Learn about business and profession stereotypes, most notably artists, and about everything that goes on behind the scenes.
Best for intermediate and advanced students!

New English US

Business English: Behind the scenes (stereotypes, artists, hustle, creative work)

Basic communication conversations

第十一课 下雨了  Lesson 11 it's raining

🎙️ 1. Let’s Listen – Can You Hear the Difference?

First, let’s listen to these three words:

자다 (to sleep)
차다 (to kick)
짜다 (to be salty)

Now, let’s pronounce them slowly one more time:
자–다 / 차–다 / 짜–다

Can you hear the difference?

The key difference lies in the intensity of the sound and the movement of the mouth.

🧠 2. The Pronunciation Principle – What’s Going On?

Let’s break it down:

ㅈ (j) – Voiced sound
Your lips and tongue lightly touch, and then the sound is released softly.
You don’t blow out air forcefully.
👉 Examples: jada (to sleep), juiceu (juice), jihacheol (subway)

ㅊ (ch) – Aspirated sound
The tongue blocks the airflow, and then strong air bursts out as the sound is released.
👉 Examples: chada (to kick), chima (skirt), chokollit (chocolate)

ㅉ (jj) – Tense (fortis) sound
It’s much tighter and stronger than ㅈ.
You need to slightly tense your vocal cords and use more pressure with your lips and tongue.
👉 Examples: jjada (salty), jjok (side), jjigae (stew)

📌 In short:
ㅈ – Normal
ㅊ – Strong and breathy
ㅉ – Very tense and tight

💡 3. Pronunciation Practice – Repeat After Me

Let’s try these sets of words together. Repeat after me:

자 / 차 / 짜
조 / 초 / 쪼
줄 / 출 / 쭐

The more you practice,
the more your mouth and ears will get used to the differences!

If you’d like, I can also provide an audio version of this script, or help you record practice drills. Let me know!

한국어 발음 연습

한국어 ㅈ / ㅊ / ㅉ 발음 

This is a classical idiom story that almost everyone knows in China. Idiom stories not only tell people stories, but also convey great truths. Hope you enjoy it.

Learn Chinese with Lia

Idiom story  刻舟求剑 Make a mark on the boat side to get the sword

You are having difficulties keeping to the diet and you are worried that tomorrow is the day to check if you have lost weight. Here are some crazy ideas to cheat on Weigh In day!
Explanation of expressions used in the podcast:
"Take with a pinch of salt" - don't trust this information too much.
"Emotional baggage" - things that you never stop worrying about.
"A heavy heart" - feeling sad or anxious.
"Get something off your chest" or "a load off your mind" - admit to what is worrying you.
"Carrying a weight on your shoulders" - worrying about things.
"Having a chip on your shoulder" - you are angry about someone or something.
"Having butterflies in your stomach" - being nervous.
"Having a frog in your throat" - your voice is bad because of a throat infection.

Bathroom scales image by Racool_studio https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/beautiful-fitness-girl-holding-scales_8026855.htm

The Social Evolutionary

Dieting? (Silly) Tricks to Beat the Scales. 

Learn to use place markers in Spanish and be able to describe where things are in relation to other things.

Super Basic Spanish

Learn Basic Spanish: Marcadores de lugar (Place Markers)


   a. Under the weather - To feel unwell or sick.
      Example: "I can't come to the party tonight; I'm feeling a bit under the weather."
   b. Weather the storm - To endure a difficult situation or challenge.
      Example: "Despite the setbacks, we managed to weather the storm and complete the project."
   c. Come rain or shine - Regardless of any circumstances or conditions.
      Example: "She's committed to attending the event, come rain or shine."
   d. Blow hot and cold - To alternate between two contrasting opinions or attitudes.
      Example: "He blows hot and cold on the idea, making it difficult to know where he stands."
   e. A ray of sunshine - Something or someone that brings happiness or hope.
      Example: "His kind words were a ray of sunshine in her difficult day."


IELTS Podcast 雅思博客

Weather-related idioms:

Medical Spanish 🎧 🏥

Entrevista a la nutrióloga Lucía del Carmen Álvarez García,  máster en Nutrición, Obesidad y Diabetes.

Medical Spanish

Nutrition 🎧 🏥

En los últimos años, Yucatán se ha convertido en uno de los estados más importantes para el turismo en México.

Para empezar, los mexicanos poco a poco se ha empezado a maravillar con Yucatán y con su capital, la ciudad de Mérida.

La seguridad es uno de los factores claves que han convertido a Yucatán en un imán de turismo internacional. Claro, obviamente la cultura, la arquitectura, los cenotes y los sitios arqueológicos -y obvio la comida- han formado parte de este ascenso a la mira internacional, sin embargo si hay algo que caracteriza cien por ciento al estado es la tranquilidad y la paz que se respiran en él.

Por lo mismo, no nos extraña que Mérida actualmente esté viviendo un incremento en las inversiones inmobiliarias.

Vivir en Yucatán, así como vivir en Mérida, se está volviendo la opción ideal tanto para mexicanos que quieren huir de la inseguridad de sus ciudades como para los extranjeros que quieren poder disfrutar de su retiro en México.

Porque aunque Yucatán y Mérida se posicionen como un estado tranquilo y diferente a las grandes ciudades, esto no quiere decir que no esté llena de opciones de entretenimiento: restaurantes, conciertos, museos, bares, plazas comerciales, entre otras opciones que puedes encontrar y disfrutar en la ciudad.

Además, Mérida cada vez es más grande. Gracias al aumento de residentes y la llegada de empresas y negocios, la ciudad ha crecido considerablemente. Una de las cosas que ha hecho que el crecimiento de Mérida sea un ejemplo para el resto de México, son las políticas que sus gobiernos -tanto a nivel federal como estatal- han creado y promovido para ser un mejor lugar.

Es uno de los estados con mayor índice de conformidad respecto a sus servicios públicos, es decir, que sus habitantes están satisfechos con el trato y la calidad que reciben.

Además, en los últimos años Yucatán se ha caracterizado por ser pionero en propuestas como la eliminación del uso de plásticos y unicel para combatir el cambio climático...