Share

cover art for You Can’t Do That Here | Learn Mandarin Through the World’s Weirdest Bans

Mandarin Monkey Podcast

You Can’t Do That Here | Learn Mandarin Through the World’s Weirdest Bans

Ep. 403
•

In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom and Ula dive into some of the strangest bans and laws from around the world, from chewing gum in Singapore to government-approved reincarnation in Tibet.


Through light-hearted yet insightful discussion, they explore how these bans reflect deeper cultural values, political symbolism, religious influences, and social expectations. You'll also pick up real Mandarin vocabulary along the way, making this a perfect listen for language learners who want more than just textbook phrases.

Whether you’re curious about travel customs, cultural sensitivity, or how to say "reincarnate legally" in Mandarin, this episode has you covered.


00:00 – Introduction to the Mandarin Monkey Podcast

08:11 – Banned Items Around the World

20:16 – Cultural Insights and Language Learning

26:02 – Philosophical Musings on Reincarnation

32:06 – Laws and Social Norms Across Countries

39:10 – Cultural Dress Codes and Public Decency

45:58 – Religious Influences on Legislation

51:01 – Public Displays of Affection and Their Restrictions


  1. 禁止嚼口香糖 | jìn zhǐ jiáo kǒu xiāng táng | Chewing gum is banned (Singapore)
  2. 禁止用“IKEA”當名字 | jìn zhǐ yòng “IKEA” dāng míng zì | Naming your child “IKEA” is banned (Sweden)
  3. 在高速公路上沒油是違法的 | zài gāo sù gōng lù shàng méi yóu shì wéi fǎ de | Running out of fuel is illegal (Germany)
  4. 古蹟禁止穿高跟鞋 | gǔ jì jìn zhǐ chuān gāo gēn xié | No high heels at historical sites (Greece)
  5. 轉世需要政府批准 | zhuǎn shì xū yào zhèng fǔ pī zhǔn | Reincarnating without government approval is illegal (Tibet)
  6. 禁止小熊維尼 | jìn zhǐ xiǎo xióng wéi ní | Winnie the Pooh is banned (China)
  7. 踩錢是違法的 | cǎi qián shì wéi fǎ de | Stepping on money is illegal (Thailand)
  8. 公共場合禁止罵髒話 | gōng gòng chǎng hé jìn zhǐ mà zāng huà | Public swearing is banned (Australia)
  9. 禁止與佛像自拍 | jìn zhǐ yǔ fó xiàng zì pāi | No selfies with Buddha (Sri Lanka)
  10. 有些地方禁止死亡 | yǒu xiē dì fāng jìn zhǐ sǐ wáng | Dying is illegal in some towns (Japan, Norway)
  11. 禁止在海灘上穿太暴露的衣服 | jìn zhǐ zài hǎi tān shàng chuān tài bào lù de yī fú | Revealing swimwear is banned on some beaches (Spain)
  12. 禁止在車內吃東西 | jìn zhǐ zài chē nèi chī dōng xi | Eating inside cars is banned in some areas (USA – certain cities)
  13. 禁止上廁所時沖馬桶（晚上） | jìn zhǐ shàng cè suǒ shí chōng mǎ tǒng (wǎn shàng) | Flushing the toilet at night is illegal in some flats (Switzerland)
  14. 禁止穿迷你裙 | jìn zhǐ chuān mí nǐ qún | Wearing miniskirts is banned in some countries (Uganda)
  15. 禁止養豬（宗教原因） | jìn zhǐ yǎng zhū (zōng jiào yuán yīn) | Keeping pigs is banned for religious reasons (Middle East)
  16. 禁止開黃色雨傘 | jìn zhǐ kāi huáng sè yǔ sǎn | Yellow umbrellas are banned in political protests (Hong Kong)
  17. 禁止在公共場所親吻 | jìn zhǐ zài gōng gòng chǎng suǒ qīn wěn | Public kissing is banned (UAE, Saudi Arabia)
  18. 禁止左撇子寫字（歷史） | jìn zhǐ zuǒ piě zi xiě zì | Left-handed writing was historically banned in schools (global historical context)
  19. 禁止喝酒（某些國家） | jìn zhǐ hē jiǔ (mǒu xiē guó jiā) | Alcohol is banned in some countries (e.g. Kuwait, Iran)
  20. 禁止假笑（電影宣傳） | jìn zhǐ jiǎ xiào (diàn yǐng xuān chuán) | Forced or fake smiling banned in public ads (North Korea)


More episodes

View all episodes

  • 478. Real Mandarin & English Conersation Podcast -478

    53:30||Ep. 478
    Links:✏️ Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  ❤️ Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/Description:Are you spending too much time studying Mandarin grammar instead of actually speaking Mandarin? 👀In Episode 478 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Ula and Tom talk about why grammar can sometimes become an excuse NOT to speak and why using Mandarin, making mistakes, repeating sentences and accepting how the language works can be much more useful for improving your communication.Of course… this is Mandarin Monkey, so we also somehow end up talking about:🥜 Where almond milk really comes from 😂🦷 What toothpaste flavour should exist besides mint🤔 Why Richard becomes “Dick” and Robert becomes “Bob”🧪 Completely useless Mandarin chemical vocabulary👓 A listener who built a smart-glasses app that displays Mandarin and English subtitles while listening to Mandarin Monkey🧋 And a truly disgusting bubble tea video idea…We also share an update about the brand-new Mandarin Monkey website we’ve been building, including a new credit system, learning tools, teacher feedback, homework, flashcards and more flexible lesson booking.This is a natural Mandarin & English bilingual conversation for Mandarin learners who want to hear how Mandarin is actually used in relaxed, everyday conversation.🎧 Listen, laugh, pick up some Mandarin and most importantly — USE IT!🌐 Mandarin lessons & more: MandarinMonkey.com📩 Listener emails: chat@mandarinmonkey.com

  • 477. Mandarin & English Podcast | Birthday Trip

    58:26||Ep. 477
    Links:✏️ Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  ❤️ Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons?Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts.Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/DescriptionThis week, we’re looking back at our Isle of Wight hiking and camping adventure. A trip full of beautiful coastal walks, little discoveries, good food, sore legs, and plenty of memories.We talk about walking from Yarmouth towards Totland, exploring The Needles, camping by the sea, enjoying cups of tea along the way, discovering new places, and figuring out what kind of travelling and hiking we actually enjoy most.Some highlights from the trip:🥾 Beautiful walks through forests, fields and along the coast🌊 Visiting The Needles and enjoying the amazing sea views🏕️ Camping in different parts of the Isle of Wight☕ Making tea during our hikes🍦 Stopping for ice cream after a long walk🐄 Meeting some very curious cows along the way🚲 Talking about trying electric bikes for our next adventure❤️ And deciding that we’d definitely like to visit the Isle of Wight againOf course, there were a few challenges too! Heavy backpacks, tired feet and figuring out the best way to travel. But overall it was such a fun experience and we learned a lot about how we’d plan our next adventure.As always, we naturally switch between Mandarin Chinese and English while chatting about travel, British life, relationships, language and everyday experiences.If you’re learning Mandarin and want to hear relaxed, natural Chinese and English conversation, come hang out with us!

  • 476. What Are We Saving For? | Real Mandarin & English Conversation

    01:13:37||Ep. 476
    Links:✏️ Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  ❤️ Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/Description: How much money is enough? And what’s the point of saving if you never actually enjoy it?In Episode 476 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we get into money, rainy-day savings, financial freedom, lifestyle creep, travelling, helping your parents, creating memories for your kids, and what being “wealthy” actually means.Then the conversation moves into something even deeper: where is home when you’ve lived between different countries and cultures for years?We talk about Taiwan vs the UK, feeling like you belong somewhere, how living abroad changes you, raising multicultural kids, and whether sending the kids to Taiwan for Mandarin immersion could help bring their Chinese back.As always, it’s a naturally bilingual English + Mandarin conversation, real-life Mandarin listening practice without the textbook conversations.

  • 475. Real Mandarin & English Conversation - Summer Holiday

    39:23||Ep. 475
    Links✏️ Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  ❤️ Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/DescriptionWhy do children get such long summer holidays? How are working parents supposed to survive them?In Mandarin Monkey Podcast Episode 475, Ula and Tom discuss the challenges of working from home while the children are off school, the history behind the six-week summer break, and how school holidays compare across the UK, Taiwan, Japan, Europe and the United States.They also talk about education pressure, SATs and GCSEs, choosing useful subjects, changing careers later in life, and why it is never too late to learn new skills.Plus, could spending the summer at a Mandarin camp in Taiwan help bilingual children improve their Mandarin? Ula and Tom explore Taiwanese summer camps, overseas Chinese programmes and the possibility of working remotely from Taiwan while the kids learn Mandarin.You’ll also hear their favourite language-learning strategy: when you don’t know a word, find another way to communicate your meaning!Topics in this episode include:🇬🇧 Summer holidays and parenting in the UK🇹🇼 Taiwanese summer camps for overseas children📚 Education pressure, SATs and GCSEs💼 Changing careers and learning new skills🏠 Working from home with children🗣️ Mandarin communication strategies👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Raising bilingual children✈️ Spending the summer in TaiwanMandarin Monkey is a bilingual Mandarin Chinese and English podcast for learners who want to improve their listening skills through natural, entertaining conversations about language, culture, parenting and everyday life.Comment below: How do you survive over the summer holiday?

  • 474. Real Mandarin & English Conversation | Backpacking Trip Countdown

    01:09:42||Ep. 474
    Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyLinks:✍️ Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🎓 Book Mandarin lessons and explore Mandarin Monkey:https://mandarinmonkey.com/Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/Could we survive a three-day backpacking adventure without destroying our feet—or each other? 😅In episode 474 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, we chat in Mandarin and English about our upcoming Isle of Wight hiking and camping trip. We discuss what to pack, walking for hours every day, camping food, uncomfortable sleeping mats, blisters, hiking shoes, carrying too much equipment—and Tom’s collection of unnecessary survival gadgets.We also talk about:🏢 Working remotely vs having a physical Mandarin Monkey office👩‍💼 Whether Ula was born to be a boss👨‍🏫 What makes someone a great Mandarin teacher💼 Hiring people based on attitude, not just experience📱 The difficulty of separating work from personal life🥾 Preparing for our first proper backpacking adventure⛺ Camping gear, food, shoes and surviving sore feetHave you ever been backpacking? Tell us what we should pack to make the trip easier and more comfortable!

  • 473. Real Mandarin & English Conversation | UK Dentists vs Taiwan Dentists and Health Systom

    01:02:22||Ep. 473
    Links:Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/Support Monkey Plays Patreon Page: https://patreon.com/monkeyplaysgames?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom shares the story of unexpectedly spending an hour getting a dental crown instead of a quick check-up, while Ula teaches essential Mandarin vocabulary for visiting the dentist in Taiwan.Along the way we compare:🦷 UK vs Taiwan dentists💉 Pain, injections and funny dental stories🏥 Healthcare and privacy differences🇹🇼 Useful Mandarin words and phrases for dental appointments😂 Real conversations between a British husband and Taiwanese wife

  • 472. Real-Life Chinglish Conversation | Are We Getting Dumber? | Does Tragedy Shape Who You Are?

    59:17||Ep. 472
    Links:Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/Description:The UK is melting, every air conditioner is sold out, and all five of us ended up sleeping together in the living room. 🥵In Episode 472 of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Tom and Ula talk about surviving the UK heatwave without air conditioning, buying second-hand things, dreaming about winning £10 million, and what they would build in their dream house.Then the conversation gets deeper: Are new generations becoming less intelligent because of technology and AI? Do difficult experiences make people more successful? Why do Tom and Ula both struggle to stop working and simply relax?And finally, Tom admits that his Mandarin has been pushed to the bottom of his priority list since moving back to the UK. Is it time for him to start taking Mandarin lessons again?In this episode:🔥 Surviving a UK heatwave without air conditioning🛋️ Why the whole family slept in the living room🛍️ Would you buy clothes or electronics second-hand?💰 What would we do if we won £10 million?🏊 Our ridiculous dream house plans📱 Is technology making us less intelligent?💪 Does hardship make people more successful?🧠 Why we both find it difficult to stop working🇨🇳 Why Tom wants to start learning Mandarin seriously againThe Mandarin Monkey Podcast is a real bilingual conversation podcast where we naturally switch between Mandarin Chinese and English. Listen to authentic conversations, improve your Mandarin listening skills, and learn how Chinese is actually spoken in everyday life.

  • 471. Real Mandarin & English Conversation | How To Choose A Mandarin Name? | Guess The Number

    55:14||Ep. 471
    🔗 Links: Skritter - Learn to write Chineseskritter.com?ref=mandarinmonkeyUse promoCode: MANDARINMONKEYfor 10% off everything🐵 Learn Mandarin with us: https://mandarinmonkey.com/🎮 Check out our Monkey Plays channel:   / @monkeyplaysmandarin  🗣️ Want more opportunities to speak Mandarin outside of lessons? Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts. Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/❓ How did we talk about?How do they choose their Mandarin names? What does your Mandarin name actually say about you?In this episode of the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, Ula and Tom talk about how Mandarin names are chosen, why parents sometimes use birth dates and birth times when naming their children, and how Mandarin learners can choose a Mandarin name based on pronunciation, personality and meaning.Tom also shares the story behind his Mandarin name, 唐明偉 Tang Ming Wei, and Ula explains why Mandarin names often carry parents’ hopes and expectations for their children.Along the way, we also talk about:🔥 Surviving another UK heatwave without air conditioning💬 Why British people complain about the weather so much🎙️ Whether podcast hosts should talk to each other or directly to the audience🔢 A surprisingly difficult number-guessing game👓 Whether Ula’s new glasses suit her face — or her personality🏷️ The differences between Chinese and English naming cultureThis is a natural bilingual conversation in Mandarin and English, perfect for upper beginner, intermediate Mandarin learners who want to improve their listening skills and hear how Mandarin is actually used in real conversation.What’s your Mandarin name? How did you choose it? Tell us in the comments! 👇

  • 470.1. Not a normal episode - Sweating to tactical retreat

    05:49||Ep. 470.1
    A brief annocunement on our impending heatwave survival and the ongoing health and wellfare of all others. We couldn't record a full episode, it's too hot outside and inside so no way to record without not wearing clothes or being extremely hot. We will be back to normal next week.