車 I need to rent a car.wǒ xūyào zūchē這個房子是我租的 This house is rented (by me). I rented this room.zhège fángzi shì wǒ zū de陪 :: péi :: to accompany, to keep someone company. 你可以陪我嗎？ Can you keep me company?nǐ kěyǐ péi wǒ ma?謝謝你陪我去看她。 Thank you for accompanying me to go see her.xièxiè nǐ péi wǒ qù kàn tā你不用陪我，我自己去 You don’t have to accompany me, I’ll go myself.nǐ bùyòng péi wǒ, wǒ zìjǐ qù畢業 :: bìyè :: to graduate, graduation 你什麼時候畢業？ When are you graduating? (Or: When did you graduate?)nǐ shénme shíhòu bìyè?你有大學畢業嗎？ Did you graduate from college?nǐ yǒu dàxué bìyè ma?恭喜你畢業了！ Congratulations on graduating!gōngxǐ nǐ bìyèle!留 :: liú :: to stay, to remain 我留在這 I’m staying here.wǒ liú zài zhè你要留著嗎？ Do you want to keep it?nǐ yào liúzhe ma?Note: This 著 (zhe) character indicates an action in progress. If it's new to you, don't worry about using it just yet. Just know that that's what it's doing in this phrase. 你為什麼留下來？ Why are you staying?nǐ wèishéme liú xiàlái?部落格 :: bùluò gé :: blog你有部落格嗎？Do you have a blog?nǐ yǒu bùluò gé ma?酷 :: kù :: cool 哇！這個很酷！Wow! This is really cool! wa! zhège hěn kù!拍照 :: pāizhào :: to take a picture 我可以拍照嗎？ Can I take a photo?wǒ kěyǐ pāizhào ma?這裡不能拍照 You can’t take pictures here.zhèlǐ bùnéng pāizhào你可以幫我拍照嗎？ Can you take a picture for me?nǐ kěyǐ bāng wǒ pāizhào ma?寫 :: xiě :: to write 你會寫中文嗎？ Can you write Chinese?nǐ huì xiě zhōngwén ma?我寫很慢 I write really slowly.wǒ xiě hěn màn記得寫給我！ Remember to write to me!jìdé xiě gěi wǒ!採訪 :: cǎifǎng :: to interview 我喜歡聽採訪 I like to listen to interviews.wǒ xǐhuān tīng cǎifǎng記者採訪了他 Journalists interviewed him.jìzhě cǎifǎngle tā我要採訪我的老師 I’m going to interview my teacher.wǒ yào cǎifǎng wǒ de lǎoshī負責 :: fùzé :: to be in charge of, to take responsibility for 你負責拍照 You’re in charge of taking pictures.nǐ fùzé pāizhào我今天負責開車 Today I’m responsible for driving.wǒ jīntiān fùzé kāichē他一定會負責 He will definitely take responsibility.tā yīdìng huì fùzé
Words and phrases from the dialogue, with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):Thanks for listening!
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