Em Casalena
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Need a Little Variety? Watch These 2 Chinese Variety Shows
Bless the day that Chinese variety shows first came to be.
How else were we going to learn Mandarin while feeding our need for instant gratification?
Jokes aside, Chinese entertainment is a solid tool for improving your listening, reading and comprehension skills.
It’s also great for learning a bit about Chinese culture.
Contents
- What Exactly Is a Chinese Variety Show?
- How Can Chinese Variety Shows Help Me Learn Chinese?
- Chinese Variety Shows: The Silliest Way to Learn Mandarin
- And One More Thing...
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What Exactly Is a Chinese Variety Show?
中国综艺节目 (zhōng guó zōng yì jié mù) — Chinese variety shows encompass a wide range of televisions genres. In their most basic form, they’re unscripted “group” shows that usually involve games and participant reactions, with a little comedy thrown in.
However, Chinese variety shows can also include reality television aspects and competitions that aren’t necessarily of a humorous nature. In a sense, one could see Chinese variety shows as just a type of competitive reality television.
We found two killer Chinese variety shows that just about anyone would love. But first, let’s break down how Chinese variety shows can help you learn.
How Can Chinese Variety Shows Help Me Learn Chinese?
- Watching television can help you improve your Mandarin listening skills. The Mandarin spoken on variety shows is often ad-libbed rather than scripted. Watching scripted media is still useful for amping up your Chinese language skills, but variety shows can give you a better idea of what real conversational Mandarin sounds like.
- Watching variety shows with Chinese subtitles can help with reading skills in real-time conversations. Once again, scripted television is good in this sense, too. But because the Chinese spoken in variety shows is so quick, the subtitles go by quickly, as well. This is a great way to challenge your reading speed.
- Variety shows can add an element of entertainment to your Chinese study plan that you wouldn’t get otherwise. Studying gets boring sometimes, doesn’t it? There’s no shame in spicing up your study routine with an addictive variety show.
Chinese Variety Shows: The Silliest Way to Learn Mandarin
爸爸去哪儿 (bà bà qù nǎ ér) — “Where Are We Going, Dad?”
This one is going to warm your heart and make you laugh at the same time.
“Where Are We Going, Dad?” debuted on Hunan Television in 2013 and has become a hit in mainland China and Taiwan. Unfortunately, English-speaking countries haven’t picked up on this adorable, entertaining variety show.
“Where Are We Going, Dad?” features stories of different celebrity fathers and their travels with their young children. Because the pairs live in big cities, they travel to rural areas in China to learn about different ways of life. The kids’ reactions to a totally new world are precious, and their bonding experiences with their fathers are truly heartwarming.
This show mostly focuses on fathers and their kids one-on-one, so there isn’t a lot of dialogue overlap. This makes “Where Are We Going, Dad?” a great choice for beginner learners. The show also includes Chinese subtitles to help you boost your Mandarin reading skills.
快乐大本营 (kuài lè dà běn yíng) — “Happy Camp”
This is one of the longest-running Chinese variety shows on our list—and for good reason! Since 1997, “Happy Camp” has been one of the most popular Chinese television shows in mainland China with an active viewership in the tens of millions. It’s also an award-winning show and responsible for numerous musical albums.
On “Happy Camp,” celebrities from all over the world, not just China, come together to participate in different tongue-in-cheek competitions. These competitions usually involve game show-style battles, musical performances, funny parodies and more. Episodes usually include interviews with celebrities, too.
This show is great for Mandarin learners who want something to binge-watch that’s modern and topical. This is one of the best Chinese variety shows to watch if you want to learn about what’s popular in China and what modern culture is like.
Currently, you can find a few English-subtitled episodes on YouTube, but the show is only available with Chinese subtitles on MGTV.
Can’t Find Chinese Variety Shows on YouTube?
No problem!
There are tons of sites where you can watch Chinese TV, but for Chinese variety shows specifically, these are the best streaming platforms:
Another resource you might find helpful is FluentU. Although it’s primarily a language learning app, FluentU contains a vast collection of Chinese media clips.
Aren’t Chinese variety shows the best? They’re also pretty awesome for learning about Chinese humor and culture.
Hopefully, at least a few of these unique shows will become a regular favorite of yours. Just try not to binge-watch the whole series in one day!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you want to continue learning Chinese with interactive and authentic Chinese content, then you'll love FluentU.
FluentU naturally eases you into learning Chinese language. Native Chinese content comes within reach, and you'll learn Chinese as it's spoken in real life.
FluentU has a wide range of contemporary videos—like dramas, TV shows, commercials and music videos.
FluentU brings these native Chinese videos within reach via interactive captions. You can tap on any word to instantly look it up. All words have carefully written definitions and examples that will help you understand how a word is used. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.
FluentU's Learn Mode turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.
The best part is that FluentU always keeps track of your vocabulary. It customizes quizzes to focus on areas that need attention and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a 100% personalized experience.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
