A quiet day, a small surprise, and a feeling that’s much better than expected —
today’s episode shows how three very common Chinese expressions are used in daily conversations:

没怎么 (didn’t really)
怎么回事 (what’s going on?)
……得多 (much …er)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天我一整天都在家。Zuótiān wǒ yì zhěng tiān dōu zài jiā.Yesterday I stayed at home all day.

我本来打算好好休息，Wǒ běnlái dǎsuàn hǎohāo xiūxi,I originally planned to rest properly,

但是其实也没怎么休息。dànshì qíshí yě méi zěnme xiūxi.but actually, I didn’t really rest much.

下午的时候，我突然觉得有点儿累，Xiàwǔ de shíhou, wǒ tūrán juéde yǒudiǎnr lèi,In the afternoon, I suddenly felt a bit tired,

我心里想：Wǒ xīnli xiǎng:and thought to myself:

“怎么回事？我不是一整天都在家吗？”“Zěnme huíshì? Wǒ bú shì yì zhěng tiān dōu zài jiā ma?”“What’s going on? Didn’t I stay home all day?”

后来我发现，Hòulái wǒ fāxiàn,Later I realized,

我一直在看手机、回消息、想工作的事情。Wǒ yìzhí zài kàn shǒujī, huí xiāoxi, xiǎng gōngzuò de shìqing.I was constantly on my phone, replying to messages, thinking about work.

难怪我比平时累得多。Nánguài wǒ bǐ píngshí lèi de duō.No wonder I was much more tired than usual.

于是我把手机放到一边，Yúshì wǒ bǎ shǒujī fàng dào yìbiān,So I put my phone aside,

什么也不想，shénme yě bù xiǎng,thought about nothing,

感觉整个人轻松得多了。gǎnjué zhěng gè rén qīngsōng de duō le.and felt much more relaxed.

A small change of plans, a quick observation, and a casual conclusion —today’s episode shows how three very common Chinese expressions appear naturally in everyday conversation:

反正 (anyway)
看样子 (it seems / looks like)
……之一 (one of …)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天我本来打算下班以后去健身房。Zuótiān wǒ běnlái dǎsuàn xiàbān yǐhòu qù jiànshēnfáng.Yesterday I originally planned to go to the gym after work.

可是下班的时候，我觉得有点儿累。Kěshì xiàbān de shíhou, wǒ juéde yǒudiǎnr lèi.But when I got off work, I felt a bit tired.

我看了看时间，看样子今天也不太早了。Wǒ kàn le kàn shíjiān, kàn yàngzi jīntiān yě bú tài zǎo le.I checked the time — it seemed it was already quite late.

我想了想，心里说：Wǒ xiǎng le xiǎng, xīnli shuō:I thought to myself:

“反正明天也能去，今天就在家休息吧。”“Fǎnzhèng míngtiān yě néng qù, jīntiān jiù zài jiā xiūxi ba.”“Anyway, I can go tomorrow. I’ll just rest at home today.”

于是我回到家，点了一份外卖，Yúshì wǒ huí dào jiā, diǎn le yí fèn wàimài,So I went home and ordered takeout,

选了我最喜欢的菜，之一。xuǎn le wǒ zuì xǐhuan de cài, zhī yī.and chose one of my favorite dishes.

那一刻我觉得，Nà yí kè wǒ juéde,At that moment, I felt that

这样的小决定，就是生活里最舒服的选择之一。zhèyàng de xiǎo juédìng,jiù shì shēnghuó lǐ zuì shūfu de xuǎnzé zhī yī.small decisions like this are one of the most comfortable choices in life.

A casual phone call turns into a funny conversation about plans, “what if” questions, and decisions we’d rather make later. In today’s episode, you’ll hear three super natural expressions:

干嘛 (what for / why – casual tone)
万一 (what if)
再说吧 (let’s talk about it later)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天晚上我准备关电脑的时候，Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ zhǔnbèi guān diànnǎo de shíhou,Last night, when I was about to turn off my computer,

我朋友突然给我打电话。wǒ péngyou tūrán gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.my friend suddenly called me.

他一接通就问我：Tā yí jiētōng jiù wèn wǒ:As soon as I picked up, he asked:

“你明天干嘛？”“Nǐ míngtiān gànmá?”“What are you doing tomorrow?” (casual tone: what for / why)

我说：“还没想好。”Wǒ shuō: “Hái méi xiǎng hǎo.”I said, “I haven’t decided yet.”

他马上说：Tā mǎshàng shuō:He immediately said:

“万一明天下雨，你就别出门了，跟我视频聊天吧！”“Wànyī míngtiān xià yǔ, nǐ jiù bié chūmén le, gēn wǒ shìpín liáotiān ba!”“What if it rains tomorrow? Don’t go out, just video chat with me!”

我笑着回答：Wǒ xiàozhe huídá:I laughed and said:

“现在说太早了，再说吧。”“Xiànzài shuō tài zǎo le, zàishuō ba.”“It’s too early to say. Let’s talk about it later.”

他一听，叹了口气说：Tā yí tīng, tàn le kǒuqì shuō:He heard that and sighed:

“好吧，我等你消息。”“Hǎo ba, wǒ děng nǐ xiāoxi.”“Alright, I’ll wait for your message.”