Bus Driver’s Song Mandarin Translation

Even though there are countless songs easier to translate from English to Chinese, I always have to pick the comedy songs that I like. Something about the dramatic twist towards the end of the song just really took me by surprise and made me laugh like crazy.…

MH4U Solo #39 THE SCATHING SHORE! After announcing I was finished, I completed yet another quest, so of course it's time to talk about it! The scathing shore was just a quest that sounded absolutely terrifying: G rank multiplayer frenzied Seregios, Black Diablos and Rajang, not in the arena, in dunes night! What an absolute nightmare! I actually thought that the Monster Hunter final quest would be the next easiest (more on that next time) but no, this one went significantly better than I thought.

MH4U Solo #39 THE SCATHING SHORE!

After announcing I was finished, I completed yet another quest, so of course it's time to talk about it! The scathing shore was just a quest that sounded absolutely terrifying: G rank multiplayer frenzied Seregios, Black Diablos and Rajang, not in the arena, in…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #5 – The Telephone Test My ultimate pronunciation goal is probably to take my accent from good to almost native. It's a massively difficult task, and something I didn't even know was possible until I saw other learners achieve it. Nevertheless, I still think it's worth aiming for. The telephone test is a good way of measuring whether or not you have achieved this goal. It's the idea that the only way someone would know you weren't actually Chinese is if they met you in real life.

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #5 – The Telephone Test

My ultimate pronunciation goal is probably to take my accent from good to almost native. It's a massively difficult task, and something I didn't even know was possible until I saw other learners achieve it. Nevertheless, I still think it's worth…

毒苹果 – Poison Apple – English Lyrics – G.E.M邓紫棋 I've listened to G.E.M for around 7 years now, ever since I started to learn Chinese, and despite listening to her songs over and over again, I can sometimes rediscover just how good it is as if I was taking it for granted the whole time. There are still far too many great songs I've not yet translated, and this is of course one of them.

毒苹果 – Poison Apple – English Lyrics – G.E.M邓紫棋

I've listened to G.E.M for around 7 years now, ever since I started to learn Chinese, and despite listening to her songs over and over again, I can sometimes rediscover just how good it is as if I was taking it for granted the whole time. There are…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #4 – Learning Environment Since last time I've continued practicing shadowing with the same video quite a lot. Motivation is difficult because progress is so invisible, it seems more of a "keep on going and eventually you release you are better" kind of thing. I've tried to notice everything that I can notice, but of course that won't be very much. I did feel myself saying a different sound in my head as I was reading for a while, but I'm really not sure how long it lasted.

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #4 – Learning Environment

Since last time I've continued practicing shadowing with the same video quite a lot. Motivation is difficult because progress is so invisible, it seems more of a "keep on going and eventually you release you are better" kind of thing. I've…

MH4U Solo #38 GRIM QUARTET! I honestly thought this series was over, but I couldn't resist coming back to write some more. In G3, since I only had 5 quests left, I thought it might be fun to attempt all of them, and pass on my experiences so that people would know what to expect. I wasn't supposed to win, it was just supposed to be a fun ending where I got my ass kicked, but well, it didn't quite turn out that way.

MH4U Solo #38 GRIM QUARTET!

I honestly thought this series was over, but I couldn't resist coming back to write some more. In G3, since I only had 5 quests left, I thought it might be fun to attempt all of them, and pass on my experiences so that people would know what to expect. I wasn't supposed…

The Blogging Method to Achieving your Dreams

My advice for if you want to get something really difficult and time consuming done is to blog about it. Genuinely. It really helps so much. You can see examples of this all through my blog. I completed Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, gave myself the…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #3 – Shadowing It's not as if I am trying to write a new entry whenever I make some kind of progress, it's just a nice coincidence! For the first time ever I have recorded myself speaking and not completely hated it. This is something to be celebrated! But let's start from the beginning. I got into this situation in the first place due to HelloTalk, which is really helpful because once you make some friends on there, you have extremely good motivation to continue learning every day.

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #3 – Shadowing

It's not as if I am trying to write a new entry whenever I make some kind of progress, it's just a nice coincidence! For the first time ever I have recorded myself speaking and not completely hated it. This is something to be celebrated! But let's start…

I Finished Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut! I wasn't sure if I was able to complete this game since I really struggle with epic story driven experiences, but I eventually did, in roughly 90 hours. These are my impressions after having just finished the game! First of all, what an incredible experience. As I looked upon the end credits I just had to sit back in amazement, grateful for the experience I had just consumed, contemplating everything that had happened.

I Finished Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut!

I wasn't sure if I was able to complete this game since I really struggle with epic story driven experiences, but I eventually did, in roughly 90 hours. These are my impressions after having just finished the game! First of all, what an incredible experience. As…

MH4U Solo Bonus #37 – The Finale After saying I've soloed every monster available in G Rank multiplayer difficulty, I just had to check again that I was right didn't I? It turns out that I'd missed not one, but two monsters. The first: Savage Deviljho. Having just beaten the Apex Deviljho, this would surely be easier than the apex right? Right? Yes it was! To be honest I had to check the monster icon a few times to make sure I had picked the right quest because I was sure it was supposed to be harder.

MH4U Solo Bonus #37 – The Finale

After saying I've soloed every monster available in G Rank multiplayer difficulty, I just had to check again that I was right didn't I? It turns out that I'd missed not one, but two monsters. The first: Savage Deviljho. Having just beaten the Apex Deviljho, this…

乌鸦 – Crow – 汉堡黄 – Burger Pop – English Translation It's been way too long since I've done a translation, so I'm glad to release this! It's a really interesting song that asks you to think about the nature of love and how you deal with it in the world, there is also a lot to unpack in the translation notes too which is always a bonus. For those who want to know why this took so long, it's largely been to do with being busy with other things, and just giving up on other translations that turned out to need a lot more work and research that I was willing to give.

乌鸦 – Crow – 汉堡黄 – Burger Pop – English Translation

It's been way too long since I've done a translation, so I'm glad to release this! It's a really interesting song that asks you to think about the nature of love and how you deal with it in the world, there is also a lot to unpack in the…

More Driving Pain – A Motorbike hit my car I had been driving a lot more, and improving in confidence to a point where I felt happy driving to an activity during rush hour. Most people try to avoid this time, but it just turned out to be the best option, and it was only the journey there that was in rush hour, so I thought I'd be fine.

More Driving Pain – A Motorbike hit my car

I had been driving a lot more, and improving in confidence to a point where I felt happy driving to an activity during rush hour. Most people try to avoid this time, but it just turned out to be the best option, and it was only the journey there that was…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #2 – Trying to Build a Habit Last week I set out my pronunciation plan as follows: Do 10 minutes of shadowing practice - listening and repeating Do 10 minutes of repeated speaking and listening to myself, either recording new stuff or going over Hello Talk clips Use the pinyin tone chart to help with specific things I am struggling with whenever I feel I need to…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #2 – Trying to Build a Habit

Last week I set out my pronunciation plan as follows: Do 10 minutes of shadowing practice - listening and repeating Do 10 minutes of repeated speaking and listening to myself, either recording new stuff or going over Hello Talk clips Use…

Monster Hunter World Solo #4 – Dying for the First Time! Immediately after Zorah Magdaros we were sent to the Coral Highlands which is such a beautiful place. I was sent on an expedition to find the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku but due to the map's confusing layout, I just walked around in circles for ages. I even beat Paolumu before eventually finding it. The quest itself was to “sight it” only, as well as find the next base camp, but I assumed that beating the monster would more or less lead me straight to where I needed to go - oh how wrong I was!

Monster Hunter World Solo #4 – Dying for the First Time!

Immediately after Zorah Magdaros we were sent to the Coral Highlands which is such a beautiful place. I was sent on an expedition to find the Tzitzi-Ya-Ku but due to the map's confusing layout, I just walked around in circles for ages. I…

How to Read Your First Book in a Foreign Language After reading my first Mandarin book without translation, I thought I'd go back and explain how I got started reading books in the first place as a new language learner. Why Read a Book in the first place? In my opinion, this is the best way to learn vocabulary. It's fun, fast and you don't need to memorise words, you just pick them up gradually as you are exposed to the same language time and time again.

How to Read Your First Book in a Foreign Language

After reading my first Mandarin book without translation, I thought I'd go back and explain how I got started reading books in the first place as a new language learner. Why Read a Book in the first place? In my opinion, this is the best way to…

Can’t Keep Up There are just too many things coming out right now. I can't keep up with the latest video games, movies, TV shows and social media trends that hit the internet daily, and I'm guessing you can't either. To be honest, it's absolutely a good thing. There's nothing wrong with doing things you actually care about and getting round to things when you are ready.

Can’t Keep Up

There are just too many things coming out right now. I can't keep up with the latest video games, movies, TV shows and social media trends that hit the internet daily, and I'm guessing you can't either. To be honest, it's absolutely a good thing. There's nothing wrong with doing…

Can we actually try to give up fossil fuels please? I don't really do politics, but this feels like a topic just about everyone should agree with, so I'll talk about it anyway. When are we going to learn our lesson? Fossil fuels are running out. Moving to renewables is not optional, and the faster we do it, the less pain we have to go through whenever Russia decides to invade Ukraine or Trump decides to bomb Iran.

Can we actually try to give up fossil fuels please?

I don't really do politics, but this feels like a topic just about everyone should agree with, so I'll talk about it anyway. When are we going to learn our lesson? Fossil fuels are running out. Moving to renewables is not optional, and the faster…

Monster Hunter World Solo #3 Zorah Magdaros! I remember Zorah Magadros being really annoying last time I tried to fight it, so I procrastinated a bit first. I did the USJ quest where you fight 3 Great Jagras in one quest and it’s lovely to see that the event quests still have lots of different sized monsters. It’s also good to know that crowns for the size of the monster still exist, and that besides Great Jagras I haven’t got any so far…

Monster Hunter World Solo #3 Zorah Magdaros!

I remember Zorah Magadros being really annoying last time I tried to fight it, so I procrastinated a bit first. I did the USJ quest where you fight 3 Great Jagras in one quest and it’s lovely to see that the event quests still have lots of different…

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #1 I am always learning Chinese, but it's mainly through reading books, not through speaking and listening. This has meant that my pronunciation has suffered and not really kept up with my ability to read and understand things. While I think my pronunciation is a lot better than someone just starting out, and I have improved a lot, I feel pretty stagnant and that I'll never really get truly good at speaking unless something changes.

Mandarin Pronunciation Diary #1

I am always learning Chinese, but it's mainly through reading books, not through speaking and listening. This has meant that my pronunciation has suffered and not really kept up with my ability to read and understand things. While I think my pronunciation is a lot…

Good luck if you decide to go with it!

I Tried Using HelloTalk Again! I recently said that there are lots of better Duolingo alternatives you can download for free, so I thought I'd talk about one of them! Hello Talk is very good at teaching you one specific thing: conversation. It is essentially a social media app for finding language partners. It therefore not only helps with language learning, but also connects you with people who can give you even more motivation to learn and encourage you.

I Tried Using HelloTalk Again!

I recently said that there are lots of better Duolingo alternatives you can download for free, so I thought I'd talk about one of them! Hello Talk is very good at teaching you one specific thing: conversation. It is essentially a social media app for finding language…

Why AI Will Win I study Chinese using a short video drama app where you can watch lots of dramas with episodes lasting only a couple of minutes. To my surprise I saw a cartoon drama that looked interesting, and to be fair it was. The animation was pretty awful but I enjoyed the story and kept on watching for around ten episodes. It was only around then that I realised something in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

Why AI Will Win

I study Chinese using a short video drama app where you can watch lots of dramas with episodes lasting only a couple of minutes. To my surprise I saw a cartoon drama that looked interesting, and to be fair it was. The animation was pretty awful but I enjoyed the story and kept on…

Monster Hunter World Solo #2 – Racing to beat Anjanath We resume the journey in low rank after fighting several beginner monsters. With the Pukei-Pukei defeated it was time to face the Barroth! This was the monster that made me realise Longsword might actually be a harder weapon than I thought. Since the swing was so big, Barroth always moved and put his head in the way, blocking the attack. You usually don’t bother trying to add mind’s eye on anything that has some mind’s eye attacks, but honestly with Longsword I see it being useful for the regular attacks too.

Monster Hunter World Solo #2 – Racing to beat Anjanath

We resume the journey in low rank after fighting several beginner monsters. With the Pukei-Pukei defeated it was time to face the Barroth! This was the monster that made me realise Longsword might actually be a harder weapon than I thought.…

I was Wrong about the Chimera Ant Arc I hated the Chimera Ant arc when I watched it for the first time. The pacing felt ridiculously slow, and the idea of fighting ants fundamentally seemed kind of stupid. I mean they're ants! Just squish them! It was the first arc I encountered where I actually wanted to skip it, which made it hurt more when it turned out skipping it would mean missing basically the rest of the entire show.

I was Wrong about the Chimera Ant Arc

I hated the Chimera Ant arc when I watched it for the first time. The pacing felt ridiculously slow, and the idea of fighting ants fundamentally seemed kind of stupid. I mean they're ants! Just squish them! It was the first arc I encountered where I actually…

How I started Playing Epic Story Driven Games After I started working for a long time, it felt that these massive games you need to devote a lot of time to were just not right for me. It's not that I didn't like them, it was that I felt I lacked both the time and energy to play continuously while managing to keep all the story in my head.

How I started Playing Epic Story Driven Games

After I started working for a long time, it felt that these massive games you need to devote a lot of time to were just not right for me. It's not that I didn't like them, it was that I felt I lacked both the time and energy to play continuously while…

Duolingo Changed the Heart System and Made it Worse! I didn't think it was possible, but Duolingo listened to the criticism about the heart system, and somehow found a way to make it even worse! The friendly company that was there to provide free education to the world has long since been a ghost of its former self, yet another company that attracted a large audience only to milk them for as much money as possible, and in doing so, made their product essentially unusable.

Duolingo Changed the Heart System and Made it Worse!

I didn't think it was possible, but Duolingo listened to the criticism about the heart system, and somehow found a way to make it even worse! The friendly company that was there to provide free education to the world has long since been a ghost…

Monster Hunter World Solo #1 – Learning Longsword and Grinding through Story I’ve decided to give Monster Hunter World another try for my next solo challenge now that I’ve completed everything I wanted to do for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate! I was originally going to try Monster Hunter Generations, however there seems to be a problem with loading times taking around 20 seconds between screens, so this seemed like a much better option!

Monster Hunter World Solo #1 – Learning Longsword and Grinding through Story

I’ve decided to give Monster Hunter World another try for my next solo challenge now that I’ve completed everything I wanted to do for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate! I was originally going to try Monster Hunter Generations,…

I had to ask didn’t I? When I was a young 5 year old I didn't really understand the concept of time. This made my first summer holidays after school finished a little strange. To tell the truth, I didn't really know what was going on. Suddenly I was going to school, then suddenly I wasn't, and I didn't really think to ask why, I was just enjoying having free fun-filled days that never seemed to end.

I had to ask didn’t I?

When I was a young 5 year old I didn't really understand the concept of time. This made my first summer holidays after school finished a little strange. To tell the truth, I didn't really know what was going on. Suddenly I was going to school, then suddenly I wasn't, and I…

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut First Impressions Despite knowing this game had a huge story I probably didn't have time for, I thought I would give it a try to see if it could suck me in, and I have to say, it definitely did. I've now played up to around halfway through chapter 4, so I definitely wanted to give my first impressions on everything so far!

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut First Impressions

Despite knowing this game had a huge story I probably didn't have time for, I thought I would give it a try to see if it could suck me in, and I have to say, it definitely did. I've now played up to around halfway through chapter 4, so I definitely wanted…

I Read My First Mandarin Book Without Translation! I've been reading mandarin Chinese books for many years now, so it definitely felt like hitting a milestone when I finally completed one without needing to use any translation at all. Milestones become harder and harder to reach as you get better and better, so this was certainly an achievement I'm happy to celebrate! The book I completed was "A Midsummer's Equation" by my favourite author 东野圭吾 Keigo Higashino.

I Read My First Mandarin Book Without Translation!

I've been reading mandarin Chinese books for many years now, so it definitely felt like hitting a milestone when I finally completed one without needing to use any translation at all. Milestones become harder and harder to reach as you get better…