Learn Mandarin Podcasts
Mandarin Chinese Language. Looking to Learn Mandarin Chinese? Well, here’s quite a few helpful podcasts for you to check out!
Many of the Kung Fu schools (check out the Martial Arts Podcasts) tend to use and/or teach the Chinese language of the Cantonese (check out the Learn Cantonese Podcasts) variety and for a logical reason: due to history, many Chinese and Chinese Martial Arts teachers especially, came through Hong Kong and spread outward into the great diaspora.
That being said, however, I’ve made the choice to focus on Mandarin (with a slight nod to Cantonese) for my kung fu students for a variety of reasons:
- It’s the first Chinese Language I was exposed to
- It’s what I am most fluent at
- It’s the basic foundation for Standard Chinese
- It’s Official; most speakers of other languages & dialects will understand Mandarin
- It’s THE business language (Chinese-speaking, of course)
So whether you’re looking to begin your journey of Mandarin Chinese Language learning or perhaps you’re just looking for more vocabulary, dialogue, curiosities or whatever, this list should help you on your way!
A few of quick notes before we get on with the list:
- You may see the term HSK during your Mandarin journey. This stands for Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi and refers to the Chinese Proficiency Test or the Chinese Standard Exam. It is China’s only standardized test of Standard Chinese language proficiency for non-native speakers such as foreign students and overseas Chinese.
- If history is more of your thing, check out Chinese History Podcasts.
- You may very well find our article “Learn How to Learn” insightful into not only learning martial arts but languages or other skills as well.
- If you know of any Podcasts you think would be a nice addition to this listing, be sure to reach out and let us know!
Thanks, and Enjoy! 🙂
Learn Mandarin Chinese Podcasts

Chinese Mandarin Cafe
Hello!
I am Amy Lin. I am an online 1-1 language teacher and a language learner 🙂
I got into teaching by accident in 2013. I love teaching. It is amazing and fun meeting people from all over the world, and I love helping them with their Mandarin journey. Through this podcast, I hope to help more people get started with their Mandarin journey.
I love making my lessons fun so occasionally you might have to deal with my not so funny jokes hehe.

'Mini Mandarin Podcast
Chinese Mandarin Cafe Mini Lessons
Bite-size Chinese lessons (words/phrases) by Amy Lin from Chinese Mandarin Cafe.

The Beginners’ Chinese Podcast
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Do you want to learn some basics in Mandarin Chinese?
The tracks presented here are designed to give you a taste of Mandarin Chinese language and culture.
You’ll hear short conversations where people greet each other, introduce themselves and their families, describe where they come from and what they do for a living. You’ll hear them talk about sports, ask for directions, buy things, order food in a restaurant, invite someone to dinner – or simply share their experience of learning Chinese.
You’ll also find a track to help you with pronunciation and the use of tones.
Finally, there’s the chance to listen to interviews in English about Chinese-speaking cultures.

I Love Learning Chinese
Learn or Study Chinese Mandarin language and culture online for free through podcasts as we provide bite-size lessons that will be building blocks to mastering the Chinese language.

Chinese: Learn Online
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Progressive Mandarin Course

Chinese Class 101
Chinese Class 101 is an innovative and fun way of learning the Chinese language and culture at your own convenience and pace.
Our language training system consists of free daily podcast audio lessons and on our website you have access to video lessons, Chinese Word of the Day, a premium learning center, a vibrant user community and more.

Learn Chinese
Learn Mandarin Chinese at your own pace, any time or place convenient for you.
Every Chinese Audio Lesson has a PDF Transcript, Worksheet and come with Additional Situational Dialogues (on our website).
Get full Website access + downloading lessons via iOS and Android app. Signup today and you’ll be fluent in no time!

Talk Chineasy - Learn Chinese every day with ShaoLan
Learn Chinese with ease!
Talk Chineasy brings you 7-minute daily Chinese lessons.
Each day, ShaoLan and a special guest share interesting cultural insights and stories as they teach you a useful Chinese phrase. Our amazing guests include rock stars, artists, CEOs, professors, adventurists, scientists, and more.
You’ll discover the rich culture behind the most widely spoken language, while you learn how to converse in basic Mandarin Chinese.

Coffee Break Chinese
Learn to speak Mandarin Chinese with teacher Crystal and learner Mark in regular lessons from the Radio Lingua Network.
In each lesson we’ll focus on the language you need to know to and before long you’ll be making yourself understood with native Mandarin speakers.

Chinese Sayings
Join Laszlo Montgomery for weekly episodes that introduce commonly used Chinese Sayings and the stories and rich meanings behind each phrase. Whether you speak Chinese or not, enjoy a few stories and pick up a phrase or two from China’s ancient times.

Learn Mandarin Daily
Learn a little Mandarin every day! We also offer one-on-one Chinese lessons in NYC.

Afu Taxi
Want to have fun while learning Chinese?!
Let your favorite English-speaking taxi driver help you navigate the streets of Taiwan. Take a ride with A-Fu and learn ZHONG WEN (Mandarin Chinese) with ease!
A-fu’s Taxi is your number one resource for learning daily Chinese vocabulary and phrases. Updated every month, you’ll be a fluent Chinese speaker in no time!

Takeaway Chinese
“Chinese language is so difficult?”
Only because you’re not learning it in the right way!
Try Takeaway Chinese, a 25-minute bilingual talk show covers the most frequently used basic dialogues, words & expressions, language tips & social culture, and stories behind the idioms.
Take some Chinese away and experience a progress day by day. We will promise you a difference!
中英双语脱口秀节目,歪果仁学中文,中国人学习中国文化的英文表达.

Bang Bang Chinese
Here you will learn Chinese in the most authentic and practical way.
We discuss recent news and trendy things in a mix of English and Chinese, teaching the most practical and subtle Chinese that you will never learn in text books or Chinese classes.
Have fun learning Chinese!

KaKa Chinese Culture Show
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
KaKa Chinese Culture Show is a weekly talk show produced by KaKaChinese. We are going to talk about all about China and Chinese language.

Easy Chinese Idioms!
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Emily Tangerine explains all the Chinese idioms in the world.

Nanjing HSK 1
Hey guys! We’re in Nanjing, China learning Chinese! Come and explore all of our traveler highlights and learn Chinese while you’re doing it!

Beijing HSK 1
Hey guys! Come and learn Chinese with us by traveling around Beijing! This album is pitched at an HSK 1 (ish) level, but we will be covering every level from 1-6 in the future as well as other cities.

Mandarin Rap
Improve your Mandarin speaking and listening by rapping. Every episode features conversation, vocabulary, original music, raps and a listener competition!

Learn Chinese Insights
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Weekly interviews with people who learned Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
Find out why they learned it, what approach they took, and more importantly what they are doing with the Chinese they have learned.

Hello China
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
HelloChina, produced by HelloChinese, helps guide you through the Chinese that’s not taught to you in textbooks.
Modern Chinese for Modern China. New shows every Monday and Thursday.
Keywords, videos and language takeaways from each episode available on our website.

Dim Sum Mandarin
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Have fun learning practical Mandarin Chinese by listening to contextual dialogues.
Through structured modules designed by Chung, you will be guided step-by-step to master useful words and phrases, and confidently put together sentences to speak in everyday and business situations.

Dimsum Hanyu Pinyin
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Dimsum Hanyu Pinyin – Learn Mandarin Chinese
A great start for learning this Romanized system in the beginnings of your Mandarin Chinese learning journey.

Mandarin Chinese - Pinyin
Emory University
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Pinyin Explanation by folks at Emory University.

Beginning Chinese by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
John DeFrancis worked at Seton Hall University in the Department of Far Eastern Studies’ Chinese Studies program, authoring textbooks for Mandarin Chinese in the early 1960s.
The original recordings were produced at Seton Hall University in Fahy Hall on reel-to-reel tapes. Over 100 hours of audio material were recorded. Between 2008-2010, the reel-to-reel tapes were digitized to help preserve the audio materials, as the condition of the tapes began to deteriorate. As such, you may hear some background noise, clicks and other auditory imperfections in the recordings.

Beginning Chinese Reader by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
This is Beginning Chinese Reader.

Intermediate Chinese by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
This is Intermediate Chinese.

Intermediate Chinese Reader by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
This is Intermediate Chinese Reader.

Advanced Chinese by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
This is Advanced Chinese.

Advanced Chinese Reader by Seton Hall University
Audio-Book
Obviously, as an Audio-Book, this is not a Live Podcast.
However, please note that we have access to the entire course here – Beginner through Advanced!
This is Advanced Chinese Reader.

Learning Mandarin
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Learning Mandarin with April Zhang podcast.

Mandarin for Travel and Beginners
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Byte-sized language files of Mandarin Chinese for everyday life.
Create your own playlists of real, relevant language for a completely personalized language learning experience.
These files only have the words and phrases- nothing else. Listen to these words and phrases and start speaking Mandarin Chinese right away.

RTHK:Naked Mandarin
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
As the Shanghai Expo celebrates Hong Kong Week, the Naked Cantonese team Cecilie Gamst Berg and Sarah Passmore decide they should focus on the mother tongue of the Mainland, Putonghua.
In a ten part series, produced during a whistle-stop tour of Shanghai, Ah Sa and Ah Sin give you “Naked Mandarin.”

Chinese Phrasebook
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
Chinese phrasebook’s recent posts to audioboom.com

ChinesePod
This Podcast is no longer Live. However, there is still a collection of great content to be enjoyed.
ChinesePod Classic Episodes.
In 2005, there was no such thing as a language learning podcast. Then ChinesePod came along and changed everything. Almost a decade later, and with over 3000+ lessons and counting, we are the largest, most experienced resource for learning Chinese. Visit our website, with many more resources for learning Mandarin Chinese.