Popup Cantonese

1:28

Popup Cantonese — Advanced listening test: The Power...

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/10/02

Fearful of being forced into marriage against your will? Concerned your prospective husband may be murderous scum and your family putting political allegiances above your health and longevity? Our advanced Cantonese lesson today is a listening test offering practical advice to the modern woman. If you've already been learning Cantonese for a while listen in and see how much you understand.Note: our Cantonese lesson for today is an advanced listening test. This means we have a relatively lengthy

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10:18

Popup Cantonese — Advanced: Hong Kong Women Never Pay?

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/10/01

Learning Cantonese? In our advanced show for today we unleash Nicole and the rest of our team in a podcast filled-to-the-brim with our non-expert and possibly-dangerous opinions about your relationship problems. Don't have relationship problems you say? Then prepare to pass judgment on others' problems, because in this episode we delve into the perennial question of who should pay for what in a Hong Kong relationship.Have a problem and looking for unvarnished advice from people who aren't related to

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10:05

Popup Cantonese — Elementary: 30 Degrees

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/09/23

The temperature in Kowloon Financial's head office had risen steadily through the day, from a comfortable twenty degrees at opening to its current sweat-inducing thirty degrees. James would have opened the window to create a draft, but with the temperature outside several degrees higher than this, and not even the least wind blowing in off the bay, it seemed that the only thing to do was suffer through this heatwave, or find whoever was responsible for fixing the air conditioner.Learning Cantonese

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9:49

Popup Cantonese — Elementary: Drinks after Work

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/09/22

Mary had expected the long hours and the occasionally soul-crushing minutiae of handling the international accounts. Carpenter & Wilkins was one of the leading law firms on the island and catered to a top-tier clientele of financial firms, which meant a constant inflow of new legal issues. But even though her work environment was challenging, Mary found her job a lot less social than she had expected. Perhaps it was memories of law school, but she had expected more camaraderie with her fellow

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10:45

Popup Cantonese — Elementary: Our Sobering Thoughts...

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/09/12

Ever heard of Hong Kong's famous Tuen Mun yoghurt or the blue cheese of Leung Shuen Wan? We're betting you haven't, if only because neither happens to exist. And sad as that may be to consider, it's hardly surprising given the appalling state of the Hong Kong dairy industry. There is probably not another place with a lower cow-to-human ratio outside the Maldives, which at least has nice beaches.So - yes - we know that you're busy studying Cantonese and enjoying the local nightlife and Hong Kong's

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9:50

Popup Cantonese — Elementary: Panda Breeding Techniques

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/09/11

The creaking gate stirred Tuan Tuan from his slumber. It was eleven o'clock, and Yuan Yuan, who had been sleeping peacefully in the thicket beside him, growled at the disruption. They were not the best of friends, but on this the two creatures could agree: what fools they had for keepers! Tuan Tuan briefly contemplated shifting slightly to express his displeasure at the interruption, but his natural lethargy and ongoing battle with the the previous evening's dinner won out. He remained prone.And yet

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8:28

Popup Cantonese — Beginner Listening Test #1

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/27

Learning Cantonese? One of the things you'll learn about us here at Popup Cantonese is that we move at a pretty fast pace. But we know some of you are struggling to keep up, which is why in today's lesson we take a step back and review some of the things we've learned at the Beginner level up to now. And if you've been following along you have no excuse not to know the answers to these questions.Or most of these questions. Because we'll just be honest and admit there's at least one tucked away here

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9:33

Popup Cantonese — Beginner: Our Boundless Gratitude

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/26

We'd been cornered outside a 7/11 and were getting a lecture on professional ethics. "It's a simple exchange," the professor said. "You contribute a little bit to the cause and we're endlessly grateful in return." Our thoughts on this gentleman's forwardness notwithstanding, the prospect of such a boundless return on investment did stimulate a little charity on our part.Learning Cantonese? You've probably noticed by now that most native Cantonese speakers have around a million ways of saying thanks

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9:12

Popup Cantonese — Beginner: Borrowing a pen

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/24

This podcast is dedicated to a certain ex-coworker of ours known widely throughout Hong Kong for his uncanny abilities in the art of pen theft. No matter how many we'd buy or where we'd hide them, by the end of the week every single writing instrument in the office would have magically gravitated to his desk. And he was always on the hunt for more.If you're just getting started learning Cantonese, this podcast will be a bit advanced for you; get started by listening to our Critical Phrases series

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12:21

Popup Cantonese — Beginner: The Art of Denial

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/23

Learning Cantonese? This lesson is about the art of the denial. Which is highly-critical language you may just find yourself using the next time you sweep through Hong Kong on business, or just want to disavow any knowledge once again of that little incident it would be best if everyone just forgot. Because it was years ago. And who is really keeping track, anyway?Also... do you remember that earlier lesson in which we learned that Cantonese speakers are particularly fond of turning odd emotional

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10:44

Popup Cantonese — Beginner: Where is my wallet?

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/22

In our introduction series, we taught you the most simple way to ask where things are in Cantonese. In this lesson, we introduce another way to find out who has taken your stuff. This is the difference between asking "where is my wallet" and "where's my wallet gone". The first is emotionally neutral, while the second is more colloquial and signals your frustration with the fact that you clearly placed the damn thing on the desk last night and it doesn't have legs so where on earth could it have

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11:52

Popup Cantonese — Beginner: Internal Fortitude

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/21

One of the most impressive things about Hong Kong is the absolutely incredible bladder control you will find on display throughout the city. Forget about the Chinese acrobatic acts featuring intense young Buddhists smashing their forearms through concrete cinderblocks. Considering the amount of bottled water locals go through ever day, the Hong Kong ability to stay focused under pressure is nothing short of performance art.We wondered about this for a long time, especially considering the heat and

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7:35

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Listening Test #4

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/20

Learning Cantonese? We're almost finished our Critical Verb series and are onto more dialogue-based lessons. And we've covered a lot of ground, which means our listening test for today is actually pretty difficult. If you've just started to learn Cantonese and stumbled across us, we encourage you to go back and start with our first Critical Phrases lesson. You'll be up to this level in no time.For those of you who've been here here a while, join us for a test that starts by reviewing the three

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8:39

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Verbs #4

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/19

Learning Cantonese? We're almost finished our Critical Verb series and are onto more dialogue-based lessons. And we've covered a lot of ground, which means our listening test for today is actually pretty difficult. If you've just started to learn Cantonese and stumbled across us, we encourage you to go back and start with our first Critical Phrases lesson. You'll be up to this level in no time.For those of you who've been here here a while, join us for a test that starts by reviewing the three

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7:53

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Verbs #3

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/18

Meh? In any other language it would be an expression of boredom or contempt. Which goes to show what living on an island will get you, because in Cantonese people have elevated this sound to a critical part of everyday language. And we guarantee that it doesn't mean what you think....Learning Cantonese? Our third critical verbs lesson introduces verbs you can use to express your emotions and desires. By the time this lesson is over you'll be able to tell others what you like, what you want and how

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9:46

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Verbs #2

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/17

Learning Cantonese? Today Brendan and Nicole introduce four key verbs you'll need to talk about speaking Cantonese. You'll have heard some of these before, which is why we move fairly quickly through the basics and throw some more difficult sentences your way. These review putting statements into the negative and asking questions, and then move on to the present progressive tense. This is the tense you'll use to tell someone what you are studying, or in any other situation where the action is

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8:29

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Verbs #1

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/16

Want to learn Cantonese? Our earlier lessons managed to cover the life essentials: food, water and flirting. But after two weeks in Hong Kong it's probably about time you learned some verbs. After all, success rates inviting strangers to dinner plummet alarmingly when your only way of asking them is to repeat the word for restaurant over and over again. Time to get some verbs in your repertoire.The final series in our Critical Cantonese lessons focuses on Critical Verbs. Our goal in this series is

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6:14

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Listening Test #3

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/15

Learning Cantonese? Our third Cantonese listening test ramps up the difficulty level a degree. Now that we're nearing the end of our introductory series, we expect you to be starting to piece things together, which is why we throw you into the deep end today with questions that combine and build upon everything we've covered to date. The fifteen questions we present today are designed to reinforce your memory of key vocab and grammar structures.If you're new to Cantonese and don't do well on this

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8:40

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Nouns #4

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/14

My attorney resembled nothing so much as a madman, half-crazed under the Hong Kong sun, and gesticulating wildly as he tried to convince the cab driver to take us to the best hotel on the island, or - failing that - any hotel at all. The exact cause of his distress was lost on his skeptical subject, although any English speaker within earshot would have grokked his meaning almost instantly, if only from the stressed repetition of the single word "washroom"....Learning Cantonese? Join us for this

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7:35

Popup Cantonese — Basic: Critical Nouns #3

Popup Cantonese ·

2026/08/13

Learning Cantonese? We've all heard the horror stories, of friends of friends who came to Hong Kong for a nice beach vacation only to find themselves trapped at Hong Kong Disney for two weeks straight, shocked at the general lack of English on the island and unable to muster the courage to find their way to the closest subway, bus or taxi....While we'll leave finding the beach as a self-study exercise, in this lesson we are going to solve your transportation issues once and for all. Join Brendan and

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