<p>I have a few tips:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you own your house (or are on good terms with your landlord), I would recommend having a C-Band satellite antenna installed.  <a href="http://www.lyngsat.com/" rel="nofollow">The satellite you connect to</a> will depend on the part of the world you live in. In Australia I had a 1.8m dish installed, and I connect to <a href="http://www.lyngsat.com/ChinaSat-6B.html" rel="nofollow">ChinaSat 6-B</a>. (The whole set up cost AUD$800) There are more than 60 free TV channels broadcast from that satellite (plus many radio stations).</p></li>
<li><p>Use <a href="http://www.shooter.cn" rel="nofollow">shooter.cn</a> to download subtitles.  Wherever possible I watch English language media with Chinese subtitles from this site.  It takes a bit of a knack to figure out which subtitles to download, there are a couple of different encoding systems and there are subtitles in simplified, traditional, and some with <em>both</em> English and Chinese. A lot of the time the subtitles are targeted at a specific torrent (i.e. the .sub file from this site has the same name as the most-seeded torrent)</p></li>
<li><p>Find a Chinese / <a href="http://www.g-music.com.tw/GMusicBillboard0.aspx" rel="nofollow">Taiwanese</a> music charts website. Copy the titles into YouTube, and start making a compilation of tracks that you like. I listen to my playlist often in the car, It is amazing how after a few repetitions of the same tracks, you start singing along with the chorus.</p></li>
<li><p>Save your local Chinese radio station as a preset on your car stereo.  Most major cities will have a Chinese language radio station.</p></li>
<li><p>Subscribe to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese-language_radio_stations" rel="nofollow">Chinese language podcast</a> of your country's national broadcaster. Most major national broadcasters have a Chinese language podcast (National Public Radio, <a href="http://www.dw.de/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E6%8A%A5%E5%AF%BC/s-9058" rel="nofollow">Deutsche Welle</a>, Radio Canada International, <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/yourlanguage/mandarin/" rel="nofollow">SBS Australia</a>, The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ruk" rel="nofollow">BBC</a>, &amp;c.)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Of all of these I really recommend getting the satellite antenna. It's definately worth the money.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-17T06:07:42.823Z
2013-02-17T08:07:03.177Z
2013-02-17T08:07:03.177Z
jsj
<p>While not exactly passive in the sense you might mean, I found comic books (manga, 漫畫) to be invaluable while learning chinese. The dialog is very colloquial and it's easier for me to learn new words when I have something written down I can look up in a dictionary. </p>

<p>There are several places you can get them online and off, if you are not in Greater China, including <a href="http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/chinese-comics.html" rel="nofollow">Yes Asia</a> and <a href="http://searchb.dangdang.com/?key=%C2%FE%AE%8B" rel="nofollow">dang-dang</a>. <a href="http://miparentscouncil.org/2012/07/02/getting-kids-reading-in-mandarin-the-comic-book-connection/" rel="nofollow">Here</a> is a nice blog post with lots of details. </p>

<p>If you are in Greater China, comic books are everywhere, and I remember, in Taiwan at least, they have these great little comic book shops where you can rent or read in the shop very cheaply. Getting hooked on a long running comic book series that you are buying can do some serious dammage to your wallet. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-02-17T17:59:58.933Z
2013-02-17T17:59:58.933Z
Chris Bilson
<p>What are the best Chinese online TV channels with English subtitles for passive Mandarin learning. I find Chinese a rather musical language and would love to watch subbed TV (news, documentaries, culture etc) in Mandarin.</p>

<mandarin><resources>
Advice on Mandarin Chinese passive learning
# Advice on Mandarin Chinese passive learning

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-02-17)

What are the best Chinese online TV channels with English subtitles for passive Mandarin learning. I find Chinese a rather musical language and would love to watch subbed TV (news, documentaries, culture etc) in Mandarin.

**Tags:** mandarin, resources

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-02-17. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I have a few tips:

1. If you own your house (or are on good terms with your landlord), I would recommend having a C-Band satellite antenna installed. [The satellite you connect to](http://www.lyngsat.com/) will depend on the part of the world you live in. In Australia I had a 1.8m dish installed, and I connect to [ChinaSat 6-B](http://www.lyngsat.com/ChinaSat-6B.html). (The whole set up cost AUD$800) There are more than 60 free TV channels broadcast from that satellite (plus many radio stations).
2. Use [shooter.cn](http://www.shooter.cn) to download subtitles. Wherever possible I watch English language media with Chinese subtitles from this site. It takes a bit of a knack to figure out which subtitles to download, there are a couple of different encoding systems and there are subtitles in simplified, traditional, and some with *both* English and Chinese. A lot of the time the subtitles are targeted at a specific torrent (i.e. the .sub file from this site has the same name as the most-seeded torrent)
3. Find a Chinese / [Taiwanese](http://www.g-music.com.tw/GMusicBillboard0.aspx) music charts website. Copy the titles into YouTube, and start making a compilation of tracks that you like. I listen to my playlist often in the car, It is amazing how after a few repetitions of the same tracks, you start singing along with the chorus.
4. Save your local Chinese radio station as a preset on your car stereo. Most major cities will have a Chinese language radio station.
5. Subscribe to the [Chinese language podcast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese-language_radio_stations) of your country's national broadcaster. Most major national broadcasters have a Chinese language podcast (National Public Radio, [Deutsche Welle](http://www.dw.de/%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E6%8A%A5%E5%AF%BC/s-9058), Radio Canada International, [SBS Australia](http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/yourlanguage/mandarin/), The [BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/ruk), &c.)

Of all of these I really recommend getting the satellite antenna. It's definately worth the money.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2013-02-17. Score: 0

While not exactly passive in the sense you might mean, I found comic books (manga, 漫畫) to be invaluable while learning chinese. The dialog is very colloquial and it's easier for me to learn new words when I have something written down I can look up in a dictionary.

There are several places you can get them online and off, if you are not in Greater China, including [Yes Asia](http://www.yesasia.com/us/en/chinese-comics.html) and [dang-dang](http://searchb.dangdang.com/?key=%C2%FE%AE%8B). [Here](http://miparentscouncil.org/2012/07/02/getting-kids-reading-in-mandarin-the-comic-book-connection/) is a nice blog post with lots of details.

If you are in Greater China, comic books are everywhere, and I remember, in Taiwan at least, they have these great little comic book shops where you can rent or read in the shop very cheaply. Getting hooked on a long running comic book series that you are buying can do some serious dammage to your wallet.


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