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 - No More Toilet Paper
Jun 15, 2009
Show notes
More tragic words have never been spoken. Two hours ago you were enjoying the best spicy chicken this side of Chongqing. Now your lunch is having the last laugh. You make eye contact with the man squatting next to you, and notice that his eyes, too, are filled with quiet despair. Listen to our podcast today and learn the magic words we hope you will never have to hear.
Intermediate - The Orphanage
Jun 09, 2009
Show notes
You'd have thought we'd have stopped with the child labor jokes after that kerfuffle at the UNESCO conference in Hangzhou. Remember the one? It was the time our ragtag band of Artful Dodgers picked the crowd clean while providing an occasionally accurate interpretation service to the assembled delegates.We've since gone generally legit with our use of underaged staffers, but as our pack of 8 year old programmers can attest, there remain many benefits to hiring young. In addition to asking fewer questions about labor rights, children eat less, learn faster and are more easily indoctrinated into online personality cults. Nothing is ever perfect though. Which is why this podcast offers practical advice on what you'll need to say in Chinese when things just don't work out.
Absolute Beginners - Missing Keys
Jun 08, 2009
Show notes
We've all been in this sordid situation. Your date was a wild success and you've come back home for a nightcap. But just as you step to the door you reach into your pocket and find something wrong: it has been picked clean. But by whom? Was it your surly waiter? The child selling roses who snaked after you down the street, pulling at your arm? The shifty group of ragged layabouts who operated that makeshift coat-check outside the restaurant?Whoever the culprit, it seems you will now be spending the rest of your evening walking around looking for an open locksmith. So fire up your iPod and tune in to this podcast for all the language you'll need to get things fixed. Or at least all the language you'll need to complain about your lost keys to anyone who will listen, locksmith included.
Elementary - Unsuccessful Branding
Jun 02, 2009
Show notes
On occasion, our shameless sense of self-promotion here at Popup Chinese rubs up against unforgiving reality. This is a podcast about one of these occasions. More importantly, it is also a lesson on how to talk about clothing. The words we'll cover are critical to know whether you're buying clothes, selling clothes, or telling the naked kid running around outside to go and put some on for a change.
Intermediate - Locked in the Studio
Jun 01, 2009
Show notes
Whenever someone visits our office and asks how we get such natural dialogues we just smile. The truth is that podcasting in China is a ruthless business and the use of force is occasionally necessary. And so we bring you this podcast in the spirit of sharing some advanced podcasting tips. Listen in for a great Chinese lesson, along with practical suggestions on coaxing productivity from a recalcitrant recording crew when you're seriously behind schedule and need the next six months of material finished by sundown.
Elementary - Death by Appliance
May 27, 2009
Show notes
In this podcast we hear a tragic tale of a homicidal non-cooling appliance. This lesson also marks another experiment with our recording format: rather than focus on the dialogue here we focus on the theme: heating and air conditioning. As such, we review the core nouns, adjectives and verbs related to this central theme. If you learn well by practicing grouped words together, this is the podcast for you. Take a listen and let us know if we should produce more of these.
Intermediate - How to Swear in Chinese
May 25, 2009
Show notes
Ever smashed your finger in a car door and found yourself at a loss for words? In this podcast we'll teach you how to swear in Chinese using a relatively low-level Chinese swear word. If you haven't run into it before, the word we'll introduce is basically the equivalent of damn in English. If you or your conversation partners are offended easily you may want to skip this one for one of our more family friendly podcasts. Swearing is a sensitive topic, but it's critical to know how socially appropriate various expressions really are, and understand when escalating is considered crude. Many second language learners have real problems expressing their anger in socially appropriate ways, and jump to extremely offensive language in response to slight provocation. If you are one of them, this podcast is for you. And since proper escalation is key, we also cover some alternate ways to sound more forceful without crossing the line to explicit obscenity.
Absolute Beginners - Pinyin Practice: zi
May 18, 2009
Show notes
Our podcast for today is our second show in a new series we're launching to teach proper Chinese pronunciation. Our focus today is on a common problem a lot of learners have when they're new to mandarin: differentiating the sound "zi" from its aspirated rival "ci". Today we're going to clear this up once and for all.And attention listeners: management is fully aware that Brendan's pronunciation of the letter zed in this podcast does not conform to international Canadian phonetic standards. We apologize for this oversight, and wish to assure you we have already commenced mandatory remedial training. Even if the continued references to "zee" (zed) may confuse, we hope you still find this a useful podcast for mastering proper pronunciation in Chinese.
Advanced - The Band's Perspective
May 16, 2009
Show notes
Today we bring you yet another overlooked perspective on a great historical event. We don't want to say too much more because this is a listening test and part of the goal here is for you to figure out what is going on yourself. So give this podcast a listen and then click through to our online quiz to test your listening comprehension. It may not be as easy as you think.
Intermediate - A New Home
May 14, 2009
Show notes
In this age of Global Warming, our imperiled avian friends from the deep south are crying out for succor. And no-where is their plight getting a warmer reception than with our very own Tiansen.If you're an old hand at Popup Chinese, you might consider this dialogue simpler than our usual intermediate fare. But it really isn't. What you should be listening for are the departures we take from technically correct pronunciation and grammar. You may not have internalized or even noticed these tricks to date, but if you start using them you'll come across as much more fluent than your peers. Because part of sounding like a native speaker is knowing exactly when and how to bend the rules....
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