RealTime Mandarin Founder Andrew Methven on Learning Chinese Through News & Internet Slang

💡 Note that RealTime Mandarin was previously called Slow Chinese.

Resources Mentioned

• Andrew’s Slow Chinese Newsletter (use this link to get 17.5% off)

• Oxford Chinese Dictionary

• 天下雜誌 (CommonWealth Magazine)

• Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

Concepts, Places & Chinese Terms Mentioned

• Hàn-yǔ Pīn-yīn (漢語拼音/汉语拼音)

• Bopomofo, a.k.a. Zhù-yīn Fú-hào (注音符號)

• National Cheng Kung University (成功大學)

• Shí-qī / Shí-qí (時期, “period of time”)

• Taiwanese language (Wikipedia)

• Weibo (微博)

• YYDS: Pinyin initialism for 永遠的神/永远的神 (“eternal god”) or 永遠單身/永远单身 (“forever single/alone”)

• XSWL: Pinyin initialism for 笑死我了 (“I’m dying laughing/LMAO”)

• Dài jié-zòu (帶節奏/带节奏): Literally means “bring rhythm” but is used to mean “carrying a team to victory” in gaming or “misleading the public” in politics

• Chōng-tǎ (冲塔): Meaning “rush the tower” in gaming or to “protest against authority” outside of gaming

• Dōng-běi Huà (東北話/东北话): The northeastern Mandarin dialect

• Zéi (賊/贼): Literally means “thief” but has the slang meaning of “extremely” in Northeastern China

Want more tips and tools to immerse yourself in Mandarin Chinese from the comfort of home? Check out my detailed guide Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World.