Little Mandarin: Learn Chinese through culture and real life

S2E7 How Old Are You? (And When Not to Ask)🎈 (How to Ask Age Politely in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 7

🎓 Learn Mandarin with Me — 1-on-1 on Preply! 💸 Get 30% OFF your first class 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠ [https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=%E2%81%A0] 📋 Check out my full profile: 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664 [https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664] This episode is part of the Essential Mandarin series on Little Mandarin Season 2, designed to take you from complete beginner to real-life everyday Mandarin. In Lesson 7, we’re learning how to ask and answer age in Mandarin — politely, naturally, and with the right social feeling. You’ll learn three common ways to ask about age: 你几岁？, 你多大？, and 您多大年纪？ — and when each one sounds natural, respectful, or a little too direct. We’ll also look at why asking age in Chinese can sometimes feel completely normal, and sometimes a little sensitive, depending on the situation. And because people do not always want to say their exact age directly, we’ll also explore two more playful and indirect ways to answer: saying the year you were born and saying your Chinese zodiac sign. By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to talk about age in Mandarin with much more confidence — and much better social awareness.

S2E6 My Family — The Warmest and Most Complicated Words👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 (How to Talk About Close Family in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 6

🎓 Learn Mandarin with Me — 1-on-1 on Preply! 💸 Get 30% OFF your first class 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠ [https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠] 📋 Check out my full profile: 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664 [https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664] This episode is part of the Essential Mandarin series on Little Mandarin Season 2, designed to take you from complete beginner to real-life everyday Mandarin. In Lesson 6, we’re learning how to talk about close family in Mandarin — and why family words in Chinese can feel much more specific than they do in English. You’ll learn useful everyday words like 妈妈, 爸爸, 哥哥, 姐姐, 弟弟, and 妹妹, as well as simple pronouns like 我, 你, 他, 她, and 它 to help you build real sentences. We’ll also explore why Chinese family terms are often so detailed, and how ideas about age, family role, and relationships are reflected directly in the language. By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to talk simply and naturally about your close family in Mandarin.

S2E5 Your Birthday in Chinese🎂 (How to Say Dates Naturally in Mandarin) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 5

🎓 Learn Mandarin with Me — 1-on-1 on Preply! 💸 Get 30% OFF your first class 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠ [https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠] 📋 Check out my full profile: 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664 [https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664] This episode is part of the Essential Mandarin series on Little Mandarin Season 2, designed to take you from complete beginner to real-life everyday Mandarin. In Lesson 5, we’re learning how to talk about dates and birthdays in Mandarin — and also how Chinese ways of expressing time are deeply connected to the natural world. You’ll learn how 日, 天, 星期, 月, and 年 work in Mandarin, how to say full dates naturally, and how to talk about your birthday with confidence. We’ll also explore why time words in Chinese often connect to the sun, the moon, the sky, and traditional ways of understanding the calendar — including why Chinese New Year does not always fall on the same date as January 1st. By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to say dates, talk about birthdays, and understand time expressions in Mandarin in a much deeper and more interesting way.

S2E4 Count to 99 Without Panic🔢 (Numbers in Mandarin Made Simple) —Essential Mandarin Lesson 4

🎓 Learn Mandarin with Me — 1-on-1 on Preply! 💸 Get 30% OFF your first class 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠ [https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠] 📋 Check out my full profile: 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664 [https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664] This episode is part of the Essential Mandarin series on Little Mandarin Season 2, designed to take you from complete beginner to real-life everyday Mandarin. In Lesson 4, we’re learning how to count from 0 to 99 in Mandarin — one of the most practical and satisfying steps for beginners. You’ll learn how Mandarin numbers are built, how to say numbers more confidently with Pinyin, and how to use them in real life for things like phone numbers and years. We’ll also look at a fun cultural topic: why Chinese people care so much about numbers, and how ideas of luck, sound, and symbolism shape the meanings of numbers like 4, 8, and 9. By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to count more confidently in Mandarin and start noticing numbers everywhere around you.

Bonus: Full Pinyin Pronunciation Practice🎧 (Initials, Finals, and Repeat with Me)

🎓 Learn Mandarin with Me — 1-on-1 on Preply! 💸 Get 30% OFF your first class 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠ [https://preply.com/en/?pref=NjkzNjk1Mw==&id=1753189602.091521&ep=⁠] 📋 Check out my full profile: 🔗 ⁠https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664 [https://preply.com/en/tutor/2970664] This bonus gives you extra Pinyin pronunciation practice after Lesson 3. We’ll go through the full Pinyin chart together — finals, initials, and simple repeat-with-me practice — to help you hear the sounds more clearly and build a stronger pronunciation foundation. Pinyin Chart Initials (23): b, p, m, f d, t, n, l g, k, h j, q, x zh, ch, sh, r z, c, s y, w Finals (24): a, o, e, i, u, ü ai, ei, ui, ao, ou, iu ie, üe, er, an, en, in un, ün, ang, eng, ing, ong Start with the finals, then move on to the initials, and finally put them together with me in a guided pronunciation practice.