It’s that time of year again — back to school season! In this episode, we dive into the popular Chinese expression 神兽归笼 (“the mythical beasts return to their cages”), a humorous way parents describe sending kids back to school after summer break. You’ll learn how this phrase is used in daily conversation and pick up practical Mandarin expressions to talk about the social aspect of this time of year. Perfect for Chinese learners who want to sound more natural and stay up-to-date with trending slang.

对话：

小李：哎，今天开学第一天，家长群都在刷屏。

Xiǎo Lǐ: Āi, jīntiān kāixué dì yī tiān, jiāzhǎng qún dōu zài shuāpíng.

(Sigh, it’s the first day of school, and the parents’ group is blowing up.)

小王：哈哈，是啊，大家都在感叹“神兽归笼”。

Xiǎo Wáng: Hāhā, shì a, dàjiā dōu zài gǎntàn “shénshòu guī lóng.”

(Haha, yeah, everyone is sighing with relief: “the little beasts are back in their cages.”)

小李：终于能安静一点了，不用每天被孩子吵醒。

Xiǎo Lǐ: Zhōngyú néng ānjìng yīdiǎn le, bùyòng měitiān bèi háizi chǎoxǐng.

(Finally some peace and quiet—no more being woken up by the kids every day.)

小王：可不是嘛. 暑假天天陪着我女儿，累得不行。现在上班反而像休息

Xiǎo Wáng: Kě bù shì ma, Shǔjià tiāntiān péizhe wǒ nǚ’ér, lèi de bùxíng. Xiànzài shàngbān fǎn’ér xiàng xiūxi.

(Tell me about it—During summer vacation I was with my daughter every single day — it was exhausting. Now going to work actually feels like taking a break.”)

小李：现在交给老师了，我们也能喘口气。

Xiǎo Lǐ: Xiànzài jiāogěi lǎoshī le, wǒmen yě néng chuǎn kǒuqì.

(Now that the teachers are in charge, we can finally take a breather.)

小王：不过老师才是真正的英雄，得面对几十只“神兽”！

Xiǎo Wáng: Bùguò lǎoshī cái shì zhēnzhèng de yīngxióng, děi miànduì jǐshí zhī “shénshòu”!

(But the teachers are the real heroes—they have to face dozens of these “little beasts”!)

Fall means Pumpkin Spice Latte season! ☕🍂 In this episode, we dive into the phenomenon of the PSL while teaching you how to order it in Mandarin Chinese. Learn essential café vocabulary, practice real-life dialogues, and discover how seasonal drinks are talked about in Chinese. Perfect for language learners who love coffee and culture.

顾客：你好，我要一杯南瓜香料拿铁。

Gùkè: Nǐ hǎo, wǒ yao yì bēi nánguā xiāngliào nátiě.

Customer: Hello, I'd like a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

咖啡师：好的，要多大杯？中杯还是大杯？

Kāfēishī: Hǎo de, yào duō dà bēi? Zhōng bēi háishì dà bēi?

Barista: Okay, what size? Medium or large?

顾客：中杯就好，谢谢。对了，可以少糖吗？

Gùkè: Zhōng bēi jiù hǎo, xièxiè. Duì le, kěyǐ shǎo táng ma?

Customer: Medium is fine, thank you. Oh, and can you make it less sweet?

咖啡师：没问题，请稍等。

Kāfēishī: Méi wèntí, qǐng shāo děng.

Barista: No problem, please wait a moment.

Check out my friend Kapa Zhao's Video on a favorite Shanghai Coffee Spot:

http://xhslink.com/m/3A44hcyH3JV

Want to sound more natural in Mandarin? Learn the Chinese idiom that can mean not only making the kind of mistakes that hurt yourself, but also when your plans to harm someone else backfire.

小李：听说老赵匿名举报同事偷懒。

Xiǎo Lǐ: Tīng shuō Lǎo Zhào nìmíng jǔbào tóngshì tōulǎn.

Xiao Li: I heard Old Zhao anonymously reported a coworker for slacking off.

小王：结果呢？

Xiǎo Wáng: Jiéguǒ ne?

Xiao Wang: And what happened?

小李：结果调查时才发现，他自己摸鱼更严重。

Xiǎo Lǐ: Jiéguǒ diàochá shí cái fāxiàn, tā zìjǐ mōyú gèng yánzhòng.

Xiao Li: Turns out, when they investigated, they found he was slacking off even worse.

小王：哈哈，这不就是搬起石头砸自己的脚嘛！

Xiǎo Wáng: Hāhā, zhè bú jiù shì bān qǐ shítou zá zìjǐ de jiǎo ma!

Xiao Wang: Haha, isn’t that just “lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot”? (Chinese idiom meaning “to shoot yourself in the foot”)