Listener Mailbag is back. This week your stories cover first Mandarin wins, night market fails, and everything in between. We read your emails about dreaming in tones, KTV redemption songs, taxi mistakes, and the joy of ordering food without pointing. You’ll hear how small slips turn into lasting lessons, why confidence matters more than beer bravery, and how to keep learning when tests and tones trip you up.

Send your story: chat@mandarinmonkey.com

Lessons, hangouts, and intensives: mandarinmonkey.com

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Learn Mandarin through real conversations. Episode 422 covers wild camping, from rain and wind in the UK to snakes and bears in Taiwan. Pick up camping words in Chinese, hear how to talk about fishing and food, and enjoy bilingual chat in English and Mandarin.

Key Mandarin words from this episode:

野营 (yě yíng) – wild camping

帐篷 (zhàng péng) – tent

篝火 (gōu huǒ) – campfire

蚊子 (wén zi) – mosquito

獾 (huān) – badger

蛇 (shé) – snake

熊 (xióng) – bear

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Your emails, your questions, your Mandarin struggles.

In this first Listener Mailbag, we tackle:

• Tone panic ordering 牛肉麵

• How to pronounce 出去 without tripping

• ü vs u, and why “iu” sounds like “yo”

• Zhuyin vs Pinyin — which works in Taiwan

• Why HSK tests don’t prepare you for street speed

• Training your ears to real Mandarin

• Karaoke learning, flashcard guilt, and more

Email your questions to chat@mandarinmonkey.com and we might answer them next time.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.