# Very Chinese Time in My Life > A first-person game for learning spoken Mandarin. Spend a week in a Chinese city and learn the Chinese for each situation as it happens. Very Chinese Time in My Life is a first-person game for learning spoken Mandarin Chinese. You spend a week in a present-day Chinese city and learn the Chinese for each situation as it happens: getting from the airport to your hotel, ordering breakfast, paying by phone, asking the way, buying medicine, and having dumplings with a local family. Every word shows pinyin and English. You put words together into sentences and say them out loud, or click your answer if you would rather not speak. There are no tests and no characters to write. Coming to Steam for Windows. ## Key facts - What it is: a first-person, single-player game for learning spoken Mandarin Chinese - Language taught: Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua), simplified characters, with pinyin and English on every word - Level: complete beginners and early learners; no Chinese needed to start - Setting: a present-day Chinese city, over one in-game week - How you answer: say it out loud into a microphone (a phone can be used as the mic), or click your answer - Review: short panda quizzes during each day, and a friend back home who quizzes you every night - Interface: English and Simplified Chinese; all characters speak Mandarin - Art style: soft, cel-shaded anime style - Platform: Windows PC, on Steam - Status: coming soon; release date and price not announced yet - Developer and publisher: Bauta Studio (a Chinese developer) - Website: https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/ - Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5503050/ ## How you learn - You live through everyday situations in first person, one after another. - When you need to say something, the words appear as cards with pinyin and English. - You say each word, snap the words together into a sentence, then say the whole sentence. - People react to what you actually said. A wrong answer is not marked with a red X; it changes what happens next (order coffee in a noodle shop and the owner goes out to buy you one). - Pinyin is written the way words are really pronounced, including tone changes. - Phrases come back later in the week, in the panda reviews and in the nightly chat with your friend, until they stick. - Speaking Chinese earns points you spend on clothes for your character, so the more Chinese you use, the more outfits you unlock. ## Situations in the game - Arriving at the airport at night and saying no to drivers touting rides - Chatting with a ride-hailing driver who asks where you are from - Checking in at a hotel with your passport - Ordering breakfast at a street stall: eating there or taking it away, and paying by phone - Buying bubble tea and new clothes at a shopping mall - Ordering noodles and a drink at a small noodle shop, and asking for no chili - Asking strangers for directions and taking the metro - Talking with people doing tai chi and other morning activities in a city park - Being mistaken for a shop assistant in a convenience store, and buying an umbrella when it starts to rain - Playing games in the mall arcade - Losing your phone and asking for help at a police station - Eating your way through a night market with new friends - Buying fruit, and taking a taxi across town - Helping a grandmother carry her shopping up the stairs, then making and eating dumplings with her family - Joining the neighbourhood square dancing in the evening - Waking up with a stomach ache and buying medicine at a pharmacy - An evening at a bathhouse - Taking a high-speed train to a small water town ## Who it is for Very Chinese Time in My Life is for anyone who wants to speak some everyday Mandarin, starting from zero. Some common reasons people learn with it: ### Travelling to China The game walks through the situations a first-time visitor actually runs into, in the order they happen: arriving, getting a ride, checking in, eating, paying, getting around and talking to people. - Tourists planning a holiday in China - Visitors using China’s visa-free entry or 240-hour visa-free transit - Backpackers and solo travellers - Families travelling to China with children - Retirees and older travellers taking a trip to China - People on a tour group who want to manage on their own during free time - Cruise passengers and travellers with a long layover in a Chinese city - Travellers going to China for a sports event, concert, festival or exhibition - Food lovers travelling to China to eat - Travellers going to Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan who also want basic Mandarin (note: the game teaches Mandarin with simplified characters, not Cantonese) ### Working with China Business visitors need the same everyday Chinese as tourists (taxis, hotels, meals, paying by phone) plus small talk with hosts and colleagues. The game covers that part; it is not a business Chinese course. - People going on a business trip to China - Buyers and sourcing agents visiting factories, trade fairs and wholesale markets - Engineers, technicians and consultants sent to China for a project - People attending conferences, trade shows or training in China - Employees relocating to China for work, and their partners - English teachers and other foreign teachers starting a job in China - People who work with Chinese colleagues, clients or suppliers and want to make small talk - Flight crew, ship crew and drivers who regularly stop in China - Journalists, researchers and NGO staff on assignment in China - Professional athletes, coaches and performers working in China ### Studying in China or studying Chinese Classes and apps teach vocabulary and grammar; the game is a place to use spoken Chinese in realistic situations, which is the part most learners get the least practice with. - University students going on exchange or a semester abroad in China - International students starting a degree at a Chinese university - High school students on a summer program or school trip to China - Students in a Mandarin class who want speaking practice outside class - Learners preparing for the HSK who want to practise speaking (the game does not follow the HSK syllabus) - People who have used Duolingo, HelloChinese or textbooks but freeze when they have to speak - Self-taught learners who want listening and speaking practice in context - Chinese teachers looking for something students can play between lessons - Homeschooling families learning Mandarin together - Adults who studied Chinese years ago and want to get it back before a trip ### Family, partners and friends A lot of people learn Chinese for one dinner table. The game includes visiting a family at home, making dumplings together and making small talk with grandparents. - People dating or married to someone Chinese who want to talk with their partner’s family - People about to meet a Chinese partner’s parents for the first time - People going to a wedding or Chinese New Year with a Chinese family - Heritage speakers who understand some Mandarin at home but never learned to speak it - Second-generation Chinese in other countries visiting relatives in China - Adoptees from China planning a homeland trip - Parents whose children attend a Mandarin immersion or bilingual school - Friends of Chinese students or colleagues who want to surprise them with a few words - Host families of Chinese exchange students ### Living in China Everyday life in a Chinese city runs on a small set of phrases: ordering food, paying by phone, getting a taxi, buying medicine, saying you don’t understand. The game practises those until they come out without thinking. - Expats who have just moved to a Chinese city - Digital nomads and remote workers staying in China for a few months - Spouses and family members of people posted to China - Long-term residents who never got past ordering food - People moving to China to retire ### People who don’t like typical study The game has no tests, no scores on your Chinese and no characters to write. You learn by doing things in the game, and mistakes change the story instead of costing points. - People who gave up on flashcards or language apps - People who feel anxious about speaking a new language out loud (you can click instead of speaking) - People who learn better from games, stories or situations than from lists - Gamers interested in cozy, story-driven or slice-of-life games - Fans of anime-style games who are curious about China - People who watch Chinese dramas, variety shows or streamers and want to understand a little - People curious about everyday life in modern China - Older learners who want to go at their own pace - Anyone who already went to China once and wishes they could have said more ## How it compares - Language apps (Duolingo, HelloChinese and similar): Apps teach vocabulary and sentence patterns in short drills. This game puts those words into situations and has you say them out loud to people who react. Many players use both. - Textbooks and classes: Classes build grammar and reading. This game is spoken practice for real situations, the part most classes have the least time for. - Phrasebooks and “20 phrases before your trip” videos: Those give you a list. This game makes you use each phrase in the moment it is needed, so it is easier to remember on the actual trip. - Tutors and conversation partners: A tutor is better for open conversation. This game is a low-pressure place to practise first, with no one judging your tones. - Other language-learning games: Most language games on Steam teach Japanese. This one teaches Mandarin and is set in present-day China rather than in history or fantasy. ## FAQ ### What is Very Chinese Time in My Life? Very Chinese Time in My Life is a first-person game for learning spoken Mandarin Chinese. You spend a week in a present-day Chinese city and learn the Chinese for each situation as it happens: getting from the airport to your hotel, ordering breakfast, paying by phone, asking the way, buying medicine, and having dumplings with a local family. Every word shows pinyin and English. You put words together into sentences and say them out loud, or click your answer if you would rather not speak. There are no tests and no characters to write. Coming to Steam for Windows. ### Who is it for? Very Chinese Time in My Life is for anyone who wants to speak some everyday Mandarin, starting from zero: people visiting China for a holiday, a business trip, a conference or a visa-free stopover; students going on exchange; people moving to China for work; partners meeting a Chinese family for the first time; heritage speakers who understand a little but never speak; and learners who studied from apps or textbooks but freeze when they have to talk. ### Do I need to know any Chinese before I start? No. Very Chinese Time in My Life starts from zero. Every word shows pinyin above it and English below it, and the game teaches each phrase right before you need to use it. ### Which Chinese does it teach? Very Chinese Time in My Life teaches spoken Mandarin (Putonghua) with simplified characters. The pinyin is written the way the words are actually pronounced, tone changes included. It does not teach Cantonese, other dialects or handwriting. ### How do you learn in the game? In Very Chinese Time in My Life you live through ordinary situations in first person. When you need to say something, the words appear as cards. You say each word, put them together into a sentence, then say the whole sentence. People react to what you actually said, so a wrong answer changes what happens next instead of giving you a red X. ### Do I need a microphone? No. Very Chinese Time in My Life works best when you speak, and any headset or laptop microphone will do. If your computer has no microphone, you can scan a QR code and use your phone as the mic. If you would rather not speak at all, turn voice input off and click your answers instead. ### How does review work? Each day in Very Chinese Time in My Life has short reviews with a panda after the scenes, using the phrases you just learned. At night a friend back home messages you and quizzes you on the day, and teases you when you get it wrong. Anything you missed comes back the next night. ### Where is it set? Very Chinese Time in My Life is set in a present-day Chinese city: the airport, a ride-hailing car, a hotel, a breakfast stall, a shopping mall, a noodle shop, the metro, a park, a convenience store, a night market, a pharmacy, a family's flat, and a train out to a small water town. The art is soft, cel-shaded anime style. ### Is it a full Chinese course? Does it prepare me for the HSK? No. Very Chinese Time in My Life teaches the spoken Chinese for everyday situations: getting around, buying things, eating out and making small talk. It does not follow the HSK syllabus and does not teach writing. It works well next to a course or an app, as the place where you actually use what you learn. ### Is there more to it than lessons? Yes. Very Chinese Time in My Life has a character creator, and you earn points by speaking Chinese that you spend on clothes at the mall, so the more Chinese you use, the more outfits you unlock. There is also an arcade with small games and a photo mode. ### How is it different from a language app or a phrasebook? Apps and phrasebooks teach words on their own. Very Chinese Time in My Life puts you in the situation where you need them, such as a driver asking where you're from or a breakfast stall with no English menu, and you answer out loud. Because each phrase is tied to a moment, it is easier to remember when the same thing happens on a real trip. ### What languages is the game in? The interface of Very Chinese Time in My Life is in English and Simplified Chinese. Everyone in the game speaks Mandarin, with pinyin and English shown for every line. ### When is it out, and on what? Very Chinese Time in My Life is coming to Steam for Windows. Wishlisting it on Steam is the easiest way to hear when it comes out. The release date will be announced on the Steam page and on this site. ### Why is it called Very Chinese Time in My Life? The name comes from the 2025–26 meme “you met me at a very Chinese time in my life”, in which people shared habits they had picked up from Chinese daily life, like drinking hot water and wearing house slippers. The game is a week of everyday life in China, in Chinese.