Self-taught Chinese is a worthwhile pursuit, Chinese the key to unlocking potential communication with another 100 million people on Earth – a truly remarkable skill. This article is an early guide for those embarking on this journey.
1.Learning Chinese is worth it
Learning a new language requires effort, patience, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. It is also a fun and fulfilling pursuit! While many people think Chinese a difficult language to master, it’s definitely not that hard.
Start learning that people tend to believe! In fact, after just a few months of diligent study, many students have been able to order, ask for directions, travel, talk about their interests, and even have basic conversations with other learners and native speakers.
The rewards don’t stop there! The name alludes to the fact that Mandarin, as a dialect of Chinese mainland, is spoken by more than 90 billion people worldwide, making it the most spoken language in the world! This is just another reason why learning Mandarin is so beneficial.
Knowing how to speak this versatile and engaging language, even just the basics, will open the door for you to travel and explore Chinese culture in China. In addition, China has become an international economic and business superstar, so being able to communicate in Mandarin will be a valuable asset and tool to use in your career.
2.Mandarin is a tonal language
Before you start learning Chinese, remember that just like pitch in music, different Chinese characters have different tones. This is what we mean when we say Chinese is “tone”.
Standard Mandarin has four different tones (or five tones if you consider neutral tones) that give multiple meanings to words that are made up of the same mixture of consonants and vowels. Since tone is an important aspect of a word’s meaning, knowing the correct tone is an important part of learning Chinese.
This in particular can make Chinese a difficult language to learn, but with enough practice, and by improving your Chinese listening, you will be able to distinguish and use the correct tone when conversing! Improving your knowledge of tone will help you avoid making common tone mistakes.
3.Chinese is different from English
Unlike English, which uses the Latin alphabet, Chinese characters are engaging, each with their own unique background, structure, and construction method (we call this stroke order).
As a new Chinese learner, reading and writing Chinese characters can be unfamiliar and will take some time and patience to learn, especially since there are more than 50,000 Chinese characters (although even educated Chinese usually only know about 5,000 Chinese characters).
Luckily, there are plenty of great Chinese reading and writing resources. If you make time every day to study and practice, you will find yourself understood and understood in no time!
4.Chinese speakers
If you’re just starting out self-taught Chinese, it’s often difficult to understand what native speakers are saying. This may be due to the speaker’s speed of speech, the use of unfamiliar words.
By the same token, if you don’t have the opportunity to practice your Chinese aloud with others, you may find, for example, that you use an incorrect tone that makes it difficult for your conversation partner to understand what you mean.
Therefore, it is very important to set aside time every day to listen and speak Mandarin. Depending on your learning style, this can be done in a variety of ways. If you prefer to study in groups, check online to see if there are Chinese clubs or groups that meet regularly in or near your city.
If you prefer to practice speaking in a one-on-one environment, consider hiring a Chinese tutor, or signing up for an online Chinese class. Outside of the classroom, there are some great listening tools such as podcasts, downloadable Chinese lessons, and more, all of which will help you improve your Chinese listening and comprehension.
We are as excited as you are that you want to learn self-taught Chinese and we hope this article helps you get started. If you’re looking to enhance your learning experience and even more, we hope we have fun with the sino-bus Chinese learning site!