Tag: Chinese reading

If you’re (self-)studying Chinese nowadays, you’ve probably never heard of John DeFrancis’ classic Chinese reader. The Beginning Chinese Reader was first published by Yale University Press in 1966 and still can be purchased today. But is it worth buying and why (not)?

This comprehensive review explores nine apps designed to enhance Chinese reading skills for learners at various proficiency levels. The Chairman’s Bao and Du Chinese, which are well-known for their extensive libraries and graded materials, face competition from newer apps like Dot Languages and mylingua, introducing AI features.

Is ChatGPT merely a hype or will the AI language model transform the way we learn Chinese and other foreign languages? What can it do and what can it do not? 5 ways it can assist with learning and practicing Chinese.

How difficult is it to read the Chinese news? From which level can you start and which tools and apps are recommended? Which Chinese news media are interesting to read?

Chinese learners are often told 成语 (chéngyǔ), the four-character idioms, are essential to reach native-like fluency. What are these idioms exactly and how important are they?

Learning Mandarin and looking for a comprehensive overview of must-have learning resources? This is part two.

The HSK Standard Course books are probably the most-used books to prepare for the HSK. How useful are these books to pass the exams and are they suitable for self-study? In this article, I review the books I’ve been using for the longest time: the HSK 5 Standard Course textbooks.

The American Army takes foreign language acquisition seriously. The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is probably one of the finest foreign language schools in the world. I checked out their online database for Chinese.

You want to read and understand Chinese texts faster? In this post, I compare DuShu and Easy Chinese News and tell you from which one your reading skills benefit the most.