A podcast about how to learn Mandarin. In-depth discussions about how to overcome challenges, solve problems and get the most out of your learning. For more information and inspiration, visit https://www.hackingchinese.com!
295 - Which Chinese language course should you take?
13 mins; March 30, 2026
294 - The 10 best free Chinese listening resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners
18 mins; March 23, 2026
293 - Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners
15 mins; March 16, 2026
292 - A practical guide to your ideal Mandarin self: Build motivation that lasts
15 mins; March 08, 2026
291 - Are mnemonics too slow for Chinese learners?
11 mins; March 02, 2026
290 - Spaced repetition: What it is and how to use it to learn Chinese
13 mins; February 23, 2026
289 - Reader and listener survey + Lunar New Year discount
5 mins; February 15, 2026
288 - New book: Hacking Chinese: the Dragon Collection
4 mins; February 09, 2026
287 - Ep 287 - How to get honest feedback to boost your Chinese speaking and writing
11 mins; February 02, 2026
286 - Chinese reading practice for beginners: 7 resources to improve your Mandarin
17 mins; January 26, 2026
285 - Chinese subtitles and transcripts: Reading before, while or after listening
20 mins; January 19, 2026
284 - Chinese listening, fast and slow: Three ways of slowing down Mandarin speech
18 mins; January 11, 2026
283 - Best of Hacking Chinese 2025
18 mins; January 04, 2026
282 - Diversify how you study Chinese to learn more
15 mins; December 29, 2025
281 - Reading is a lot like spaced repetition, only better
13 mins; December 22, 2025
280 -Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches
12 mins; December 14, 2025
279 - Learning Chinese words: When quantity beats quality
15 mins; December 08, 2025
278 - A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand
14 mins; November 30, 2025
277 - Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden... or burn it down and start afresh
13 mins; November 24, 2025
276 - 4, 3, 2, 1: Fluency! A great technique to boost your Mandarin speaking ability
15 mins; November 17, 2025
275 - How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese
15 mins; November 09, 2025
274 - Why not going to China now could actually be good for your Chinese
11 mins; November 03, 2025
273 - What a big Rubik’s Cube taught me about Chinese characters
25 mins; October 27, 2025
272 - Learning (or not learning) Chinese slang
12 mins; October 20, 2025
271 - 7 ways to learn to write Chinese characters
17 mins; October 13, 2025
270 - How to not teach Chinese characters to beginners: A 12-step approach
10 mins; October 05, 2025
269 - Same building blocks, different characters: How component placement changes meaning in Chinese
13 mins; September 29, 2025
268 - 16 myths about learning Chinese that are holding you back
25 mins; September 22, 2025
267 - How to improve your Mandarin speaking skills with a tutor
21 mins; September 15, 2025
266 - What important words are missing from HSK?
18 mins; September 08, 2025
265 - 5 common challenges in Mandarin listening comprehension and how to overcome them
15 mins; September 01, 2025
264 - Learning Chinese through comprehensible input
20 mins; August 25, 2025
263 - Classroom Mandarin: Essential expressions for learning Chinese in Chinese
10 mins; August 18, 2025
262 - Getting the most from Hacking Chinese in 2025: Back-to-school course discount, 2025
25 mins; August 11, 2025
261 - Should you learn to speak Chinese before you learn Chinese characters?
15 mins; August 04, 2025
260 - 16 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand
20 mins; July 27, 2025
259 - Using AI chatbots for low-stress Mandarin speaking practice
13 mins; July 21, 2025
258 - How to find the perfect Mandarin tutor for you: A complete guide
12 mins; July 14, 2025
257 - Student Q&A: July, 2025: AI feedback, input methods and topics for writing
17 mins; July 07, 2025
256 - 8 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand
24 mins; June 30, 2025
255 - 7 characteristics of a great Chinese tutor or private teacher
17 mins; June 23, 2025
254 - How to get the most out of your Chinese tutoring sessions
17 mins; June 16, 2025
253 - 8 myths about learning Chinese that are holding you back
29 mins; June 09, 2025
252 - Beyond tīng bu dǒng, part 7: How to navigate different types of listening in Mandarin
16 mins; June 02, 2025
251 - Student Q&A: June, 2025: Beginner listening, group conversations, and Chinese news
16 mins; May 29, 2025
250 - Will Hacking Chinese help you learn Mandarin?
9 mins; May 20, 2025
249 - Zi.Tools: A powerful free resource for exploring Chinese characters
12 mins; May 12, 2025
248 - Student Q&A: May, 2025: Learning Chinese characters and words with flashcard apps
12 mins; May 06, 2025
247 - 7 kinds of tone problems in Mandarin and what to do about them
16 mins; April 28, 2025
246 - Why using a good dictionary can be bad for your Chinese reading ability
13 mins; April 21, 2025
245 - The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners
12 mins; April 14, 2025
244 - Student Q&A: April, 2025: Reading with Pinyin, Chinese texts on your phone, and deciphering handwriting
17 mins; April 07, 2025
243 - How to use mnemonics to learn Mandarin tones and pronunciation
14 mins; March 30, 2025
242 - Don’t be a tourist if you want to learn Chinese
12 mins; March 24, 2025
241 - Cramming vs. spaced repetition: When to use which method to learn Chinese
13 mins; March 17, 2025
240 - The best YouTube channels for learning Chinese
12 mins; March 10, 2025
239 - Student Q&A: March, 2025: Chinese slang, leaving expat bubbles, and competing with other learners
15 mins; March 04, 2025
238 - Learning Chinese by playing board games
10 mins; February 24, 2025
237 - Love and language: Challenges and opportunities in learning Chinese with a partner
11 mins; February 17, 2025
236 - The Input Pyramid: Chinese Listening for Any Situation
19 mins; February 10, 2025
235 - Student Q&A: February, 2025: Improving listening ability quickly, using transcripts, and understanding rapid Mandarin
13 mins; February 05, 2025
234 - Reader and listener survey + Lunar New Year discount
6 mins; January 27, 2025
233 - The three roads to mastering Chinese
13 mins; January 20, 2025
232 - Best of Hacking Chinese 2024
17 mins; January 13, 2025
231 - Student Q&A, January 2025: Chinese that reads like English, feedback from AI, and writing formal Chinese
18 mins; January 06, 2025
230 - What native speakers know about Chinese (and what they don't)
19 mins; December 30, 2024
229 - Don’t use mnemonics for everything when learning Chinese
16 mins; December 23, 2024
228 - Benchmarking progress in Chinese to stay motivated
26 mins; December 16, 2024
227 - Can English learning materials help you learn Chinese?
12 mins; December 09, 2024
226 - Student Q&A, December 2024: Learning similar Chinese characters, polyphonic characters, and flashcards vs. reading for building vocabulary
19 mins; December 02, 2024
225 - Which Chinese learning resources are worth paying for?
16 mins; November 25, 2024
224 - Welcome to The Fluent Listener, a new course from Hacking Chinese!
8 mins; November 18, 2024
223 - Four key principles to improve your Mandarin listening comprehension
16 mins; November 11, 2024
222 - Student Q&A, November 2024: Pros and cons of digital tools for Chinese reading, and the struggle to find comprehensible and interesting texts
16 mins; November 04, 2024
221 - How to learn Zhuyin (Bopomofo) in two hours
16 mins; October 31, 2024
220 - Do you really know how to count in Chinese?
19 mins; October 21, 2024
219 - Three things I wish I had known as an advanced student of Chinese: Time machine, part 3
28 mins; October 14, 2024
218 - Don’t learn Mandarin pronunciation by reading, listen and mimic instead
16 mins; October 07, 2024
217 - Student Q&A, October 2024: Pronouncing the final -i after sh-, the initial z- and if Pinyin is a good transcription system
19 mins; October 01, 2024
216 - How to use YouTube and other video platforms to learn Chinese
15 mins; September 23, 2024
215 - Three things I wish I had known as an intermediate student of Chinese: The time machine, part 2
24 mins; September 16, 2024
214 - YouGlish: A free service to hear and see Chinese words in context
13 mins; September 09, 2024
213 - Student Q&A, September 2024: Slowly spoken Chinese, passing listening exams and understanding numbers
26 mins; September 02, 2024
212 - Getting the most from Hacking Chinese in024: Back-to-school course discounts
22 mins; August 26, 2024
211 - Three things I wish I had known as a beginner student of Chinese: The time machine, part 1
25 mins; August 19, 2024
210 - The 10 best free Chinese listening resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners
18 mins; August 14, 2024
209 - Student Q&A, August 2024: Avoiding mental translation, untranslatable words and why practising translation is good
22 mins; August 07, 2024
208 - Insights from my recent trip to China: The importance of top-down listening
13 mins; July 31, 2024
207 - Chinese character variants and font differences for language learners
17 mins; July 23, 2024
206 - Why you should preview before every Chinese lesson
14 mins; July 15, 2024
205 - How I used a notebook to learn more Chinese, and why you should too
19 mins; July 08, 2024
204 - Student Q&A, July 2024: Reading speed, children’s books and Chinese literature
21 mins; July 01, 2024
203 - The three factors that determine how much Chinese you learn
15 mins; June 24, 2024
202 - Habit hacking for language learners
17 mins; June 17, 2024
201 - Should you learn the pronunciation of radicals?
17 mins; June 10, 2024
200 - Student Q&A, June 2024: How much time on flashcards, Remembering the Hanzi, and resources for learning characters
20 mins; June 03, 2024
199 - Chinese character learning for all students
9 mins; May 27, 2024
198 - Learning to hear the sounds and tones in Mandarin
16 mins; May 21, 2024
197 - 24 great resources for improving your Mandarin pronunciation
18 mins; May 14, 2024
196 - Student Q&A, May 2024: Understanding strangers, listening with transcripts, and which podcasts to avoid
