中文 (Zhōngwén) the Chinese language; Chinese
汉语 (Hànyǔ) Chinese (language)
普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà) Mandarin
When it comes to language learning, the popular opinion among non-native Chinese people is that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world, if not the hardest. Some people have the impression that it is nearly impossible to grasp, much less reach a conversational level.
Challenging but Achievable
But is Chinese actually hard to learn? Contrary to popular belief it’s 100% achievable. The hardest aspect is just taking the first step and getting out of your comfort zone. That’s all! The students from eChineseLearning are testaments to how successful non-native speakers really can be at reaching basic conversational fluency in Chinese quickly and easily. Let’s meet some of the students now.
Meet Our Successful Students
Our first student featured is Tuba. He is an Indian man in his early 20’s. Since he has business affairs with Chinese nationals he decided to learn Chinese. Now he has a Chinese name, “图芭 (tú bā).” He “学习 (xuéxí) studies” hard thus his ability is pretty good. He enjoys writing Chinese characters and he can sometimes write the Chinese vocabulary from textbooks. He is in our regular Mandarin Chinese learning classes now.
Just look how nice his characters are!
Join in Our Chinese Character Class Now!
4 Facts About Learning Mandarin Chinese That You Have to Know
Let’s look at the logistics. In Chinese, there are 3500 common Chinese “汉字 (hànzì) characters”. If you want to become familiar with Chinese, as a non-native Chinese speaker, and be able to communicate using daily conversation you will need about 1000 Chinese characters.
And for new Chinese learners the vocabulary you would need is far less than you think!
With just 900 of the most common characters covered in the eChineseLearning Character Courses, you will be able to write most commonly used Mandarin characters.
Learning Mandarin Chinese in conjunction with eChineseLearning’s Chinese input method makes studying more effective as well!
Online courses with live native professional teachers enable you to make your own curriculum according to your needs. For example, you only want to study something in particular like business Chinese, or you want to prepare for the IB Chinese exam, or you are just interested in Chinese culture and want to study in or travel to China at some point.
With 1-to-1 learning, you are in control of which classes you take according to your needs. You can choose your favorite teacher to teach you as well. All of these factors make 1-to-1 tutoring the best “方法 (fāngfǎ) way” to take control of your Chinese learning success.
What Is the Most Effective Way to Learn Mandarin Online?
“熟能生巧 (Shú néng shēng qiǎo) Practice makes perfect.” That’s why you shouldn’t hesitate to have an open dialogue with people in places like China towns and family-owned restaurants where they speak Chinese. If this isn’t possible for you, there is always the option of “练习 (liànxí) practicing” with one of our Chinese teachers.
We have a Mandarin Chinese Learning group on WeChat. If you are interested, you can add our WeChat account (jenniferzhu6). We sincerely invite you to join us.
Making the decision to start is more intimidating than the act of studying and understanding Mandarin. Sure, there are tones to overcome but if you can remember song tunes then you can remember tones.
It’s worth noting that eChineseLearning’s《实用速成汉语 (shíyòng sùchéng hànyǔ)》Beginner Practical Fast-to-Chinese Course guides you to basic conversational fluency. It’s a total of about 250 to 300, 50-minute classes.
Another point that will ease your mind is that Chinese vocabulary tends to be super literal which makes it easy to guess the meanings of words once you have the basic building blocks. For example, the word for “breakfast” just pairs the characters for “早 (zǎo) morning; early,” and “饭 (fàn) meal; rice; cooked cereals;” to make “早饭 (zǎofàn) breakfast.” Simple!
Chinese Learning Method – By Mary Jacob
Have you been wanting to learn Chinese but are worried about it? Let us know in the comments any questions you have about getting started!
1. 学习 (Xuéxí) learn; study
Example:
Tā xǐhuān xuéxí gèzhǒng bùtóng de yǔyán.
他喜欢学习各种不同的语言。
He likes to learn different kinds of languages.
2. 汉字 (Hànzì) character
Example:
Wǒ zhī rènshí jǐ gè jiǎndān de hànzì.
我只认识几个简单的汉字。
I only know several simple Chinese characters.
3. 方法 (Fāngfǎ) method; means; way
Example:
Zhè búshì yígè hǎo fāngfǎ.
这不是一个好方法。
It’s not a good way.
4. 练习 (Liànxí) practice; exercise; rehearsal; training
Example:
Tā zhěng gè xiàtiān dōu zài liànxí kāichē.
他整个夏天都在练习开车。
He spent the whole summer practicing his driving.
1. How to express “He likes Chinese.” in Chinese? Please choose the best option.
A. 他喜欢中文。 (Tā xǐhuān zhōngwén.)
B. 他不喜欢中文。 (Tā bù xǐhuān zhōngwén.)
C. 她喜欢中文 。(Tā xǐhuān zhōngwén.)
D. 她不喜欢中文。 (Tā bù xǐhuān zhōngwén.)
2. What does “熟能生巧 (shú néng shēng qiǎo)” mean?
A. We are familiar with each other.
B. Just talk without action.
C. Practice makes perfect.
HSK Test
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)