Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recommended Cantonese Podcasts to Learn Cantonese
Finding Cantonese Resources Online
Are you struggling to find the right Cantonese resources online to help you learn Cantonese?
Let me tell you, I was in the same boat a couple of years ago. I searched the internet far and wide for the best Cantonese resources as I wanted to be able to self-study Cantonese at home. My problem? Well, I didn’t have access to Cantonese-speaking teachers, family and friends due to the fact that I lived far away. The time zone differences didn’t help either.
That was until one day, I found out about using podcasts for learning Cantonese.
In this blog post, we’ll explore why podcasts are fantastic tools for improving your Cantonese comprehension that you can use for free to self-study.
Next, we’ll talk about my personal strategy when using podcasts to study Cantonese.
Finally, we will go over the 5 Top Cantonese podcasts that I highly recommend for language learners. These podcasts were critical in helping me learn Cantonese – so hopefully they will be of great help to all of you as well!
Sound good? Let’s dive right in then!
Why Choose Podcasts to Learn Cantonese?
Podcasts offer a unique and effective way to enhance your Cantonese listening and vocabulary skills.
Here’s why they should be an essential part of your Cantonese study routine:
- Multitasking Made Easy: Podcasts allow you to learn Cantonese while doing other tasks like household chores, commuting, or even taking a leisurely walk in the park. It’s a flexible way to incorporate language learning into your daily life.
- Ideal for Listening: Podcasts are specifically designed for listening comprehension. Unlike videos or TV shows, they rely solely on audio, forcing you as the audience to really concentrate on depending on your listening comprehension to understand content.
- High Audio Quality: Podcast creators prioritize audio quality because they don’t have visual elements to fall back on. This means you’ll enjoy clear and noise-free content, making it easier to understand.
- Wide Vocabulary Range: To engage listeners, podcasts cover a wide range of topics, forcing hosts to use diverse vocabulary. This variety helps learners like you expand your Cantonese vocabulary.
Making the Most of Cantonese Resources
To make the most efficient use of your study time, I would recommend that you plan out ahead of time how you want to spend this session to learn Cantonese.
For my Cantonese podcast study routine, I typically have two different study modes.
- Passive Listening Practice
- Focused Active Studying
Passive Listening Practice
When I am in more of a “passive” mode when studying Cantonese, podcasts are a great way to get extra practice without expending too much mental energy. As mentioned above, you can multi-task when washing the dishes or resting on the couch and put on a good podcast to listen for enjoyment. Some language learning gurus look down at passive studying, saying it is a waste of time, but I think we as human beings don’t have the capacity to be actively studying 100% of the time. Passive studying is still valid for you to make some improvements on your listening comprehension and foster your appreciation for the Cantonese language.
Focused Active studying
While I do argue that passive studying is still valid, I cannot stress enough that you cannot only rely on passive input. In fact, “active” studying is probably the best way to solidify new vocabulary and concepts in your brain. When I study with podcasts, I like to transcribe a small section of the podcast and replay it various times until I think I’ve gotten the transcription correct. This transcription technique has helped me massively in learning Cantonese as I find the act of physically writing on paper (not typing in the computer) helps fortify the connection I make with the new vocabulary.
A Note on Transcribing Cantonese
Now, the hard part about Cantonese (and any other Chinese language or dialect), is that we write with characters. I think the best way to get started with your transcriptions as a way of studying is to first learn Jyutping. See: What is Jyutping? (And How To Learn Cantonese Using It)
Basically, jyutping is a romanization system, which means it consists of using the Roman script – same alphabet as English – as a system to track the phonetic sounds of each Cantonese word. Knowing jyutping will help you greatly in studying Cantonese because now you can take notes and read your notes out loud in a standard manner.
Cantonese Podcast Recommendations to Learn Cantonese
Now, let’s explore five Cantonese podcasts that I personally use to improve my Cantonese. Please keep in mind that everyone has their own tastes and preferences and that each podcast below has its own strengths and weaknesses. I would recommend you to first listen to at least 1-2 episodes of each of these 5 podcasts and then you can decide for yourself which ones fit best for your personal Cantonese language study routine.
Let’s get on with the recommendations!
Cantonese Podcast 1: 生活小領悟| Iced milk tea & chill
Podcast Link: Listen on Spotify
Dong Nai Cha (aka Iced Milk Tea), the host of this podcast, is a doctor in Hong Kong (formerly a medical student when starting the podcast). She covers a wide array of lifestyle topics, such as friendships, dating, work culture, school life, and social media. These relatable subjects provide excellent opportunities to learn new vocabulary. Dong nai cha speaks slowly and clearly, making it perfect for listening practice.
This was one of the podcasts that I used for passive listening practice as I really enjoy the topics that Dong Nai Cha and all her guests talk about. If you haven’t listened to podcasts before, I would recommend 生活小領悟| Iced milk tea & chill as a great starting point.
Length: An episode of 生活小領悟| Iced milk tea & chill can range from 20-50 minutes.
Cantonese Podcast 2: Aiya Cantonese! 哎呀！廣東話打到嚟
Podcast Link: Listen on Spotify
Hosted by Yasmin Chan, Aiya Cantonese! 哎呀！廣東話打到嚟 stands out due to its captivating topics. Yasmin delves into Hong Kong culture and language learning, two subjects that I find greatly interesting. Listening to her opinions and perspectives helps him acquire Cantonese vocabulary related to these intriguing topics.
Yasmin likes to learn languages as well and talks quite a bit about language learning in her podcast. As someone who is fascinated by language learning and writes about it, I found her podcast really useful to gain vocabulary around this particular field.
Length: An episode of Aiya Cantonese! 哎呀！廣東話打到嚟 can range from 5-10 minutes.
Cantonese Podcast 3: 請原諒我要十二點前瞓覺
Podcast Link: Website - https://thelesserevil.co/podcast
Going by the alias, The Lesser Evil, the host of the podcast 請原諒我要十二點前瞓覺 (Translation: Please Forgive Me, Need to Sleep Before 12) adopts a story format and meticulously plans all her story-telling with a structured flow and relaxing music. It creates a dreamy, before-bed ambiance with pleasing music and sounds. This well-researched podcast goes over some more complex topics such as environmentalism and technology. I personally enjoy listening to this podcast before bed as a way to relax, clear my mind of the day’s stresses, and direct my attention to learning Cantonese.
One word of caution though, the vocabulary in this podcast is quite difficult and probably only suitable for advanced learners. For those at a beginner or intermediate level, I would recommend trying a different podcast first.
Length: An episode of 請原諒我要十二點前瞓覺 can range from 10-25 minutes.
Cantonese Podcast 4: Miss Winnie Daily Cantonese Small Talk
Podcast Link: Listen on Spotify
One of my favorite Cantonese YouTubers who teaches Cantonese online is Miss Winnie! Apart from her YouTube channel, Speaking Cantonese with Miss Winnie, she also has started a podcast called Miss Winnie Daily Canontese Small Talk. Being a Cantonese teacher, Miss Winnie knows how to speak in a slow and understandable manner for non-native Cantonese speakers. At the end of her podcast, Miss Winnie also goes over some vocabulary that was mentioned throughout the podcast!
While I have only listened to a handful of her podcasts, I have been a long-time follower of her YouTube channel and think she creates great Cantonese resources for people to self-study Cantonese online.
Length: An episode of Miss Winnie Daily Cantonese Small Talk generally ranges from 5-10 minutes.
Cantonese Podcast 5: Chatty Cantonese
Podcast Link: Website - https://www.chattycantonese.com/
And now we have arrived at my absolute favorite Cantonese resource that I use to study Cantonese.
Chatty Cantonese is probably one of the best Cantonese podcasts out there for Cantonese learners. Not only do they have great engaging content about Cantonese Culture and Learning Cantonese, but they also provide really great study materials. The hosts include Raymond, a native Cantonese speaker, and Cameron, a non-native speaker who has learned Cantonese to a very high level!
The great thing is that Chatty Cantonese provides a vocabulary list with definitions attached to each of their podcasts. They also provide a transcript which is amazing if you like to do focused active studying like myself.
My typical routine to study Cantonese with Chatty Cantonese is to listen to one paragraph of the transcription at a time and replay it multiple times. Then, I try to transcribe the text (in jyutping) and verify my transcription. You can use the Inject Jyutping Chrome extension or a Cantonese to Jyutping Converter if you have trouble with reading the Chinese characters.
Length: An episode of Chatty Cantonese can range from 10-30 minutes.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve discovered my top 5 Cantonese podcasts, it’s your turn to explore and find your favorite. Learning Cantonese through podcasts offers an engaging and convenient way to master this beautiful language. Hope you find these podcasts useful for your Cantonese study routine and that you feel re-motivated to continue studying Cantonese.
加油 (gaa yau) and happy studying! 📖