Tag: Mandarin

Chinese vocabulary notes #8

Chinese vocabulary notes (May 2022)

This edition could be called “escape from Shanghai”. Bear with me for some more zero-covid refugee talk.

What type of Chinese learner are you?

What type of Chinese learner are you?

Not so long ago, Mandarin Companion surveyed over a thousand Chinese learners worldwide. They discovered six main types of Chinese learners. What kind of Chinese learner are you?

Chinese vocabulary notes #7

Chinese vocabulary notes (April 2022)

This edition is (almost) all about the lockdown in Shanghai.

Reading the Chinese news: less hard than you think!

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 vocabulary notes March 2022

Chinese vocabulary notes (March 2022)

Gaming crackdown, war in Ukraine, badminton, Xi dada, freelance life in China and more. The good news: spring has finally arrived.

Chinese idioms or chengyu

Chinese idioms – why and where to start?

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?

Chinese vocabulary notes #5

Chinese vocabulary notes (February 2022)

In this edition: lying flat, the Chinese social credit system, the Olympic financials explained and Love Defense Wars (yes). Here are my February Chinese vocabulary notes.

Review: Language-Hacking-Mandarin-Benny-Lewis

Review: Language Hacking Mandarin – a conversation course for beginners

What is #LanguageHacking? Who is Benny Lewis? Is it possible to become fluent in Mandarin in only three months? This is my review of “Language Hacking Mandarin” by Benny Lewis.

Best Chinese dictionary app

Learning Mandarin: what’s the best Chinese dictionary app?

Chinese dictionary apps are much more than mere translation tools. Which Chinese dictionary app offers the best features for your money’s worth?

Chinese vocabulary notes #4

Chinese vocabulary notes (January 2022)

Omicron, lockdown in Xi’an, what Taiwanese think of China, German real estate for Chinese buyers and more. January is almost gone, Spring will soon be here!

My 2022 overview of resources for Mandarin Chinese (II)

My 2024 overview of resources for Mandarin Chinese (II)

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

My 2024 overview of resources for Mandarin Chinese (I)

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

Chinese vocabulary notes

Chinese vocabulary notes (December 2021)

The end of year is drawing near. I hope you had a good and productive one so far and managed to stay positive, despite of the state our world is currently in. Here are some more Chinese vocabulary notes, a double dose of omicron or 奥密克戎 included.

HSK 5 Standard Course review

HSK Standard Course books review

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.

Learn Mandarin with Defense Language Institute online resources

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.

Chinese vocabulary notes november 2021

Chinese vocabulary notes (November 2021)

Chinese hackers, programming languages, business class high-speed rail traveling, foodstreaming, Chinese facial recognition toilet paper dispensers, little pink: November has been an interesting month!

app review: DuShu vs Easy Chinese news

Reading Chinese: DuShu vs Easy Chinese News

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.

Chinese vocabulary notes #1

Chinese vocabulary notes (October 2021)

October has gone, but my Chinese vocabulary notes stay!

5 apps that help Chinese learners prepare for the HSK exam

6 apps to help you prepare for the HSK exam

The HSK test is a must for most Chinese learners. If you’re considering taking the HSK, you might be wondering which resources to use. These are 6 apps that help you prepare for the Chinese Proficiency Test.

7 ways to upgrade your Chinese reading skills in China

Reading skills are vital, not only for high-level proficiency of the Chinese language, but also for daily survival: from opening a bank account to ordering plane tickets. Reading is key. Here are seven ways to boost your Chinese reading ability while staying in China.

5 things to remove from your life to learn mandarin more effectively

5 simple things to remove from our lives to focus on Mandarin

As if learning Mandarin isn’t difficult enough, many distractions creep into our lives and keep us from advancing towards our goals. Here are five things to downscale in order to become a more effective learner.

Learning Mandarin: how to continue after you leave China?

I studied Chinese in China for six months. Returning home, I felt that I had made progress, but the time wasn’t adequate to become fluent. How to continue improving your Chinese after you leave?

Real immersion: Learning Chinese at Keats in Kunming

Interview: I talked to the co-founder of Keats Chinese language School Zier Liu (刘子尔) and asked her why students keep returning every year and how Keats adepts to the present Covid-situation.

What are the pros and cons of learning Chinese?

Are you considering to learn Chinese? What speaks in favor, what speaks against learning one of the most difficult languages in the world? This is what the Mandarin learning community has to say about it.

Pleco flashcards: yes or no?

The Pleco Chinese dictionary is a crucial app for Chinese learners. What about the Pleco flashcards add-on though, is it worth spending 10 bucks? How essential is the ‘dictionary-flashcards combination’ to get to the next level(s)?

10 tips for learning Chinese in China

What better place to learn Chinese than China: here are 10 things you can do to make the most of your learning experience in China.

Reading Chinese novels: To Live《活着》

“The little chickens will grow to be ducks, the ducks will become geese, and the geese will become oxen, and tomorrow will be better”.

Two free online tools to hack Chinese texts

Reading difficult Chinese texts? These two free tools assist you reading and extracting value from any Chinese text you want to study in-depth.

“Should you still learn Chinese?”

Should you still learn Chinese? My own answer hasn’t really changed, how about yours?

Improving your Chinese writing skills on Journaly

Want to improve your Chinese writing skills and get instant feedback from native speakers? Then you might want to try the new foreign language learning platform Journaly.

10 Chinese audiobooks for advanced Mandarin learners

Where do you find Chinese audiobooks that are interesting, high quality and not hidden behind a paywall?

HSK 6 Graded Chinese Reader - The Art of War

HSK 6 Chinese graded reader review: The Art of War

Who doesn’t want to read The Art of War in Chinese? Another review!