How to Improve Your Chinese Listening Skills

You may have been learning to speak Chinese for a while and find that, as I do, when you're speaking with friends or perhaps even your teacher, you understand most of what’s being said. But then, when you talk to a stranger, listen to the radio, or watch a TV programme, you get completely lost — which can knock anyone’s confidence. Friends and teachers often simplify their language, but the shopkeeper or taxi driver isn’t going to worry about that!

There are plenty of resources you can use to improve your Chinese listening skills — some are free, and others are paid. Below, I’ll highlight the ones I’ve personally found useful.

Free resources such as Sohu and Tencent, which offer a wide range of Chinese programmes, are a great place to start. Even if you’re not usually a fan of TV, using sites like these can expose you to a variety of accents and speaking styles. However, to fully follow a film or TV programme, your Chinese listening skills do need to be at a reasonably good level.

If they’re not quite there yet, don’t worry — there are still ways to make the most of these resources. It’s easy to put yourself under pressure and feel like you have to watch an entire film or programme, but that’s not the only approach.

You could start by limiting yourself to just five to ten minutes of intensive listening. The great thing about Chinese television is that most programmes come with subtitles. Try listening to a five-minute segment several times, gradually filling in more and more of what’s being said with each listen. This kind of focused practice is excellent for training your ear to recognise those subtle sounds that often feel like dog whistles — the ones only native speakers seem to pick up on.

I know many people turn their noses up at Chinese soap operas — the storylines can be overly dramatic — but they’re actually fantastic for learning idiomatic expressions. Plus, because they’re visual, you benefit from contextual cues to support your understanding.

There are also useful radio apps such as Fenghuang FM (凤凰FM) and Ximalaya FM (喜马拉雅FM), which offer a range of talk shows and audiobooks. Fenghuang FM even features a chat show called Qiang Qiang San Ren (锵锵三人), and the best part is that a full transcript of each episode is available. I’d recommend this particular show for more advanced Chinese speakers, but even if you’re not there yet, listening without pressuring yourself to understand everything is a great way to get used to the rhythm and flow of the language.

ChinesePod

Of course, some Chinese listening resources require a paid subscription. One such resource is ChinesePod, which offers recorded conversations—making it a great example of comprehensible, controlled input. I find this especially useful when I'm trying to grasp a tricky grammar point. It's also perfect for beginners.

ChinesePod focuses on everyday language use, such as ordering a pizza over the phone or renting a flat. While there is a free version available, it only provides access to their library of lessons—you won’t have access to transcripts, which might be fine when you’re just starting out. If you decide to upgrade, you can choose from annual, monthly, or quarterly payment plans.

Yabla

The most recent premium resource I’ve been using is Yabla. It describes itself as language immersion with authentic video, which is exactly what it offers. You can watch interviews with celebrities, Chinese commercials, documentaries, and much more. The content is divided into bite-sized pieces, and you have full control over how you engage with it.

You can choose whether or not to display subtitles or English translations. You can also highlight words to get instant translations, which are saved in an online dictionary for future reference. You can listen to each clip as many times as you like—remember, repetition isn’t cheating! After all, it’s how we all learned our first language.

I call this the best of both worlds because it combines authentic Chinese with visual context, and allows you to customise the experience to suit your level. I genuinely believe it’s one of the best resources I’ve used so far. A subscription can be purchased for a six-month period.

My advice is to start with what’s freely available and build from there. Listening can be one of the most challenging aspects of learning a language, but we’re fortunate to live in a time when there is so much access to both free and paid resources. Give these tools a try, and stay open to what you can learn—especially while teaching in China.