Learning Chinese

The Chinese language is the group of languages used by Chinese people in China and elsewhere. It forms part of a language family called the Sino-Tibetan family of languages.

Chinese includes many regional language varieties, the main one being Mandarin.

Mandarin is one of five major regional languages of China. It spreads wider than any other regional variations, from the whole northern part of China to Yunnan Province in the southwest corner of China.

Mandarin Chinese is a fairly complex language to learn, especially for English speakers. However, with commitment and daily practice, it is certainly possible to successfully master. Practice alone with your textbooks, with Mandarin-speaking friends, or online with the many online Mandarin schools that exist. Keep reading for a basic overview of the most important things you need to know about learning Mandarin Chinese.

In order to be most effective, you will want to ask yourself why you’re learning Chinese. Is it for fun or because you’re moving there in six months? Do you want to be able to speak business Chinese for a job or communicate with your in-laws?

These questions are important to help you create a set of concrete goals that will guide how you make your personalized learning plan. You may only be interested in speaking Chinese, and this will shape how you spend your learning time. Our first two tips focus on just that: setting concrete goals.

You should set long-term goals for where you want to be in a year, two years, and five years. Realistically think about how much time you can give to Chinese learning, and use this as a base to build off of. You may have a long-term goal of reaching advanced fluency in five years, which includes spending a year in China. Then move your way to short-term goals, which can be monthly goals up to six months out. For example, in six months you may want to be able to read an easy Chinese book or be able to understand Chinese radio.

When setting these goals, make sure they are “SMART” goals. Goals are more likely to be achieved when they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. These five components work together to make much more effective targets.

You will also need to decide whether you want to learn Mandarin or Cantonese. It’s not advised to learn both at once, as the two are different enough to be confusing. Mandarin is the dominant dialect in not only Mainland China, but also Taiwan, areas of Singapore, and increasingly in Hong Kong. Even though Cantonese is the main language spoken in Chinese communities in the United States, Mandarin Chinese is quickly matching that. It’s also arguably easier than Cantonese as there are fewer tones to master.

Your daily schedule should be catered to your goals and learning style. Some people learn better through visualizations, while others may find that writing things down is what helps them. Knowing how you learn can help you learn more effectively. To really learn Chinese, you will need to be working on it daily. Once-a-week lessons will be helpful but are not enough. Short periods of learning are better than long sessions. Our brains can only handle so much information, and repetition helps keep it in your brain for the long-term. The amount of time you spend on Chinese each day obviously depends on your other commitments, but it’s better to start small—commit yourself to 15 minutes instead of an hour, for example. Once you form the habit of daily study, you can increase the amount of time, but for now, the important part is daily interaction.

It can be easy to make the mistake at the beginning of simply working on vocabulary. Vocabulary is excellent and a crucial part of learning any language, but without any context, you’re still as lost as when you began. For every character you learn, add a phrase or sentence that uses the character to provide the proper context. When you recognize different phrases and sentences, it will be much easier for you to start using them in relevant conversations as well.

Lastly, don’t be daunted by Chinese grammar; it’s something that will come with time. In the beginning, simple Chinese sentences can be formed in a similar way to how you think in English. Since Chinese grammar can be quite difficult, first focus on other aspects, then slowly add grammar to the mix. You will eventually need to understand the specific nuances in Chinese grammar, but you’ll want to spend the majority of your time in the beginning on mastering the tones, pinyin, and basic vocabulary. Learning Chinese doesn’t have to be as hard as playing Beethoven. Even though it’ll take time and effort, with a solid plan and faithful daily practice, you’ll find yourself improving faster than before!