Learning Mandarin Phrases from My Sunshine

Watching/listening to Chinese dramas while reading off of Chinese subtitles is one of the most efficient ways to learn Mandarin. Not only are dramas enjoyable to watch, but they will help you become more familiar with the language, improve your listening comprehension, and reading skills.

One popular drama I recommend is My Sunshine. Not only is it one one of the top shows in China, but it is also making waves in North America. In this post, I will go over some of the dialogue to help you start to become familiar with both the show and learn a few Mandarin phrases as well!

Greetings others

When Zhao Mo Sheng is doing her job as a photographer in China, she is surprised to see her former college roommate appear as the model for her shoot.

Episode 1 9:10
赵默笙 ：少梅？
Zhao mo sheng : Shao Mei?
少梅 ：是我啊！
Shao Mei : Yes, that’s me!

Zhao Mo Sheng is visited Shao Mei’s house to see her baby and greet each other.

Episode 4 25:20
赵默笙 ：你好！
Zhao Mo Sheng : Hello!
路远风 ：终于来了。赶紧赶紧！
Lu Yuan Feng : Finally you came! Come in, come in!

Joking around

Zhao Mo Sheng attends He Yi Chen’s lecture and is asked a question about law from professor Zhao. Because she doesn’t know the answer, she tries to play it cool. However, professor Zhao takes this opportunity to pull Chen’s leg a bit and makes a joke.

Episode 1 29:37
周教授 ： 想一想 ，我们堂堂法学院大才子的女朋友居然是个法盲， 那以后走出去也好没面子。
Lecturer Zhao : Think about it, if the girlfriend of our brilliant top student of the law faculty doesn’t know anything about law, then how are you going to lift your head when you go out in society?

When things get serious

This scene happens when Zhao Mo Sheng visits He Yi Chen’s house after he leaves the hospital. He Yi Chen gets upset when he finds out Sheng has been divorced.

Episode 2 14:41
赵默笙 ：对，我离婚了。
Zhao Mo Sheng : Yes, I have divorced
何以琛 ：离婚了？你凭什么认为，我何以琛会要一个离婚过的女生？
He Yi Chen : Divorced? What makes you think that I, He Yi Chen, would want a divorced woman?

Being romantic

Zhao Mo Sheng visits He Yi Chen are strolling around an area that they used to go to a lot and they are talking about their wedding preparation when suddenly He Yi Chen pops the question and Sheng gives a sarcastic reply.

Episode 3 36:43
何以琛 ：还有一件事我一直想做，可是找不到满意的时机。现在好像不错。愿意嫁给我吗？
He Yi Chen : There is something that I have always wanted to do but I couldn’t find the right time. Now seems to be a good time. Will you marry me?
赵默笙 ：我们不是已经结婚了吗？
Zhao Mo Sheng : Aren’t we already married?

As soon He Yi Chen knows that Zhao Mo Sheng is pregnant, he immediately cancels his work plans. Being the romantic guy that he is, he lets Sheng no she doesn’t have to worry.

Episode 4 31:46
赵默笙 ：你什么都做了？那我干嘛呢？
Zhao Mo Sheng : you already did everything? Then what can I do?
何以琛 ：是啊，你还能干嘛？ 什么都不用。
He Yi Cheng : That’s right, what else can you do? You don’t need to do anything.

Common Mandarin phrases

Zhao Mo Sheng meets Ying and asks him about his trip. 

Episode 4 10:16
应大哥 ： 你什么时候到洛杉矶的？
Brother Ying : When did you arrive at Los Angeles?
赵默笙 ：一个星期以前。
Zhao Mo Sheng : Last week

Zhao Mo Sheng gives birth to her baby and her friends come over to visit asking what his name is.

Episode 4 38:51
合溢美 ：对了，宝宝取名字了吗？
He Yi Mei : Right, have you named the baby?
少梅 ： 叫什么呀？
Shao Mei : What’s his name?

Studying Chinese dramas, the easy way

Alright, now that you’re a little bit more familiar with Chinese dramas and Mandarin, why not make your studying easier?

Imagine, if  you could take the content from your favorite Chinese TV shows and turn them into interactive lessons. Well you can…with LingQ.

LingQ’s unique import feature allows you to import content you love and turn it into a lesson that you can study with. For example, here’s what My Sunshine would look like in LingQ:

What makes LingQ special is that it’s mobile friendly, allows you to look up words and save your vocabulary, imports the audio (if the content includes audio), and is a great way to store all your Chinese learning resources. It is the best Chinese learning app! For more information on how to import Chinese dramas (Japanese and Korean too) from Viki, please check out this post.

LingQ’s available for desktop, Android and iOS. Give it a try today and access 100s of lessons, or import your own, that will help you make a breakthrough.

Enjoyed this post? Check out polyglot and LingQ cofounder’s blog post for tips on how to learn Mandarin!

***

Short writer bio

Shella Wiryanto has studied Mandarin for around a decade, and is also fluent in English and Indonesian.