Popup Cantonese

Normally, Allan spent thirty minutes on the treadmill and then another half hour lifting weights, or at least hovering in the vicinity of the weight-lifting equipment soaking in the general vibes of the health equipment. As he woke up this morning with a slight headache from last night's business dinner, he wondered if perhaps it would be better to drop the cardio completely today and focus one hundred percent on the weightlifting? Learning Cantonese? Even if you're as generally slothful as we are when it comes to exercise, we think you'll still be able to get quite a bit out of this Cantonese lesson for absolute beginners. In this show we focus on language you can use at the gym, or anywhere you want to talk about taking turns. So whether you're pushing your body to the limits at the health club or just buying drinks for some friends at the bar, join us for a show you can put to use right away.

Melody was halfway through chapter five by Tuesday morning. As is traditional with children's stories, her novel had started with the somewhat cliched passage of the children heading off to school. But it was now thickening with hints of the titanic struggle between good and evil to come, a clash that would test the extremes of both friendship and magic. As she finished another paragraph, the author couldn't help but glow at the thought of the Pulitzer that would almost certainly be hers. Learning Cantonese? This is our first Intermediate lesson at Popup Chinese and our first show starring our new Hong Kong podcaster Melody. At this level we try to keep our shows filled with the same natural and colloquial speech you'll hear in Hong Kong, and highlight only the more difficult segments and passages. It's a delicate balance, so if you have thoughts or feedback please share them with us. We'd love to read your comments in the discussion space below, or over email at service@popupcantonese.com.

Learning Cantonese? Trust us that no matter how fluent you get, at some point your language skills will fail and you'll find yourself resorting to pointing and grunting. Which is where this podcast comes in. In this Cantonese lesson for relative newbies, we teach you how point to things and express your opinion about them. Useful for everything from ordering room service at the Peninsula to buying electronics in Shenzhen. So listen in and let us know what you think!

Planning to spend the next few years walking around Hong Kong buck naked? Both we and the local police are guessing not, which means that at some point you'll have to head out and purchase clothing from a local shop in Hong Kong. And while the good news is that Hong Kong is considered a mecca for exactly this activity, the bad news is that if you don't speak Cantonese you're at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to finding the best that the city has to offer. We can help you fix this. Learning Cantonese? In this Elementary Cantonese podcast, join us as we cover some more elementary vocabulary you'll use when shopping for clothing and trying things on. You already know how to say that something is too big or too small, but how about tight or loose, or modern and old-fashioned? If you're less clear about these, take a listen to today's show and in about ten minutes we'll give you all the Cantonese you'll ever need to get what you want the next time you're out on the town.

Grovelling isn't exactly our forte, but sometimes you need to put that dignity behind you to salvage whatever you can from your marriage. Like the time one of us arrived home at one o'clock in the morning after a grueling karaoke session only to find that it might not have been the best day in the year to miss dinner with the family for beers with the boss. Learning Cantonese? In this lesson we'll talk about what happens when you're late, as well as a few ways to apologize on those occasions when you're really, really, really sorry. This is a beginner Cantonese lesson, but it teaches some high frequency words and phrases, so it should still be accessible to you even if you haven't gone through our introductory series yet. Let us know what you think, and good luck.

If you think the sheer population density of Hong Kong is impressive, wait until you experience the island's fast-food density. By our admittedly unscientific survey, conducted on the way to lunch one day, there are several hundred McDonalds prowling the Kowloon area alone, all beckoning to potential customers with free wifi, air conditioning, and sometimes even food.... Learning Cantonese? In this lesson our dialogue covers a lot of fast-food vocabulary, but our focus is really about learning how to offer people choices, and recognize when other people are offering us choices. So if you're learning Cantonese and already have the basics down, join us for a podcast that will help you push towards a higher level fluency in the language. And feel free to let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Learning Cantonese? Our free Cantonese podcast today takes place in a hospital, where a doctor and patient are having an intimate discussion about treatment options. And so while we hope you won't have to visit a hospital while in Hong Kong, this lesson should be useful to you even if you're in perfect health. Since in addition to a lot of high frequency Cantonese vocabulary, we learn to talk about success and failure rates, and how to describe percentages in Cantonese. This is critical stuff, so get listening!

Assuming you've been watching the same Hong Kong films as the rest of us, you must be familiar with the scene: our protagonist is making a mad dash across Hong Kong in the middle of rush hour. Yet despite the standstill traffic, he makes considerable progress by embracing creative driving techniques: pushing his Lexus over sidewalks, taking hairpin turns down pedestrian walkways, and even crashing down the mid-levels escalator. Since we're sure this sounds familiar and may even have whetted your appetite for some Hong Kong motoring, we will try to break the news softly. Despite what any sensible driver might conclude from years of exposure to these allegedly documentary works, this is not actually how people drive in Hong Kong. So trying to cut a bit of time off your commute may be frowned upon by the authorities. And no, we don't think it's fair either.

Jane stared at her production schedule with resigned disbelief. It was clear at first glance that the board's target would be difficult if not impossible to meet, but the deadline still meant it was crunchtime for everyone at the office, and especially her and her team. With only two weeks... she was just doing the math again when Jane realized Harold had stepped into her office. He was one of her most productive subordinates and she only hoped he was here to share good news. Learning Cantonese? Our Cantonese podcast for today is an elementary lesson, which means we assume you already know the absolute essentials of the language and focus instead of faster and longer dialogues featuring natural Cantonese the way it is actually spoken here in Hong Kong. So if you've spent a few months in Hong Kong and are trying to master the language, listen in and see how much you understand.

Less than an hour after the salesperson had begun demonstrating the device, Sarah lugged her new lie detector onto the kitchen table with a sense of satisfaction. For the last few weeks she had become increasingly distraught over Philip's evasive answers at the dinner table. When pressed over the boy's time in school, or even asked simple questions about his English studies, her son would grow evasive and withdrawn. It was about time that changed.... Want to learn Cantonese? At Popup Cantonese we have a huge archive of fun and free Cantonese podcasts and other lesson materials. This lesson is designed for elementary students who already know a bit of the language and are comfortable hearing relatively easy Cantonese spoken at a native pace. So if you already know the basics, listen in and let us know what you think. And if you don't, why not start with our lesson series for absolute beginners to the language?

"This lesson has nothing to do with Sleeping Beauty," Nicole was feeling pedantic, probably because we'd just given her about fifteen hours of data entry work, and then added annotating this lesson on top. "I mean... what does this podcast even have to do with France." The lack of an answer from our side of the office failed to deter the complaints. "And honestly David, have you ever seen a castle in Hong Kong? There's a reason property prices are so high...." In retrospect, it may be true that this Cantonese podcast is only loosely based on the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault. So loosely based that some of you might even say it isn't based at all on the fairy tale. But leaving that aside, this Cantonese lesson is still worth a listen if you're just getting started. Join us and in under ten minutes you'll have enough compliments under your belt to last at least one stop on the Hong Kong metro, which is all it really takes to get a phone number if you meet Mr. or Mrs. Right.

"You can have any flavor you want," the clerk made a vague waving gesture at the empty shelves, or perhaps the storeroom behind him. Jessica arched her head to gaze behind the counter, but even so only managed to catch a glimpse of a carton of half-melted chocolate ice cream. "Is that the only flavor you have," she blurted out in surprise, visibly relieved when the clerk shook his head and handed her a leaflet describing the store's thirty-one specialties. Want to learn Cantonese? First things first... we want to thank everyone who stuck with us during our roughly two week hiatus from active lesson publication. Today we're pleased to be back in the saddle with a Cantonese lesson that talks about "kinds" of things, and especially specifying which type of something you want. The language in this Cantonese podcast is fairly simple and covers some core essentials, so if you're just starting out take a listen, and let us know what you think!

The three of them had spent the night crying, although for entirely different reasons. Ever since Sandra's affair with Michael had been exposed on national television, her relationship with Sam had been ripped apart. And Michael's friendship with Sam had been tested as well, as undercurrents of anger, jealousy and resentment shifted the ground beneath all three. If you're just starting to learn Cantonese, we think you'll like this lesson. Our dialogue is fairly simple, but it covers an absolutely essential topic: how to tell people you like them, and perhaps even love them. And we also teach you how to answer. So listen in and when someone asks "do you love me", you'll be ready to answer either way.

Ever heard of Hong Kong's famous Tuen Mun yoghurt or the blue cheese of Leung Shuen Wan? We're betting you haven't, if only because neither happens to exist. And sad as that may be to consider, it's hardly surprising given the appalling state of the Hong Kong dairy industry. There is probably not another place with a lower cow-to-human ratio outside the Maldives, which at least has nice beaches. So - yes - we know that you're busy studying Cantonese and enjoying the local nightlife and Hong Kong's amazing cuisine, but consider this elementary Cantonese lesson a critical reminder: there is more to life than dim sum and more than three basic food groups in the health pyramid. Useful to bear in mind if you don't want to end up like the poor soul in our dialogue for today....

The creaking gate stirred Tuan Tuan from his slumber. It was eleven o'clock, and Yuan Yuan, who had been sleeping peacefully in the thicket beside him, growled at the disruption. They were not the best of friends, but on this the two creatures could agree: what fools they had for keepers! Tuan Tuan briefly contemplated shifting slightly to express his displeasure at the interruption, but his natural lethargy and ongoing battle with the the previous evening's dinner won out. He remained prone. And yet the giant beast nonetheless kept a groggy eye on the sole figure which had emerged into his dwelling, huffing in a white overcoat while wheeling in what appeared to be a giant black box. Disappointment settled in his heart at seeing this most unimaginative of gifts. And then it occurred to the creature that perhaps this too would be filled with bamboo. And who could ever complain about bamboo?