Vocabulary lists that help you learn Chinese and how to use them | Hacking Chinese
Category: Chinese
Diversify how you study Chinese to learn more
During certain periods of my life, I’ve spent upwards of 80 hours a week learning Chinese. For most people, that sounds crazy; how can you possibly...
Do you really know how to count in Chinese?
Counting is one of the first things we learn in a foreign language, yet mastering it takes time. While basic numbers may seem simple,...
Does using colour to represent Mandarin tones make them easier to learn?
One of the biggest challenges learning Chinese as an adult is to master the tones. While some students have an easier time, the large majority of...
Don’t be a tourist if you want to learn Chinese
Immersion abroad can boost language learning, and travelling where the language is spoken can help too. Yet how much you benefit depends on your...
Don’t forget to consolidate the Chinese you have already studied
Image credit: Severin Stalder When learning Chinese (or anything else for that matter), both students and teachers tend to put focus on conquering...
Don’t just read about language learning methods, try them!
When I wrote a guest article about language hacking on the Mezzofanti Guild a while back, I took some time to think what I consider to be the...
Don’t learn Mandarin pronunciation by reading, listen and mimic instead
Don’t try to learn pronunciation by reading. Instead, the best way to improve is to listen to and mimic native speakers. Focusing too much on how...
Don’t try to improve everything at once when learning Chinese
To communicate in Chinese, many different skills need to come together and work in unison. If you’re speaking, word order and word choice need to be...
Don’t use mnemonics for everything when learning Chinese
Mnemonics are clever memory techniques you can use to learn and remember more, but this doesn’t mean that you should always use them. If you do, you...