Chinese Language Youtube Channels - Recommendations Thread

[Jan Finster]

I think the best way to watch "Reset" is with ChineseZerotoHero:

 

https://www.zerotohero.ca/en/zh/youtube/view/0BpqrU3D-TU/

 

Here you can listen, read and click on any subtitle text and it replays it.

[phills]

But it only goes up to episode 4!  Just passed episode 4 lol.

 

That's a very interesting site.  I might try some other shows on there.  Thanks for the tip @Jan Finster

[Jan Finster]

On 2/28/2022 at 4:57 PM, phills said:

But it only goes up to episode 4!  Just passed episode 4 lol.

 

You just have to search on ChineseZeroToHero (https://www.zerotohero.ca/en/zh/youtube/browse/all/all/0/开端).

 

e.g. here is ep 5:

https://www.zerotohero.ca/en/zh/youtube/view/XhvhhVIyYvc/

 

Alternatively, you can upload the .srt that was in the download link above

 

[abcdefg]

I understand. Thank you very much for explaining and for the tip about how to cover the subtitles temporarily with another window. I have not tried that. 

 

On 2/28/2022 at 7:59 AM, phills said:

The other purpose of soft CC is it lets you download a transcript.

 

Good idea. I have usually been too lazy to undertake such a project, but maybe some day I will. 

[StChris]

If anyone wants to keep track on what's going on on the ground in Ukraine, then these two channels popped up in my YouTube feed recently.

 

This one is by a young Ukrainian woman. Her content seems to be mainly travel, vlogs about Ukraine and cultural stuff, but recently it's obviously been more about the war:

乌克兰战争第7天｜实拍边境小镇｜超市里没有面包｜ATM里没有钱 - YouTube

 

This one seems to be a Chinese travel blogger, but he's currently stuck in Kiev:

乌克兰基辅市中心3月3日返回河东的家失败#直击乌克兰# - YouTube

 

If anyone knows of any others, then please let me know.

[abcdefg]

On 3/3/2022 at 2:25 PM, StChris said:

This one seems to be a Chinese travel blogger, but he's currently stuck in Kiev:

乌克兰基辅市中心3月3日返回河东的家失败#直击乌克兰# - YouTube

 

Good one. Thanks. He's easy to understand. Also, I like the bold, easily-to-read subtitles. Hope he makes it out safely.

[becky82]

I've been getting into 每日中文课Free To Learn recently.  The videos vary in difficulty, but are usually HSK 4-6 levels.  I like her style---not just saying example sentences, but also multiple alternatives.  She's currently producing videos every day (!!).

[TaxiAsh]

On 3/5/2022 at 11:20 PM, becky82 said:

I've been getting into 每日中文课Free To Learn recently.  The videos vary in difficulty, but are usually HSK 4-6 levels.  I like her style---not just saying example sentences, but also multiple alternatives.  She's currently producing videos every day (!!).

Yes, wow, I found this about a week ago! I also recommend. Lots of levels, and she is very easy to listen to. I think youtube recommended me. 

New videos every day too (not that I need that! she has hundreds and hundreds of films, like you say at different levels. 

[StChris]

Another Chinese vlogger in Ukraine. This video about his Ukrainian friends is very moving:

 

这也许是乌俄战争爆发后的第六天，记不清了 - YouTube

[suMMit]

On 3/4/2022 at 4:25 AM, StChris said:

This one seems to be a Chinese travel blogger, but he's currently stuck in Kiev:

乌克兰基辅市中心3月3日返回河东的家失败#直击乌克兰# - YouTube

I really like this guys accent. It sounds very similar to a friend of mine from 河北，I wonder where he's from.

 

I've haven't been able to concentrate as well in my study sessions these last ten days, as I am keep reading updates and articles on the situation. I hope this guy stays safe.

[StChris]

On 3/6/2022 at 1:05 PM, suMMit said:

I've haven't been able to concentrate as well in my study sessions these last ten days, as I am keep reading updates and articles on the situation. I hope this guy stays safe.

 

Right now I'm restricting myself to only reading about the news (any news) to one single day per week. For me personally, I think that's a good balance between keeping informed about what is going on in the wider world and not getting distracted from my important day to day things. It's amazing what even a couple of day's perspective can do for you in terms of how you observe any particular event. It also gives a bit of "cooling off" time, so that any news or reporting that turns out to have been incorrect has likely already been proven so by the time you read it (that old adage "truth is the first victim of war" has never been truer than in recent days!). 

 

Reading updates throughout the day is the worst thing for me in terms of destroying concentration and generally just feeling bad. There's just something about the way the whole news and social media apparatus is set up, it's like a kind of refined sugar, I really don't think it's healthy. I "fell off the wagon" so to speak a little while back, but I always feel better (and actually better informed) when sticking to my strict "news diet". 

 

Chinese stuff doesn't really count though, as it just doesn't seem to have the same distracting effect on me (maybe because I still feel in "study mode" when viewing Chinese content).

 

Apparently, the Chinese embassy there recommended that people display Chinese flags on cars ect to keep safe, but that was probably a bad idea and that advice has since been withdrawn. It would probably be best for them to keep as low a profile as possible and hope for the best.

[Woodford]

On 3/6/2022 at 7:32 AM, StChris said:

Reading updates throughout the day is the worst thing for me in terms of destroying concentration and generally just feeling bad.

 

On 3/6/2022 at 7:05 AM, suMMit said:

I've haven't been able to concentrate as well in my study sessions these last ten days, as I am keep reading updates and articles on the situation.

 

It's funny you mention it, because I think my productivity has taken a hit since all this stuff happened! I need to discipline myself and not look at the news feeds so much. It's just so hard to look away.

I'm going to watch those Chinese videos from Ukraine, and perhaps subscribe! I like things like that. Lately, I've been getting into an already well-known Youtuber (and no stranger to many people in this forum), 老雷. His videos lack any subtitles at all, so I'm forced to listen to him as closely as possible. My skill has gotten go the point where I can just now understand what he's saying, so that's felt really great. I wonder if the reason I can understand him so well is because his first language is a European one, so even though his Chinese is really good, he might communicate from a more European mentality, grammatically or syntactically. Maybe not. Anyway, I find him interesting.

[StChris]

On 3/6/2022 at 3:26 PM, Woodford said:

老雷

 

While his Chnese is really good for a foreigner, he definitely has a more limited vocab than the average Chinese person, especially when talking about political stuff etc. Also, I agree that the fact he's European does make him easier to understand, probably because he doesn't make any Chinese cultural references that we may not get. 

[yaokong]

On 2/23/2022 at 1:48 PM, Publius said:

Today they may well try to educate you on the differences between 车厘子 and 樱桃 (which is poppycock btw)

Language is as it is used by its speakers. Many words in other languages (incl. English) were formed in precisely this "illogical" way. Language in this sense is illogical, because language users are. 

[Flickserve]

On 3/6/2022 at 9:32 PM, StChris said:

Reading updates throughout the day is the worst thing for me in terms of destroying concentration and generally just feeling bad. There's just something about the way the whole news and social media apparatus is set up, it's like a kind of refined sugar, I really don't think it's healthy.

This is so true. It’s very distracting and stupid productivity. I have to have time outs from it. 

[suMMit]

The videos on this channel are too easy for me, though I do listen to it sometimes when I'm doing the dishes or cooking because I don't have to focus and still understand it 100%.

 

What surprises me is how few views it gets. It seems like it would be a very good resource for beginners and elementary learners.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCmGqR_8uo

[abcdefg]

Agree. I like the goal of this series. Would have found it extremely useful when just starting out. 

 

Quote

Unfortunately, for many languages including Mandarin Chinese, there is currently a major lack of material designed to be understandable to beginners without relying on translation. Our goal is to fill that gap by crowdfunding to hire native speakers to produce large amounts of compelling, comprehensible input suitable for absolute beginners.

 

[TaxiAsh]

On 3/17/2022 at 2:43 PM, suMMit said:

The videos on this channel are too easy for me, though I do listen to it sometimes when I'm doing the dishes or cooking because I don't have to focus and still understand it 100%.

 

What surprises me is how few views it gets. It seems like it would be a very good resource for beginners and elementary learners.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCmGqR_8uo

Nice find! Not too easy for me! I like listening practises that are pretty easy. 

[Jan Finster]

On 3/17/2022 at 3:43 PM, suMMit said:

What surprises me is how few views it gets. It seems like it would be a very good resource for beginners and elementary learners.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFCmGqR_8uo

 

Thanks for sharing this. It is really astonishing how many videos they have on their channel and how little traffic they get. 

It is quite easy, but in a good way. I have only watched 2 videos and I can definitely still learn a lot even though I understand virtually all of it.

Somehow this reminds me of how this guy learns languages (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=illApgaLgGA) : lots of descriptions & drawings (the guy learning Arabic uses pictures in magazines, but the drawings the Chinese women on that channel use are a very clever alternative). 

[Moshen]

Quote

Nice find!

 

This is a really creative method of teaching!  I've never seen anything like this before.  It's something I wouldn't have the patience for at my level, but take a look at how they dare to tell the story of XiYouJi this way:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxZnsQ5F38