Mandarin Monkey Podcast

This episode started as a simple idea:list 100 very specific things to do before you die.We didn’t get to 100.We talked about sharks, Lapland, Route 66, Disney parks, cherry blossoms, tequila in Mexico, collecting memories, and why “someday” is a dangerous word.Mandarin and English.Travel, goals, family, and that quiet feeling of wanting more life in your life.If this episode sparks an idea for you, tell us what you’d add to the list.Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual podcast in Mandarin and English.We speak naturally. No scripts. No lessons. Just real conversation.Support the show or join the hangouts:mandarinmonkey.compatreon.com/mandarinmonkey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learning Mandarin isn’t just about vocabulary or grammar.Sometimes it’s about confidence, fear, and not feeling “good enough”.In episode 444 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we talk honestly about:– Why language “levels” can actually hurt learners– Speaking Mandarin without destroying your confidence– Trial lessons that start way too basic– Learning through conversation, not correction– Why progress feels invisible even when it’s real– Being scared to speak, even after years of learning– How creativity, experience, and repetition change everythingThis episode drifts between English and Mandarin, just like real life does.Because that’s how language is actually learned.If you’ve ever felt stuck, nervous, or frustrated with Mandarin…this one’s for you.🎧 Listen, relax, and remember: you’re not bad at languages.You’re just still learning.📩 Got a question for our Friday mailbag?Email: chat@mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a mailbag episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast.We answer listener questions about a deceptively common Mandarin mistake:why you can’t use “ask” the way you do in English.Ula explains why 問 is for asking questions, but doesn’t work when you’re asking someone to do you a favour, and why 請 is often the natural choice, even though it doesn’t translate cleanly into English.We also respond to listener emails about:learning Mandarin without a clear end goalwhy grammar turns people off languagespatience, time, and long-term progresshow hangouts and lessons help people stick with itUla speaks Mandarin pretty much throughout.Tom speaks English pretty much throughout.🎧 Lessons, hangouts, and more:mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a fully bilingual English–Mandarin conversation. Tom speaks in English. Ula responds entirely in Mandarin.We talk about:Extreme risk and a climber scaling Taipei 101Whether dangerous stunts should be streamed liveTravel plans including Lapland, skiing holidays, the Maldives, and the USFear, animals, parenting, and how perspective changes over timeThis is not a scripted lesson.It’s how Mandarin is used naturally in real life.If you’re learning Mandarin and want:Real listening practiceNatural speed and phrasingMandarin used in context, not explained to deathThis episode is for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why does Mandarin feel easy when you’re listening…but impossible the moment a real person speaks?In this mailbag episode, we answer real listener questions about learning Mandarin in the real world.Textbooks vs real speech. Tones. Confidence. Speaking to in-laws. And why your brain sometimes just shuts down.We talk about:Why textbooks teach words nobody actually saysWhether tones really matter (and why)Freezing when speaking to native speakersSpeaking Mandarin with your partner’s parentsWhy some days you feel fluent and others you forget everythingMainland Chinese vs Taiwanese MandarinIf you’ve ever thought, “Is it just me?”…it isn’t.00:00 Welcome & what this episode is03:10 Why textbooks don’t sound like real people11:45 Speaking Mandarin with your partner’s parents23:40 “I understand podcasts but not real people”33:10 Do tones really matter?41:45 Why some days Mandarin feels impossible52:30 Mainland Chinese vs Taiwanese Mandarin59:10 Final thoughts & how to keep improving01:02:30 How to support Mandarin Monkey🎧 Support the podcast: https://patreon.com/mandarinmonkey📚 Book lessons: https://mandarinmonkey.com👥 Join Mandarin Monkey Hangouts on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back. We both got hit with a nasty illness for a few weeks and lost our voices, so this one is low-energy and coughy. We talk about why we disappeared, why this Christmas felt “off”, a New Year’s Eve living-room campout with the kids, and how fast sickness can wipe you out. Then we look back at some 2025 goals, set fresh 2026 goals, and Tom admits he’s convinced Premium Bonds will make him a millionaire every month. We also share why Disney matters to us, plus a quick reminder: if you’ve been listening for ages and thinking about lessons, now’s a good time to start.0:00 Welcome back and why we disappeared0:40 Three weeks ill, lost voices, low energy3:00 Christmas felt quiet this year6:00 New Year’s Eve with kids and getting sick10:30 Moving house, 2025 drama, hoping 2026 improves17:00 Premium Bonds and the monthly million fantasy20:30 2025 goals review, exercise, habits, tracking26:00 Journaling, Finch app, wanting better insights27:30 Disney plans and giving kids real memories34:00 Hobbies, dates, books, piano, creative projects40:00 2026 goals, family time, couple time47:00 Where we might live next, avoiding tourist traps50:30 Dog debate, Halloumi, dog sitting reality54:30 Lessons, teachers, Patreon, wrap-up Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s our Christmas Special Mailbag.We answer listener questions about real Chinese greetings, why “Ni Hao Ma” sounds unnatural, fear of flying explained by a pilot, and how to type pinyin with tone marks properly.We finish with a fun Christmas quiz full of strange traditions and surprising facts from around the world.If you’re learning Mandarin and want natural Chinese, not textbook Chinese, this episode is for you.Topics include • What to say instead of “Ni Hao Ma” • Casual vs polite Chinese greetings • Flying anxiety and turbulence explained • Typing pinyin with tones • Christmas traditions and triviaMerry Christmas and thank you for listening to Mandarin Monkey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ula explains why some dictionary and app translations feel unnatural, and shares a new Mandarin dictionary app recommendation. Then we mess around with a sound-guessing game, chat about school plays, and end with Tom quizzing Ula on the Life in the UK test. 00:00 Intro, episode 438, Wednesday energy 01:35 What subject do we look like we teach? 07:10 Midweek fatigue and kid sleep chaos 09:20 Why “dictionary Chinese” sounds unnatural 11:40 New app recommendation, 橘子漢語 (J-U-Z-I) 15:20 Free vs paid features, why it beats Pleco for usage 18:00 Nativity play recap, Bethlehem Bake Off confusion 24:35 Game time, People Places Projects sound guesses 25:55 Sound: vacuum cleaner 吸塵器 33:10 Sound: “personal trainer”, Schwarzenegger link 38:20 Sound: parking sensor, reversing beep 41:55 Next week schedule, last broadcasts, Christmas plan 43:20 Visa update and Life in the UK test quiz 48:15 Judiciary question confusion 50:55 Habeas Corpus question, 75% pass mark talk 58:50 Wrap Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why doesn’t “How are you?” really exist in Chinese?In this episode, we talk about how Chinese people show care without asking about feelings. Food, warmth, sleep, and daily life matter more than emotional check-ins. We also talk about sleep, anxiety, bilingual kids, accents, affection across cultures, and then completely lose control playing a sound guessing game. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday mailbag time. Chinese and English together, as always.Today you get listener stories about:• Stress gestures that looked like a love confession • Soft Mandarin that sounded like poetry underwater • Motivation, guilt, discipline and VR boxing • Ten minutes of bus auntie story with zero context • Scooter fails in Taiwan and panic Mandarin • Sounding fluent while saying nonsense • Noodle theft in a Bristol flat • Turning passive vocab into active speechWe talk through:• How to describe emotions without strange vibes • Why quiet Mandarin feels impossible to decode • When to push through and when to rest • How confidence helps even if the vocab falls apartEmail your story for a future mailbag: chat@mandarinmonkey.comLessons, community, and all the good stuff: mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bilingual Mandarin and English episode filled with Christmas nonsense, food talk, and some heavier life planning.We talk about UK food labels, sugar overload, and why buying cheese feels like a health exam. Then we drift into real life. Stress. Pressure. Planning the next five to ten years. And why that feels very different when you have kids, bills, and responsibilities.Tom talks through moving to Taiwan with almost no plan. Ula talks about goals and why planning triggers old student stress. We look at how to balance enjoying the moment with taking care of future you.If you want to practise listening to natural Mandarin and English in a real conversation, this episode is perfect. You can book a free trial lesson at mandarinmonkey.com.Send your emails for the Friday mailbag to chat@mandarinmonkey.com.CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:33 Christmas, turkeys, and the turducken problem 2:20 Giblets, guts, and Taiwanese menus 3:40 UK Christmas decorations and candy canes 5:15 Sugar, food labels, and supermarket misery 7:30 Comparing food labels in Taiwan and the UK 8:20 Sleeping positions and being the big spoon 10:50 Christmas hats, hoodies, and decorating the house 11:24 The smoke machine debate 12:40 Christmas lights and buying more nonsense 13:48 Teaching our daughter Mandarin 14:50 Talking about old homes and old decisions 16:10 How planning shapes the next 10 years 18:00 What peace, fun, and goals mean 20:00 Moving to Taiwan with no plan 22:30 Making mistakes when you’re young 24:40 Why planning feels heavier as an adult 27:00 Arriving in Taiwan with total freedom 30:00 Mixing living in the moment with long-term goals 33:00 Having things to look forward to 35:00 December Hangouts and lesson schedule 36:00 How to book lessons and send mailbag emails Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Friday mailbag. Mandarin and English. Real listener questions.We start with a chat about long-term goals. Safety, peace, fun, love and connection. Where we want the kids to be in ten years. Where we want to live. How to build something bigger than “exercise more”.Then the mailbag.A night-shift worker in Leeds knows the vocab but freezes when building sentences. A Birmingham listener orders bubble tea in Taichung without the cashier switching to English. A software engineer in Dublin wants real conversations, not grammar workshops. A listener in Seattle can hear J, Q and X but cannot say them. A teacher in Wellington reads well but loses everything without subtitles.We talk about progress, language habits, relationships, pronunciation, listening skills and how to keep going even when it feels slow.Send your stories or questions to chat@mandarinmonkey.com.For lessons or hangouts, visit mandarinmonkey.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode starts in the strangest way possible, then turns into a full life update. We talk about Kairi wanting to learn Chinese, Dragon Ball socks, why none of us sleep, work changes, and the chaos of parenting three young kids.We also get into • How bad nights ruin your brain • Why our youngest saves all his wee for nighttime • New directions in our work • Whether to make a movie at home • How animation voiceovers actually work • Moving abroad and the career gap problem • New plans for Mandarin Monkey • Our goal to set up a separate studio and a new company • What’s coming next for usIt’s real, chaotic, and very us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We skip the small talk and jump straight into chaos. One of us wears noise-cancelling headphones with brown noise blasting. The other says sentences in Mandarin and English. The goal is simple. Lip read the line. No clues. No questions.The results are a mess. “You squeezed it before I was ready,” becomes cheesecake. 羊羹 becomes “some kind of rat.” Twice becomes twat. And a totally normal Chinese sentence turns into Argentina.If you enjoy Mandarin learning mixed with confusion, misread lips, and unearned confidence, this game delivers.Send your sentences or game ideas to chat@mandarinmonkey.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wrong day, wrong week, right podcast. Today’s mailbag episode starts with that weird moment when your brain swears Friday arrived, but the calendar says otherwise, then drifts into lottery fantasies, nannies who only speak Mandarin, and baldness fear. Standard Mandarin Monkey energy.Then listener stories:• Daniel in Manchester used Mandarin to survive lockdown loneliness and asks how to practice speaking when nerves block every sentence.• John in Southern California listened to the whole podcast three times and still wants more. Respect.• Debbie in Lagos started Mandarin because C-drama subtitles missed the point and now fights double audio and dodgy subs.• Olivia fell in from the short clips, forgets new words in days, and wants to keep going without burnout.• Vivi did “immersion” in Kaohsiung, made international friends, defaulted to English, and now only understands Mandarin with heavy context.We talk about:• Why tutors hear every mistake already and still support learners• How mirroring and shadowing native speakers trains tones and rhythm• Why motivation fades and discipline keeps progress alive• How to use scripts, news, and audio to train listening without subtitles• Single-channel brains, overwhelm, and why context helps more than people admitBilingual as always. Ula speaks Mandarin, Tom speaks English, you follow along.Send your story or question to:chat@mandarinmonkey.comor DM on Instagram / Facebook.Your email might show up in the next mailbag. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We put on noise-canceling headphones, blasted brown noise, and tried to read each other’s lips in Chinese.Spoiler: “Are you the king of Mandarin Monkey?” turned into “Are you licking a mandarin monkey?”We also talk about Tom’s 3D-printed bust mini-movie, the “shi” tongue twister that broke him, and why bringing back the silly side of Mandarin Monkey might be the best idea yet.Send your stories for Friday Mailbag: chat@mandarinmonkey.comLessons and more at mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mailbag time. Phoebe’s moving to China in a week, Jasmine’s torn between Simplified and Traditional, Mark nails his first all-Mandarin order, Anna shares tonal research, and Katie reminds us to slow down. We talk avoiding the foreigner bubble, finding a “language parent,” sleep habits, and why progress feels slow, until it doesn’t. Send your story: chat@mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Practice Mandarin listening with a native Taiwanese Mandarin speaker and English support. We cover cold-weather camping at 3°C, off-grid power, food, health, and planning a sensible motorbike tour through Europe. Great for beginners to intermediate, HSK prep, and heritage Chinese/Taiwanese learners keeping both languages fresh.You’ll learn: camping and travel vocab, opinion phrases, modal verbs for suggestions, health/food terms, and natural Taiwanese rhythm.Resources• Free transcripts/clips on our YouTube (search “Mandarin Monkey listening practice”)• Book a lesson with a Taiwanese teacher (all levels)• Mailbag: send a short story (Mandarin or English) to chat@mandarinmonkey.com for feedback Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Listener Mailbag is stacked: Mandarin at the bus stop, writing a sky-lantern wish in Pingxi, ordering dinner in Kunming with zero English, the strange peace of visa lines with a podcast in your ears, and a market auntie gifting a spring onion for luck. Plus: dogs, Edinburgh place names, and whether American English secretly makes more sense. Perfect for immersive Mandarin listening practice - Ula in Mandarin, Tom in English - so you can follow along and pick up real phrases in context.Send your story for a future episode: chat@mandarinmonkey.comBook lessons / join the community: mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hump day chat with bilingual Mandarin + English listening practice baked in. We tackle a parenting standoff over toys at school, how “Thrill of the Fight” in VR turned into a 12-round sweat fest, whether gua sha helps or just hurts, Halloween safety (and trunk-or-treat), British politeness vs Taiwanese directness, and a surprisingly decent side hustle: cleaning garages for cash.Send us a story for Friday’s Listener Mailbag: chat@mandarinmonkey.comLessons, hangouts, intensives: mandarinmonkey.comTopics: Mandarin listening practice, VR boxing, gua sha scraping, UK vs Taiwan culture, Halloween UK, trunk or treat, side hustles, bilingual conversation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.