Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles tagged with ‘Podcast episode’

  1. Chinese subtitles and transcripts: Reading before, while or after listening

    Subtitles and transcripts can help you understand spoken Chinese, but do they also help you become a better listener? Should you read along, read first, or save the text for after you’ve listened?

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  2. Chinese listening, fast and slow: Three ways of slowing down Mandarin speech

    Spoken Mandarin can feel like an onslaught of similar sounds, half-recognised tones and unknown words. To add insult to injury, it’s often too fast! Should you slow it down? If so, how?

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  3. Best of Hacking Chinese 2025

    2025 has come tan end. Which were the most popular articles on Hacking Chinese last year The most popular podcast episodes? It’s time to summarise the year that was and highlight the things you really shouldn’t miss!

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  4. Chinese writing challenge, January 2026

    It’s time for a Chinese writing challenge! It starts on January 10th, so enrol, set your goal and write as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, some important things to keep in mind as well as some advice about improving writing ability in Chinese.

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  5. Chinese reading challenge, December 2025

    It’s time for a Chinese reading challenge! It starts on December 10th, so enrol, set your goal and read as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, as well as some advice about improving reading ability in Chinese.

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  6. A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand

    Chinese characters are beautiful and fascinating, but learning to write them by hand is time-consuming. If you want to learn to write Chinese characters by hand with the least possible time investment, what’s the best approach?

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  7. Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden… or burn it down and start afresh

    Flashcards are powerful, but what if your deck feels more like an overgrown thicket than a carefully cultivated garden? Do you clear away the weeds and bring it back under control, or burn it all down and start afresh?

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  8. 4, 3, 2, 1: Fluency! A great technique to boost your Mandarin speaking ability

    Do you want to speak Mandarin fluently, no matter what your level is? Use the 4/3/2 technique to build confidence and flow!

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  9. The Fluent Listener: Navigating Spoken Mandarin Like a Fish in Water is open until November 17

    Develop essential Mandarin listening skills with my new course, The Fluent Listener. Enrol by November 17 for lifetime access to video lessons, curated resources, tailored guidance, and a supportive learning community.

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  10. How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese

    How do native speakers talk about Chinese characters? The writing system is not phonetic, so you can’t spell out words, but it is still possible to talk about Chinese characters.

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