Quick Answer: To learn Chinese characters (Hanzi), follow these five steps:
Understand how characters are built from components called radicals Learn the 8 basic strokes and Chinese character stroke order rules Learn the 10 most common radicals that appear in most characters Use spaced repetitionWhen China’s Ministry of Education launched the HSK 3.0 pilot exam on January 31, 2026, it marked the most significant overhaul of the Chinese proficiency test in over a decade. For families around the world whose children are learning Mandarin, or considering it, the changes …
Living or traveling in China can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, but the language barrier can feel overwhelming. Imagine stepping off a plane in Beijing or Shanghai, surrounded by signs you cannot read and conversations you cannot follow. The good …
Preparing for IGCSE Chinese as a non-Chinese family comes with unique challenges. Unlike mathematics or science, where parents can read the textbook and check homework, Chinese presents a language barrier that many parents feel they cannot cross. The student studies alone, the parent watches from …
On August 16, 2026, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a video promoting a program offering 2,000 free Broadway tickets to high school students across all five boroughs. Nothing unusual about a mayor promoting a youth initiative, except this time, he delivered the entire …
Many people start learning Chinese because of a TV drama, a favorite restaurant, or simple curiosity about a culture that feels both ancient and modern. Maybe that is how it started for you. But something has shifted. What began as a casual interest is starting …
When the UK Department for Education launched the Mandarin Excellence Programme in 2016, skeptics wondered whether non-Chinese teenagers could truly master one of the world’s most challenging languages. Ten years later, the answer is unmistakable. In the summer of 2026, nearly 1,200 students from 60 …
When the UK Department for Education launched the Mandarin Excellence Programme in 2016, skeptics wondered whether non-Chinese teenagers could truly master one of the world’s most challenging languages. Ten years later, the answer is unmistakable. In the summer of 2026, nearly 1,200 students from 60 …
Conceptual illustration of Chinese sentence structure.
Quick Answer: Chinese sentence structure follows SVO (Subject-Verb-Object), just like English. But the key differences are: time and place words go before the verb, adverbs go before the verb, and verbs do not conjugate. Learn these three rules and …
12-year-old Solo Uniacke, also known as You Zijun (尤子俊), the son of Oscar-winning actress Rosamund Pike, won the prestigious “Chinese Bridge” competition for young Mandarin learners. His success offers valuable lessons for any family considering Chinese education for their children. In this article, …
Learning Chinese from a textbook is useful, but knowing what people actually say in everyday situations is even more helpful.
If you’re learning Chinese for travel, daily life, work, or casual conversations, memorizing practical phrases can help you communicate more naturally and confidently.
In this …
HSK 3.0 is currently in pilot phase. The first pilot exams were held on January 31, 2026, covering HSK 1 to 6 and HSK 7-9 at select test centers across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The regular 2026 exam calendar still follows HSK 2.0; …
In an age where AI translation tools can convert text between languages in milliseconds, some parents wonder: is it still worth enrolling kids in Mandarin classes? The short answer, backed by years of cognitive science and global market research, is a resounding yes. Here is …
Recently, an English blogger living in China shared her frustration about missing out on conversations because her Chinese listening skills were holding her back. “Do you know how frustrating it is to miss out on so much?!” she exclaimed in one of her videos. That …
In 2026, the Chinese Bridge competition — often called the “Olympics of Chinese language” — drew over 100,000 young participants from more than 140 countries. Now in its 25th year for university students and its 6th year for primary school learners, the event has become …
“How long does it take to learn Chinese?” is the question every prospective learner asks. The answers online range from “three months to fluency” to “a lifetime,” and neither extreme helps you make a real plan. If you want to know how long to learn
Planning a trip to China?
You don’t need to speak fluent Chinese to travel more confidently. But learning a few practical Chinese phrases can make a huge difference when you’re ordering food, taking a taxi, checking into a hotel, riding a high-speed train, shopping, or
Price is usually the first question when someone considers Chinese tutoring. And the range is wide, from free apps to $50+ per lesson, which makes it hard to know what’s reasonable.
After 20 years helping students from over 100 countries learn Chinese online, the team …
Preparing for a job interview in Chinese can feel overwhelming, especially when you know your answers are good but finding the right words in Mandarin adds another layer of complexity. Chinese job interviews follow specific cultural patterns that go beyond language proficiency—how you present yourself, …
