Month: February 2026

How many words is reasonable to learn in a day? Will focusing on radicals make learning characters easier? And should you learn simplified or...

This week’s podcast episode (number 209) is a reader and listener Q&A, where I answer three questions about translation in Chinese. This time,...

Should you read Chinese with or without Pinyin? What are the pros and cons of reading on your phone? And how do you learn to read Chinese people’s...

This week’s podcast episode (number 192) is a reader and listener Q&A, where I answer three questions sent to me about speaking Chinese. This...

Writing practice is an important part of learning Chinese for all learners except perhaps true beginners and those who have chosen to focus only on...

When learning to pronounce the sounds of Mandarin, it’s good to have a clear target in mind. For most students, this target is Standard Chinese....

Much has been written about using spaced repetition programs such as Anki for learning many things, including language in general and Chinese in...

Anyone who has spent some time thinking about and experimenting with how to best learn new words will realise that rote learning isn’t a great idea....

It’s hard for outsiders to understand the challenge Chinese characters pose for learners. Some people think that it’s akin to learning a new...

It’s hard for outsiders to understand the challenge Chinese characters pose for learners. Some people think that it’s akin to learning a new...