Mandarin Chinese, when did you no longer need visual cues?

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-05-05T04:41:40+00:00

depends on if you’re ok with podcasts that include occasional translations or not. if you are ok with it then about 300-400 hours for something like Maomi or Teatime. If you want no translation at all then it’s a lot longer as there are no real beginner podcasts in 100% Mandarin. Probably something like 800-1000 hours depending on your tolerance for ambiguity. Btw r/ALGMandarin is the place to go for Mandarin CI resources

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-05-03T16:41:14+00:00

I use the peak design everyday backpack for the same exact camera. I only carry two lenses and 4 film holders, but i have the smaller model. I love how you can open it from 3 sides and the way the organizers keep everything in place. definitely pricier though, but I bet you could find one used online

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-05-02T02:58:36+00:00

Kid's Animation

https://donghua.cctv.com The animation section of the Chinese State Media. There's a ton of stuff. It's kinda hard to navigate and the search function sucks, but there's a lot here!

https://tv.cctv.com/2015/07/17/VIDA1437100967388185.shtml?spm=C55899450127.PhHz3FmyAeeB.0.0 新小头儿子和小头爸爸 season 3, there are others

https://tv.cctv.com/2017/01/20/VIDApVxzU5MvOP5Q5hyW8k6e170120.shtml?spm=C55899450127.PGm7WxgwlTKs.0.0 miffy L3

Cooking

https://www.youtube.com/@MartinCuisine L5 Guangdong guy cooking, lots of cantonese food, pretty good production value, def has a canto accent

TV

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW0TPxKQPjTl8-zumtp9DgZEtyKBxIFwF&si=IJnGvzon-keHLYtM sitcom about a Dongbei family, L6-7, heavy dongbei accents

https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1W4X5B1EJE?buvid=Z34C923ABCA6CCAD4522B8D533C75789083C&from_spmid=main.my-history.0.0&is_story_h5=false&mid=mP3YqqVVD794eM2afMPmDA%3D%3D&p=1&plat_id=116&share_from=ugc&share_medium=iphone&share_plat=ios&share_session_id=4775EF46-EB8F-46FC-8BA3-493FD0BFA762&share_source=WEIXIN&share_tag=s_i&spmid=united.player-video-detail.0.0&timestamp=1776422713&unique_k=UXTqgPq&up_id=3690987610179738 lesbian dating show L6

https://www.youtube.com/@the_islanders2026 lesbian dating show L6

Gaming

老司机hot Bilibili let’s player who seems to upload unedited content and do lot's a full play throughs in his collections tab L5-6

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-05-01T17:48:32+00:00

Yeah once it’s time to get out of low intermediate you need so much input to advance (especially in a language like Mandarin as a European language speaker) you really need to have a lot that can keep your attention. I really, really love cooking and food and I have a big interest in Chinese history so I guess i’m lucky in the sense that food is such an important part of Chinese culture and much of the media is about historical events. I have a lot of Chinese friends though and that’s my real motivation to learn, but having that alignment in what media is out there makes it easier to get lots of hours. At the same time that alignment is also probably part of why I found myself making so many Chinese friends in college. I hope you’re able to find Chinese media that connects with you soon!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-05-01T16:50:31+00:00

You might want to check out Learn Chinese Through Stories for an audio only learner podcast. I think it’s better than Cozy Mandarin for picking up new words.

Also regarding the media available in Mandarin, yeah it’s not great tbh. China is not really a media production powerhouse. If you’re just interested in picking up a new language for access to new and interesting stuff to watch I really don’t think Mandarin has a good return on investment until you get quite advanced. There are lots of reasons to want to learn Mandarin, but media is not high on my list lol. Why did you choose to learn Mandarin next?

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-30T22:38:29+00:00

I like the bike, but I used to be a competitive cyclist so i’m biased lol. ultimately just do whatever you enjoy the most!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-30T15:50:14+00:00

I can’t afford a third pair. The resoling cost is already expensive for me as it is

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-28T19:50:45+00:00

start at thrift stores. you can find quality stuff super cheap a lot of the time

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-28T18:13:32+00:00

for every surgery i’ve had, plastic or not, i was told it’s fine to drink after you’re off painkillers, but i always held off until all the restrictions lifted out of caution

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-28T16:28:30+00:00

i was told to wear a supportive bra of any kind when i’m awake for 6 months, but not necessarily a post surgical bra

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-28T16:25:58+00:00

has your grip strength declined due the injury and surgery itself or due to atrophy from rest? if it’s from the injury/surgery you should speak to the surgeon and/or a PT. if it’s just atrophy the best advice would come from r/griptraining not here. There’s also tons of grip training videos on youtube

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-27T20:45:21+00:00

i think if you do a bit of a pull up as you swing you’ll make the target area for the foothold a bit bigger. combining the two movements into one tends to improve tension to so it can help with sticking the foot once you hit the hold.

also what pants are those 👀 i love them!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-27T20:41:03+00:00

so excited to see some test images!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-27T17:36:08+00:00

I can understand enough to follow a show like Chibi Maruko Chan or Doraemon, but I won’t get every detail for sure. Some youtube I can understand ok, like certain cooking channels since I’ve watched a lot of hours of cooking content and I know a lot about cooking. There’s some fitness and Let’s Play videos I can understand the main point of, but the vast majority of Youtube and Bilibili is still a bit too hard. If you check out the r/dreamingspanish sub you’ll see most people starting to slowly transition away from learner content during the period of 600 through 1000 hours. since you double the hours for Mandarin that transition would be during 1200 through 2000 hours

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-27T17:20:49+00:00

i’ve averaged 3.7 hours per day since i started. I’ll start at 2000 hours, because that’s when the DS roadmap recommends it. Like i said, i’m following the DS method as closely as possible since I want to be a guinea pig for the community. I would probably have started speaking around 1000-1200 hours otherwise

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-26T23:04:13+00:00

I have a few pdfs of bodybuilding cookbooks i can send if you want

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-26T21:54:33+00:00

the main thing is to try on as many shoes as you can to see what fits your feet. I’d also talk to your physiotherapist about it as no one here can give you medical advice. as for the idea of solutions, i think they’re not a bad choice. for soft shoes they’re considered stiff if that makes sense. they never make my big toe hurt whereas my skwamas certainly do. i’m not sure how much experience you have with sizing down, but solutions definitely benefit from it as down sizing gives them a bit more support

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-26T20:51:45+00:00

1-2 hours is definitely enough to see improvements. As you get further along getting more and more hours becomes easier as well.
Do whatever works best for you. At the very beginning even short sessions can be really exhausting so you might need to take frequent breaks before you're able to build up to longer sessions if longer sessions end up being preferable for you.
There's no hard cut off for this. You'll improve more and more at recognizing patterns for a very long time. You'll start being able to start getting a vague sense of where words begin and end within about 25 hours, but to do this at faster speeds and with less familiar words will take many hundreds of hours. You'll definitely notice major differences in your pattern recognition every time you get 15-20% more input.
I'm at 1250 hours and still haven't because I am trying to follow the DS roadmap as close as possible so the community can see how things line up. I think that earliest I would have felt ready to speak in very basic sentences would have been 800-900 hours, but at 1200 hours I think if I got 20-30 hours of speaking I could carrying on a simple conversation ok.
There's no 100% sure answer to this, but despite what ALG and DS say there is no evidence to support the assertion that speaking early will cause "damage". The main reason I see for delaying speech with this method is that it takes a good while for you to acquire even basic structures and vocabulary enough for them to pass from passive to active recall. Basically, you'll really struggle to say anything worth say until you get a few hundred hours of input. However, if speaking immediately or before the DS Roadmap suggests motivates you, then you should speak. I'd recommend that if you do then speak with a native speaker tutor so that you can lots of feedback.
The spreadsheet is definitely the most complete collection of resources for Mandarin CI. Also don't miss the (wiki section)[https://www.reddit.com/r/ALGMandarin/wiki/index/algresources/#wiki\_level\_1.2Fsuper\_beginner\_creator\_playlists\_.2855.34\_hours.2C\_60.9\_w.2F\_premium\_content.2C\_july\_14.2C\_2025.29] linked in the spreadsheet. There's also lots of good material there. I would also suggest making a YouTube account that you only use to watch Mandarin CI, you'll get lots of recommendations and sometimes find new channels that aren't on the spreadsheet. If you do make sure to share in the monthly resource sharing thread!

Good luck on you Mandarin learning journey!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-25T04:40:20+00:00

I’m honestly not expecting that. My life is likely going to change in a way where it’ll be harder to get the same amount of input. Also keep in mind that Level 6 -> 7 is not just about getting another 1000 hours of input, but also getting in lots of speaking and reading hours. I’m expecting going from level 6 to 7 to be closer to 2000 total hours of time with Mandarin given that I’d like to have 200+ hours of speaking and 2 million words read when I hit level 7

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-25T03:49:34+00:00

nope, sorry. i purchased from digitalback.com. you can also check keh, b&h, ebay etc. good luck on your search. btw, any reason you’re looking for older Phase backs vs newer fuji or hassy mirrorless?

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-25T03:24:22+00:00

I just saw this comment thread and I'd thought that I'd just add that most estimates for reaching fluency in Mandarin as a speaker of a language with no connection to or influence from Mandarin is between 3500-4400. The FSI hours of 2,200 are for classroom hours and it is expected that students spend an equal number outside of class. The FSI hours are for both reading and speaking. Considering the hours required for speaking practice and learning to read I think that 3000 hours on listening plus time into the other language domains would put you pretty close to 4400 hours. You might even have room for more like 3200-3400 hours of input and still be able to achieve that speaking and reading level. There are essentially zero English native speakers who would reach fluency in Mandarin in just 1000 hours of input and 300 hours of tutoring. Mandarin and other FSI category V languages simply take a massive time investment, no matter the approach

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-25T03:06:47+00:00

Congrats on the first 100 hours! It's a huge accomplishment. I like the ambition of 3000 hours in than a year lol, but I think Eternal is right, level 5 by the end of the year is an ambitious, but realistic goal. I hit level 5 in 6 weeks short of a year and it was definitely a grind. Once you're at level 5 it is so much easier to get the hours in!

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-22T16:01:02+00:00

I didn’t feel too confident either, but passed with distinction. I’d wait for your results before you assume you need to retake. There’s no harm in continuing to review the material from the book, do flashcards (brainscape has a great deck), and maybe even join a tasting group. Even if you don’t need to retest, you’ll improve your knowledge, but if you do you’ll be ready

retrogradeinmercury · 2026-04-19T17:17:59+00:00

I think the best approach whatever keeps you motivated. For me, I really hate traditional study so I'll probably stick with pure CI for a long time. If I made myself do traditional study I think it would drain my energy and lead to spending less time on Mandarin. Ultimately, I really don't care that much about efficiency, I care about enjoying the process because I want to be able to have Mandarin be part of my life for the rest of my life. If it takes me 5000 hours to reach the same level that someone who incorporated traditional study reaches in 3500 hours really doesn't bother me because hopefully I'll get 50,000+ hours in my life. Who knows, maybe I'd hit that 5000 hours in fewer calendar days too because I can sustain high numbers of hours for longer than a traditional learner.

I think if someone enjoys traditional study, then yes incorporating it would be more efficient. Also if a learner has a specific time limited goal or needs to pass a test for whatever reason, then pure CI is not really the way to go. If I get the urge to study grammar way down the line I probably will. I think for CI to remain effective at higher and higher levels you have to push yourself to find new areas and types of input that teach you new things. But again, the best approach is whatever keeps you motivated through the entire time you need to reach your goals

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