Mandarin Monkey Podcast

1. Balut – Fertilized duck embryo (Philippines)

鴨仔蛋 | yā zǐ dàn | Duck embryo egg

2. Surströmming – Fermented herring (Sweden)

瑞典酸鯡魚 | ruì diǎn suān fèi yú | Swedish sour herring

3. Casu Marzu – Maggot c…

Ever heard of a law that bans you from handling salmon "suspiciously"? Or a rule that says men must wear Speedos at public pools in France? In this episode, we dive into some of the strangest, most r…

Unusual Hobbies (特殊的爱好 - tè shū de ài hào)

1. Extreme Ironing (极限熨烫) – jí xiàn yùn tàng
2. Quidditch (魁地奇) – kuí dì qí
3. Cheese Rolling (奶酪滚动比赛) – nǎi lào gǔn dòng bǐ sài
4. Toy Voyaging (玩具旅行) – wán jù lǚ xíng
5. Comp…

In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we chat about the Eisenhower Matrix (艾森豪威尔矩阵, Àisēnháowēi’ěr jǔzhèn)—not as experts, but just as two people trying to figure out where all our time goe…

In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom and Ula dive into the world of untranslatable words—those linguistic gems that exist in Mandarin but leave English speakers scratching their heads,…

Ula and Tom speak about some confusing Mandarin and English words. All in Mandarin and English (Chinglish) for your listening pleasure.

Mandarin Lessons

www.mandarinmonkey.com

帶 (dài) vs. 戴 (dài)

• 帶 (dài)…

Unpleasant Sounds or Awkward Pronunciation

膩 (nì) – Greasy, overly rich (often used for food but also for excessive behavior).

黏 (nián) – Sticky, clinging (can refer to textures or overly attached peop…

The U.S. is taking steps to ban TikTok—so what does this mean for users, creators, and businesses? In this episode of Mandarin Monkey, Ula (speaking Mandarin) and Tom (speaking English) dive into the…

Looking for a fun and relaxed way to improve your Mandarin? Join Tom and Ula for this bilingual podcast where they mix Mandarin and English to talk about everyday life, gaming, and parenting. This we…

In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we dive into the fascinating world of TikTokers and live streamers in Taiwan and China—how they captivate audiences and grow their following. We also s…

In this episode, Tom and Ula take you on a hilarious journey through the chaos of moving into their new home. From a wardrobe that refused to cooperate to an almost-electrical fire that cost a whoppi…

In this episode we are waiting for a call from our solicitor to let us know everything has gone through on our new house purchase. Nervousness, excitement, apprehension it's all in this episode. Oh, …