Mandarin Monkey Podcast

By: Mandarin Monkey
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  • Summary

  • Chinese and English Language podcast. A mixed couple (Tom & Ula) living in Taiwan, teach Chinese through the use of Chinglish (Chinese and English) on a variety of topics. Learn Chinese, study methods, Entertainment, news, life, business, hints and tricks to learning Mandarin. Hear a native speaking naturally and at natural pace but with the English translation so you can follow the context of the conversation. Enjoy. Get bonus content on Patreon

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Mandarin Monkey
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Language Learning Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • 忙碌 vs. 重要：我们如何看待艾森豪威尔矩阵? Busy vs. Important: Our Thoughts on the Eisenhower Matrix

    忙碌 vs. 重要：我们如何看待艾森豪威尔矩阵? Busy vs. Important: Our Thoughts on the Eisenhower Matrix
    Feb 28 2025

    In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we chat about the Eisenhower Matrix (艾森豪威尔矩阵, Àisēnháowēi’ěr jǔzhèn)—not as experts, but just as two people trying to figure out where all our time goes. We’ve all been there: feeling 忙碌 (mánglù, busy) but not necessarily productive (有成效的, yǒu chéngxiào de). So, what actually makes something 重要 (zhòngyào, important) versus just 紧急 (jǐnjí, urgent)?


    我们不是在教你如何管理时间，而是聊聊我们自己是怎么思考这些问题的。为什么有些任务看起来很急 (hěn jí)，但其实没什么意义？为什么真正重要的事情，往往被推到最后才做？我们的生活中有哪些任务是“假忙碌”？


    我们讨论了工作、生活、甚至一些让人忍不住拖延的事。听完后，你有没有类似的感受？你的时间管理方式是怎样的？欢迎留言和我们一起讨论!


    放松 (fàngsōng) – Relax

    压力 (yālì) – Pressure

    享受 (xiǎngshòu) – Enjoy

    节奏 (jiézòu) – Rhythm/Pace

    平衡 (pínghéng) – Balance

    忙碌 (mánglù) – Busy

    幸福 (xìngfú) – Happiness

    瞬间 (shùnjiān) – Moment

    简单 (jiǎndān) – Simple

    呼吸 (hūxī) – Breathe

    Get bonus content on Patreon

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    59 mins
  • Life in the Mountains, Nosy Neighbors & Translating Yoshi 2.0

    Life in the Mountains, Nosy Neighbors & Translating Yoshi 2.0
    Feb 21 2025
    In episode #392 of Mandarin Monkey, we speculate about what it’s like moving to the mountains in Taiwan (we don't live in the mountains) and the joys (and challenges) of using Starlink for internet. We also dive into the differences between nosy neighbors in English and Taiwanese culture—who’s watching, who’s gossiping, and who just doesn’t care? Finally, we put our translation skills to the test with I Do It Anyway by Yoshi 2.0. Some lyrics make sense, some... not so much. Tune in for a mix of language, culture, and a few laughs along the way! Get bonus content on Patreon

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    59 mins
  • Learn Mandarin with the Mandarin Monkey Podcast: Untranslatable Words You Need to Know!

    Learn Mandarin with the Mandarin Monkey Podcast: Untranslatable Words You Need to Know!
    Feb 14 2025

    In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom and Ula dive into the world of untranslatable words—those linguistic gems that exist in Mandarin but leave English speakers scratching their heads, and vice versa. They explore phrases like "懒得理 (lǎn de lǐ)"—the perfect expression for when you just can’t be bothered—and "面子 (miànzi)", the all-important social concept of saving face.

    From the emotional richness of "心酸 (xīn suān)"—that bittersweet feeling of nostalgia—to the English quirk of feeling "hangry" when hunger turns you into a monster, this episode uncovers the fascinating differences that shape how we express ourselves across cultures.

    Plus, they challenge each other to guess the meaning behind some of the weirdest literal translations—like "wolf swallows, tiger gulps"—and invent some brand-new words for those everyday moments we all recognize but never knew how to name.

    Tune in for laughs, language insights, and a new appreciation for the wonderfully weird world of words!

    Get bonus content on Patreon

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    57 mins

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Profile Image for J. Keegan

This was just what I was looking for

I studied Chinese about 10 years ago and have recently begun re-learning it. I'm quite busy though and it's hard to dedicate time daily lessons at this point, and I also want to make sure I'm going to stick with it before I commit financially to something like that. I had the idea to just try some immersion for free by listening to this podcast while I am doing non-meeting things at work, kind of in the background. After one day of listening to two podcasts, I woke up the next morning and began remembering all kinds of things I had forgotten from 10 years ago - it definitely is "sinking in" and tapping into the deeper parts of my mind.

Aside from that, it's quite entertaining most of the time, and I enjoy the way it goes back and forth from English to Chinese. I've slowly started to add a few other things into my learning, like the Drops app (5 free minutes of vocab every day), and the more I listen to the podcast the more I am wanting to do - the more I am inspired to continue learning.

If I could make one suggestion for the hosts, I would love if you could provide the website names (or a link somewhere on your website under "resources") for some of the things you all reference. You often talk about good resources to help people learn, but I have had a hard time finding some of those just by Googling - but I would like to find them! Just a thought...

While this podcast probably won't ever just teach you Chinese if you do nothing but listen to it, I think this is a wonderful supplement to other learning you are doing. I've also been doing a Paul Noble audio program through Audible and I was having a hard time remembering some of it when I was "away from" it. Now that I've started listening to this podcast daily, everything I'm learning is sticking better in my memory - I think of it way more often, and it's becoming more natural. And you WILL learn some things just by listening as well.

Thank you for hosting this podcast - I really enjoy it! If you're an English speaker wanting to immerse yourself in more Chinese language, this is a great, free way to do so.

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Great show

Helps my mandarin so much! I get the input I need from Ula and the context from Tom. Plus it’s fun.

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