Specialized · Diplomatic & Formal Mandarin
Diplomatic Chinese
Pro PlusFormal Mandarin for international relations — Designed for government officials and diplomats working with Chinese counterparts. Covers formal speech, protocol language, and diplomatic correspondence.
What you'll be able to do
Outcomes after completing the 15 lessons in this module — concrete, role-relevant, and cultural in equal parts.
Speak the protocol register
Address officials, structure formal toasts, and deliver remarks that read as practiced, not pedestrian.
Treaty-grade vocabulary
Master the lexicon of multilateral negotiation — UN/ASEAN terminology and bilateral framing.
Diplomatic correspondence
Draft notes verbales, démarches, and bilateral statements with the right hedges and gravity.
Cultural diplomacy fluency
Read between the lines of state-media statements; understand what is said and what is implied.
Voice Cast for Diplomatic Chinese
Each section of every lesson is voiced by a specific persona from the Mandarin Temple cast — a podcast host, a learner co-host, two dialogue partners, and a teacher — chosen to fit the register of diplomatic Chinese.
Every voice on Mandarin Temple is an AI-generated persona. Each speaker has a written biography, a fixed voice model, and a consistent register across lessons — but they are synthesized, not recorded by a human actor. Their bios, accents, and personalities are designed by us; the audio is rendered by a TTS model.
AI"Your guide through every word"
Taipei / Vancouver
AI"Learning it live, with you"
Melbourne / Kunming
AI"The voice you hear first"
Hangzhou
AI"Where ideas run deep"
Nanjing
Topics Covered
The 15 lessons spread across these 6 themes. Each topic gets one or more dedicated lessons with vocabulary, dialogue, grammar, and exercises.
Lessons
15 lessons across 3 units. Each lesson weaves vocabulary, dialogue, grammar, and cultural context into a single guided session — with audio from your cast, microphone speak-back, and a roleplay drill.
Lessons coming soon
This module is being authored now. The 15 lessons will cover the topics above — check back shortly, or request priority access.
Recommended books
Books that pair with Diplomatic Chinese — hand-picked, and the same list you'll find on the Diplomatic Chinese books page.
AI Superpowers
Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built
China in Ten Words
Chinese Business Etiquette
Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar
Dealing with China
Doing Business in China
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Diplomatic Chinese — who it's for, what it expects of you, and how to get the most out of it.
No — it's pitched at HSK 6 and assumes you can already hold a substantive Mandarin conversation. The register is formal and high-stakes; we recommend completing Business Chinese first if your career is heading this direction.