Why “Ask” Is Wrong in Mandarin | Mandarin & English Podcast | Mailbag Episode episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 30, 2026 · 49 MIN

Why “Ask” Is Wrong in Mandarin | Mandarin & English Podcast | Mailbag Episode

from Mandarin Monkey Podcast

This is a mailbag episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast.We answer listener questions about a deceptively common Mandarin mistake:why you can’t use “ask” the way you do in English.Ula explains why 問 is for asking questions, but doesn’t work when you’re asking someone to do you a favour, and why 請 is often the natural choice, even though it doesn’t translate cleanly into English.We also respond to listener emails about:learning Mandarin without a clear end goalwhy grammar turns people off languagespatience, time, and long-term progresshow hangouts and lessons help people stick with itUla speaks Mandarin pretty much throughout.Tom speaks English pretty much throughout.🎧 Lessons, hangouts, and more:mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a mailbag episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast.We answer listener questions about a deceptively common Mandarin mistake:why you can’t use “ask” the way you do in English.Ula explains why 問 is for asking questions, but doesn’t work when you’re asking someone to do you a favour, and why 請 is often the natural choice, even though it doesn’t translate cleanly into English.We also respond to listener emails about:learning Mandarin without a clear end goalwhy grammar turns people off languagespatience, time, and long-term progresshow hangouts and lessons help people stick with itUla speaks Mandarin pretty much throughout.Tom speaks English pretty much throughout.🎧 Lessons, hangouts, and more:mandarinmonkey.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Why “Ask” Is Wrong in Mandarin | Mandarin & English Podcast | Mailbag Episode

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This episode is 49 minutes long.

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This episode was published on January 30, 2026.

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This is a mailbag episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast.We answer listener questions about a deceptively common Mandarin mistake:why you can’t use “ask” the way you do in English.Ula explains why 問 is for asking questions, but doesn’t work when...

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