I saw most of this on Twitter from @chenchenzh so go follow her! This is the Sixth Tone article I mentioned: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1007589/tired-of-running-in-place%2C-young-chinese-lie-down And the 知乎 Zhihu post I mentioned: https://

MSG037: Slang & Mental Health (Ivy Li)

May 18th, 2021 33m 41s

To learn more about Mind China, search for the "心生 Mind" WeChat Public Account! Listen to The Waves 海浪FM:https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/pb3i6-15b353/%E6%B5%B7%E6%B5%AAFM-Podcast Follow Ivy on Douban:https://www.douban.com/people/181463

A Sprinkle of MSG: Traitor???

Apr 6th, 2021 7m 54s

1. 卖国贼(màiguózéi) “Country-selling thief,”someone who sells out their country. Can be used for someone from any country. 2. 汉奸(hànjiān) “Chinese traitor”, or, literally, “Han traitor,”where Han is the dominant ethnic group of China. Honestly I

MSG036: Chinese Slang of DEATH (Anita Xu)

Mar 23rd, 2021 30m 30s

Listen to Anita’s podcast, 井号键 here or on your podcast app: https://gravetalk.typlog.io/ Visit Anita’s website: https://anitaxu.com/home/en/ 1. 死(adv)(sǐ) “Very,”“extremely,”“--to death” 2. 社会性死亡(shèhuì xìng sǐwáng) A “society death,”or, a sit

MSG035: Chinese Sports Slang (Hunter Shi)

Mar 9th, 2021 46m 7s

Find Hunter on Twitter: @hualun14 Listen to his pod, 翻转体育 Sports Inverted, here or on your favorite podcatcher: https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/podcast/5e393a72418a84a046bd59a4 1. 好球(hǎo qiú) “Good ball!”as in “Good shot! Nice shot!” If someone g

A Sprinkle of MSG: 俺、晓得、没门儿

Feb 25th, 2021 6m 56s

1. 俺(ǎn)I, me, we, us, etc2. 晓得(xiǎodé)To know something, like 知道3. 没门儿(méi méner)“No way! Not gonna happen!”For more words & examples, check out the Beijinger article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8EDVicH7NMbknumcNtcviwGot questions? Want flash

MSG034: Hottest Words of the Year of the Rat (Part 2: Yang Yi)

Feb 2nd, 2021 38m 11s

Check out 杨一’s work as Co-Founder and COO of JustPod: https://justpodnews.com/en/1. 时间管理大师(shíjiān guǎnlǐ dàshī)Literally a “Time management master,”it’s a cheater who has to balance their time between multiple girl/boyfriends.2. 海王(hǎiwáng)Li

MSG033: Hottest Words of the Year of the Rat (Part 1: Caiwei Chen)

Jan 14th, 2021 48m 30s

Check out Caiwei's podcast, 定向跳转 Redirect (in Mandarin) here or wherever you pod: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZeU05KVgETU8BruI42bPq1. 打工人(dǎgōng rén)“Laborers,”an ironic self-address used by the working class to commiserate and bond 2. 内卷(n

A Sprinkle of MSG: 爷青回、爷青结

Dec 23rd, 2020 5m 32s

1. 爷青回(yé qīng huí) Short for 爷的青春回来了，”This old man’s youth has returned!”, meaning that something has reminded you of your youth; made you feel nostalgic; sent you back in time (figuratively) 2. 爷青结(yé qīng jié) Short for 爷的青春结束了，”This old ma

【EXPLICIT】MSG032: Chinese Internet Comebacks (Diaodiao)

Dec 9th, 2020 33m 55s

(If you've already heard the INCOMPLETE version, just skip to 21:30 and you'll hear the new stuff!)Hey! This is NSFW! Really! If you want a clean version, send me an email at [email protected] and I'll make one for you, cuz there's

【INCOMPLETE VERSION】【EXPLICIT】MSG032: Chinese Internet Comebacks (Diaodiao)

Dec 7th, 2020 26m 48s

(THIS VERSION IS INCOMPLETE! I messed up in editing. To hear the complete version, just find the episode next to this one in the channel! If you've already listened to this incomplete version, then start at 21:30 in the new version.)Hey! This

MSG031: Beyond 谢谢 - Better Ways to Say Thanks in Chinese (Katt Shi)

Nov 23rd, 2020 19m 52s

1.谢谢、谢你啦 (xièle,xiè nǐ la) More casual than 谢谢 2. 多谢 (duōxiè) Roughly as casual as 谢谢; neutral 3. 辛苦了(xīnkǔle) Literally, “trouble”, “hardship”, “laborious.”Used in this way as a work-oriented way to thank someone for their contributions. 4. 多

MSG SPECIAL: Biden & Harris' Chinese Names

Nov 10th, 2020 4m 39s

1. 乔·拜登(qiáo·bài dēng) Joe Biden’s transliterated name. Usually written as just 拜登。Sometimes “Joseph”is written out as 约瑟夫，but this year has been hard enough so let’s keep it simple. Also note how an interpunct (·) is used between first and la

MSG030: Video Game Chinese (Johnny Liu)

Oct 27th, 2020 31m 53s

1. 坑(kēng)Literally a hole, pit, or trap. Used as an adjective for something that’s gonna cost you, whether it’s an overpriced item or a 猪一样的队友2. 猪一样的队友(zhū yīyàng de duìyǒu)“Pig-like teammate(s),”people who are as useless as a pig. Often pair

MSG029: Can You Say "Woke" in Chinese? (Frankie Huang)

Oct 14th, 2020 23m 45s

1. 觉悟(juéwù)Englightenment! Existential awakening! Evolving into your final form! (Might also be used to stand in for the USian concept of “woke,” but it’s more likely that Chinese speakers would use “woke” itself as a loan word)2. 醒悟(xǐngwù)A

MSG028: Mandarin Problems YOU Might Have (Emily Wang)

Sep 10th, 2020 41m 30s

Hey! If you’re thinking about upping your Chinese level, check out GoEast! It’s where I take classes, and they’re offering online classes no matter where you are! Check it out at www.goeastmandarin.com!Beginner problem: Using “textbook”express

MSG027: Chinese Apps For You! (Avers)

Aug 31st, 2020 28m 46s

1. 网易云音乐(wǎngyì yún yīnyuè)When making fun of the overly depressive comments on this app, it’s sometimes written as 网抑云阴乐。2. 百度云(bǎidù wǎng pán)File sharing app sometimes used to view & share pirated movies. 网盘见！See you on the online storage (

MSG026: Romance of the Three Kingdoms (John Zhu)

Aug 17th, 2020 33m 17s

1. 说曹操，曹操就到(shuō cáocāo, cáocāo jiù dào)“Speak of the devil”(Literally, “Say Caocao’s name and he’ll arrive!")2. 望梅止渴(wàngméizhǐkě)“Look at plums to quench your thirst”Depending on promises of a beautiful future to help endure a painful presen

MSG025: How to Gossip in Chinese (Avers)

Aug 3rd, 2020 25m

1. 八卦 (bāguà)Gossip! Or to gossip. Or gossipy. Basically fills every part of speech.Comes from the name of the “eight trigrams”of the I Qing.2. 吃瓜 (chī guā)To eat melons, or to be a gossipy bystander (who is eating a melon, metaphorically spea

MSG024: Very Cool Ways to Say "Very"

Jul 19th, 2020 25m 17s

1. 蛮(mán)A southern way to say 很, “very”(it’s pretty neutral - not very emphatic) 2. 巨(jù)Giant! Or gigantically.Oh, man, I just realized this is like the invented adverb “bigly” 3. 贼(zéi)When it’s a noun, it’s thiefWhen it’s an adjective, it’

MSG023: Chinese Regional Stereotypes (Wanying)

Jun 28th, 2020 51m 18s

1. 老乡(lǎoxiāng)Someone from the same hometown or home region2. 乡下人(xiāngxià rén)A country person3. 城会玩(chéng huì wán)“City folk really know how to have fun”4. 排外(páiwài)Regional elitism; literally, to look down on othersAnd lots of region name

A Sprinkle of MSG: 口头禅

Mar 28th, 2020 5m 53s

1. 口头禅 (kǒu tou chán) Literally a Zen mantra; figuratively, a pet phrase (Not that the "tou" has no tone, but sometimes people pronounce it in the second tone anyway) 2. 必须的 (bì xū de) “Must! It must be so!” 3. 就是 (jiù shì) “Yeah! I agree! It

MSG022: Social Media Slang (Avers)

Mar 21st, 2020 37m 48s

1. 假新闻 (jiǎ xīnwén)Fake news!2. 杠精 (gàng jīng)A contrarian comment troll3. 水军 (shuǐ jūn)Fake posters, either to give the appearance of high web traffic or to spread propaganda4. 键盘侠 (jiànpán xiá)“Keyboard hero,” those ‘noble’ folks out there t

MSG021: Chinese Number Slang (Katt Shi)

Mar 6th, 2020 36m 27s

1. 88 (bā bā)Sounds like “Bye bye!” (拜拜，bài bài)2. 520 (wǔ èr líng)Sounds like “I love you.” (我爱你，wǒ ài nǐ)3. 555 (wǔ wǔ wǔ)Onomatopoeia for cutesy crying4. 233 (èr sān sān)“lol,” from an old forum keyboard shortcut for a laughing face5. 250 (

MSG020: Chinese Back to Work Slang (Avers)

Feb 28th, 2020 36m 36s

1. 打卡 (dǎ kǎ) Clock in/out, check in 2. 摸鱼 (mō yú) “Touch the fish;” slack off. Comes from the chengyu 浑水摸鱼, “muddy the water to catch the fish.” 3. 社畜 (shè chù) “Society animal,” a person who is like a farm animal, and the farm is their job.