ChinesePod - Intermediate

It seems your Chinese book left out the the units on '886' and 'PMP.' That text message you just received mentioned something about vomiting congee. Is '520' an area code or the lucky number for this week's lottery? You need the hip kids of ChinesePod to swim you through this sea of lingo. Listen to this podcast and find out the slang that the dictionary forgot to menti...

It may not quite be the internet as you knew it, but something is better than nothing, right? Learn here how to get yourself wired and online in China. Learn in this podcast how to get internet installed, and how to get which connection speed you want, in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0957

When you can get take out draft beer poured into a plastic bag for pennies, it's easy to get incensed over the price of pijiu. In this podcast, learn how to use your Mandarin Chinese to get picky about your brew. But no Bob and Doug hoser jokes please. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0673

It's a bird... it's a plane... no. It's the biggest thing to hit China since ping pong. Meet another sport beloved by the Chinese. In this podcast, listen in to a badminton game as it was meant to be played... in Mandarin. Next time you hit the court, you'll be able to smash that birdie with the best of 'em. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0951

Poems seem like they'd be a lot easier to write in Mandarin. Think of all the words that rhyme with 'shu': lu, chu, du, fu, bu, su, poo... oh wait a minute, that's English. Listen to this podcast on Chinese poetry and get inspired. And feel free to post your own poems in the comments section. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0669

Inspired by many a Shanghai late-night party, be it mahjong with hard of hearing participants getting riled up on baijiu, or a laowai house party, period. Party styles differ, but sleeping neighbors get just as cranky on both sides of the wall. Listen to this podcast, and be ready to explain yourself in Chinese when you get the dreaded police knock at 11:00pm. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod....

Due to the bill-snatching prowess of the Chinese, you may find yourself at a disadvantage when it comes to tactical check-paying maneuvers, post-dinner. Listen to this podcast and learn how mobilize for the battle of the tab, in Mandarin. Of course, that being said, we all know we’re glad they’re paying--but you've got to at least put up the appearance of a good fight. Episode link: https://ww...

The 'Fear Factor' of Chinese tests, the sit-down-break-out-in-a-sweat test, the kind of test those standing-naked-at-the-front-of-the-class nightmares are made of. An essay in Chinese characters you say? By hand? Oh ho ho, that's just the beginning. Takers of the HSK test, we bow down to you. Aspirers, sacrifice yourself on the altar of books and prepare for a case of writer's cram...

ChinesePod may be the only company in the world where employees can be legitimately reimbursed for buying knock-off DVDs (they were for Movie Madness, we promise). Though, admittedly, wrangling a receipt is sometimes a challenging endeavor. In this podcast, listen in and find out how to use your Mandarin Chinese to get reimbursed for your (likely) more legitimate expenses. Episode link: https://ww...

You have an aversion to being poked? No problem! You can get suction cupped! The polka-dotted welts clash with your striped outfit? Get skin scraped! All this and more to look forward to on your next health check-up. Trips to the dentist seem like a holiday now. Learn all about these Traditional Chinese Medicine techniques here in this podcast. Then go out and get healed! Episode link: https://www...

Incredible, unstoppable titan of terror! Mightiest monster! Mightiest melodrama of them all! Civilization crumbles as its death rays blast a city of twenty million from the face of the earth. The legend continues, in Mandarin Chinese... Godzilla arrives in Shanghai. Listen to this podcast... could it be our last??? Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0645

Yes, this is the same health class that deals with the facts of life, however, you will have to patiently sit through a passionate lesson on the circulatory system before you get to that one. In this podcast, learn about what makes your heart go aflutter in Mandarin Chinese. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0938

Rules of boss flattery: if you start complimenting your beer-bellied boss on his figure, he might catch on that you're just looking for a raise. Better to stick to his rugged good looks. In this podcast, a Mandarin lesson on how to use your Chinese charms to suck up. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0623

So much more than just the name of your favorite Chinese garden in Vancouver. Sun Yatsen is often considered the founder of modern China. With such an impressive title, surely us Chinese learners should learn a little more about him and what he stood for. You can, in this podcast. Learn about this famous figure in Chinese history in Mandarin. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/0908

One never knows when one will find oneself in a game of pin the tail on the Chinese city. Get a head start on your Chinese topography. In a place where a city you've never even heard of can have the population equivalent to that of a small country, there is a lot to learn. Listen to this podcast and learn in Mandarin about some smaller (read: population 8 million) cities in China, and what the...

Confucius Says: Learning Mandarin is good for you. Confucius Says: You haven't lived till you've learned Chinese. Confucius Says: Stop being so lazy and get studying. The wisdom of Confucius is now available to us and our remedial Saved by the Gong class. Let's listen to this podcast as John and Jenny spout some pearls of wisdom of their own... And remember, if you don't know Confu...

Ah, the eternal question of what you want to be when you grow up. Said question, posed by well-meaning family members when you are in your third year of enjoying yourself loafing around Asia, starts to lose its charm. Now, if you don't want to go home, and you need a legit job to placate mom and dad, you can always adopt a Chinese uncle with 'guanxi' up his sleeve. In this podcast, lis...

Name a famous chemist. Mm-hmm, you can't can you? Didn't think so. If you want to make a living cooking meth, mixing hair gel or testing tainted candy, you've got some learning to do. But first learn a little about chemistry in Chinese in this podcast. Episode link: https://www.chinesepod.com/1011

As you know, we at ChinesePod do not advocate drug deals, illegal sale of firearms and/or parking lot rage... but when it comes to our friendly neighborhood DVD man, well, that's when things get a little grey area-ish. Listen in to this podcast and learn all the Chinese movie-purchasing lingo you're going to need to pass those long summer evenings holed up in air-conditioning movie-watchin...

Anyone who has lived through an earthquake, or twenty, in a 1970s-built back alley Taipei apartment knows a little about geology. China has its fair share of dramatic geological events, and today we go back to class to learn about them. So next time the building starts swaying, fear not. This is not scary, it is simply another rush-inducing Chinese learning experience. Episode link: https://www.ch...

ChinesePod is going a little 'new age' today and encouraging you to explore your inner child. Close your eyes, let your spirit roam... you are getting sleeeepy, wait! Not too sleepy. Make sure to pay attention to this lesson on letting your imagination run wild in Chinese... you never know where it might take you. Sorrow, happiness, money, incense... steamed buns. Sound odd? Listen to the...

You thought the abacus was some sort of Chinese percussion instrument and that the guy in the market sign-languaging you number signals was challenging you to a game of rock, scissors, paper. You didn't take math in China, and you're gonna keep getting outnumbered till you can keep up. In this podcast, get back to remedial class and accomplish the feat of relearning all those math formulas...

Cultural divide is at times nowhere more evident than in matters of appetite. When it comes to cravings--you're pining for potato chips, she's fancying feet. You're itchin' for a little twinkie-binging loving, she's hankering for a little o' the necks. In this podcast, food-fusion, east-meets-west, necks-meet-pretzels... learn how to nosh in Mandarin Chinese! Episode link:...

You won't find Screech in this classroom, but you will find some interesting characters in our new junior high drama. Someone once said: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” The same is true for history class. So here's some history in Mandarin Chinese, and don’t forget to use the exercises or you’ll be doomed to repeat this lesson. Episode link: https://www.chine...

The Departed was a pretty good film, although we have an office-wide dispute over whether it's better than Infernal Affairs. Before you settle down to watch the Hong Kong original in its glorious Mandarin dub though, we recommend checking out this podcast to learn the Chinese of the streets. Otherwise the plot won't make much sense. Bonus points if you can spot our mole ahead of time. Epis...