Introduction:

Chinese is a group of language varieties that form the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, spoken by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the world’s population) speak a variety of Chinese as their first language.

The spoken varieties of Chinese are usually considered by native speakers to be variants of a single language. Due to their lack of mutual intelligibility, however, they are classified as separate languages in a family by some linguists, who note that the varieties are as divergent as the Romance languages.  Investigation of the historical relationships among the varieties of Chinese is just starting. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups based on phonetic developments from Middle Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin (with about 800 million speakers, or 66%), followed by Min (75 million, e.g. Southern Min), Wu (74 million, e.g. Shanghainese), and Yue (68 million, e.g. Cantonese). 

Vocabulary in foreign language learning plays an important role. To learn Chinese well, you should pay attention on improving your Chinese vocabulary.

You may master the basics of the Chinese language and be able to hold a simple conversation with friends about day-to-day activities and things you enjoy, but the next big step is how to improve your Chinese vocabulary to be able to converse fluently about a whole host of topics. 

Not everybody is lucky enough to be able to study in China in an immersive environment, but there’s still a whole host of neat things you can do to improve your Chinese vocabulary from the comfort of your own home! 

1. Read, Read, Read

When I studied Chinese in school, I used to curse the long texts I would receive for homework. I would often put them off until the last minute and then rush through – the topics were boring and repetitive. I might be biased, but I love being able to read through articles on TCB, as each day we publish between 4-6 new lessons across a wide range of topics. The articles are never too long, meaning that I can read little and often, rather than having this ‘barrier to study’ that I experienced during my time at school.

Regular reading helps us to pick up on how these words are used within texts in a ‘natural’ way.

2. Listen to Chinese Songs

Learning through song is a brilliant way to learn any language. Just watch out in Chinese as tonal rules are often not obeyed when singing.  

3. Review Regularly

The old phrase “Use it or Lose It” has never rang truer than when learning Chinese. Reviewing little and often helps us expand our Chinese vocabulary through repetition of phrases and words. The brilliant thing about studying online is that the vocabulary used is often modern vocabulary that will be extremely useful when conversing with Chinese friends. Traditional textbooks often stick with traditional topics and expressions, so it never hurts to expand on this with current, trending words!

4.Talk Regularly. Not in China? Chat Online!

We can’t highlight the importance of regular speaking practice when learning Chinese enough, and it’s often one of the biggest barriers students face. Take every opportunity you can to speak and remove this embarrassment of speaking – even if it’s a simple greeting to your teacher in the corridor each day! Of course, if you can travel to China to study for some time, you will be presented with many more opportunities to speak, however being away from China isn’t an insurmountable challenge. Try online language partner services such as italki, Gospeaky.

5. Use Vocabulary Trees, Flashcards

Found a topic that interests you that you would like to expand your Chinese vocabulary for? Write the topic in the centre of a large sheet of paper and then connect sub-topics and single pieces of vocabulary off it in a ‘mind map’. You can then upload the vocabulary into your favourite flashcard testing system for regular review. Spaced Repetition Software works best because it tests you more on words you remember less.

6. Labelling. 

Make labels in Chinese for everything in your house. For example, you can check your dictionary to find out the word for “mirror” and then write that on a note that you tape to your mirror. Whenever you check your reflection in the mirror, look at the label you’ve put on it. You can start with pinyin labels at first, and then move on to only using Chinese characters once you’re familiar with the word.

7. Take advantage of every opportunity. 

For example, when you go to Chinese restaurants, try to read the dishes’ names on the menu; talk to the people in Chinese. Most people who run Chinese restaurants can speak Chinese and are friendly to those studying it.

In short, try methods of learning characters that actually make sense – methods that will enable you to learn Chinese not just for now, but also for life.

One last but important tip… Set yourself realistic goals for vocabulary study – a small achievable aim is much more powerful than being overly optimistic and then disappointed when you can’t reach your target!