Hacking Chinese Podcast

Reading is the best way to expand vocabulary and learn about new things, but how should you approach reading in Chinese? And what are the best free reading resources out there?#learnchinese #reading #resources #free #beginner #intermediate #advancedLink: ⁠The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners⁠: https://www.hackingchinese.com/10-best-free-chinese-reading-resources-beginner-intermediate-advanced/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at: ⁠https://www.hackingchinese.com/⁠Music: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

Videos are ideal for learning Chinese, because the visual element enhances comprehension and engagement. But what videos should you watch? What are the best YouTube channels?#learnchinese #youtube #video #immersion #listeningLink to article on Hacking Chinese: The best YouTube channels for learning Chinese in 2025: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-best-youtube-channels-for-learning-chinese/There are way too many links to specific YouTube channels, playlists and videos to put in the show notes here, so please refer to the written article for the recommendations. Below, I have included links to related articles on Hacking Chinese only.The best podcasts for learning Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-best-podcasts-for-learning-chinese/Learning Chinese implicitly through exposure and seasoning, not through explicit instruction: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learn-chinese-implicitly-exposure-seasoning-explicit-instruction/Analyse and balance your Chinese learning with Paul Nation’s four strands: https://www.hackingchinese.com/analyse-and-balance-your-chinese-learning-with-paul-nations-four-strands/How to use YouTube and other video platforms to learn Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-use-youtube-and-other-video-platforms-to-learn-chinese/Listen before you read: Improve your listening ability: https://www.hackingchinese.com/listen-before-you-read-improve-your-listening-ability/Listen more than once: How the replay button can help you learn more Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/listen-more-than-once-how-the-replay-button-can-help-you-learn-more-chinese/8 great ways to scaffold your Chinese listening and reading: https://www.hackingchinese.com/8-great-ways-scaffold-chinese-learning/Listen more and learn more by building a personal Chinese audio library: https://www.hackingchinese.com/listen-more-and-learn-more-by-building-a-personal-chinese-audio-library/The Input Pyramid: Chinese Listening for Any Situation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-input-pyramid-chinese-listening-for-any-situation/The Fluent Listener: Navigating Spoken Mandarin Like a Fish in Water: https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/the-fluent-listener-navigating-mandarin-like-a-fish-in-water/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at: https://www.hackingchinese.com/Music: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

The best way to learn to understand spoken Mandarin is to listen as much as you can to engaging content that you can make sense of. But what should you listen to and how?#learnchinese #beginner #listening #comprehensibleinputLink to the article this podcast episode is based on: Beginner Chinese listening practice: What to listen to and how: https://www.hackingchinese.com/beginner-chinese-listening-practice-what-to-listen-to-and-how/Learning Chinese is more like walking a thousand miles than running 100-metre dash: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-chinese-is-more-like-walking-a-thousand-miles-than-running-100-metre-dash/Learning Chinese through comprehensible input: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-chinese-comprehensible-input/Is speaking more important than listening when learning Chinese? https://www.hackingchinese.com/is-speaking-more-important-than-listening-when-learning-chinese/7 characteristics of a great Chinese tutor or private teacher: https://www.hackingchinese.com/characteristics-of-a-great-chinese-tutor-or-private-teacher/Four key principles to improve your Mandarin listening comprehension: https://www.hackingchinese.com/four-key-principles-to-improve-your-mandarin-listening-comprehension/Analyse and balance your Chinese learning with Paul Nation's four strands: https://www.hackingchinese.com/analyse-and-balance-your-chinese-learning-with-paul-nations-four-strands/Listen more than once: How the replay button can help you learn more Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/listen-more-than-once-how-the-replay-button-can-help-you-learn-more-chinese/8 great ways to scaffold your Chinese listening and reading: https://www.hackingchinese.com/8-great-ways-scaffold-chinese-learning/Chinese listening, fast and slow: Three ways of slowing down Mandarin speech: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-fast-and-slow-three-ways-of-slowing-down-mandarin-speech/Chinese subtitles and transcripts: Reading before, while or after listening: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-subtitles-and-transcripts-reading-before-while-or-after-listening/Listen more and learn more by building a personal Chinese audio library: https://www.hackingchinese.com/listen-more-and-learn-more-by-building-a-personal-chinese-audio-library/30 minutes of podcast, 3 minutes of Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/30-minutes-of-podcast-3-minutes-of-chinese/The Input Pyramid: Chinese Listening for Any Situation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-input-pyramid-chinese-listening-for-any-situation/How much Chinese should you listen to every day? https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-much-chinese-should-you-listen-to-every-day/The best YouTube channels for learning Chinese in 2026: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-best-youtube-channels-for-learning-chinese/The best free Chinese listening practice for all levels: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-10-best-free-chinese-listening-resources-for-beginner-intermediate-and-advanced-learners/Training your Chinese teacher, part 3: Listening ability: https://www.hackingchinese.com/training-your-chinese-teacher-part-3-listening-ability/The best podcasts for learning Chinese in 2026: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-best-podcasts-for-learning-chinese/Why you should use more than one Chinese textbook: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-you-should-use-more-than-one-chinese-textbook/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at https://www.hackingchinese.comMusic: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

ChatGPT can offer valuable feedback on Mandarin word choice and grammar, but can it help you improve your pronunciation?#learnchinese #pronunciation #chatgptLink to the article this podcast episode is based on: No, ChatGPT can't analyse your Mandarin pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/no-chatgpt-cant-analyse-your-mandarin-pronunciation/Full ChatGPT transcript: https://chatgpt.com/share/6aa3adc2-6938-83eb-9dfd-adb8477854acLearning to hear the sounds and tones in Mandarin: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-learn-to-hear-the-sounds-tones-in-mandarin/Using speech recognition to improve Chinese pronunciation, part 1: https://www.hackingchinese.com/using-speech-recognition-to-improve-chinese-pronunciation-part-1/Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 3: Using what you already know to aid listening comprehension in Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/beyond-ting-bu-dong-part-3-using-what-you-already-know-to-aid-listening-comprehension-in-chinese/The importance of tones is inversely proportional to the predictability of what you say: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-importance-of-tones-is-inversely-proportional-to-the-predictability-of-what-you-say/Get to know your Chinese voice to level up your speaking ability: https://www.hackingchinese.com/know-your-Chinese-voice/Improving your Chinese pronunciation by mimicking native speakers: https://www.hackingchinese.com/mimicking-native-speakers-way-learning-chinese/A smart method to discover problems with Mandarin sounds and tones: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-smart-method-to-discover-problems-with-tones/How to get honest feedback to boost your Chinese speaking and writing: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-art-of-being-corrected/Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence: https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/mandarin-chinese-pronunciation-course/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at https://www.hackingchinese.comMusic: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

Learning to pronounce Mandarin can be tricky, and if you misunderstand the link between spoken sounds and Pinyin spelling, it gets a lot worse. Let’s discuss nine questions about learning Chinese pronunciation.#learnchinese #pinyin #pronunciation #questionsLink to the article this podcast episode is based on: 9 answers to questions about Pinyin and pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/9-answers-to-questions-about-pinyin-and-pronunciation/Chinese Language Stack Exchange: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/5 websites to help answer your questions about Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/5-websites-to-help-answer-your-questions-about-chinese/101 questions and answers about how to learn Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/101-questions-and-answers-about-how-to-learn-chinese/Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence: https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/mandarin-chinese-pronunciation-course/Pinyin chart (AllSet Learning): https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/pronunciation/pinyin_chartA guide to Pinyin traps and pitfalls: Learning Mandarin pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-guide-to-pinyin-traps-and-pitfalls/Obligatory and optional tone change rules in Mandarin: https://www.hackingchinese.com/optional-obligatory-tone-change-rules-mandarin/International Phonetic Alphabet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_AlphabetLearning the third tone in Mandarin Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-the-third-tone/Focus on initials and finals, not Pinyin spelling: https://www.hackingchinese.com/focus-on-initials-and-finals-not-pinyin-spelling/Why learning Chinese pronunciation by using English words is a really bad idea: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-learning-chinese-pronunciation-by-using-english-words-is-a-really-bad-idea/Yuen Ren Chao: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Ren_ChaoGwoyeu Romatzyh: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwoyeu_RomatzyhLearning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuyin and IPA: Part 1: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-to-pronounce-mandarin-with-pinyin-zhuyin-and-ipa-part-1/More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found at https://www.hackingchinese.comMusic: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)