S02, Episode 01: You're back!

Cultivating a childlike mindset

Learning how to use and even enjoy material that you don't completely understand is an important skill in language learning.

As adults, we may have gotten used to being able to understand basically everything we read, see, and hear in our native language. We might not remember the experience of being a child, and being mystified by the voices on the radio, or the contents of a book.

Thankfully, as children, this inability to understand everything didn’t dampen our curiosity about the world around us. Our innate tolerance for incomprehension in childhood is what enabled us to keep learning and growing into capable adults!

This is also exactly the mindset we want to cultivate as language learners: being curious and open, despite not always understanding everything — or even much of anything.

About this lesson

In this episode, we introduce a new dialogue, but we won’t translate it all at once like we did in Season 1. Instead, I'll introduce some of the key words and phrases, and we'll let your language intuition go to work, trying to figure out the rest.

It's ok if you don't get all or even most of it; it's the challenge of grappling with the exercise that makes us grow, not simply knowing the right answer.

In the following days, you can keep listening to the Daily Practice Session. I recommend listening at least once per day. Repetition is important. Each time you listen, you are reinforcing new connections in your brain, and you may notice things you didn't notice during previous repetitions.

Continue this daily practice, either until you feel comfortable imitating the entire dialogue yourself, or until you find that you’re becoming bored. Then, let your curiosity take you elsewhere!

What about the translation?

We translate the dialogue completely in the next episode. Then you can fill in whatever gaps remain in your comprehension, possibly enjoying many "Aha!" moments.

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduction: Language is an attitude. Language is music. Language is life.

2. Dialogue (normal speed)

3. Dialogue (slow speed)

4. Useful vocabulary and phrases from the dialogue

5. Dialogue again (normal speed) — can you pick out any new words or phrases?

6. Dialogue again (slow speed) — try to picture the scene in your mind.

Daily Practice Session

Words and phrases with examples (Chinese characters only)

[scroll further down for pinyin and the translation]

1. 回 

2. 來  

   1. 回來 

3. 還好

   1.  你還好嗎？ 

   2. 我還好啊 

   3. 還好啦！

4. 還是 

   1.  我還是很開心 

   2.  還是很謝謝你  

5. 到 

   1.  回到 

   2.  我們到了 

   3.  我看到你 

   4.  我買到了 

6. 飛機 

7. 上 

   1.  飛機上 

   2.  你在飛機上做什麼？

   3.  車上 

   4.  路上 

   5.  路上小心  

8. 都在 

   1.  我都在睡  

   2.  你都在吃  

9. 貼心

   1.  你好貼心  

   2.  你最貼心  

   3.  你真貼心  

10. 趕快 

    1.  趕快吃！ 

    2.  趕快去！

    3.  趕快來！ 

    4.  趕快買！ 

11. 好久不見  

12. 真的假的  

Words and phrases with examples (w/ pinyin and translation):

1. 回 :: huí :: return

2. 來 :: lái :: to come 

   1. 回來

      1. huílái

      2. to come back

3. 還好 :: hái hǎo :: alright, not bad

   1.  你還好嗎？

      1. nǐ hái hǎo ma?

      2. Are you alright? 

   2. 我還好啊

      1. wǒ hái hǎo a

      2. I'm alright. 

   3. 還好啦！

      1. hái hǎo la!

      2. Not really, no big deal

4. 還是 :: háishì :: Still..., nevertheless... 

   1.  我還是很開心

      1. wǒ háishì hěn kāixīn

      2. I'm still very happy

   2.  還是很謝謝你

      1. háishì hěn xièxiè nǐ

      2. Still, thank you; I'm still thankful. 

5. 到 :: dào :: arrive; completion

   1.  回到

      1. huí dào

      2. to arrive back, to return

   2.  我們到了

      1. wǒmen dàole

      2. We have arrived. 

   3.  我看到你

      1. wǒ kàn dào nǐ 

      2. I see you. 

   4.  我買到了

      1. wǒ mǎi dàole

      2. I (successfully) bought it.

6. 飛機 :: fēijī :: airplane

7. 上 :: shàng :: on, above, previous

   1.  飛機上

      1. fēijī shàng

      2. on the plane

   2.  你在飛機上做什麼？

      1. nǐ zài fēijī shàng zuò shénme?

      2. What did you do on the plane?

   3.  車上

      1. chē shàng

      2. in the car

   4.  路上

      1. lùshàng

      2. on the road, en route

   5.  路上小心

      1. lùshàng xiǎoxīn

      2. Be careful en route! (often said when someone is departing). 

8. 都在 :: dōu zài :: continuously, incessantly doing something

   1.  我都在睡

      1. wǒ dōu zài shuì

      2. I slept the whole time. 

   2.  你都在吃

      1. nǐ dōu zài chī

      2. You've just been eating this whole time. 

9. 貼心 :: tiēxīn :: Considerate, thoughtful

   1.  你好貼心

      1. nǐ hǎo tiēxīn

      2. You're so considerate. 

   2.  你最貼心

      1. nǐ zuì tiēxīn

      2. You're the most considerate. 

   3.  你真貼心

      1. nǐ zhēn tiēxīn

      2. You're truly considerate. 

10. 趕快 :: gǎnkuài :: hurry up, quickly

    1.  趕快吃！

       1. gǎnkuài chī!

       2. Hurry up and eat! 

    2.  趕快去！

       1. gǎnkuài qù!

       2. Hurry up and go!

    3.  趕快來！

       1. gǎnkuài lái!

       2. Hurry up and come here! 

    4.  趕快買！

       1. gǎnkuài mǎi!

       2. Hurry up and buy it! 

11. 好久不見 :: hǎojiǔ bùjiàn :: Long time no see. 

12. 真的假的 :: zhēn de jiǎ de :: Really?! (lit. real or fake?) 

Thank you for listening!