The Feeling of 'Bittersweet'

The Feeling of 'Bittersweet'

Update: 2025-04-15
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Description

In today’s episode, we’re looking into one of the more complex feelings we can feel as human beings - bittersweetness.
I’ll show you how this feeling mixes joy and sadness, using the metaphor of taste to help make sense of it all, just as the word itself does.
We’ll look at moments of personal change and the emotional weight that comes with saying goodbye to people and places we love, even when we’re excited for what’s next.
From leaving my hometown to watching close friends go their own way, I’ll share how these experiences shaped me, and why they’re both painful and beautiful at the same time.
If you’ve ever found yourself looking back on a memory that stings and warms your heart at once, this episode is for you.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:
Vocabulary: Everyday spoken expressions / idioms, Emotions & feelings, Thinking & decisions, Travel & lifestyle change, People & relationships
Grammar: Inversion for Emphasis (“Only then did I realise that…” instead of “I only realised then that..”), Using Past Perfect for Narratives to describe events that happened before another past event (“I had already seen my friends leave when I made my decision to leave myself.”)

✨ Get the transcript (with highlighted vocabulary) and flashcard pack for this episode:
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🤯 Too difficult?
Don’t worry. Listen to:
The beginner’s version on Beginner’s English with James
The intermediate version on Slow English with James.

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The Feeling of 'Bittersweet'

The Feeling of 'Bittersweet'

James Bradley English