Tim Budong

tīng bù dǒng

“I don’t understand.” The three words you'll say most when you go to China.

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How it works
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Tim Budong: hood up, beanie on, cigarette lit, understanding nothing.
Figure 1: Tim Budong, understanding nothing.

timbudong reads a Chinese sentence to you, you read it back, and every character comes back scored — with the tone you should actually have said. Limited time only: 全场一折起 再打零折.

How it works 玩法

  1. 听 Listen.

    You get a sentence and a native reading of it. It sounds nothing like you.

  2. 说 Speak.

    You read it back. Every character and every tone gets scored.

  3. 看 See the damage.

    You see exactly how you butchered it, and what it should have sounded like.

  4. 练 Drill.

    The sentences you get contain the characters you keep missing... until they stop being the ones you miss.

  5. 赢 Win.

    You get better. The aunties stop telling you “你的中文很好” and start asking “你的中文怎么这么好”

Wrong tone hall of shame 声调

Using the same syllable with the wrong tone can quickly become awkward.

Table 2: Selected field results

You meant You said Result
睡觉 shuìjiào → 水饺 shuǐjiǎo wanted a nap, ordered dumplings
买 mǎi → 卖 mài bought it, sold it
问 wèn → 吻 wěn asked a question, kissed him
熊猫 xióngmāo → 胸毛 xiōngmáo panda, chest hair
汤 tāng → 糖 táng soup, sugar
妈 mā → 马 mǎ mother, horse

How much? 价格

199元 / 月 0元 — the app is free during the TestFlight beta.

Tim Budong is brought to you by Balloon.