Spoken Mandarin Days 31–60: A Month of Daily Speaking Practice

By the end you can

• Talk about your hometown and your new home. Say where your family is from with 老家, describe it with 不太大，但是很漂亮, and list what your home has with 有 + number + measure word.
  我老家在青岛，在海边。 · Wǒ lǎojiā zài Qīngdǎo, zài hǎibiān. · My hometown is Qingdao, by the sea.
• Buy fruit by the jin and pay by phone. Ask the price with 怎么卖, order 两斤 or 半斤, pay by phone or with a note, and check your change when you hear 找你.
  苹果怎么卖？ · Píngguǒ zěnme mài? · How much are the apples?
• Take a taxi and find your way on the subway. Start with 师傅 and 去 + the place, ask the driver to stop with 停一下, then ask which line to take, where to change and how many stops.
  坐二号线，然后换十号线。 · Zuò èr hào xiàn, ránhòu huàn shí hào xiàn. · Take Line 2, then change to Line 10.
• Make phone calls and introduce people. Open a call with 喂, check it's a good time, ask for a call back with 给 + person + verb, introduce a friend and describe what someone looks like.
  请他给我回个电话，好吗？ · Qǐng tā gěi wǒ huí ge diànhuà, hǎo ma? · Could you ask him to call me back?
• Talk about food, medicine and exercise. Say what you can't eat with 不能吃, explain a dish with 先 and 再, ask how to take cold medicine, and say how often you exercise with 每 and 都.
  我不能吃辣。 · Wǒ bù néng chī là. · I can't eat spicy food.
• Say what went wrong, apologise and move a plan. Say your phone is broken or flat with 了, choose between 不好意思 and 对不起 with a short reason, and move a plan to another day with 改到.
  我们改到星期天，好吗？ · Wǒmen gǎi dào xīngqītiān, hǎo ma? · Could we move it to Sunday?
• Be a guest: gifts, compliments and good wishes. Say 打扰了 at the door, hand over a small gift, praise the cook with verb + 得, and wish someone well with 祝.
  阿姨，您做菜做得真好！ · Āyí, nín zuò cài zuò de zhēn hǎo! · Auntie, you're a wonderful cook!
• Book a train ticket and sort out problems politely. Ask for help with a phone app, book a seat with short 的 answers like 靠窗的, find your gate, and ask a hotel for a fix with 能不能.
  我要一张去重庆的票。 · Wǒ yào yì zhāng qù Chóngqìng de piào. · One ticket to Chongqing, please.
• Give opinions, tell your story and keep a ten-minute chat going. Say what a show is about, give a reason with 因为, say no kindly with 不太, tell a change with 后来, and move to a new topic with 对了.
  对了，你周末有空吗？ · Duì le, nǐ zhōumò yǒu kòng ma? · Oh, by the way, are you free this weekend?

What’s inside

• Day 31: Learn: Talk About Your Hometown · Practice: Your Hometown, Your Way
• Day 32: Learn: Describe Your Home · Practice: Your Place in Two Lines
• Day 33: Learn: Shop at a Market · Practice: By the Jin at the Fruit Stall
• Day 34: Learn: Pay by Phone and Get Change · Practice: Paying and Change
• Day 35: Learn: Take a Taxi · Practice: Tell the Driver Where
• Day 36: Learn: Ride the Subway · Practice: Lines, Changes and Stops
• Day 37: Learn: Make a Phone Call · Practice: Open a Call Politely
• Day 38: Learn: Leave and Take a Message · Practice: Call Me Back
• Day 39: Learn: Introduce a Friend · Practice: This Is My Friend
• Day 40: Learn: Describe What People Look Like · Practice: Tall, Short Hair, Red Top
• Review: Days 31–40: Meeting at the Market Gate
• Day 41: Learn: Food You Love and Can't Eat · Practice: Your Food Yes and No
• Day 42: Learn: Share a Simple Recipe · Practice: Your Own Easy Dish
• Day 43: Learn: At the Pharmacy · Practice: How Often, How Much
• Day 44: Learn: Exercise and Healthy Habits · Practice: Your Weekly Habits
• Day 45: Learn: Tell What Went Wrong · Practice: What's Wrong Now?
• Day 46: Learn: Apologise and Explain · Practice: Sorry, and Here's Why
• Day 47: Learn: Cancel and Reschedule · Practice: New Day, New Time
• Day 48: Learn: Be a Guest at Someone's Home · Practice: At a Friend's Door
• Day 49: Learn: Give Gifts and Compliments · Practice: Say It With 得
• Day 50: Learn: Birthdays and Celebrations · Practice: Wishes for Every Day
• Review: Days 41–50: Dinner at Lin Hao's New Flat
• Day 51: Learn: Movies, Music and Shows · Practice: Your Shows and Songs
• Day 52: Learn: Your Phone and Apps · Practice: Help Me With This
• Day 53: Learn: Book a Train Ticket · Practice: Your Ticket, Your Seat
• Day 54: Learn: At the Train Station · Practice: Right Train, Right Time
• Day 55: Learn: Solve a Problem Politely · Practice: Something Is Broken
• Day 56: Learn: Talk About Next Year · Practice: Plans and Hopes
• Day 57: Learn: Give Your Opinion and Why · Practice: What Do You Think?
• Day 58: Learn: Agree, Disagree and Suggest · Practice: Your Plan or Mine?
• Day 59: Learn: Tell a Short Story About Your Life · Practice: Then and Now
• Day 60: Learn: A Ten-Minute Conversation · Practice: Keep the Chat Going
• Checklist: What You Can Say After 60 Days
• Final Review: A Thank-You Hotpot Dinner

How to use this book

Two pages a day, as in the first two books. Play the audio for the Learn page and say each line in the pause, then write and say your own version on the Practice page. Thirty days, two reviews, a checklist and a final scene.

1. Days 31–36: Settling in. Your hometown and home, a fruit market, paying by phone, taxis and the subway. Say each line in the pause, then once more without looking.
2. Days 37–40: Calls and people. Phone calls, messages, introducing a friend and describing people. Then act out the meeting at the market gate on page 23.
3. Days 41–50: Food, health and being a guest. Food, a recipe, the pharmacy, exercise, apologies, changed plans, gifts and birthdays. Then act out the dinner at Lin Hao's flat on page 44.
4. Days 51–60: Longer talk. Shows, phone apps, trains, polite complaints, plans, opinions, your own story and a ten-minute chat.
5. Final review: Tick and act it out. Tick the checklist on page 65, replay the audio for any day you can't tick, then act out the hotpot dinner on page 66.
6. Any day: Check your answers. The answer key starts on page 67, with the script for every Listen exercise next to its answers.

Who it’s for

Learners who finished Your First 14 Days and Spoken Mandarin Days 15–30, or who can already talk about work, the weather, shopping and travel times, and want a month of everyday speaking to round off 60 days.

Before you start: The basics from the first 30 days. Every line is printed in characters, pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each one with a pause for you to say it back.

Frequently asked questions

What's inside the 30 days?

Two pages a day: a Learn page with the audio, then a Practice page to write and say your own version. Lin Hao settles into Chengdu: a fruit market, taxis, the subway, phone calls, the pharmacy, a dinner at his flat and a train trip. Two review scenes, a checklist on page 65 and a hotpot dinner on page 66 round it off.

Do I need the first two books before this one?

It helps. This is the third book of the course, after Your First 14 Days and Days 15–30. If you are just starting, begin with the first book. If you can already chat about work, shopping and travel, you can start here.

Is there audio?

Yes, free on the book's audio page: one track for each day and the reviews, with every Chinese line read once and a pause to say it back. The code on page 2 opens it. Lines you only hear in the Listen exercises are printed in the answer key at the back.

Who are Lin Hao and Chen Xiaoyu?

Lin Hao has just moved to Chengdu for work, and his colleague Chen Xiaoyu shows him around. The days follow them through markets, taxis, a dinner at his flat and a train trip to Chongqing, ending with a thank-you hotpot dinner on page 66.

Where are the answers?

The answer key starts on page 67, with the script for every Listen exercise printed next to its answers.

What comes after Day 60?

Spoken Mandarin Days 61–75 carries on with fifteen more days: catching up with a friend, complaints, favours and news, one page a day with audio.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Keep going

Keep a Mandarin Conversation Going · Talk About Your Day: Mandarin Daily Routines Workbook · Hobbies in Chinese: Sports, Free Time and Invitations · Spoken Mandarin Days 15–30: Your Next Two Weeks of Speaking · Browse all 294 workbooks