{"id":4869,"date":"2016-01-20T18:27:12","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T10:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writtenchinese.com\/?p=4869"},"modified":"2022-06-05T13:39:26","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T05:39:26","slug":"watch-chinese-game-show-improve-mandarin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.writtenchinese.com\/watch-chinese-game-show-improve-mandarin\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch a Chinese Game Show and Improve Your Mandarin!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will only take [est_time] to read this post!<\/p>\n

As Nora said in her article about Reality TV Shows<\/a>, it\u2019s easier and more productive to use reality tv or a Chinese game show to improve your Mandarin because they often use more natural and everyday language, making it easier to follow and understand. Not only are reality TV and Chinese game shows great for this reason, but they also demonstrate language ‘in action’.<\/p>\n

Sometimes when learning new vocabulary, it\u2019s hard to know how and when to actually use it correctly and naturally in a sentence, unless you actually hear it used in ‘real life’. If you\u2019re not in China, then these kind of shows will give you a good idea of how to use your Chinese as native Chinese people do!<\/p>\n

I accidentally came across the Chinese game show “\u5feb\u4e50\u5927\u672c\u8425<\/a>” (ku\u00e0i l\u00e8 d\u00e0 b\u011bn y\u00edng) Happy Camp, last year and literally ended up watching hours upon hours of it! I didn\u2019t understand everything, but I found the cheesy-ness of the show to be amusing and endearing. Coming from someone who\u2019s really not that into Chinese TV, this show got me involved and made me WANT to know what was going on. I found myself reading along with the subtitles (the ones I could read) and desperately trying to work out what had happened that had made them laugh so much! Something that I used to find obnoxious about Chinese game shows was the use of onscreen ‘Hahas’ and sad faces that look like they’ve been drawn onto the screen by a child. However, once I started to watch, I realized that actually, these were really helpful to gain some perspective about what the heck was going on in the show. They act as suggested reactions; if you see an exclamation point, that must mean something shocking has happened! I\u2019m not sure what exactly that implies about the show’s intended audience, but instead of finding them a nuisance, they became a friendly guide to help me watch a game show in a language I was definitely not comfortable with.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s my go to game show! It\u2019s a bit odd and kooky, which suits me down to the ground!<\/p>\n

However, since we all like something a little bit different, here\u2019s a list of 10 other Chinese game shows that might just get you more interested in Chinese TV and also (as an added bonus), help you with your Chinese learning!<\/p>\n

Which Chinese Game Show Will You Choose?<\/h2>\n