The most convenient way to learn Chinese the way it is actually spoken and used. Start with our basic lessons, and in no time you’ll be listening to music, watching films and television and engaging in the actual language. With free daily podcasts, a vibrant community, online study tools and much more, PopupChinese is the most powerful and personal way to learn mandarin.
Absolute Beginners - Pulling a Car
Apr 25, 2012
Show notes
Max was still not clear on exactly how his Volvo had ended up stuck in this patch of loose sand somewhere off-road in Utah, and Robert was not being exactly forthcoming about the details. The last thing he could remember was dozing off somewhere by Shiprock, only to be jolted awake by a sort of sliding brake that left them stranded on the side of this dirt road with two wheels spinning in the sand, no cellular signal and not another car in sight. This was a problem they would have to solve themselves.Are you an Absolute Beginner to the Chinese language? If so, our Chinese lesson for today is designed with you in mind. In it, we cover a series of high-frequency phrases you'll hear mainlanders use when they're trying to avoid responsibility or work, and practice expanding it into a more general question asking whether something is possible.
Intermediate - The Saga of the Bottle Cap
Apr 23, 2012
Show notes
Gandhi said something about being the change you want to see, and we agree. Because while you may have purchased that bottle of orangeade, and even handed over good money for it, it was a transaction made under false pretenses. So go stand up for yourself. Head back to that newspaper stand and tell the owner what you think of his business. You can insist this is not good enough and demand satisfaction.Learning Chinese? We have more beginner lessons coming out later this week. In the meantime, our show for today is for the more wizened Intermediate crowd which already speaks some Chinese and is looking to sound even more native. And how are we going to help you with this but by teaching a number of colloquial but non-standard words you can use as drop-in replacements for high-frequency ones everyone already knows. So listen up and drop these words into conversation and in no time your friends will be looking at you with renewed respect and possibly even fear.
Advanced - Conflicts in the Medical System
Apr 17, 2012
Show notes
We're pretty lucky not to have had to deal with any major medical crises while in China. Which is probably a good thing judging by the contents of this Advanced podcast, which features a native-native Chinese conversation between Echo and Tiansen about the medical system and how it often puts doctors and patients at odds. So if you've already got pretty decent Chinese and are looking for listening practice that will help you pick up new words and phrases, give this podcast and shot and see how you do.
Intermediate - Memories of High School
Apr 16, 2012
Show notes
Suffering the mockery of his high school peers, Stephen had retreated into scholastics to escape from pain and loneliness. Eventually, this would lead him to graduate with top honors and be accepted by one of the most prestigious universities in the nation. And yet as he accepted his diploma, he wondered if one day he might return to this small town and show them all that with courage and determination, a man could still succeed.
Absolute Beginners - Advice for Dealing with New Parents
Apr 11, 2012
Show notes
In the spirit of sharing a helpful tip for dealing with friends who procreate, one thing we've learned something of the hard way is the astonishing degree to which parents end up being more patient with their new offspring than they are with their non-childbearing but emotionally supportive friends, especially should one happen to make a stray remark about asking the little guy to hurry up because other people might need to go too.Just starting to learn Chinese? Our podcast for today is one of our more difficult lessons at the Absolute Beginner level, since it presumes you've already run into the particle 了, and know it is used to put sentences into the past tense and signal what is known as a "change of state". But what you might not know is that sometimes you'll see this doubled-up in the same sentence. This lesson is about one case when this occurs, so that you can impress everyone with how native your Chinese is getting.
Elementary - Happy Easter
Apr 09, 2012
Show notes
I know you were doing email long before I signed up for the yahoo, but could anyone really have imagined what the Internet would have become when AOL invented it in 1993? I mean... just look at this beautiful scarf I bought to celebrate our Easter gift-giving tradition. It might seem like an ordinary piece of clothing at first, but if you look carefully you'll see it's hand-made. And I had to get it shipped in overnight from a store that specializes in one-of-a-kind pieces, so don't get it wet.Learning Chinese? Today we celebrate Easter by combining the power of coverbs with the fun of collocations. The result is a set of powerful and fun ways to talk about your feelings towards people and objects. And there's no need for thanks. Just consider it a Merry Easter present from all of us at Popup Towers to you. Seriously though, be careful about getting this one wet, since it's more of an indoor scarf than all-weather gear.
Absolute Beginners - Introduction to Pinyin
Apr 05, 2012
Show notes
By now we assume you've heard of pinyin: the dominant method of writing the sound of Chinese characters using the roman alphabet. We use pinyin everywhere on Popup Chinese and while we obviously can't teach you all of the sounds in a single podcast, we did want to put something together for those of you having trouble making sense of the system, and in particular to clear up three common misconceptions people have about the romanization system: the mistaken idea that pronunciation follows English norms, the belief that the sounds in pinyin are internally consistent, and the confusion that strikes when it comes time to use pinyin to enter characters on a computer.Beyond this podcast, we also want to take a minute and point out two resources here on Popup Chinese that most beginners overlook. The first is our online pinyin chart which is now bundled with our Chinese dictionary. You can use this to explore all possible pinyin sounds, see the relationship between different sounds, and hear the pronunciation of all sounds quickly and easily. Our second resource is our archive of pinyin recordings available for free download. They might not make for as easy listening as a podcast, but they're useful and you're welcome to use them with our compliments.
Advanced - A Visit to the Dentist
Apr 04, 2012
Show notes
Today we are pleased but mystified to present another edition of Popup Total Request Live, this time with an advanced show directed at the astonishingly large number of you (N > 1) who have written in to request a Chinese-only discussion on dental hygiene. Facing the incredulity of the rest of the office, Echo tried to explain your enthusiasm to us as follows. "It's because everyone loves the dentist," she said. "It's like a holiday when you take a day off work to go to get your teeth cleaned or have oral surgery."So if you enjoy this podcast you should write echo@popupchinese.com to express your gratitude for her tireless efforts to bring this show to reality. The rest of us disavow any responsibility for it and are working hard to produce more family-friendly shows -- like the upcoming sequel to our plunger episode.
Intermediate - Where did you put the plunger?
Apr 02, 2012
Show notes
Long-time listeners may be hard-pressed to forget our first foray into the exciting world of home plumbing, and if you're new to Popup Chinese you may want to listen to that show before exposing yourself to today's sequel, which picks where the last one left off. Our two protagonists now return home after a hearty lunch and turn their attention to the question we have left hanging all these three years: where did the plunger go anyway?Learning Chinese? We're not sure if this lesson is a step up or a step down from its predecessor, which we've been told by multiple people has the distinction of being the most highbrow, lowbrow Chinese podcast in existence. In any event, we're certain you won't find the sort of thing we teach today in most or any textbooks, which is a pity since it is actually quite useful. In addition to covering some useful vocab for home cleaning, we also provide a useful reminder of why you should never let friends over to your house.
Intermediate - Excavation and Betrayal
Mar 29, 2012
Show notes
With fears inflated by a few carefully placed rumors, the local populace was wise enough to stay away from the dig site, rightly fearing what might surface in a place which had lain buried for so long in the sands outside Cairo. And yet this same caution did not apply to the members of the excavation team, of whom no-one could predict which way their loyalties would bend once the tomb was opened and its treasures revealed once more to a waiting world.Learning Chinese? Our Intermediate lesson for today features a dialogue straight out of an Indiana Jones archeological adventure. And as is fitting for such a topic, we spend a bit of time in this podcast stretching beyond simple language learning and look instead at the subtle and often collaborative process through which Chinese screenplays turn into Chinese films.
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