In this episode of My Levantine Arabic Diary, I take you to my favorite spot in Istanbul—Balat 😊

My Levantine Arabic Diary 

Balat: Istanbul’s Hidden Gem – A Podcast in Levantine Arabic

1) Translate new words using a dictionary:

Cuadros –
Moreno –
Novia –
Rizado –
Preocuparse –
Presentar –

2) Answer the questions:

¿Cómo es la novia de Alex?
¿Cómo es Alex?
¿A quién conoce el chico en esta fiesta?
Y tú, ¿Tienes muchos amigos? ¿Te gusta conocer a gente nueva?

3) Read the transcript: 

En una fiesta:
–        ¿Conoces a esa chica?
–        ¿Cuál? ¿Esa morena con el pelo rizado?
–        No, la de al lado, la rubia alta del vestido rojo.
–        Sí, es Isa. No la conozco muy bien pero parece muy simpática. Es la novia de Alex.
–        ¿Quién es Alex?
–        Allí está. Ese moreno con gafas y barba, el de la camiseta de cuadros.
–        Pfff, en esta fiesta no conozco a casi nadie…
–        No te preocupes, ahora te los voy a presentar. 

Método Tati

At the party

 🎧 Episode 01: Dive Into Cha Chaan Teng Culture (茶餐廳文化 – caa4 caan1 teng1 man4 faa3) Hi! I’m Celia, your host at Bitesize Cantonese. In this episode, we explore the vibrant world of Cha Chaan Tengs (茶餐廳 – caa4 caan1 teng1) — Hong Kong’s iconic tea cafés. From macaroni soup (通粉 – tung1 fan2) to iced milk tea (凍奶茶 – dung3 naai5 caa4), discover how these lively spots blend East and West.


Bite Size Cantonese

EP01 Cha Chaan Teng Culture茶餐廳 

In Episode 39, we bring you versatile verbs that cover everything from holding hands to honoring values. Perfect for real-life conversations, these verbs add richness to your daily interactions!

🔹 Hold (hands) – 握住 (Wò zhù) ✋
🔹 Hold (object) – 拿住 (Ná zhù) 📦
🔹 Hold (passport, views) – 持有 (Chí yǒu) 📄
🔹 Honour – 尊重 (Zūnzhòng) 🌟
🔹 Hop – 单脚跳 (Dān jiǎo tiào) 🐇

For more practice, hop on to our resources:
📘 C(39) Vocabulary Flash Cards: Visualize and Memorize – Quick, visual reminders to help these verbs stick!
🎯 C(39) Verbs Quiz: Test Your Knowledge – See how well you’ve mastered today’s verbs and put them into action!

👉 Listen to Episode 39 now, and let’s level up your language toolkit together!

5 Verbs a Day. 每天学习五个动词。

C(39) Verbs Set: Hold (hands) Hold (object) Hold (passport, views) Honour Hop

王老师的中文班来了个留学生，他对中国的汉字非常感兴趣。这天，他上街回来找到王老师，不解的说：“王老师，你们中国人太不谦虚了。”
　　“为什么这么说？”王老师感到惊讶。“因为我看街上有很多大招牌，都是自我炫耀。比如：中国很行，中国人民很行，中国农业很行，中国建设很行，中国工商很行。”
　　王老师听了才知道他把“银”看成“很”了。
An foreign student came to Mr. Wang's Chinese class. He was very interested in Chinese characters. One day, he came back from the street to find Mr. Wang and said incomprehensibly, "Mr. Wang, you Chinese are too modest."

"Why do you say that?" Mr. Wang was surprised. "The big reason is that I see many big signs on the street, all of which are self display. For example, China is very good, the Chinese people are very good, China's agriculture is very good, China's construction is very good, and China's industry and commerce are very good."
After listening, Mr. Wang realized that he regarded "silver" as "very".

很行（hěn xíng）very good      银行（yín háng）bank 
行(xíng,  háng) polyphonic character

开心一刻 Jokes

中国银行zhōng guó yín háng

Text：
服务员：您好，欢迎光临！请问您几位？
fúwùyuán: nín hǎo, huānyíng guānglín! qǐngwèn nín jǐwèi ？
Waiter: Hello, welcome! May I ask how many of you, please?

客人：两位。
kèrén：liǎng wèi.
Guest: Two people.

服务员：这边请，坐这里可以吗？
fúwùyuán:  zhèbian qǐng, zuò zhèlǐ kěyǐ ma？
Waiter: This way, please. Is it okay to sit here?

客人：可以，谢谢!请给我菜单。
kèrén：kěyǐ，xiè xiè！qǐng gěi wǒ càidān.
Guest: Sure, thank you. May I have a menu, please!

服务员：您想吃点儿什么？
fúwùyuán:  nín xiǎng chī diǎnr shénme ？
Waiter: What would you like to order?

客人：有什么好吃的？
kèrén：yǒu shén me hǎo chī de ？
Guest: What's good?

服务员：请看这些都是我们的特色菜，您可以尝尝。
fúwùyuán: qǐngkàn zhèxie dōushì wǒmen de tèsè cài, nín kěyǐ chángchang.
Waiter: Please see these are our specialty dishes, you can have a taste.

客人：好的，来一个宫保鸡丁，一个麻婆豆腐。
kèrén：hǎode,lái yīge gōngbǎo jīdīng，yīge mápó dòufǔ.
Guest: OK, I'll take a KungPao chicken, a Mapo tofu.

服务员：还要别的吗？
fúwùyuán: hái yào bié de ma ？
Waiter: Anything else?

客人：再来一碗西红柿鸡蛋汤。
kèrén：zài lái yīwǎn xīhóngshì jīdàn tāng.
Guest: A bowl of Tomato and egg soup,please.

服务员：您要什么主食，我们有米饭、面条和饺子。
fúwùyuán: nín yào shénme zhǔshí，wǒmen yǒu mǐ fàn、miàntiáo hé jiǎozi.
Waiter: What staple food would you like? we offer rice, noodles,and dumplings.

客人：来一碗炸酱面吧！
kèrén：lái yīwǎn zhájiàng miàn ba！
Guest: A bowl of  Zhajiangmian !

服务员：好的，要喝点儿什么？
fúwùyuán:  hǎode,yào hē diǎnr shénme ？
Waiter: ok, what would you like to drink?

客人：一瓶可乐，零糖、冰的，谢谢！
kèrén： yī píng kělè, líng táng、bīng de, xièxie！
Guest: A bottle of Cola, zero sugar, iced, thank you!

服务员：请稍等，马上为您上菜！
fúwùyuán: qǐng shāoděng,mǎshàng wèi nín shàngcài ！
Waiter: Please wait a moment, we will serve you immediately!

New words：
位 wèi：measure words for people
可以 kě yǐ：can；may（Indicate permission or agreement）
给 gěi：give（gěi给+sb+sth）
菜单 cài dān：menu
特色 tè sè：specialty
别的 bié de：else
主食 zhǔ shí：staple food
马上 mǎ shàng：immediately
为 wéi：for;to
上菜 shàng cài：Serve the dishes

P.S.：In text 来(lái) doesn't mean to “come”，but is rather a verb for ordering something to eat or drink.

Welcome to visit China ”欢迎来中国!“

L6 去饭馆吃饭[qù fànguǎn chī fàn]～Go for a meal in a restaurant

Listen and repeat:
kite, fine, pine
My kite is fine in the pine.

Follow me for more phonics.

Phonics Long Vowels and Consonant Blends

My kite is fine in the pine. 

⭐ To make the most of this podcast, transcript in 6 languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese) and language activities are available on my website Explore French.

⭐ To go further, please check out my other podcast channel "Learn French with Anthony" and visit my website to access plenty of interactive language activities.