# Pimsleur Mandarin or Very Chinese Time in My Life? URL: https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/compare/pimsleur-chinese/ Updated: 2026-11-05 Pimsleur is for learning by ear, without a screen. Very Chinese Time in My Life is for speaking in situations you can see. Both have you say Chinese out loud from the first day. Pimsleur is an audio course: five levels of 30-minute lessons that you can do while walking or driving. Very Chinese Time in My Life is a game for Windows PC. You spend one week in a present-day Chinese city, see the words with pinyin and English, and answer out loud. ## The short answer Pick Pimsleur if you want a long speaking course that you can do without looking at a screen, on a commute or a walk. Its five levels go from zero to high-intermediate. Pick Very Chinese Time in My Life if you want the Chinese for a trip, practised in the places where you will use it. You see the words, the place and the person you are talking to. Both are built around speaking, so they fit together well. Listen to Pimsleur during the day, and play the game at your desk in the evening. ## Side by side | Compared | Pimsleur | Very Chinese Time in My Life | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | An audio course with an app. Five levels of 30 lessons. Each lesson is about 30 minutes. | A first-person game on PC. You spend one in-game week in a present-day Chinese city. | | How a lesson works | You listen to a conversation and answer out loud when asked. Words and phrases come back after longer and longer gaps. | A scene plays out. When you need to speak, the words appear as cards with pinyin and English. You say each word, then the sentence, and the person reacts. | | What you see | The lessons are audio and work hands-free. The app adds flash cards, quizzes, role-play challenges and about 100 reading exercises. | The place, the people around you, and every word in characters, pinyin and English. | | Level | From complete beginner to high-intermediate speaking and understanding. | Complete beginners and early learners. The Chinese for one week of everyday situations. | | Pronunciation | A Voice Coach feature in the app gives feedback on pronunciation. | Pinyin is written the way words are said. The game does not score each tone. | | Where it runs | The Pimsleur app on iPhone and Android, also offline. | Windows PC, on Steam. | | Cost | A subscription, with a free 7-day trial. This was the case at the time of writing. | Not announced yet. The game is coming to Steam. | ## Where is Pimsleur the better choice? ### Learning without a screen Pimsleur lessons are audio. You can learn while driving, walking or doing chores. The game needs you at a computer. ### A long course Five levels of 30 lessons take you much further than the game. The game covers one week of everyday situations for a beginner. ### Listening to natural speech Each Pimsleur lesson is half an hour of listening to native speakers. In the game you read along with every line. That is easier at first, but it is less listening practice. ### A set daily lesson Each lesson is about 30 minutes and has a fixed place in the course. If you like a routine, Pimsleur gives you one. The game moves at the pace of the story. ## What the game does differently ### You can see what you are saying Every word is on screen in characters, with pinyin above and English below. You know what each part of the sentence means. Some people remember a sentence better once they have seen it written. ### You can see where you are You stand at the hotel desk with your passport. You stand at a stall with eight foods on the counter and no English menu. The place helps you remember the phrase that goes with it. ### Your answer changes what happens A different answer sends the scene a different way. Tell the noodle shop owner you would like a coffee, and the owner goes out and buys you one. ### The practical side of a trip Paying by scanning a QR code. Checking in with a foreign passport. Telling a pharmacist what is wrong, and understanding how many tablets to take. ## Pimsleur suits you if You commute or walk a lot and want to learn in that time. You want to go beyond the basics, towards real conversation. You like a fixed daily lesson. You learn well by ear. ## The game suits you if You learn better when you can see the words. You are going to China soon and want the Chinese for specific situations. You prefer a story with places and people to an audio lesson. You want to know what each word in a sentence means. ## Using both Do a Pimsleur lesson on the way to work, when you cannot look at a screen. In the evening, play a scene in the game and say the same kinds of sentences in a place you can see. Pimsleur trains your ear for whole sentences. The game shows how those sentences break into words, with pinyin written the way they sound. This helps with lines you only half caught in an audio lesson. ## Sources - [Pimsleur: Learn Chinese (Mandarin)](https://www.pimsleur.com/learn-chinese-mandarin) ## Questions ### Is Pimsleur good for learning Mandarin? Pimsleur is a good choice for learning spoken Mandarin by ear. The course has five levels of 30 audio lessons, each about 30 minutes. You listen and answer out loud. It suits people who want to learn on a commute or without a screen. ### What is the difference between Pimsleur and Very Chinese Time in My Life? Pimsleur is an audio course: you listen and answer. Very Chinese Time in My Life is a game: you see the place, the people and every word with pinyin and English, and answer out loud during one week in a Chinese city. Both put speaking first. ### Which is better for a trip to China, Pimsleur or Very Chinese Time in My Life? For a trip coming up soon, Very Chinese Time in My Life is the closer fit. It covers what a visitor meets in the first week: taxis, hotels, food stalls, paying by phone, pharmacies. Pimsleur is a longer general course that goes further in conversation. Using both works well. ### Does Very Chinese Time in My Life work without a screen like Pimsleur? Very Chinese Time in My Life needs a screen. It is a game for Windows PC, and it shows the words on screen. For learning while driving or walking, an audio course such as Pimsleur is the better tool. ### How much does Pimsleur Mandarin cost? Pimsleur is sold as a subscription with a free 7-day trial, at the time of writing. Prices change and differ by country, so check Pimsleur’s website. ## Related pages - [How it compares](https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/compare/): Honest comparisons with Duolingo, HelloChinese, Pimsleur and other games for learning Chinese: what each does better, who it suits, and how to use them together. - [Games for learning Chinese](https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/compare/games-for-learning-chinese/): Six games on Steam that teach Mandarin, ours included: what each one is, how you learn, whether you speak, and who it suits. - [How you learn in the game](https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/how-you-learn/): How a conversation in the game works, why it starts with speaking, why the pinyin matches what people say, and how review is spread over the week. - [Chinese for a business trip to China](https://verychinesetimeinmylife.com/for/business-trip-to-china/): The ride from the airport, hotel check-in, paying, small talk with drivers and toasts at dinner.