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This site is intended to form a resource for people who are starting or continuing to learn mandarin. With so many sites offering resources, I thought it would be helpful to have a place that can cut through the noise and provide a sanity check on what is helpful vs. what is just internet clutter. The content here is my honest appraisal of these sites. Where I really like a product, I will include a link to it. I’ve been learning Mandarin on and off for over a decade, so I’ve actually seen some companies come and go through that period.
Also, along the way, I’ll probably provide an update on my learning and practice my mandarin skills.
For now, just remember that I’m Mr. Ni Hao!
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So, when I first started learning mandarin I started seeing this weird cartoon in the DVD stores where I’d go to buy some mandarin language DVDs. Fast forward a decade and you no longer have to buy bootleg DVD’s, but you can just do a deep dive on youtube.
For anyone not familiar, Làbǐ xiǎo xīn is the mandarin dubbed version of the japanese cartoon called Crayon Shin Chan which started in the 90’s and ran through 2010. The main character is a cheeky and mischevious 5-year old who has a cool dog (小白). Given this series is aimed at kids, I found it to be around my level of language, around my pace of speaking and typically only concerning topics that I have a good understanding of already (i.e. its not a fantasy show that talks about science or time travel or ancient cultural history) which means its easier to understand the majority of the language and if you fall behind its easier to get back into it. The episodes are pretty short and engaging.
Since I’ve had these things bookmarked forever, I figured I’d drop them all here in a single post so that its easy for anyone to bookmark one page and come back to them whenever they want to watch the next episode. I’ve tried to only include those episodes that have simplified mandarin subtitles but have also included some of the traditional ones since there are so many more of them AND I don’t think its that much harder to read the subtitles on these given the slower pace of language and simple concepts
If you have links to other episodes then feel free to drop a comment below and I’ll add to my listing!
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[Update October 21, 2022 – I’ve moved the PDF up to the top of this document as many people are viewing the article but not clicking on the download, which I think is the most valuable part of the post! Anyway, click on the picture to open the PDF]
You’re learning Mandarin, so you probably also want to enjoy some Chinese food. While everyone might have their favourite specific menu item, I think we can all agree that the best overall meal is definitely going to be dim sum.
Personally, I prefer the cart-style dimsum as this makes ordering the easiest. Second easiest is the picture menu. And last is the dreaded traditional-characters only menu. I started learning mandarin way before google translate allowed you to just pull out your phone and have the characters magically translated into words and for a long time I wanted to create and print out a cheat sheet. With starting this blog, I decided to actually do the thing.
Below you’ll find a table of each of the most common dim sum items (note that I’ve left stuff like tripe off because if you’re just learning mandarin you probably weren’t brought up with tripe and …. well, its probably not something you’re eager to get into). If you insist on knowing my personal favourite, its obviously going to be XLB at Din Tai Fung. I’ve had the privelege of eating at Din Tai Fung in both Singapore and Taiwan. I think I’ve also eaten at ones in China and Toronto, but I believe those were both knock offs. XLB to me is only “maybe” a dimsum item because you’ll never see them in carts. So, if I have to go strict dimsum, its probably the shrimp wonton. Why do they come with mayo? I don’t think I’ve seen mayo in any other chinese cooking, but here it is in a little bowl for dipping shrimp into. Is this because white people like dipping shrimp into mayo? I’m not sure, because there is no other time that I dip shrimp into mayo. Is it because white people like dipping deep fried stuff into may? Again, not sure, I mean, maybe french people put mayo on french fries (rumor? true?) but I don’t think I regularly do this. Anyway, its the top of my list. The full listing is available below and in the PDF linked above.
很好吃 – hěnhăochī
Egg Tart
蛋挞
dàn tà
daahn tāat
BBQ Pork Bun
叉烧包
chāshāo bāo
chāsīu bāau
Pineapple Bun
菠蘿包
bōluó bāo
bōlòh bāau
Shu mai
烧卖
shāomài
sīu máai
Rice Noodle Roll
肠粉
chángfěn
chéungfán
(with shrimp – Xiān Xiā Cháng Fěn – 鲜虾肠粉)
(with beef – Niúròu cháng fěn – 牛肉肠粉)
(with char siu bbq pork – Chāshāo cháng fěn – 叉烧肠粉)
Pan Fried Dumpling
锅贴
guōtiē
wōtip
Soup Dumpling (XLB)
小笼包
xiǎolóngbāo
síu lùhng bāau
Shrimp Dumpling
虾饺
xiā jiăo
Har gow
Chicken Fee (Phoenix Claws)
凤爪
fèngzhuǎ
fuhng jáau
Deep Fried Squid
椒鹽魷魚
Jiāoyán yóuyú
Spare Ribs
排骨
páigǔ
pàaih gwāt
Chinese Broccoli
芥兰
jièlán
gaai3 laan4*2
Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf
粽子
zòng zi
Turnip Cake
萝卜糕
luóbo gāo
lòbaahk gōu
Shrimp Wontons
炸蝦角
Zhà xiā jiǎo
Crab Lollipop
蟹钳
Xiè qián
Hai Kim
BBQ Pork Puffs
叉烧酥
chāshāosū
caa1 siu1 sou1
Donut Stuffed Rice Roll
炸两
zháliǎng
jaléung
Shrmip Stuffed Eggplant
煎釀茄子
Jiān niàng qiézi
Pan Fried Chive or Leek Dumplings
韭菜饺
jiǔcàijiǎo
gau coi gaau
Scallion Pankcakes
葱油饼
cōngyóubǐng
cung jau beng
Smashed Cucumber
拍黃瓜
pāi huáng guā
pai wong gwaa
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(updated September 26, 2022)
I got sent to this link by a comment on a reddit post. This is the short clip from the Tudum video and has some shots of sets for the show. It looks really great. No surprises on the cast, only people previously included in the tracker below!
(updated September 25, 2022)
There are new updates on Three Body Problem from both Netflix and Tencent.
Tencent has indicated it will release its series in September or October on their app and on Youtube with the release comprised of 24 one-hour episodes!!! Furthermore, it is expected that all episodes will be released at once, allowing for some pretty satisfying binge watching. For those of us still learning mandarin, lets hope the subtitles are solid! The article also mentioned Lin Yongjian was joining the cast which I hadn’t seen before.
Here is a link to the Tencent youtube, lets hope it comes soon!! Once it is out, I’ll start updating the casting table below!
At Netflix’s Tudum conference this week they confirmed that the Three Body Problem series would be released in 2023. They also released a behind the scenes clip which is summarized in a video here. The video has no real new information and no good video from the actual show so probably not really worth reading. Again, the best thing is that they confirmed the 2023 release date. I defeinitely couldn’t find any additional information about the casting.
(Original below – September 4, 2022)
If you’re on this page, you probably already know about 3 Body Problem. If not, a short version of the plot follows. This page is not to discuss the book, but to keep an update on the movie and TV adaptations.
Why is this relevant for a Mr. NiHao page? The author of the novels is Liu Cixin (刘慈欣), a Chinese Author! His trilogy called Rememberance of Earth’s Past has three books, the first and most famous is the three body problem. This book is great, the other books in the trilogy are OK but not as good. He has written some other books including Supernova Era which is really a terrible sci-fi book and not worth reading.
here is the short version of the trilogy:
The Three Body Problem -> someone in China sends a message that gets received by aliens who plan to come to earth because their planet is not very good (I mean, with 3 suns and destined to be ripped to shreds, any planet looks good)
The Dark Forest -> While the aliens are en-route to earth they send some advanced technology to make sure earth doesn’t invent any means of preventing their arrival. Earth responds by determining that there are other intelligent life forms whose main goal is to destroy potentially competing life. This brings the aliens and humans to a truce
Death’s End -> Earth plans to communicate with the aliens by sending a human brain to meet them on their voyage, but it gets lost. The aliens betray earth which causes someone to send the coordinates of earth into the universe, creating the certainty the planet will be destroyed in the coming years. When the attack on earth does come it turns out to be the collapsing of higher dimensional space, which sounds pretty complicated.
Anyway, the books are fantastic! But what’s more, there is even a “fan fiction” sequel written by Bao Shu:
Redemption of Time -> I don’t even remember this book that well, other than it isn’t very good! Don’t bother
What you want to know though is: will this be a tv show or a movie? The answer is YES!
The best thing here is that you will get multiple options. One chinese and one English. Lets discuss.
Chinese Version
- Produced by Tencent
- Definitely set in China
- Casting appears to be 100% Chinese with one non-Chinese person
- Casting appears to indicate it will take place during the origina 3 Body Problem book period
- It appears to be coming relatively soon, they seem to want to beat Netflix
- There are a couple trailers available, both linked below, unfortunately, they don’t look very good
English subbed version of the trailer that came out November 2021:
English subbed version of the trailer that came out June 2022:
English version
- Produced by Netflix
- Filming supposed to wrap up in August of 2022
- Not likely to be out for some time
- Casing is about half people who appear to be non-Chinese which raises the question of whether Netflix has either a) poorly cast the show or b) perhaps is setting it in a different period. In the first book of the trilogy, its largely set in China and there are limited non-Chinese characters which wouldn’t be justified with Netflix’s casting decision. However, if they started the book in the Dark Forest period, there would be lots more room for international cooperation and I think I can count 10+ non-Chinese Characters
The table below indicates my estimate of the characters in 3Body and the casting which has been made public to-date. Netflix has cast some really big name characters. A great thing to look forward to for anyone interested in Chinese and/or science fiction!
Character Appears In NetFlix Tencent Ye Zhetai 3Body Shao Lin 3Body Ye Wenxue 3Body Lei Zhichent 3Body Yang Weining 3Body Tu Songyan (26/09/22) Wang Miao 3Body Zhang Luyi Shen Yufei 3Body Li Xiaoran Wei Cheng 3Body Zhao Jian Pan Han 3Body Zhang Junning Sha Ruishan 3Body Colonel Stanton 3Body Ye Wenjie 3Body / DarkF Chen Jin / Wang Ziwen Mike Evans 3Body / DarkF Kenan Heppe Ding Yi 3Body / DarkF Wang Chuan-jun Shi Qiang 3Body / DarkF Yu Hewei Chang Weisi 3Body / DarkF Yang Dong 3Body / DEnd He Dujuan Wu Yue DarkF Zhang Beihai DarkF George Fitzroy DarkF Albert Ringier DarkF Yang Jinwen DarkF Miao Fuqian DarkF Zhang Yuanchao DarkF Shi Xiaoming DarkF Kent DarkF Secretary General Say DarkF Keiko Yamasuki DarkF Garanin DarkF Zhuang Yan DarkF Ben Jonathan DarkF Dongfang Yanxu DarkF Major Xizi DarkF Frederick Tyler DarkF Manuel Rey Diaz DarkF Bill Hines DarkF Luo Ji DarkF / DEnd Cheng Xin DEnd Yun Tianming DEnd Thomas Wade DEnd Ai AA DEnd Neil Scott DEnd Sebastian Schneider DEnd Captain Morovich DEnd Chu Yan DEnd Sophon DEnd Guan Yifan DEnd Fraisse DEnd Singer DEnd Thelma Stacy Abalogun Emperor Zhou Russell Yuen Not announced Jonathan Pryce Not announced Rosalind Chao Not announced Ben Schnetzer Not announced Eve Ridley Not announced Eiza Gonzalez Not announced Jovan Adepo Not announced John Bradley Not announced Tsai Chin Not announced Liam Cunningham Not announced Jess Hong Not announced Marlo Kelly Not announced Alex Sharp Not announced Sea Shimooka Not announced Zine Tseng Not announced Saamer Usmani Not announced Benedict Wong Not announced James Chu Not announced Lin Yongjian -
Reddit is a great place to go for all kinds of information, and learning Mandarin is no different. Here are some of my favourite links, listed in no particular order:
- 153k members
- People posting generally useful questions and posts get a bunch of responses
- Seems not to have too much spam in it at all
- Really great resource 10/10
- Here is a great link where people are describing how much effort they have put into learning Mandarin and the various approaches they have taken (note: this is very different vs. the Polygloat community). One of the responses is similar to my own experience, taking years studying Pinyin, then picking up characters, building flashcards, and trying online resource to get more conversational learning.
- 405k members
- subreddit covering Chinese news, but not language
- A real mix of things here, just news and memes about China from all sides of the spectrum (pro-China and anti-China). Not a bad place to just gauge the various discourse going on.
- 10k members
- An expat subreddit which explores the experiences of foreigners living in China. Worth following if you have any aspirations to relocate to China ever (though the current pandemic experiences of foreigners in China would suggest maybe holding off on near terms plans to do so …. at least for a while)
- Seems really useful and helpful despite the low subscriber count
- 8.5k members
- Really terrible
- Most of this is spam youtube videos by people looking to sell you lessons or a system.
- askandychinese is spamming the heck out of this, maybe single handedly destroying a potentially useful subreddit. I’ll give one of his videos a link here becuase there is no evidence anyone anywhere is paying any attention to him, so I hope he reads this and leaves a comment! I’ve linked his Patreon above, but if you really want to give someone money on a recurring basis let me know and I’ll send you my bitcoin address!
- 84.5k members
- Really useful news about china and stats and interesting stuff. A bit of a positive spin on everything, seemingly focusing on the fact that china is bigger and better and newer and faster, but generally good information as long as you make sure you aren’t slowly being influenced.
- This is a thread which ties together posts flagged as being China News. presents all spectrum of viewpoint with some videos indicating human rights abuses and others which are very promotion in nature
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Update: September 1, 2022
I wanted to add to this post because I’ve seen a couple of really good additional posts that are worth reading AND to clarify the purpose of this post.
First, the purpose of this post is to warn people who are just starting to learn Mandarin away from measuring their progress against the polyglot community. The true polyglot has a natural talent and skill which is absolutely incredible, but they are just as able to teach the average person how to learn a language as a rocket scientist is able to teach you advanced calculus. The polygloat has a marketing and sales plan which is not in your interest and is best ignored.
Now, onto some additional articles I’ve found which are really great, fairly quick reads and definitely worth sharing:
Here is a link to an internet archive from a language learner who just got sick of a few personalities in the polyglot community (namely Benny and
Last link I’ll post, and this is just to ensure you find the polygloat people as annoying as I do, here is their “top 10” biggest weaknesses, one of which is “perfectionism”
Original Post Below:
Important words:
Polyglot -> 多语种 Duō yǔzhǒng
Tiresome -> 烦人 Fánrén
When you start learning Mandarin its hard not to look at some of the videos on youtube or blogs of people who tell you they were able to quickly master the language within a seemingly short period of time. Usually those people who go to the efforts to build that presence have something to sell you which comes with a promise they can help you learn to be fluent in X number of days. Watch out if you continue dive into the language learning corner of the internet as you’ll quickly find people who not only mastered Mandarin but also several other languages. Those people get to call themselves Polyglot and they definitely have something to sell to you.
If you haven’t already met these people, here are a couple of them:
Benny the Irish Polyglot: he has been around for a long time and seems to be really skilled at learning languages. In one of his early youtube videos, he attributes his language skills to some method or technique and downplays any idea that he is naturally gifted at languages. He seems like a pretty nice guy in all the stuff I’ve read online, but if you can’t match his impressive results learning Mandarin then I’d say you’re just a normal person.
Mathias Barra: I’ve only read some of his online stuff (because a lot of it is paywalled), there are some really good tips in there such as reverting to use paper instead of just clicking and swiping on duolingo. However, he always comes back to the theme of “I’m not special, you’re just lazy” and “Us special polyglots are just bored of you losers asking us questions.” I’m not sure what Mathias is selling us (probably advertisements in exchange for our attention), but he is pretty good at it given he has 85k followers on Medium!
I feel bad singling out these two guys, especially because there are so many. Let me know who your least favourite polyglot is and I’ll add to my list!
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Mr. Ni Hao 