117. Chinese Idioms

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The Mandarin Blueprint Podcast focuses primarily on The Mandarin Blueprint Method online curriculum. Creators Luke Neale & Phil Crimmins answer questions and comments, discuss topics related to China and Mandarin learning, and have special guests.

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9:07 Comments & Emails

Rebecca Wheble on Vocab Unlocked from 律

Is an idiom the same as a 成语？Or in other words is千篇一律 an idiom or a 成语?

21:09

Jagoda Niedopytalska on BONUS: This Secret Will Put You LIGHT YEARS Ahead in Chinese

With every language, I used to study output was always the most challenging. Because of the school system and then learning by myself only by listening and reading it became very difficult to speak and it discouraged me from some languages for years. My passive knowledge was so good that I could watch movies and understand almost everything but because of that speaking became too overwhelming. I sat in a group of foreign friends and understood their conversations but didn’t have the ability and confidence to join in and contribute. I could hear exactly how wrong it sounds coming out of my mouth and I could hear all the little mistakes and I just became too shy to speak at all. So I find learning Mandarin refreshing and encouraging because pronunciation is essential and I knew I have to start with that.

I feel so lucky to find your course because I started “producing sounds” first before actually learning the language. I speak out loud with all your videos and each time I do my flashcards. I believe that thanks to that for the first time I won’t be too afraid of making mistakes once I have enough knowledge to start having conversations with the native speakers!

24:44

Rob Neville on Level 13 Complete

I must say after finishing Level 13 that the sentence review cards have felt amazing. It reminded me of the original karate kid movie when Daniel has been doing these repetitive motions that didn’t seem to be getting him anywhere and then when Mr. Myagi starts throwing punches and kicks at him, he’s amazed at his ability to block them all. I was likewise amazed when the sentences just came out of my mouth – not at native speed to be sure, but surprisingly fast – and what’s more, I understood what I was reading and saying. That is a really cool feeling. Well done gents on this course. I’m hooked and will absolutely see it through to the end.

26:00

Christopher Dolman on Now Just LOOK at how SOLID that Foundation Is! Phase 5 Complete!

Just making the occasion after seven months. Thanks, Phil and Luke, it’s been a superb course, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, yet I feel I still haven’t taken full advantage of all you’ve offered so far. I’m now looking forward to going back – re-reviewing the grammar points and spending some more time shadowing the longer-form content. Thanks also to all the course participants whose posts and podcast interviews I’ve enjoyed along the way. There are some famous names there! See you in the Intermediate course.

27:08

Jessica m on Level 10 Complete

My CI teacher entirely by coincidence has three students that ended up here. I’m going to have to coach her into building her entire approach around using this with all of her students that intend to be literate.

29:12

Daniel Léo Simpson on Make a Movie 元

Totally loving the new course format of bite-sized levels and totally jazzed to start Level 21!

29:38

Jessica m on Vocab Unlocked from 们: 我们 – 人们

咱们 vs 我们？
The only place I have ever encountered 咱们 is in Mandarin Breeze books. I’ve never heard anyone say it or seen it in print anywhere else.

31:05

Jessica m on Make a Movie 哥

So older brother 哥 and elder brother 兄 are examples of what set up RTH to be a failure in my opinion. now, I think you guys do a much better job by introducing these in context with words and pronunciations which make them more sticky and useful to the end goal of knowing which character is which in function within the language. ….But still, what advice do you have about the memory collision that occurs with closely set key definitions?

33:24

Jonathan Glazier on Make a Movie 些

The top component has caused me the most problems today. I just can’t land on the one thing that fixes it in my memory. I do rely on visualisations and the form of this character 此 really has me stumped, I can’t get one all encompassing visual.

35:41 Movies! 

This blog post explains the theory behind Movie Scenes and learning characters.

Robert Carver on Make a Movie 承

Chuck Norris (Ch-) is in the kitchen at my -eng location, BEARING the weight of a dying Christmas Elf (㇇) as he carries him to a Water Fountain (水) for nourishment. But it’s too late, and with his dying breath the elf reveals he’s actually Link, and he passes Chuck the TriForce (三), telling Chuck he now must BEAR the responsibility of saving Hyrule.

37:05

Nick Sims (戴燚）on Make a Movie 饱

Bruce Lee (b-) is playing basketball in the gym (3rd tone) at Lifetime Fitness (-ao) and has burned a million calories. He is starving so he pulls out his fork (饣) and gym bag (包) PLUMP with dumplings ?. After he’s done eating his stomach is FULL.

38:09

Alex Sumray on Make a Movie 赢

I grouped the bottom three components together as an Olympics medal podium thing (hope that’s ok!).

It then just became a contest between the mouth 口 and my yi actor to eat strawberries 亡. MY yi celebrating with her gold medal and the mouth sobbing with its bronze.

39:52

Ric Santos on Make a Movie 落

Lu-Actor waters 氵 the roses 艹 so forcefully that each 各 of the petals falls back to the mouth of the earth one by one.

40:48

Will R on Make a Movie 丸

KEYWORD: 丸 wán Pill
Actor: Wolverine
Set: -an
Room within Set (tone): Kitchen
Prop(s): 九 (Nine Tails (Pokemon)), 丶 (Drop)

Make a movie:
1. Wolverine at -an’s Kitchen
2. Wolverine’s pet Pokemon dog Nine Tails (九) walks in very ill
3. Wolverine Drops a Drop (丶) of medicine into Nine Tails mouth and Nine Tails spits out a Giant PILL (丸)
4. Wolverine holds the Giant PILL up and says: “Who’s been feeding you PILLS like this Dogo?”