Chinese Unfiltered

"Chinese Unfiltered" podcast has a native-sounding Mandarin speaker today - Laoma Chris, FINALLY. We traced it back to the very beginning of his Chinese journey and how 2 months of special training changed his past 15 years, his work, his life, and his world. 🎥 Video version: https://youtu.be/-CjXwG-UQoA 🔥 Speak Mandarin that natives can understand effortlessly → https://findingyourmandarinvoice...

Li Laoshi is back in my podcast after we celebrated the Chinese New Year in the US and in Europe, and we talked about a topic that we both are very passionate about - religions and beliefs. As a Chinese millennial and a Chinese Gen-Zer who grew up in different internet and social media eras, we had different observations about our own generations' spiritual lives. But we also both noticed a huge t...

Dr. Abner Zhang and I met at the CLTA annual meeting early this year and discussed his research on second-language phonetics and fluency during my visit to Middlebury College last month. There is way too much conflicting information and advice, so we talk about intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness, three key words and topics that have everything to do with Mandarin speaking and lis...

You don't really understand a culture until you know how the people face death (inside and outside the ceremony). I talked about the ceremony and some shocking customs with new guest Li Laoshi. 🎥 Video version: https://youtu.be/iM3dx5CMds8 🔍 Get video without subtitles and audio versions plus a full transcript of Pinyin+Hanzi+English: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-unfiltered 🙋🏻‍♀️ Website: r...

朋友们，好久不见！I did this interview with 9 brilliant Mandarin professors and educators back in May, when we were at the annual conference of the Chinese Language Teacher Association in NYC. 💡These most knowledgeable and experienced Chinese teachers shared their thoughts and tips on beginner, intermediate, and advanced learning processes, based on their decades of teaching experience with hundr...

Marko is an experienced language learner and a former AI professional. We talked about whether he uses AI tools to learn languages himself, his suggestions for Mandarin learners, and if learning a second language is worth the time and effort when AI can do all translations better nowadays. 🎥 Video version: https://youtu.be/MjJe1dv7QBE 🔍 Support the podcast and get full transcripts of Pinyin+Hanz...

👏 Marko is back in my interviews! He is a great Mandarin speaker, a mathematician, and a former AI software engineer. Our talk on learning Chinese with AI tools actually started with the feature of Mandarin Chinese which used to be the biggest challenge in machine learning. More importantly, what problems or pitfalls can it cause when you use AI tools to learn Chinese? 🎥 Video version: https://y...

It's challenging to raise a baby, and it's even more difficult to raise a bilingual child if there is no target language environment. So many overseas Chinese friends have asked me "how can I keep my kid motivated to speak Chinese," and Cindy is definitely the most experienced Chinese teacher who can answer this question! 🎥 Video version: https://youtu.be/Clj0onMMRAE 🔍 Get video without subtitle...

The differences and similarities between kids and adults learning Chinese are always topics that interest me a lot, and I finally invited the best person to talk about them with! Cindy Huang is the founder and CEO of one of the best Chinese immersive schools in Washington, D.C.: www.chiachinese.com Chia Chinese Learning Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chia_chinese_learning/ 🎥 Video version:...

The animated Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" is breaking records non-stop, and has already entered the Global Box Office ALL-TIME Top 10. I went to see the movie and asked what Chinese people thought. Is this movie accessible for non-Chinese audience? Will Chinese learners understand it? Interviews are fully in Chinese, so you can practice your listening at the same time! 🎥 Video version: https://...

Chinese New Year/Spring Festival is around the corner! And it's a very special year for Mei Laoshi and my husband! All of our must-dos and shouldn't-dos every year are still all related to our Chinese zodiac signs. (Surprisingly, I know!) Video version: https://youtu.be/KaVG4SyP4L0 Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-unfiltered Website: ritachinese.com YouTube: www...

Squid Game Season 2 came out a few weeks ago, and the phenomenal show broke Netflix records (again)! In this episode, I invited my high school good friend Lara to talk about the games in the show, how they played it in South Korea when she was a kid, and what games we played in China in the 1990s. We got nostalgic, but there are a bunch of precise and specific verbs that Mandarin learners need to...

MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) may not be new to Americans, but it has become so popular in China that you see and hear people talking about it everywhere! We talk about how Chinese people talk about MBTI as small talk, and also roast our partners who have very different personalities than us! What is your MBTI type? What is your go-to topic in Chinese when you meet someone?! Let us know in th...

Surprisingly, the most trendy Chinese reality show is this divorce show 再见爱人, and in this episode of my "Chinese Unfiltered" video podcast, we break down the slang about personalities fro the show that went viral on Chinese social media, and why I think dramatic TV shows like this one is actually great Mandarin learning material! Video version: https://youtu.be/wIFy7jSDX_c Get Pinyin+Hanzi+Eng...

Li Ziqi is BACK!! Her fans from all around the world are so happy🎉 Have you watched any of her comeback videos? How are Chinese people reacting to her comeback? We break down the most used Chinese memes, jokes, and expressions that you see in the video (bullet) comments! Video version: https://youtu.be/yenu2XzRQho Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-unfiltered Web...

How are Trump and Harris discussed on the Chinese internet? Why is Trump called a comrade by Chinese netizens? And what election memes are Chinese people creating? My two guests, Dennis and Mei Yan, and I take a deep dive into Chinese social media and break down everything for you! Video version: https://youtu.be/-eOdpbxp6Aw Disclaimer: Guests’ views are their own—they don’t represent all Chinese...

Jun and I shared our favorite ghost stories, Asian horror movies, Fengshui, Haunted places in Beijing, even personal experiences, and everything about the spiritual beings in Chinese culture. We also compared them to their counterparts in Western cultures that we know in this Halloween special episode. Enjoy! Video version: https://youtu.be/P3Seyl3IDWM Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://...

It took extra time to edit this episode, because I looked through the pictures of my baby and myself over and over, and I relived the past 4 months again and again. I talked with Jun about this irreplaceable life experience, including the pains, the struggles, the depression, as well as the joy and happiness that my baby's birth has brought to me and my whole family. Video version: https://youtu.b...

What do Chinese people think is "beautiful"? What has changed when we talk about "beauty" in China? And what is making people anxious about not being pretty enough? Jun and I shared what we feel and what we have seen! (This episode was filmed 2 days before my son's birth back in June) Video version: https://youtu.be/Ibjw6eTgjfE Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-u...

Is there a better place for retirement? In this episode of "Unfiltered Chinese", we shared our personal experiences and talked about retirement and healthcare systems in China and in North America, including cultural and social differences. Video version: https://youtu.be/ag6JEdMXitg Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-unfiltered Website: ritachinese.com YouTube: w...

Rita has been married for 5 years, and Jun is still looking for her significant one. But we both have the observation of fewer women that we know getting married in recent years, and it reflects a huge trend in the Chinese society. What happened? What is stopping Chinese women from marriage life? Is it a regional thing? We also talked about a shocking article on the internet that sparked a lot of...

Chinese kids don't learn English anymore? It was shocking to Rita and Jun, as the Chinese generation who dedicated years even decades to learning English and foreign languages. What is happening? What are the reasons and truths behind it? In this episode, we share some observations and thoughts. Video version: https://youtu.be/V7BHRIgRCP0 Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.co...

In this episode, we're talking about a more laid back topic: dating! How does dating work in China? How has it changed, and what kind of weird experiences have we had? Video version: https://youtu.be/k1O3qCVBFyg Get Pinyin+Hanzi+English Transcript: https://ritachinese.com/chinese-unfiltered Website: ritachinese.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/@RitaChinese Instagram: instagram.com/rita_mandarin_chines...

Netflix's new hit show The 3-Body Problem is an adaptation of the bestselling series by the same name. A Chinese version of the show came out before this and since we now have both to check out, people have been comparing them relentlessly, both to one another and to the original story. So what do Chinese people think? In this episode, that's what we're discussing. Video version: https://youtu.be/...

4 years away from home and my oldest friends was a long time, especially during a global pandemic. I had imagined so many scenes of returning to China, but nothing could compare to what I saw and heard when I finally stood on the ground of my city. What has always been the same? What has ultimately changed? What shocked us? Jun Laoshi and I will share everything we experienced in this episode! Vid...