The first day of China Quest Shanghai 2023.

TLDR;

• One week in Shanghai, staying in a 4-star hotel near the GoEast Mandarin language training campus.
• Four hours of Mandarin instruction every day (20 hours total), which included 3 hours of classroom learning and 1 hour of "in-field" practice with the material learned in class. (This was my favorite part of the trip -- more on this later).
• Daily tours of scenic spots in Shanghai, accompanied by an English (and Chinese!) speaking tour guide and several Mandarin teachers.
• The opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world who were also students on the trip.
• I LOVED it. I learned a lot, had plenty of chances to practice Chinese, and returned more excited than ever to keep learning Chinese!

Arrival

After landing in Shanghai and going through customs, I was greeted by a man holding a large sign with my name on it.

Perfect! Any anxiety I had about where to go instantly melted away.

The driver took me to the private car and drove me directly to the hotel, where I met Maria, one of GoEast's co-founders and a program coordinator.

In addition to giving me basic details about the logistics of the coming week, Maria also gave me a portable WIFI brick (so I could stay connected to the Internet and use services without specifically needing a China SIM) and a pre-loaded metro card to be used on all forms of public transportation for the week.

The Hotel

Our hotel was equidistant from Jing An temple (a major tourist hotspot surrounded by restaurants, malls, and cafes) and the GoEast campus. Easy access to the subway and walkable access to countless shops and cafes. Perfect.

My hotel room. Simple and modern.

Heading out the first day, ready for adventure.

The hotel lobby, where I most certainly beat all my opponents at foosball.

Jing An temple at night.

The GoEast Campus

The "Calm before the storm" at about 8:45am every day, just before the teachers arrived.

A space to chill during breaks. Coffee, water, and snacks included -- because no one wants to teach hangry students ;)

A few teachers have arrived!

The Teachers

The teaching staff at GoEast are career teachers who (in addition to formal study in education at university) have undergone a rigorous 2-month training program prior to taking students at GoEast. Further, each teacher is continuously subject to peer review of their teaching methods to ensure their students have the best learning experience.

Every teacher I met was well above average -- with quite a few being *outstanding* in their ability to teach concepts while encouraging students to continue their conversations with Chinese.

I've previously written on how to choose a Chinese language school. GoEast ticks all the boxes!

The Daily Schedule

• 7:30 am - I woke up each day with just enough time to shower, get dressed, and head downstairs to meet my other program participants in the hotel restaurant.
• 8:00 am - Eat a quick breakfast from the included buffet (coffee, muffins, eggs, bacon, dumplings, vegetables, toast, fruit, yogurt, fresh juices, etc.) while discussing yesterday's classes & activities, finish any remaining homework, and practice Chinese with other hotel guests.
• 8:45 am - Walk (as a group) over to the GoEast campus. The walk was about 15 minutes down Wulumuqi Road, passing coffee shops, bakeries, and young professionals commuting to work.
• 9:00 am to 12 Noon: Three hours of Mandarin instruction and one hour of "In-field" experience.
• 12-2: Walk to a nearby restaurant and enjoy Chinese cuisine.
• 2-6 pm: Walking tours around Shanghai scenic spots with English and Chinese-speaking guides.
• Before Bed: Light homework, typically reviewing and previewing, ~30mins. I would also put the words I learned that day into my Hack Chinese "China Quest" list and spend a few minutes reviewing them. No sense in forgetting what I learned!

I added vocabulary from our classroom and activities each day into Hack Chinese. Hack Chinese already knows which words I have learned previously -- so my reviews were focused on those words I actually needed to review!

The number of steps I walked each day. Can you tell which week was China Quest, which included several hours of walking around Shanghai every day?

The Crown Jewel of China Quest - "In-field" experiences

Each day, our learning material was accompanied by an "In-field" experience, where we could bring what we learned into the real world and practice!

In-field experiences:

• Monday - Learn about food and ordering at a restaurant
  In-field: Order lunch in Chinese at a nearby Chinese restaurant
  
  
• Tuesday - Learn about the ecosystem of apps that power daily life in China
  In-field: Interview Chinese teachers (whom you do not yet know) about their app preferences, then report back to your class
  
  
• Wednesday - Learn how to use apps to order food delivery
  In-field: Order food and coordinate delivery with the delivery person after observing various food delivery spaces at the nearby office parks
  
  
• Thursday: Learn about the culture surrounding 网红 (internet-famous hotspots and celebrities)
  In-field: Interview three strangers (on the street!) about their perspective on China's 网红 culture

Transformational

While my Chinese level was well above what was required to complete these tasks, it still felt great to accumulate more experience using Chinese "in the wild." It's sometimes easy to forget that you can use your Chinese outside of a classroom!

For some of the other program participants, these in-field experiences were game-changing.

Why?

Because nothing improves your confidence with Chinese like actually using it. You can study from books and apps and in classrooms all day, but successfully navigating real conversations in your target language is what dreams are made of!

I was nervous

We were all quite nervous about approaching strangers on the street to ask if we could interview them. I'd be nervous if I had to do that in English! 

...and it was awesome.

But we were never really at risk of failing; teachers were nearby who could jump into assist if you needed it.

For some students, ordering Chinese in a restaurant was proof that they had a command of Chinese that was good enough to live in China. What is the value of an experience like that?

I wish more learning programs made these types of experiences a cornerstone of the curriculum!

Our in-field experience was ordering Chinese food; the reward was plates of 小笼包 and other Shanghai delicacies.

Success! Nom nom nom...

Our third in-field experience began with ordering food delivery.

Success! With food delivered, it was time to eat.

Our fourth in-field experience was interviewing strangers on the street about their perceptions of 网红.

Another student interviewing a 陌生人.

A program participant explained what she is looking for in China.

Who is China Quest good for?

People of all ages can enjoy China Quest. Our group had students from 25-50 years old.

In my estimation, three types of people can benefit from this type of short-term intensive experience:

1. People looking to re-ignite their passion for learning Chinese. This was me. I've studied formally in the past, but I mostly keep up my language now as a hobby, watching Chinese TV shows and listening to Podcasts. I speak Chinese occasionally, but not nearly as much as I used to.
   
   For people like me, China Quest is a great chance to speak Chinese daily, surrounded by a supportive network of students and teachers. I have yet to find any activity more motivating (to learn Chinese) than simply engaging in genuine conversations in Chinese.
2. People approaching (or squarely on, or even escaping from) the intermediate plateau. If you've been studying for a while and need a boost of energy and conversation experience to jog your memory of why you are learning Chinese in the first place, this will be a great experience. You'll learn a few new things and have abundant opportunities to practice in class and outside of class.
3. "Advanced" Beginners. If you've learned Pinyin, have memorized several hundred words, and can read simple textbook dialogs, you will be well prepared to learn a lot on China Quest. But while China Quest is intense, it is also short, so the more you prepare before you go, the better.
   
   Two great ways to prepare could be using Hack Chinese to increase your vocabulary and attending online classes with GoEast or other excellent schools.

Spotted in the GoEast language center! Wait, what? You don't follow their YouTube Channel?! Here's the link: GoEast YouTube Channel.

After-class adventures.

Presumably, these two were reading someone's opinion on why *not* to use Hack Chinese to increase your Chinese vocabulary...?

The last day of the Shanghai portion of China Quest, 2023.

Conclusion

I've lived in Beijing and Shanghai (many years ago), and have resided in Hong Kong for the past nine years -- and even I thought this trip was spectacular.

If you have the time and can afford it, it is worth seriously considering -- especially if you have never been to China. 

Every aspect of the trip was on "easy mode": arranging a visa, booking the hotel, airport pickup, excellent instruction, and teacher-guided in-field exercises.

If you've been studying Chinese for a while, sooner or later, you'll probably ask yourself, "What is it all for?"

China Quest could be one part of that answer. 

Applications are Open!

GoEast is currently accepting applications to their winter program (Dec. 25th, 2023, to Jan. 5th, 2024) and next year's summer program (Summer 2024).

(If you mention Hack Chinese, you'll get three free private lessons and a free massage. What!!? :)

Details can be found on the program page: https://goeastmandarin.com/study-in-china/

Learn Basic Chinese Vocabulary for a Strong Foundation

Memorizing 150 of the most basic Chinese words is a realistic, achievable goal to work towards as you start your Chinese learning journey.

If you have no experience with the Mandarin language and Chinese characters, prepare to learn a lot as you take your first steps.

To start with, in written Chinese, there’s no alphabet but individual characters you must memorize. As you’ll also learn through your studies, you will have to learn how these individual characters come together with pronunciations (including the different tones!) and different meanings.

This can all be a lot to take in at once. It takes some time to get good at recognizing Chinese characters by sight and associating them with their correct pronunciations and meanings, so it’s a good idea to spend time concentrating on the basics and getting used to working with them.

This is why, when you’re just getting started with your Chinese studies, learning basic Chinese words should be the right choice. Learning simple Chinese words introduces you to Chinese characters without confusing you with extra nuances and grammatical concepts that you don’t have to worry about for the time being.

Why 150 Basic Chinese Words?

We recommend focusing on 150 words for several reasons. One reason is that 150 words is the number of words you’re required to know for the first level of the current version of the HSK exam. For the full list of 150 words, you can check out Hack Chinese’s list of HSK Level 1 vocabulary.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the exam, the HSK exam (汉语水平考试; pinyin: Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) is an international standardized Mandarin proficiency exam administered by the Chinese government for non-native speakers. It is currently divided into six levels according to skill.

Basically, it’s a great official way to prove your level of proficiency in Mandarin, so passing the first level of the HSK exam is a great goal for beginners. Passing the first level would also put you on the right track for continuing your Chinese studies and passing the other HSK exams!

As a side note, you may or may not have heard about an “old HSK exam” and a “new HSK exam.” If you have, and you’re wondering whether these 150 words are still good to learn — yes, they are!

The level 1 HSK exam still tests for this 150-word list, and the 150 words on the list represent some of the most common words you would learn anyway. The new HSK level 1 covering 503 words probably won’t go into effect until 2024 at the earliest.

Use Spaced Repetition

To memorize these 150 basic Chinese words as efficiently as possible, use Chinese flashcards enhanced with the spaced repetition algorithm.

If you learn Chinese words using spaced repetition, you will build a solid foundation for your studies. As you provide yourself with a working bank of characters and words to draw from, spaced repetition techniques will help you best remember them long term.

How Does Spaced Repetition Work?

Spaced repetition is a tool that makes the most of flashcard study by helping you schedule your flashcard reviews. This scheduling helps learners efficiently retain the words they’ve learned by helping learners target their “weak” memories. 

If you use spaced repetition in your study sessions, you will be regularly reviewing the words you’ve already learned. In this way, spaced repetition techniques aim to help you move information into your long-term memory.

However, you won’t be reviewing your flashcards at random. Spaced repetition techniques ensure you’re reviewing the words you need to see just before you forget them. This means that spaced repetition helps learners concentrate on the material they need to work on. 

So if a flashcard is new or difficult, you’ll see it more often. If a flashcard is old or easy, you’ll see it less often. An algorithm can take care of this for you.

As a result, spaced repetition also saves time, since you don’t have to review the words that are easy for you. 

Fortunately, using Chinese flashcards with spaced repetition is a great way to learn Chinese vocabulary, so definitely use spaced repetition as you’re trying to learn your 150 basic words.

Benefit from Spaced Repetition Software

Don’t try to manage a spaced repetition system on your own. Use an app. 

To learn Chinese vocabulary, in particular, use a platform like Hack Chinese that is dedicated to learning Chinese. Hack Chinese offers resources that are specific to Chinese learners, like a built-in dictionary and pre-built vocabulary lists. With Hack Chinese’s HSK Level 1 vocabulary list, you can jump into studying your 150 words without having to build a deck of flashcards on your own.

The simple format of the flashcard allows you to test yourself for correct knowledge of characters, pronunciations, and meanings. 

Keep Study Sessions Short and Consistent

In fact, we actually recommend limiting your daily study sessions to 20 minutes a day.

When many Chinese learners first start their learning journey, they naturally feel excited and enthusiastic. Their vocabulary study sessions might last an hour long.

In this case, however, more is less. Keep in mind that during your study sessions you’ll also be actively reviewing the vocabulary you’ve already learned. Your study load won’t be limited to just ten new words a day, but also your reviews!

If you take on learning too many words, you won’t be able to effectively process and retain the words in your active vocabulary in the long run. This can lead to disappointing experiences where you end up not remembering most of the words you tried to learn in the short span of time you felt excited.

There’s no need to make your review workload too heavy or risk burning yourself out. If you stick to a pace of just 20 minutes a day, you’ll learn around your goal of ten words a day and easily be able to learn 150 words in 15 days.

With flashcards, consistency is key, so ideally you need to add flashcard practice to your daily routine. Habits are easy to put into place when they feel like easy and natural components of your daily routine. This is another reason why we recommend starting with small study sessions so you can ease into making flashcard study a daily habit. 

Give Yourself a Head Start on Chinese Fluency

So now you have your list of 150 basic Chinese words, you know how to use a spaced repetition app, and you’re going to study consistently in short sessions over 15 days. If you learn how to keep up these habits in the long run, you’ll be able to take yourself all the way to Chinese fluency!

If you can get yourself feeling confident about ordering Chinese food, you’re going to have a much better experience eating out in China — your stomach will thank you!

In this article, we’ll help you learn all the basics you need to know for dining in China, including reading Chinese menus and ordering food in Mandarin. With this preparation, the next time you head out to eat, you’ll be able to grab a chair and dig into the meal without sweating your Chinese.

Ordering Food in Chinese: Top things to know

Entering the Restaurant and Getting a Table

Entering into the atmosphere of a bustling Chinese restaurant can overwhelm the senses with the enticing aromas of food and drink and the bright sounds of laughter and conversation. In China (and Asian cultures in general), people are more likely to socialize with family or friends over a meal in family-friendly establishments (particularly for certain special occasions like the Mid-Autumn Festival in China). 

Lively Chinese conversation in restaurants can make them very noisy places. In fact, people often associate the noise level of an eatery with the quality of its dishes, so if you’re looking for great eats, the more noise, the better!

Below are some useful words and phrases for when you walk into a restaurant and are trying to get seated or get take-out in Chinese:

Actually Ordering Food in Chinese

Once you get settled at your table, it’s time to check out the menu and order your food.

The tradition in China is to share, so when you’re ordering in a group, know that you’re all ordering for everyone, family style. 

If you’re trying to decide how much food to order for your group, a good rule of thumb is to order one dish per person, though the Chinese custom is to err on ordering too much food to show generosity and hospitality. 

Chinese Menus

Some restaurants offer menus with English translation, but most local restaurants only have Chinese menus available. Fortunately, many restaurants include pictures of their most recommended or popular dishes.

In any case, it’s a good idea to know your food vocabulary. It’s rarely a fun experience to order a dish only to realize upon receiving it that you didn’t actually know what you were asking for. 

Using Hack Chinese, you can build up handy vocabulary lists (like these ones pre-built for “food” and “Chinese food”) to ensure that you know how to talk about food in Mandarin and that you can order your dumplings just how you like every time. 

Here’s a list of some of the most popular Chinese dishes you might want to know:

…and here are some fast food favorites:

Receiving Your Order

When your food gets to your table, check to make sure you’ve got all the right dishes. Once you’re ready, dig in!

Loud tongue clicking and slurping are signs of being happy with your food. And eating everything that’s on the table? That’s actually quite rude in Chinese culture.

Here’s some vocab that will help with this stage of the meal:

Paying the Bill

In China, meals are eaten relatively quickly, and it is customary to leave the restaurant as soon as everyone is finished.

When it comes to paying for the meal, men usually pay for women on dates, and older people typically pay for younger people.

As your meal comes to a close, here are some phrases you might want to have handy:

Is There Tipping in China?

It’s not customary to tip in restaurants in China. If the service was exceptionally good, and you are paying in cash, you can simply ask them to keep the change as a tip.

Some (Chinese) Food for Thought

Eating Chinese food can be a fantastic opportunity to get to know more about Chinese culture and learn Chinese vocabulary.

Even if you don’t have a chance to go to China, you can attempt to practice your new skills wherever you live by patronizing Chinese restaurants (though be aware that not all Chinese restaurants operate using Chinese). If you’re fortunate, you’ll find tasty local opportunities for practicing how to order food in Mandarin. 

If you find yourself planning to eat out using the Chinese language (in China or elsewhere), prepare by looking over some vocabulary for ordering food in Chinese. The smoother your interactions with the restaurant staff go, the more of your own attention you’ll be able to direct towards your company and your food. Allow yourself to experience and enjoy your meal rather than fret about your language skills! After all, scrumptious food is one of the best parts of learning about another culture.

There’s a lot to keep track of, but once you’ve learned some Chinese words, you should be able to answer these basic questions about them. But how do you keep yourself from eventually forgetting the word and its characteristics? 

This question has to do with vocabulary retention, or how much of your vocabulary you’re able to remember over time. Your goal with your vocabulary retention should be to make quick, efficient progress by holding onto the words you’ve already learned while steadily learning new ones.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to remember Chinese characters by actively using your vocabulary. With active practice, they’ll be ready for action whenever you decide to read, write, listen to, or speak Mandarin.

How to Remember Chinese Characters: Comprehensible Input

One great way to work on your vocabulary retention is the use of comprehensible input.

What is Comprehensible Input?

The term “comprehensible input” refers to a method of language acquisition that uses learning materials at optimal difficulty levels for language learners.

Learners using comprehensible input interact with learning materials in which they understand most—but not all—of the vocabulary and grammar structures they encounter, hence it is “input” that is “comprehensible.”

The general idea is that learners using comprehensible input are able to unconsciously acquire new vocabulary and grammar structures through exposure while practicing the skills they’ve already acquired. 

As for how comprehensible input addresses the question of how to remember Chinese characters: when you’re learning through comprehensible input, you’re constantly putting your old skills to active use.

Let’s say you’re using comprehensible input to learn English as a second language and you come across this sentence: “I speak two yerpids: English and Chinese.” You don’t know what “yerpids” means, but you can probably guess from context that it means something close to “languages.” This is because you already know the words “I,” “speak,” “two,” “English,” etc., and understand the basic structure of the sentence. Deciphering the unknown word “yerpids” from its context helps you simultaneously practice using what you already know and acquire new knowledge.

Putting Comprehensible Input to Work

To put comprehensible input to work in your Chinese studies, you need to find the appropriate materials. If you are at a low-intermediate level, try exposing yourself to reading and listening materials at the high-intermediate level. If you’re at a high-intermediate level, use materials from the low-advanced level.

As a rough guide, you should be able to understand about 90–98% of the material (you should adjust within this range to find the difficulty level that works best for you). If you find that most of the Chinese articles and blogs on the internet are too difficult for you right now, graded readers are a great resource, and there are many fantastic Chinese graded readers on the market right now.

Finally, the more comprehensible input you absorb through your reading and listening, the better. To help keep you engaged, find articles, podcasts, and videos that genuinely interest you. Since you should understand most of what you’re reading or listening to, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to find material that you truly enjoy.

Comprehensible input is great for gradually acquiring new knowledge while accumulating valuable practice with what you’ve already learned. However, comprehensible input isn’t enough for targeting specific words and grammar structures that you need to practice or review.

This is where spaced repetition software can come in to dramatically up your vocabulary retention.

How to Remember Chinese Characters: Spaced Repetition Software

As your vocabulary grows and the words you learn become more specialized, you might run into two issues when you think about how to remember Chinese characters:

1. Once you’ve learned hundreds or thousands of words, it can be difficult if not impossible to know which of them you need to target with practice without some technological help.
2. As you learn more, the words you study become progressively more specialized or technical, meaning you encounter them less and less frequently in your comprehensible input, particularly at advanced levels.

Spaced repetition software handles both of these issues particularly well.

Spaced repetition software, when integrated into a platform like Hack Chinese, offers learners something like a personal coach for their vocabulary. It monitors the words that are hard for them to remember, and it suggests that learners review these critical words with Chinese flashcards at exactly the moment they're most at risk of forgetting them. Essentially, it identifies weak spots in your vocabulary and helps you strengthen them.

Spaced repetition software also ensures you have a stable ground of vocabulary from which to draw when practicing comprehensible input. Comprehensible input requires a good base of active vocabulary whose characters you can easily recognize when you see them. Spaced repetition software trains you to recognize characters faster and more accurately.

All of these qualities make spaced repetition software a great companion for comprehensible input in Chinese study plans. Spaced repetition techniques can be scaled up to any number of words, and they furthermore target the material you need to review no matter how frequently or infrequently they appear in your other learning materials.

Combine These Methods to Remember Your Chinese Vocabulary Long Term

Hopefully, this article has been able to teach you more about how to remember Chinese characters with comprehensible input and spaced repetition software. Together, comprehensible input and spaced repetition software provide you with a sturdy structure to support your vocabulary retention goals. Their individual strengths cover the other’s weaknesses and allow you to study Chinese as efficiently as possible, make steady progress, and hold onto the ground you’ve already gained. 

Integrate comprehensible input and spaced repetition software like Hack Chinese into your Mandarin study plan to ensure you remember your Chinese vocabulary months and even years into the future.

For starters, to improve your reading skills, you can watch Netflix movies with Chinese subtitles. To improve your listening skills, you can watch Chinese movies with English subtitles. Chinese content from Netflix also provides examples of “real world” Mandarin language use, including slang and informal speech patterns to help you learn Chinese vocabulary in context.

Furthermore, because Netflix is about entertainment and having fun, it makes it easy to find the motivation to study. To help you learn Chinese with Netflix as efficiently as possible, here are some tips.

5 Tips for Studying with Netflix in Chinese

1. Find Shows and Movies That Interest You

You should look for content that you actually want to watch. If you’re forcing yourself to watch a historical drama but you’d rather be watching that latest thriller, go for the thriller (and the same goes for the reverse situation)! 

Find shows that you want to watch because they interest you. They should bring some additional value or pleasure to your life. Even if one of your goals when watching Netflix is to learn more Mandarin, don’t watch just anything — watch something that excites you!

If a show bores you, you’re not going to watch it. This is true for shows in English, and it’ll be even more so for shows in a second language.

2. Find Shows and Movies That Are Relevant to Your Chinese Learning Goals

Find content that introduces you to vocabulary and situations that are useful to you. If you speak Chinese in your business dealings, consider finding a show that includes scenes of people doing business. If you want to improve your Chinese in everyday social situations, try watching shows that focus on everyday interactions! Chinese dramas on Netflix can be great for this kind of practice.

Exposing yourself to different situations through watching Netflix in Chinese will prepare you for real-life encounters when you want your Chinese skills to be at their best. This practice helps you feel more comfortable and confident.

3. Watch Your Programs with both English and Chinese Subtitles

If you’re watching a new show, watch it with both English and Chinese subtitles at the same time. This will help you understand the basic plot and intrigue better while you’re learning Chinese.

It’s not good to feel lost when you’re trying to get into a new show, and if you start watching your new show only in Chinese, that’s a risk you run. On the other hand, if you watch Netflix shows with Chinese subtitles and English subtitles, you not only ensure you understand the dialogue but also give yourself the opportunity to learn and memorize new Chinese characters. 

To make all of this easy to do, check out Language Reactor for “a Chrome extension that gives you superpowers over Netflix” (please note, we are not affiliated with this service). Really, it makes using Netflix in Chinese much more convenient for studying Chinese.

4. Take Note of Unknown Sentences and Words

You’re bound to encounter plenty of Chinese language material that you don’t know when you dive into a new show or movie. This can be everything from technical vocabulary to Chinese internet slang. Take this opportunity to fill in some of the gaps in your learning!

As you watch your show, write down all the sentences and words you don’t know. Then add them to your Hack Chinese word list to practice them and memorize them long term!

Don’t worry about trying to cover everything from a 45-minute episode. Just pick your favorite episode and spend 5–10 minutes watching and jotting down what you want to study later.

5. Listen and Repeat!

Carefully listen to the dialogue in whatever you’re watching and repeat what you hear. You should almost be speaking at the same time as the actors you’re imitating. This might take some practice, but you’ll get the hang of it over time.

This method helps you improve your fluency and pronunciation in the Chinese language. It also helps Chinese language learners understand how to talk naturally like a native speaker.

10 of the Best Mandarin Movies & TV Shows on Netflix Right Now

So if you want to improve your language skills with Netflix in Chinese but don’t know where to start with content selection, look over this list of popular contemporary flicks and see if one of them catches your attention.

1. The Untamed: “In a magical world of inter-clan rivalry, two soulmates face treacherous schemes and uncover a dark mystery linked to a tragic event in the past.”
2. Well-Intended Love: “To secure a bone marrow donation, an actress diagnosed with leukemia makes a marriage pact with a young CEO -- but love and secrets get in the way.”
3. The Rational Life: “A career-driven 30-something must contend with a cutthroat workplace, a love triangle and her nagging mom.”
4. Ashes of Love: “Hidden away by her mother, the Floral Goddess, the naïve Jinmi is drawn to Xufeng, the Heavenly Emperor's son. Yet forces conspire against them.”
5. Put Your Head On My Shoulder: “​​On the cusp of graduation, an accounting major searching for her career winds up living with a genius physics student who shakes up her daily routine.” 
6. Use for My Talent: “When the germophobic owner of a cleaning company encounters a slovenly employee, a romance blossoms as they help one another heal from their pasts.” 
7. Flavorful Origins: “Embark on a delightful journey through the culinary traditions of China and uncover the stories of the people who create and cherish its dishes.”
8. Handsome Siblings: “Clashing martial arts twins face relentless villains, thorny romance and brotherly rivalry as their troubled pasts catch up to them.”
9. Boss & Me: “The president of a large company and the woman he hired to be a blood donor for his sister fall in love, but his childhood crush looms in the background.”
10. The Perfect Match: “A night market vendor clashes with a lofty celebrity chef in a culinary challenge, fueling the first sparks of a romance.”

BONUS: Popular Chinese Online Video Platforms

Finally, if you are looking for some video content outside Netflix, here’s a brief summary of some of the top Chinese video platforms you can check out to access more Chinese video content.

Youku

Youku has been called the “YouTube of China,” but it also offers subscriptions for content like Netflix and Hulu do.

Bilibili

Bilibili is a platform for video sharing known for its dedication to anime culture as well as its bullet comments (known as Danmu) that scroll across the screen.

iQiyi

iQiyi is a platform that’s like a Chinese Netflix. It’s a great place to check out movies and TV shows.

Kuaishou

Kauishou is a short video platform that competes with Douyin. Users upload their own photos and short videos.

Tencent Video

Tencent Video hosts video content much like YouTube, but it also offers users much more content, like TV shows, movies, sporting events, and more.

The Most Bingeable Way to Study Chinese

Watching Chinese films and TV are great ways to study Mandarin, and we hope these lists and tips help you to improve your Chinese with Netflix (or another video hosting platform). On Netflix, you’re able to see actors communicating with each other in Chinese as people do in real life. This experience shows you how to harness your Chinese more fluently while improving your confidence.

Best of all, watching Netflix in Chinese is fun, so whenever you have the time, you can just kick back, grab some popcorn, and study Chinese at the same time. Who would’ve thought that Chinese study could be so easy?

This article will go over some info about the Winter Olympics this year before providing you with a handy list of relevant Chinese vocabulary, including words for Olympic sports in Chinese. Once you learn Chinese vocabulary related to the Olympics, you can chat about the games with your friends or colleagues, whether you’re discussing the opening and closing ceremonies, the national medal counts, or your favorite sports in Chinese.

Watching Sports in Chinese: The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Schedule for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies

Since the Olympics are in China this year, the opening and closing ceremonies should be exciting for anyone interested in sports and Chinese culture. Traditionally, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games have allowed the host country to showcase their national culture to the world. So, make sure to watch these to see what China has been planning.

Primetime coverage for the Olympic games in China started on February 3rd, and the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics began at 8 pm (China Standard Time) on February 4th.

The closing ceremony is on February 20th at 8 pm (China Standard Time). 

Winter Olympics 2022 Coverage

So, where can you catch the Winter Olympics this year?

If you live in the US, you can stream the Olympics on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, or the NBC Sports App. You can also watch the games on NBC, USA, or CNBC.

If you live elsewhere in the world, you can check out which networks are broadcasting the Olympics in other countries here.

Chinese Culture in the Opening Ceremony

References to Chinese symbols and culture were plentiful in this year’s opening ceremony in the Bird’s Nest, the same stadium that was used for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

A countdown that featured the use of the 24 solar terms of the traditional Chinese calendar kicked off the entire ceremony. For those unfamiliar with solar terms, they each last about half of a month and were devised in ancient times for agricultural purposes.

Even though it’s the Winter Olympics, the reference to these solar terms shows that China has invited the world to jointly observe the coming of spring. The countdown for the Olympic opening ceremony and its performances celebrated the Olympics as well as the start of the solar term “Start of Spring” (立春; lì chūn), which fell on February 4th. 

Since China is the host country of this Olympics, the Chinese language will also be used throughout the games alongside French and English, so keep your eyes and ears ready to see if you can pick up any Chinese as you watch. For a challenge, see how many of the Chinese country names in the Olympic snowflake cauldron you can read!

What about the Beijing Olympic mascots? Bing Dwen Dwen (冰墩墩; Bīng Dūn Dūn), a panda, is the official mascot of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Shuey Rhon Rhon (雪容融; Xuě Róng Róng), a Chinese lantern, is the official mascot of the 2022 Paralympics. Both mascots pay homage to Chinese culture as they welcome visitors and spectators from around the world to enjoy the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Vocabulary to Watch Sports in Chinese

If you’re a Chinese language learner, a foreigner in China, or just a fan of the Winter Olympics, you might want to have some Chinese vocabulary—like words for winter sports in Chinese—handy to talk about the games. Here’s a list of Chinese vocabulary for Olympic Games:

Conclusion

As you tune into the Games in Beijing this year to watch some sports in Chinese, we hope that you enjoy the Winter Olympics. Cheer on your favorite athletes, soak up some Chinese culture, and remember to practice the words you learn by using Hack Chinese’s custom vocabulary lists!

Technological advancements have supercharged the way we use flashcards. For one, they’re not just made of paper anymore. But perhaps more importantly, software developed specifically for flashcard use has made flashcards optimized for memory retention in ways that were not feasible with paper flashcards.

Since flashcards remain a staple in the study plans of many students who learn Chinese, it’s worth taking some time to go over how to best use them. Read on for some of our tips on how Mandarin learners can make the most of their flashcards and enhance how they learn Chinese vocabulary.

Top Tips for Chinese Flashcards Practice

1. Find a Flashcard App Dedicated to Chinese Language Learning

There are a lot of different flashcard apps nowadays. When it comes to learning Mandarin, you can do better than generic flashcard software.

In order to get started with flashcard apps designed for general use, Mandarin learners will have to fiddle with settings and preferences to make them compatible with and effective for studying Mandarin. Learners will also have to input all of their own Chinese vocabulary cards one by one, which takes a good chunk of time to do.

An app like Hack Chinese, which was designed specifically for learning Chinese, takes care of the entire flashcard interface for Mandarin learners. Hack Chinese includes a built-in dictionary as well as vocabulary lists that learners can use to conveniently grab all the Chinese flashcard content they need.

Over time, these features save Mandarin learners a lot of time and energy.

2. Power up your Chinese Flashcards with Spaced Repetition

When studying Chinese flashcards, make sure you take advantage of spaced repetition algorithms. Spaced repetition ensures that you maximize the benefits you receive from the time and energy you spend on your studies.

With spaced repetition, you know that every card you flip is being shown to you at just the right time. If you’d like to learn more about spaced repetition, you can read about the theory behind the idea here.

Hack Chinese is designed with spaced repetition in mind. Learning Mandarin means memorizing many different characters and words along with their meanings and pronunciations. To streamline the process, Hack Chinese’s spaced repetition system manages your learning material so you can work through an efficient flashcard schedule.

You don’t even have to think about it—Hack Chinese takes care of all the scheduling for you and makes sure you only review flashcards when you really need to.

3. Preview New Learning Material

Effective use of Chinese vocabulary flashcards means integrating them into your larger study plan. One way of doing this is by using flashcards to prime yourself for new learning material. If you know that you will be encountering certain words in the future, add them to your practice lists in advance. 

For example, you know that next week you’ll be starting a new chapter in your textbook. To prepare, add the vocabulary words from the next chapter to your study list for the current week. Then preview these new words before opening your textbook.

Though your understanding of the words will at first be mostly superficial, once you encounter the words in context next week, you’ll already have their definitions in your head. Now, instead of having to spend time looking up their definitions, you can concentrate on other activities like listening and speaking, allowing you to make the most of your time.

4. Set a Sustainable Pace for your Chinese Flashcards Practice

While Chinese flashcards can help any Mandarin learner bolster their vocabulary and improve their memory retention, finding the appropriate amount of time to spend studying Chinese to English flashcards can be tricky. As such, you should be mindful of how you plan your study schedule.

With Mandarin flashcards, consistency is key. Ideally, flashcards should be a part of your daily routine. If this sounds daunting at first, you should know you really have nothing to worry about. Your practice sessions will be effective if they are short, so you can ease into incorporating flashcards into your everyday life.

At Hack Chinese, we recommend limiting your daily study sessions to 20 minutes per day at most, but this is something you can work up to. For an easier approach, try starting with a five-minute session each day. Once you can complete these sessions with consistency, then in a couple of weeks, you can move your study sessions up to 10 to 15 minutes per day.

The goal here is to avoid frustration and burnout. As you study, you’ll have good motivation days, but also bad ones. Often when people start to study Chinese or start using a new app, they feel excited and enthusiastic. They’re able to complete one-hour sessions without breaking a sweat.

However, over time, that excitement and enthusiasm wear off. Eventually, one hour feels like an awfully long time to spend on Chinese flashcards.

This leads to the most common reason why people stop using their flashcards: they’re unable to keep up with the initial pace they set, causing their reviews to pile up and become overwhelming. Avoid this problem by taking your time and pacing yourself.

5. Keep Yourself Motivated

Feel the joy

In addition to keeping yourself from burning out, you need to keep yourself motivated. If you’re not careful, flashcards can come to feel monotonous, so you should actively find ways to keep yourself interested.

Luckily, there’s already a motivational factor built right into flashcards: that little spark of joy you feel when you correctly recall a card. Make sure you allow yourself to feel this happiness, not only because it makes you feel good, but also because it will keep you feeling satisfied with your studies and motivated to continue.

Take it slow

This is an additional reason why it’s important to find a sustainable pace for your Chinese flashcard studies and not bite off more than you can chew. If you move too fast with your studies and take on too much unfamiliar material, you can end up with an overwhelming pile of forgotten or unlearned cards, as we mentioned above.

Trying to get through these cards won’t give you that satisfying, motivating feeling, and this is definitely what you don’t want to happen if you’re trying to sustain your studies long-term. A healthy pace ensures solid memorization and retention as well as motivation and enthusiasm that you can sustain over the long run.

Celebrate the milestones

Now here’s one more way to motivate yourself. Consider that every single one of the cards you review becomes a part of your learning history. When you keep track of this data, you can analyze and visualize your progress and accomplishments over time. This is a great way to keep yourself motivated, and Hack Chinese makes this easy for you to do. 

Hack Chinese includes an in-depth learning analytics dashboard that tracks your performance and your completion of learning objectives, so you can see that every small step really does add up over time! Keeping track of where you’ve been with Chinese flashcards can show you that your hard work has actually gone towards accomplishments that you can see and measure.

Conclusion

Though technological advancements have changed the way we think about and use flashcards, they remain a great way to study Chinese vocabulary. Hopefully, the tips in this article will help you take advantage of all their benefits. 

If you’re looking for more tips to enhance your study of Chinese flashcards, look no further than our Study Guide!

Introducing humor into your Chinese conversations helps you immerse yourself in the Chinese language, culture, and society. As you’ll see in this post, many Chinese jokes rely on puns that play with unique quirks of the Chinese language. These puns aren’t always obvious. For example, many Chinese jokes about foreigners take advantage of situations in which a foreigner misses a crucial double entendre that is obvious to native speakers.

In addition to helping you learn Chinese vocabulary with more depth, jokes in Chinese also just let you have some fun. 

To help you practice your Chinese, improve your conversational skills, and have some fun while doing it, here are six great Chinese jokes that just might tickle your funny bone.

6 of the Best Chinese Jokes to Learn

1. Planes and stars

Explanation

This joke is a Chinese pun on the word “闪” (shǎn). “闪” can mean “to flash,” like how stars twinkle. “闪” can also mean “to dodge” as in “闪避” (shǎn bì) or “躲避” (duǒ bì), meaning “to dodge quickly.”

2. Spider-Man

Explanation

This one’s a pun on “Spider-Man” in Chinese, “蜘蛛人.” Its pronunciation, “zhī zhū rén,” sounds exactly like the pronunciation for “知豬人.” As a result, if you weren’t aware of Spider-Man’s name in Chinese, it would sound like “知豬人,” roughly translated as “I know, the pig-man.” 

3. Steak ‘meet’

Explanation

“熟” (shú) in Chinese can mean that food has been well cooked, but it also can be used to indicate the quality of relationship between people, meaning something like "familiar." For example, if we want to say "I am familiar with him," then in Chinese we can say: "我和他很熟” (wǒ hé tā hěn shú). To say “the meat is already cooked,” we can say: “肉已经熟了” (roù yǐ jīng shú le).

4. ABCD

Explanation

Don’t get it? Say “A比C低” out loud. In Chinese, “A is lower than C” sounds like “ABCD” (A bǐ C dī).

5. How much does it cost to get married?

6. “Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

In the end:

• Using humor effectively can be one of the hardest parts of learning Chinese, but hopefully, these Chinese jokes have given you a place to start. When you learn Chinese jokes and find the right time and place to use them, you can charm your unsuspecting Chinese friends and colleagues! 
• Learning about these Mandarin jokes will deepen your knowledge of the Mandarin language. If you’re learning Cantonese, finding and learning Cantonese jokes can also expose you to Cantonese puns. 
• If you want to see truly creative and hilarious uses of Chinese, learn some Chinese internet slang!
• Make sure to add the words you don’t know to one of your vocabulary lists on Hack Chinese to keep them fresh in your memory. Also, remember that Hack Chinese has built-in audio for every word you are learning so you can make the most out of your vocabulary practice. 

With thousands of words to learn, a method that is even a little bit more efficient could result in hundreds (or even thousands) of hours saved in the long run. 

There are two main challenges to learning Chinese vocabulary, and we will look at each one separately, along with specific solutions that will help you overcome them.

Main Challenges of learning Chinese vocabulary

Both issues are related to the structure of most Chinese language courses, and they both affect your long-term outcome. 

Challenge # 1 – Forgetting what was learned

Most language courses pay insufficient attention to how well students are retaining what they’ve learned (and focus instead on constantly teaching “new” material).

The consequences of this approach can be severe: over-confident students (“I’ve finished the textbook!”) with large gaps in their knowledge as they forget as fast as they learn.

What’s more unsettling is that most students are unaware how much they’ve forgotten until they find themselves struggling with material that should be easy to them.

If a student finishes a textbook, they should be able to open to any page months later and read it with ease, but this is often not the case.

Challenge #2 - Insufficient volume

For context, the highest level of the HSK (China’s official language proficiency exam) requires knowledge of around five hundred grammar patterns, and five thousand Chinese words.

And yet, when test-takers pass the highest level of the HSK and still find themselves struggling to understand written or spoken Chinese, it is almost always because they don’t know enough vocabulary.

Students who pass HSK 5 or 6 and then try to read “Harry Potter” in Chinese will be in for a rude surprise: there will still be hundreds or thousands of words they don’t know.

How can this be?

Well, it's quite obvious to everyone who reaches these levels: they haven’t learned enough words. They were never even expected to!

Unfortunately, few Chinese learning curriculums (including the HSK) prepare students with enough vocabulary to do the things they expect to be able to, like read a novel meant for adolescents.

This isn’t to say that the HSK is a “bad” proficiency exam, but rather suggests that it needs to be expanded.

Indeed, the Internet has recently been flush with content about the new version of the HSK exam. The new version has increased the number of levels, while simultaneously increasing the total required vocabulary from 5,000 words to 11,000. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

With these two challenges in mind (not learning enough, and forgetting what is learned), let’s explore how to practically solve the vocabulary problem.

Practical Techniques to learn Chinese vocabulary effectively

Technique #1 – Focus on Retention

No matter how good your learning strategy is, your long-term results will be suboptimal unless you have a good retention strategy (to remember what you learned).

Forgetting is a great way to maximize frustration; not only must you re-learn what you forgot, but you have to do it knowing that your initial efforts were wasted.

Unfortunately, unless you are constantly surrounded with Chinese language (like a child being forced to interact with adults for food or attention), even the most well-intentioned, ambitious students are likely to forget a majority of the Chinese vocabulary they study.

“But,” you might say, “my textbook repeats new words in future lessons, won’t this keep all my memories strong?”

Unfortunately, it won’t. The volume of Mandarin words you learn is far greater than could be reasonably stuffed into the dialogues of your textbook with sufficient repetition to make it all stick.

Smart students supplement their Chinese vocabulary learning with graded readers (a practice we highly recommend), but for most students who can’t read for hours a day, even this won’t be enough.

So how can you make sure you remember everything you learn? Spaced repetition.

Spaced Repetition

Often considered a learning methodology, we think spaced repetition is more of a retention methodology, that happens to be so good at retention, it can be used as a learning methodology, too.

Spaced repetition algorithms track every word you learn, and then schedule reviews after ever-increasing intervals as your overall familiarity with each word grows.

A common concern of students who haven’t yet fallen in love with spaced repetition for learning Chinese vocabulary is that they will spend too much time reviewing.

But the reality is the precise opposite: because your reviews are timed to occur only when you’re at risk of forgetting something, spaced repetition algorithms enable you to spend the least amount of time reviewing, while still keeping your memories strong.

In turn, you are then able to spend the maximum amount of time possible with other learning activities (like reading, speaking, etc.), all while being confident that you aren’t at risk of forgetting something you’ve already learned.

Spaced repetition is so exciting, we have an entire article devoted to it here. 

Technique #2 – Study Chinese vocabulary every single day

You might be thinking, “Isn’t this common sense? Of course, doing something every single day will yield better results!”

True. But vocabulary deserves special attention for two reasons: 

1. Vocabulary enables all of your other learning and practice methods. For example, you can't learn grammar patterns or read without first learning the vocabulary.
2. There is more raw vocabulary than grammar patterns, idioms, and everything else combined. 

Because growing your Chinese vocabulary is so foundational to learning Chinese, you should aim to devote at least ten minutes per day to vocabulary growth.

How should you actually go about learning Chinese vocabulary every day? There are two main learning paradigms: associative and rote. 

Associative learning

Associative learning essentially means connecting new knowledge to other (usually more interesting) knowledge in order to help you remember it.

In the context of learning Mandarin vocabulary, “more interesting” knowledge might be:

• a story you (or someone else) invented to provide meaning to the characters
• an understanding of the components that make up the characters (all with their own stories), that come together to provide meaning
• an artistic embellishment of each Chinese character, to make their meaning more obvious

Studies have shown that association-based learning is very powerful, as the more the new memory can latch onto, the more likely you are to retain it for a long time.

A potential disadvantage to associative learning, besides needing to first learn how to apply the technique effectively, is the additional burden of needing to memorize everything you are associating the new knowledge with. Many practitioners, however, don’t cite this as a problem. 

Rote learning

Rote learning is a (terribly uncool) term for repetitious learning, usually defined with words like “brute force memorization” or “boring”.

And that’s not entirely wrong: it is essentially testing your memory over and over until you can consistently remember the Chinese vocabulary you've learned.

The main advantage to rote learning is that there’s no technique to learn, and because there is so little to do, it’s extremely fast at installing short-term memories.

A disadvantage of rote learning is that you won’t have as deep an understanding of what you are learning. Without timely review, you are more likely to forget what you learned.

What’s the best way to learn Chinese vocabulary?

Both associative and rote learning methods work to learn Chinese vocabulary. Both learning methods have produced great students with large, strong vocabularies.

And both methods have the same goal: effortless familiarity with words that enables instant recall of their pronunciation and meaning, long after you first learn them.

A lot of learn-Chinese-character programs promote associative learning methods as the only way to go. And for the reasons mentioned above, we agree that associative learning methods can be extremely effective.

However, many people actually prefer rote learning methods, and there are strong reasons why.

Consider that by the time you truly “master” the words you are learning, you will have lost the necessity for whatever infrastructure you used to get there:

• If you made stories to learn every new word, you may still remember the stories you created, but you (hopefully) don’t need them anymore.
• If you learned by rote repetition and have tested yourself on the word 20+ times over several months or years, you (probably) don’t need to keep testing yourself.

This being the case, by what measure should you evaluate learning methods and choose one that is right for you?

The sooner you can read, the better

For most students, learning new Chinese words is simply a stepping stone towards something more meaningful: being able to read, write, listen and speak in Chinese.

In that context, we think the below assertions are pretty obvious:

• Reading is the best way to get better at reading.
• Speaking is the best way to get better at speaking.
• Listening is the best way to get better at listening.
• Writing is the best way to get better at… well, you get the point.

Assuming you want to be able to read, write, speak, and listen, you best plan to spend a lot of time doing them!

The sooner you can get to these activities, the better.

Rote learning will get you reading sooner

Although rote learning is very fast, it doesn't achieve the 'deep understanding' that comes with some forms of associative learning methods, especially if your only learning activity is learning new words atomically:

But remember, your real goal isn’t just to learn words. Your real goal is to actually use the Chinese characters you are learning. For example, by reading.

Let’s add ‘reading’ onto both methods:

Why does rote + reading get the same high quality score that associative does? Because reading helps solidify your familiarity with the words. 

Rote + Reading creates a positive feedback loop: quickly learning words with rote learning lets you read more material sooner, reading then helps strengthen your understanding of the words you learned, your strengthened understanding then make rote learning become quicker and easier, which lets you learn faster and read more, etc.

Is rote "better" for learning Chinese vocabulary than associative?

That's for you to decide. As mentioned earlier, associative learning methods have do have a few advantages. And, if the associative learning methods you use are based on the radicals and components of the words you are learning, it might deepen your connection with the language.

But we think associative learning methods should be saved for characters and words you can't seem to remember, and not used for every word you learn.

Why? Because you can learn most characters quickly and easily without it.

Fast and Furious: Learning vocabulary with Hack Chinese

Rote learning with spaced repetition can dramatically increase your Chinese vocabulary in a short period of time.

How fast?

I learned 565 new words in 20 days!

Max Hobbs, LTL Mandarin, Beijing, China

If you’re a longtime fan of associative learning, try unleashing yourself for a week and try rote learning with a spaced repetition tool like Hack Chinese.

Many students find it easier, and more exciting to progress, and that helps you get to more challenging learning activities (like reading or watching television) a lot sooner.

Hack Chinese is a retention-first spaced repetition platform for learning Chinese vocabulary online. (Retention-first means that retaining strong mastery of words you have previously learned is given priority over learning new words.)

With the wide range of stats, graphs and numbers available, it’s cool to see your progress on a bigger screen.

Callan Quinn, Live the Language School, Beihai, China

To uncover the full potential of Hack Chinese for boosting your vocabulary memorization, check out the video below. This 6-minute video created by ExcelMandarin provides a comprehensive overview of Hack Chinese and its features:

Conclusion

Choose your vocabulary learning strategy carefully, and you can save yourself an enormous amount of time.

The more your Chinese vocabulary grows, the easier your learning journey becomes, so make sure you choose a method and a platform that you can use daily and stick with for long enough for your effort to matter.

In this post, we dive into some of the traditions and taboos that make Chinese birthdays special. We’ve also put together a list of relevant vocabulary for you to prepare your Mandarin skills for celebrating turning one year older.

Chinese Birthday Traditions

1. Age Calculations are Different in Chinese Culture

In Western cultures, children start at age zero when they’re born and turn one the following year. Birthdays in China work a bit differently. Traditionally, children start at the age of one when they’re born. According to Chinese first birthday traditions, when Chinese New Year comes around, these children turn two, and they continue to age one year every Chinese New Year.

This means that when Chinese children celebrate their first birthday party, they’re actually turning two! 

However, this counting method is rather a tradition than a rule as in the official documents the age of a Chinese person is indicated the same way as it is in the rest of the world. To differentiate between the two numbers, Chinese people say 周岁, which stands for “one full year of life” and 虚岁 which means the person’s nominal age. 

Interesting fact: If you’re curious about someone’s age but don’t want to seem impolite, you can ask them for their Chinese zodiac sign. Since the Chinese zodiac goes through a twelve-year cycle of animals, knowing someone’s sign is an easy way of calculating their age.

2. Chinese Birthday Food

According to Chinese birthday celebration traditions, there are two kinds of food that are important to serve on Chinese birthdays: long noodles and red eggs.

Long noodles—or “longevity noodles”—symbolize living a long life. Noodles are left unbroken in bowls, and you should try to eat them as one continuous strand!

As for the red eggs, peeling their shells evokes getting a fresh start.

Interesting fact: Loved ones and family members who can’t make it in person to birthday parties will often eat long noodles themselves. This lets them independently observe the tradition of enjoying Chinese birthday food to wish the celebrating person a long life.

3. Chinese Gift-giving Etiquette

Who doesn’t love birthday presents? Just as it is in the West, gift giving is a part of Chinese birthday traditions. If you’re preparing a gift for a Chinese birthday celebration, make sure you follow these rules:

• First, make sure you choose a gift that the recipient will appreciate. Look for items that they will find useful—beverages and snacks like wine, tea, and fruit baskets are popular options.
• Presentation counts! Wrap your gift well, and be aware that differently colored wrappers carry different symbolic meanings. For example, wrapping a present in red paper and a gold ribbon can be a gesture of good luck.
• When it comes time to offer your gift, be aware that the recipient may at first refuse your gift out of a sense of etiquette. This is completely normal in Chinese gift-giving culture. If you find yourself in this situation like the one offering a gift, you should respond by politely insisting upon giving them your present!

Interesting fact: If you give a gift, don’t expect to see the other person immediately unwrap it in front of you. Doing so would imply that they care more about the gift than about you.

Chinese Birthday Taboos

1. Belated Birthday Celebrations

Is it bad luck to celebrate your birthday early? According to Chinese birthday traditions, the opposite is true. When planning a birthday celebration, you should actually aim for a date that falls on or before the actual date of birth. Belated birthday celebrations are taboo.

The reasoning goes that If you celebrate a belated birthday party, it’ll feel like you’ve had two birthdays, making you feel two years older instead of just one.

Interesting fact: In other cultures - including Russian culture - planning birthday celebrations before the actual birth date is bad luck!

2. Forbidden Birthdays for Women and Men

For women, the following birthdays actually go uncelebrated according to Chinese birthday traditions:

• 30: The age of 30 is considered a risky and dangerous year for women, so rather than turning 30, they remain 29 for another year.
• 33: A woman’s 33rd birthday is particularly ominous. To neutralize bad luck, Chinese women will buy some meat, go behind a kitchen door, and hack the meat 33 times. This allows the women to cast evil spirits into the meat and then throw it away.
• 66: At the age of 66, Chinese women rely on their daughters or relatives to repeat the same 33rd-birthday ritual. This time, the meat is chopped 66 times.

For men, on the other hand, 40 is a year of bad luck, so they forgo a 40th birthday celebration and stay 39 for another year. Some men will actually wait until the age of 60 to really celebrate their birthdays.

3. Taboo Gift Choices

Back to birthday presents. In Chinese culture, there are also taboos in place regarding what gifts you should give others. Try to avoid these items as birthday presents:

• Watches and clocks: As timekeeping pieces, these can remind people of their mortality. Avoid giving these to older people in particular.
• Candles: Since candles are closely associated with funeral and mourning rituals, these are also reminders of death.
• Chrysanthemums: Like candles, chrysanthemums are a reminder of death because of their ritual uses. Other flower arrangements still make for good gifts.
• Necklaces, ties, and belts: These clothing accessories are seen as intimate gifts. Save these for your significant other.
• Shoes: “Shoes” in Chinese (鞋; xié) sounds like “evil” (邪; xié). Avoid sending bad luck by not giving shoes as a gift!

Chinese Birthday Vocabulary

Ready to learn Chinese vocabulary so you can say “Happy Birthday” in Chinese and express your birthday cheer? 

Here’s a handy vocab list related to birthdays. These would be great to use with Hack Chinese to build a custom “birthday” vocabulary list.

Now, are you ready to get in the birthday spirit? Check out this video to learn the “Happy Birthday” song in Chinese!

Conclusion

Hopefully after reading through these tips on Chinese birthday traditions, taboos, and vocabulary, you’ve learned something new about Chinese birthdays and feel prepared to wish your friends a happy birthday when the time comes around! For some practice, keep in mind that Hack Chinese is a great tool for listening to and practicing your pronunciation of Chinese birthday vocabulary so you can nail your birthday greetings.

Or maybe you just want something to point your friends to when they ask you, “Is Chinese hard to learn?”

Either way, in this article we’ll highlight the features of English that you likely take for granted, and compare them with their Chinese counterparts, so you can judge for yourself whether Mandarin Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn.

Key challenges of learning Chinese for English speakers 

Chinese characters vs. English alphabet

If English is your native language, you probably spent the first week or so in primary school learning the 26 characters of the Roman alphabet.

While it may have seemed like quite the struggle when you were six years old, learning the alphabet is one of the only times you were able to advance your language skills so radically in such a short period of time.

The alphabet is so staggeringly useful that, while you may not have known it then, you not only learned the building blocks to English, but hundreds of other languages as well. As far as language technology goes, it’s hard to beat the contribution of an alphabet.

Here’s what learning the alphabet enabled you to do:

• Learn all the words
  After learning only 26 “characters”, you will have acquired the building blocks for every single English word you’ll ever learn.

• Look words up in a dictionary
  Don’t know what "abnegation" means? Because you know the alphabet, look up "abnegation" in a dictionary is a trivial task.

• Speak words out loud
  Perhaps you don’t know what the word ‘abnegation’ means, but if you see it written in a book or magazine, you can likely say it out loud (once you learn the pronunciation rules).
  
  It turns out, this is pretty useful. You can do some pretty fantastic things, like ask your friend, “Hey Tom, what does, 'abnegation’ mean?" (something you can't do with Chinese, as we'll discuss in a moment).

• Type every word on a simple keyboard
  There are only 26 characters, so keyboards fit nicely on a desk, or even on a small touchscreen display.

• Arrange things in a predictable order
  Sometimes there is an obvious way to put things in order. For example, arranging people by height if you’re trying to choose people for your basketball team.
  
  But sometimes there is no obvious way to arrange things, and yet a predictable order is still helpful. No problem, just put things in alphabetical order.
  
  Just how great is alphabetical order?  Imagine organizing books in a library, or indexes in the back of a book, or a list of names for each table at a wedding party, or names of stock tickers, or anything else… without alphabetical order. 

All that stuff above is pretty cool, right? Okay, now let's see what Chinese has to offer.

Chinese has no alphabet

Time for your first day of Chinese for English speakers class. We won’t learn all the characters today, but here is about 0.002% of them:

(This is definitely not how to learn Chinese characters.)

But the reality remains: there are tens of thousands of “characters” to learn.

In Chinese, looking up words is a challenge

Without an alphabet, dictionaries are considerably more challenging to use.

With traditional, physical dictionaries, you might be able to look up words according to their character components or radicals (fancy terms for the smaller pieces-of-each-character that come together to comprise individual characters). Doing so is very slow.

Modern, digital dictionaries let you hand-write the character, which is certainly a lot faster.

(Some of you right now: “What about Pinyin?!” I know. We’ll get to that below).

In Chinese, saying words out loud is impossible unless you already know the word

When you come across a new word (or individual character) in Chinese, you won’t know how it is pronounced. (While advanced learners may say, "yes, but the components often provide hints as to how to pronounce it", the reality is most students aren’t advanced learners, and even those rules aren’t deterministic).

Not being able to say new words out loud leaves you at a considerable disadvantage: how do you ask someone what the word means? Answer: you either a) describe the character based on its components and hope they’ll be able to picture it accurately in their mind or b) show them the character (not say it out loud). 

Typing in Chinese is like playing a video game

With thousands of unique characters, native English speakers often wonder how to type in Chinese. The first method is typing according to strokes. While this is quite a simplified explanation, you essentially tap each “stroke” until you build up the character you want. 

The second method has been made possible only in recent years, which is hand-writing each stroke with your finger on a touch-screen. When you’re finished, several options for which character you were trying to type will appear, and you can select the correct one.

Pinyin introduces a much better (but still not great) way to "type" in Chinese. We'll explain all about Pinyin below.

Also, you can check our blog post on how to type in Chinese to learn more. 

In Chinese, there is no easy way to order words

A less commonly known (but certainly very challenging) aspect of Chinese for English speakers is that ordering things is no longer a trivial task.

As it turns out, “alphabetical order” is only possible when there is an alphabet.

So how is anything ordered in Chinese? 

Ordering can be done in several ways. Here are a few:

• By stroke order (which lines you draw first)
• By radical (one of the more “important” components to a character)
• By number-of-strokes (anywhere from 1 to 64, seriously!) in the character

As you may have guessed, these ordering methods are pretty terrible. They narrow down what you're looking for, and then you have to search through whatever choices still fit your current sort.

Physical dictionaries can't even agree on which sorting method is best, so they usually include multiple indexes, each using its own sorting method. 

Pinyin to the Rescue! (...sort of)

Since alphabets are so useful, why not give one to Chinese?

That’s exactly what Chinese linguists did in the 1950s. 

Pinyin is a way to pronounce Chinese words using the Roman alphabet. (Note, even though the alphabet looks the same, the pronunciation rules are completely different. Which is why President "Xi" sounds like "She").

Pinyin is definitely useful for English-speaking Chinese learners. 你好 can be “written” in Pinyin like this: ni hao.

Those Roman characters can then be spoken according to Pinyin pronunciation rules, in the same way that English words can be spoken according to English pronunciation rules.

Typing is now extraordinarily easier: you type the pinyin pronunciation and then pick from amongst all the matching homonyms & homographs. (This activity is why Hack Chinese focuses on character recognition, not hand-writing).

All problems solved then, right?

Not even close. Here’s why:

1. Chinese is written with characters, not Pinyin. So while you can initially learn to pronounce Mandarin words by memorizing the character and Pinyin together, you’ll see only characters when you’re exploring China (or reading, or watching subtitles, etc.)
2. Chinese has so many homonyms and homographs that writing exclusively in Pinyin is not an option (more on this later).
3. While things can be (and often are) ordered alphabetically according to Pinyin, not all Chinese people know Pinyin. One reason for this is that Pinyin is based on standard Mandarin pronunciation in a country with dozens of actively used Chinese dialects that don't match up with Pinyin pronunciation.

Words in Chinese are not separated by spaces

Words in English are separated by spaces. Separating each word with a space makes so much intuitive sense, you’ve probably never even considered it as an “advantage” in English. 

But it is.

It lets your mind parse individual words with considerably less effort, which is great for experienced readers, but even better for learners who are trying to figure out where one word starts and another stops.

Andwhileyouprobablycouldlearn toreadsentenceswithoutspaces, it certainly isn’t fun.

Without spaces to separate each word, students can easily be confused as to when one word finishes and the next one starts.

While native speakers (and anyone with sufficient practice) eventually learn to parse the words this way, it’s mostly because they recognize all the words already and use as many context clues as are available -- not because omitting spaces actually helps anyone or makes any sense at all. However, the lack of word separation in Chinese makes it extremely difficult to read for English speakers. 

Not all Tonality is Equal

Tone changes the meaning of English sentences

In English, “he wore a tuxedo” can mean different things when spoken with different tonality.

The words spoken are exactly the same. “He + wore + a + tuxedo”.

But the meaning is very different.

That’s how tonality works: it’s an added dimension of language that can alter the meaning without altering the content.

Tone changes the meaning of Chinese syllables

Chinese has tonality too. But the important tonality in Chinese isn’t at the sentence level, but at the syllable level.

If your mind is exploding right now, that makes sense. Because as you might have guessed, this complicates the language exponentially.

In case you forgot, a syllable is the smallest unit of pronunciation that includes a vowel:

• One syllable: “What”
• Two syllables: "Water"
• Three syllables: "Flamingo"

To see how tones work with Chinese, let's use the classic example and inspect the Chinese syllable "ma". 

Learning Chinese tones 

So if someone says ‘ma’ in Chinese, it could mean one of five completely unrelated things.

There are five tones in Chinese, and they are usually referred to with their ordinal number 1 to 5.

Five tones in Chinese

With toneless pinyin, you’d be left guessing what the syllable meant.

Fortunately, there are two ways to add tonality to Pinyin: tone marks or tone numbers.

Chinese tone ma

We recommend using tone marks instead of tone numbers for two reasons:

• Tone marks make the pitch obvious. For example, the first tone is flat, and the tone mark looks that way: mā. The second tone starts low and rises, and the tone mark looks that way: má. Likewise for 3rd, 4th, and 5th tones: mǎ, mà and ma.
• It is cleaner and easier to read, especially when writing a whole sentence:

Let’s add everything together into one chart, and add the associated character for completeness, too:

Chinese tones chart

Chinese tones change depending on the context

As if syllable-level tones didn’t make Chinese for English speakers complicated enough, there are also several rules that change the tone based on surrounding words. Here’s an example:

“You” is pronounced “ni” with the third tone: nǐ.

“Good” is pronounced “hao”, also with the third tone: hǎo.

“Hello” is the combination of the words “you” and good”, like this: nǐ hǎo.

And yet, when spoken, you don’t actually speak it as it’s written:

The above is just one of several rules that must be accounted for when learning, speaking, and listening to spoken Chinese. (Shameless plug: Hack Chinese lets students display both the original and "spoken" tone marks while studying, along with indicators of when and where they changed).

Homonyms & Homographs

Homonyms in English are challenging

I suspect many readers have forgotten their grammar lessons from primary school, so here is a quick refresher:

Like it or not, the process of learning English is made more challenging because of homonyms and homographs. But they are relatively few in number, and so are treated as exceptions.

They must be learned, for sure, but they generally don’t keep students up at night.

Homonyms in Chinese are soul-crushing

The best way to understand the magnitude of this is with an example.

Let’s look at a famous poem called ‘Ten Stone Lions’.

First, in here is the original Chinese (don’t worry if you don’t understand the meaning):

石室诗士施氏，嗜狮，誓食十狮。氏时时适市视狮。十时，适十狮适市。 是时，适施氏适市。氏视是十狮，恃矢势，使是十狮逝世。氏拾是十狮尸，适石室。石室湿，氏使侍拭石室。石室拭，氏始试食是十狮尸。食时，始识是十狮，实十石狮尸。试释是事。

Next, let’s look at the English translation:

A poet named Shi lived in a stone room, fond of lions, he swore that he would eat ten lions. He constantly went to the market to look for ten lions. At ten o'clock, ten lions came to the market and Shi went to the market. Looking at the ten lions, he relied on his arrows to cause the ten lions to pass away. Shi picked up the corpses of the ten lions and took them to his stone room. The stone room was damp. Shi ordered a servant to wipe the stone room. As the stone den was being wiped, Shi began to try to eat the meat of the ten lions. At the time of the meal, he began to realize that the ten lion corpses were in fact ten stone lions. Try to explain this matter.

Finally, let’s take a look at how it sounds in Chinese, using Pinyin with tone marks:

shī shì shí shī shǐ shí shì shī shì shī shì, shì shī, shì shí shí shī. shì shí shí shì shì shì shī. shí shí, shì shí shī shì shì. shì shí, shì shī shì shì shì shì. shì shì shì shí shī, shì shǐ shì, shǐ shì shí shī shì shì. shì shí shì shí shī shī, shì shí shì. shí shì shī, shì shǐ shì shì shí shì. shí shì shì, shì shǐ shì shí shí shī shī. shí shí, shǐ shì shì shí shī shī, shí shí shí shī shī. shì shì shì shì.

If your brain hasn’t melted yet, here is a YouTube Video of a native Chinese person reading this poem.

If you’re ready to abandon learning Chinese before even starting, you’re not alone. The top comments on the above video are the likes of, “translation: you will never learn Mandarin”, “RIP my desire to learn Chinese,” and, “I’m sure Chinese people are just trolling us”.

“Ten Lions” is clearly a contrived example. No actual Chinese person speaks like this, and I suspect you could make a poem in English with lots of homonyms and homographs too.

But I am also willing to bet that it would not drop you into the same depths of despair as the above.

If you are curious to learn more examples like this, check out our article on popular Chinese tongue twisters.

Let’s summarize what we’ve learned so far

Differences between Chinese and English

These contrasts in the two languages make it hard to learn Chinese for English speakers!

And yet: Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world

Billions of people speak Mandarin Chinese (or a close dialect) with ease.

But for the rest of us, learning Chinese as a second language is a daunting challenge: it lacks the most useful linguistic invention ever (the alphabet), it has syllable-level tones (with rules that modify them according to context), and so many homonyms that they are the rule, not the exception.

But there are also reasons to be excited about learning Chinese. Grammar is a bit easier, verb conjugation just isn't a thing, and there are no gender for nouns, just to name a few.

And it is hard to understate how good it feels when you're able to speak to over a billion more people on Earth (or just watch TV shows from China). This is why learning Chinese for English speakers is getting so popular. 

If you choose to learn Chinese, make sure you put extra thought into how to be efficient with your study time. It's easy to fall into doing things that feel like progress, but don't advance you to your goal. For example, learning to hand-write characters may seem like a no-brainer, until you realize that it's not particularly useful (and certainly not necessary) in the modern world. Unless you're enraptured by the process of hand-writing, there are probably other things you could be doing with your time that gets you to conversational fluency faster.

A few percentage extra points of efficiency here and there, and you just might end up with some seriously enviable proficiency in the world’s hardest language.

If you are only starting to learn Chinese, check out our handy guide for beginner Mandarin learners!

English speakers are probably familiar with tongue twisters like "Peter Piper," "How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck," and "Sally Sells Seashells.” As tough as these English tongue twisters are, Chinese tongue twisters in particular can really trip up your tongue and get your head spinning.

Mandarin learners looking for a stimulating change of pace can use them to practice juggling consonants, vowels, tones, and changes in mouth shape.

For Mandarin learners, there are some benefits of learning and practicing tongue twisters in Chinese:

• Tongue twisters get you interested in learning and practicing Chinese by being fun, challenging, and often silly.
• You can practice Chinese tongue twisters to improve speech skills. Practicing tongue twister pronunciation targets the different meanings, tones, consonants, and vowels that form words.
• Tongue twisters introduce you to new Chinese words, which helps you learn Chinese vocabulary. (For the best way to learn and retain this vocab, use Hack Chinese and its custom-built vocabulary lists.)

So if you’re looking for a way to improve your Chinese, give Mandarin tongue twisters a shot! Everyone from beginners to advanced learners can find appropriate tongue twisters to try. If you’re up for the challenge, keep on reading to try out some of the most popular tongue twisters. 

Popular Chinese Tongue Twisters

四是四 (sì shì sì): “Four Is Four, Forty Is Forty”

Before you dive too deep into Chinese tongue twisters, try your hand (or mouth?) at one of the most common tongue twisters for beginners. The /sh/ and /s/ sounds in Chinese are the focus here. Although it’s easy to grasp the meaning of this tongue twister, it’s actually one of the hardest to nail down in terms of pronunciation.

知道就说知道 (zhī dào jiù shuō zhī dào): “If You Know, Say You Know”

This is a tongue twister for experts. It’s a tough one to say but just takes some time to get familiar with it. If you really come to understand the meaning of what you’re saying, the pronunciation should end up coming to you naturally. 

Though this is only a tongue twister, its meaning still rings true like many Chinese idioms.

妈妈骑马。(Mā mā qí mǎ.): “Mother Rides a Horse”

The easy part about this tongue twister is that it features the consonant /m/. The tricky part is its focus on the different tones.

Make sure you have a solid grasp of the tones before you perform this one in front of others. Slip up, and you just might accidentally call your mother a horse!

八百标兵 (Bābǎi biāobīng): “800 Soldiers”

This tongue twister is also known as “800 Pivot Men” or “800 Spearmen.” If you want to learn a tongue twister that includes more vocabulary words at higher levels, this would be a great one for you to take on.

是十石狮子。(shì shí shí shīzi): “Ten Stone Lions”

This head-splitting tongue twister is taken from a longer poem by Zhao Yuanren. The poem only uses one syllable, following the rules of a poetic form that is only used in Mandarin Chinese.

After you’ve attempted “Four is Four, Forty is Forty,” give the first sentence of this tongue twister a try. If you really want to test your mettle, try to read the entire poem out loud.

If you get the feeling that “Ten Stone Lions” has something in common with “Four is Four, Forty is Forty,” then you’re on the right track. They both force you to practice the “shi” sound even though their meanings and characters are quite different.

Curious to hear how these tongue twisters sound when said by a native Chinese speaker? Jessie from Chinese with Jessie YouTube channel has a great video on these and a few other tongue twisters!

Listen to her pronunciation and practice with her!

Conclusion

Now that you have these five Chinese tongue twisters to practice, it’s up to you to master them. Take some time to go over them slowly at first before ramping up the speed.

If you’re learning Cantonese, you can also look for Cantonese tongue twisters.

Finally, for better learning, keep in mind that you can use Hack Chinese to listen to and practice your pronunciation of words from these tongue twisters.

You’ve been interested in learning Chinese and wish to know if it’s possible to learn it by yourself. Fortunately, the answer is yes. Without signing up for sit-down classes or hiring an expensive 1 on 1 tutor, you can make use of the many resources online and get started on learning Chinese on your own!

With over 80 thousand characters, Chinese is thought to be the most difficult language for English speakers to learn in the world. In fact, according to Foreign Service Institute, it typically takes 88 weeks (2200 hours) for an English native speaker to reach bilingual/native level in Chinese. This might be a bit frustrating when compared to learning languages that are a lot more similar to English like French and Spanish, which takes about only one-third of the time you need to learn Chinese.

Indeed, learning Chinese is no easy task and it requires a large amount of time to reach fluency. But it’s definitely a cost-effective investment. As an emerging global power, China is playing an increasingly important role in the global economy and governance, making it one of the most popular languages to learn among CEOs like Mark Zuckerburg. Outside China, Chinese is also spoken in south-east Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

So here is a step-by-step guide for you to learn the Chinese language by yourself. Read on to get the motivation to start on your Chinese learning!

Learning Chinese on Your Own: Top Tips

1. Learn with goals in mind

Why do you choose to learn Chinese, instead of other languages? Everyone who makes up their mind to learn this unanimously hardest language must have a reason. Write down why you started learning and have a clear goal in mind right in the beginning, so it can keep you moving on when things get hard. 

Maybe it’s for your career. Is your company expanding and considering doing business with China? If so, it would be extremely beneficial for you to be able to converse in Chinese. 

Maybe it’s for your study. If you wish to go to a university in China, then reaching conversational level Chinese (about HSK 3) is a must. 

Maybe it’s for the culture. China’s 5000-year-long history has made it one of the most unique and prosperous civilizations in the world. Learning Chinese will help you open doors to the incredible Chinese culture, including literature, art, calligraphy, traditions, etc.

The first thing to do is to think about what you wish to gain from learning Chinese. Then, you can write them down as inspirations to encourage yourself. There will always be a time when you wish to quit. When it comes, read these inspirations and they will help you get back on track. 

2. Use online resources wisely

While the traditional way of learning a new language is following a textbook, thanks to the advancement of technology, now there are countless learning materials out there online. For a popular language like Chinese, the problem is no longer lack of materials, but how to choose wisely among the many available resources and fit them into your learning style to maximize learning outcomes.

If you are a beginner learning Chinese on your own, choose a structured course that you can stick to. Create a routine and plan everything ahead so you won’t feel overwhelmed by the tons of other materials out there online.

LingoDeer is an all-in-one language app to learn 12 languages including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and more. It’s a great resource for beginner Chinese learners to get a grip of the basic vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, etc., and ease into the right track. It’s also perfect if you have a busy life, as you can do it while commuting, exercising, cooking, etc.

Another thing that can get you started into doing a difficult task like Chinese learning on your own is making fun out of it. This is why LingoDeer adapts gamified and bite-sized lessons like Duolingo to keep learning fun and rewarding. Its gamified short lessons can trick your brain into thinking you are playing fun games while you are actually learning.

Looking for more options? Here’s a great list of resources and tools for learning Chinese online.

If you’ve been learning Chinese for a while and can understand some basic conversations, why not expand your search to include as many resources as possible? Podcasts, leveled reading materials, movies, TV shows, anything produced by native speakers that interests you can be great choices. Especially if you don’t have any Chinese friends around, these resources can help you expose to the language as much as possible, and familiarize yourself with how the language is used in real-life situations. 

3. Practice a little every day

In Chinese, there is a saying called “不积跬步，无以至千里”, meaning “A journey of a thousand miles consists of accumulated small steps”. It is especially true with language learning because we often overestimate what we can finish in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a year.

In order to make progress in learning Chinese on your own, it’s crucial to force yourself to practice a bit every day. Set a manageable amount of workload because drowning yourself in too much material will only make you bored.

No matter how busy life goes, if you can set aside 5 minutes to practice Chinese and to learn 3 new words every day, you’ll be able to know 1000 Chinese words after a year, which is a huge difference from knowing absolutely nothing. If you feel a bit unmotivated, you can also follow social media accounts that present you with Chinese learning materials regularly in an easy and fun way.

To form the habit of practicing Chinese is just like forming any other habit. You need to set a study schedule and stick to it. You can also trick your brain into learning mode by incorporating it into your daily routine (like doing one lesson every day before going to sleep). If you don’t wish to go through all the troubles, let apps do the job for you. For example, ChineseSkill prepares your daily learning materials and makes sure you practice listening, speaking, writing, and reading in every lesson.

Another learning activity that requires regularity is vocabulary practice.

That's why we at Hack Chinese built our spaced repetition software with a focus on short study sessions. We recommend our learners start with short daily study sessions (from 2 to 6 minutes a day) and then slowly move to a bit longer sessions (up to 20 minutes a day).

You can set your daily study time and have personalized notifications.

4. Set a deadline for yourself

Without having a teacher’s guidance, you might end up dabbling in Chinese for several years without being able to form a complicated sentence or read intermediate-level texts. So this is why you need to set a deadline.

Make sure to use clear, objective goals that you can mark as done once they are completed. It gives you a sense of accomplishment. For example, by the end of this month, I wish to be able to communicate with a native Chinese speaker. 

If you wish to push yourself a little bit more, try combining your deadline with something actionable. If you wish to pass the HSK test, sign up for the test now instead of when you feel prepared. This way, you can feel a sense of urgency and a strong motivation to learn. Similarly, if you wish to travel to China, why not book a flight ticket a year from now and see how far you can get?

The function of a deadline is best shown in how missionaries learn a new foreign language within just 9 weeks. A strong sense of purpose and a tight deadline can always drive people to accomplish something incredible. There is no need for all language learners to do the same, but you can also make use of a targeted, designed deadline to structure your learning and mark your progress. 

5. Pay attention to tones

Last but not least, pay attention to tones.

Since Chinese is a tonal language, it’s extremely important to master the tones correctly right from the beginning. Tones can convey completely different ideas. For example, the three phrases “十一”, “适宜”, and “失忆” all use the same syllables “shi yi” but have totally different meanings. If you mess up the tones, Chinese people may get confused, because is just like putting stress on a wrong syllable when speaking English!

Speaking tones properly require a lot of practicing and listening. So if you are in China, make good use of the opportunity to talk to the locals. From taxi drivers to restaurant waiters, most people are quite interested in knowing your story.

If you are outside China, make sure you use learning materials created and recorded by native speakers. And just like learning all languages, watch talk shows, videos, interviews to expose your ears to dialogues of actual Chinese people as much as possible.

Conclusion

As the Chinese saying goes, “Nothing is impossible to a willing mind”. If you are determined to learn Chinese on your own, nothing can come in your way. With the just-enough help from technology and a wise choice of materials, you can become fluent in Chinese listening, speaking, reading, and writing just on your own!

So why not check out the resources mentioned in this article and get started on your Chinese learning journey right now?

Author:

Linghe Zhou, Blog writer from LingoDeer

Linghe is a native Chinese speaker with a degree in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University. She is a former ESL teacher and writes about language learning in general. She is also an enthusiastic language learner herself and is currently working on Russian and Japanese.

We’ve also included a list of the most useful Chinese New Year terms that you’re sure to hear during the Chinese New Year. Try them out yourself!

Didn’t we already celebrate the New Year on January 1st?

While most cultures organize their dates with the Gregorian calendar (which has 12 months and transitions to a new year every January 1st), many Chinese holidays follow the Lunar calendar (which follows cyclic phases of the moon, and transitions to a new year after twelve complete lunations of roughly 30 days each).

The Chinese New Year occurs during the Lunar New Year, which is typically in January or February. The Chinese New Year in 2022 will start on February 1.

A common misconception is that because Chinese people celebrate the Lunar New Year, they must not use the 12-month Gregorian calendar we’re all familiar with. But this is not true. Chinese people use the same 12-month Gregorian calendar to organize their lives as everyone else -- they just happen to celebrate a number of holidays based on the Lunar calendar, too. 

Chinese Zodiac Sign of 2022

In Chinese tradition, each year is associated with one of 12 zodiac animals. Zodiac animals follow this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig, and repeat in the same exact order every 12 years.

Each animal (and thus each year associated with that animal) are ascribed certain attributes. For example, 2020 was the year of Rat. Rats are known for being clever and successful, while being satisfied living a quiet and peaceful life. Given how 2020 turned out, perhaps the predictiveness of Chinese astrology took the year off?

The Chinese New Year marks the transition from one year (and one zodiac animal) to the next. On February 1, 2022, the year of the Ox will conclude, and the year of the Tiger will begin.

Chinese New Year Traditions

The Most Important Meal of the Year - New Year’s Eve Dinner

Chinese New Year is actually celebrated the night before the new year begins: on New Year’s Eve. 

Traditionally, the entire family gets together for the reunion. If for some reason a family member cannot make it home, they will be honored with an ‘empty seat’ (complete with utensils!) at the table to make sure they are remembered.

It wouldn’t be a Chinese holiday without homage to food, and CNY is no different. Here are some highlights that are eaten in mass quantities during the holiday:

Traditional Chinese New Year Foods

• Spring rolls (春卷, chūn juǎn)
• Dumplings (饺子, jiǎo zi)
• Noodles (长面, cháng miàn)
• Steamed Fish (蒸鱼, zhēng yú)
• Steamed Chicken (蒸鸡, zhēng jī)
• Rice Cakes (年糕, nián gāo)
• Hot Pot (火锅, hǔo guō)

These words and more can be found in the Hack Chinese Food List.

Don’t Ruin the Festive Mood

During the entire two weeks of CNY, the tradition is to avoid arguing, crying, and fighting. Doing so is thought to bring bad luck that could last through the new year (not to mention it would ruin the festive mood of any holiday!)

Chinese Red Pockets

For many youngsters, red pockets (or 红包 hóng bāo) are one of the most anticipated aspects of CNY. Each year, older relatives give their family's youngsters red envelopes that are filled with money, with the hope that this symbolic gesture will bestow a year of good fortune to the receiver.

And it’s not just children who receive red pockets. While the rules can be quite complicated, in general, those more senior in position or status give to those of lower seniority.

How to Dress for Chinese New Year

Clothes play a special role during CNY. Not only are you supposed to treat yourself to fresh new clothes to wear all year, but you’re also expected to wear your best new outfit on New Year’s Day.

The simplest way to take part is to wear red clothes while staying away from black and white clothes. (Red symbolizes luck and joy, while black & white symbolize misfortune, negativity, and death).

Chinese New Year Greetings

If you’re learning Chinese, each holiday has a canon of vocabulary that you can use to strike up conversations in Chinese. Here are some of the simplest Chinese New Year greetings you’re sure to hear (and you can try out yourself) for Chinese New Year:

• “Happy New Year” is the simplest greeting, and is easy to remember: 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè)
• “Happy Spring Festival” is also very popular, and is just as easy to remember: 春节快乐 (chūn jiē kuài lè)
• “Bai Nian” 拜年 (bài nián)

Chinese New Year Sayings

As promised, here is a list of vocabulary you can use around the new year:

Chinese New Year Vocabulary:

Want to learn these quickly? Add them to your Hack Chinese List Queue!

CNY: A Unique Study Opportunity

For Chinese people around the world, Chinese New Year is an enormously important holiday!

If you’re studying Chinese, the plethora of appropriate Chinese New Year greetings and other Chinese New Year sayings provides a perfect opportunity to learn Chinese words you can use right away.

Happy Chinese New Year!

For most people, learning Mandarin is a hard slog. The lack of a Romanized alphabet scares a lot of people away, and the words sound so different to English and European languages.

So, if you’re headed to China for a short vacation, what should you learn to just get by?

Based on my travels across China, here are seven Mandarin phrases that I think are the most useful.

Chinese Travel Phrases Every Tourist Needs to Know

1. Hello 

Nǐ hǎo 你好

Okay, this one is the most cliché of all Chinese travel phrases. But you will hear it in China, and it’s nice to say it to your tour guide, hotel staff, or other people during your travels.

Showing that you are making an attempt at speaking Chinese (even if it is just ‘hello’) will go a long way and the locals will appreciate you for it. Some will even compliment you on how good you sound.

If you are interested in exploring more ways of saying “hello” in Mandarin, check out this article on our blog.

2. Where’s the bathroom? 

Xǐshǒujiān zài nǎ? 洗手间在哪？

Lots of foreign tourists get upset stomachs in China, and they need to find the bathroom fast. Trust me, I’ve been there!

(In case you don’t know, Chinese toilets can be a little overwhelming, even for the most experienced traveler.)

There are a few ways to ask where the bathroom is in Chinese, and this is just one.

The first three words in this Mandarin phrase (xǐshǒujiān or 洗手间) literally mean ‘washing hands room’. It’s a bit more polite than saying ‘toilet’.

Luckily, the international symbols for women’s and men’s bathrooms are everywhere in China. But where you can’t see any signs, try giving this Chinese travel phrase a go.

In a worst-case scenario, show the phrase on your phone to someone, and they’ll get the picture straight away (this strategy goes for all the phrases on this list).

3. Where’s X? 

X zài nǎ? X在哪？

Like asking where the bathroom is, you can find out where practically anything is in China by simply saying the place you’re looking for, followed by where (zài nǎ? or 在哪？).

So, whether you’re looking for the train station (huǒchē zhàn or 火车站 ) or the cinema (diànyǐngyuàn or 电影院), just say the word followed by ‘where?’.

The only danger in asking someone this is they’ll likely respond to you in Mandarin. So, if you don’t know your directions in Chinese, like your left and your right, and your forwards and backwards, you could end up more confused than when you started.

I recommend downloading a bunch of travel apps for China that can help you navigate all the attractions without having to speak a word of the language.

4. Do you speak English? 

Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma? 你会说英语吗？

This is the cheat’s way out, but who cares!

Whenever I’m traveling overseas, I often resort to asking if the local person I’m trying to converse with can speak English.

Usually, they can – after all, English is the world’s international language.

In China though, people are generally shy when it comes to practicing their English and they don’t like making mistakes.

But one thing is for sure – their English is going to be better than your Chinese! 

So ask them this question and keep your fingers crossed that they say yes and start talking to you in English.

5. Can I have the bill? 

Mǎidān买单

Once you’ve eaten your meal in China, it can be hard getting the attention of staff so you can settle the bill.

All you need to say is ‘give me the bill’ in Chinese – loudly – and the waiter or waitress will drop it off to you quickly.

I love this one, not only because just two Chinese characters is a whole phrase in English, but when you’re on a tour and pressed for time, saying this phrase will get things moving.

Also, the Chinese don’t say ‘please give me the bill’. They’re much more direct. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it!

6. No chili 

(Bùyào là不要辣)

In some regions in China, the locals are obsessed with hot food. And I mean fiery hot food that burns your tongue!

‘No chili’ (or chilli or chile, depending on where you’re from) is probably my most used phrase when I’m in China. I’m personally not a fan of the hot stuff and this phrase is known and understood across the country. 

One thing though – in places like Sichuan which is famous for hot food, you might even say ‘no chili’ but they’ll still put some in anyway. Just be warned.

7. Cheers! 

(Gānbēi! 干杯!)

You may think this phrase won’t get you far in China, because it’s so simple and cheesy. But hear me out.

When Chinese people get drunk, their ability to open up and speak English is greatly enhanced. The walls come down, and making mistakes isn’t so much of an issue for them.

So, if you can say gānbēi! (干杯!) to someone in China, it welcomes the local into having an English conversation with you.

And as a tourist in China with no Mandarin-speaking ability, this is a lifesaver!

How to Say ‘Thank you’ in Mandarin?

I wouldn’t worry about learning ‘thank you’ in Chinese (which, by the way, is xièxiè or谢谢).

Why? Generally speaking, the locals don’t use this word a lot, unless the person has absolutely gone out of their way to do something nice or kind.

For things or behaviors that people expect, like when a waiter leaves food on your table, you don’t say ‘thank you’.

This is quite different from Western culture and can take time to get used to.

Plus, saying ‘thank you’ in Chinese won’t get you from A to B, like some of the other Chinese travel phrases in this list. And I want to keep things practical!

What about ‘yes’ and ‘no’?

Without boring you on Chinese grammar rules, there’s generally no single word for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ like there is in English.

But don’t stress, most Chinese people know the English words! They also know ‘OK’ and I often find myself using this when I speak Chinese (well, maybe you’d call it Chinglish).

Hopefully, this helps a bit

Hopefully, this bunch of Chinese travel phrases helps you, even just a little bit.

If you’d like to remember these words, practice them by adding them to your Hack Chinese word list. 

Your pronunciation might be terrible, but the locals will appreciate your trying. And it can make your trip easier too.

You’re not going to become fluent in Chinese in just a few weeks (or even years), so don’t be too hard on yourself by only knowing these simple travel phrases.

You’ll have an amazing time in China regardless of your Mandarin speaking ability.

Bon voyage, or in Mandarin, ummm that’s a lesson for another day!

About the author

Mike Cairnduff is the editor at The Helpful Panda – your best guide to China.

This article will help you learn Chinese vocabulary for saying goodbye so you can be prepared to close off any conversation you have in Chinese.

How to Say Goodbye in Chinese: Casual and Informal Expressions

So, how do you say goodbye in Chinese?

The most common Chinese word for "goodbye" is “再见,” pronounced "zài jiàn." This is the simplified form; the traditional form is written “再見”.

To give some satisfying closure to even the most casual conversations, you should know how to say goodbye in Chinese informally in a variety of ways. The phrases below should help you out in most situations.

再见 [zài jiàn]

This quite simply means “see you again” and is the most common form of saying “bye.”

拜拜 [bài bài]

This is “bye bye” in Chinese. It has been adopted from the English “bye bye” and has become a popular way of saying goodbye.

(有空)再会 [(yǒu kòng) zàihuì]

This phrase literally means “meet again,” conveying the sense of “until we meet again.” It’s suitable for expressing a slightly more sincere Mandarin goodbye.

再联系 [zài liánxì]

This phrase is slightly different from “(有空)再会.” “再” means “again” while “联系” means “contact.” As such, this phrase means “let's keep in contact” or “let’s stay in touch.”

照顾自己 [zhàogù zìjǐ]

When saying bye in English, we sometimes say “take care.” In Chinese, this is translated as “照顾自己” (zhàogù zìjǐ). If you want to be even nicer, it’s also common to say “好好照顾自己" (hǎohao zhàogù zìjǐ), meaning “take good care of yourself”.

一会儿见 [yī huǐ er jiàn]

This phrase means either “see you later” in Mandarin or “see you in a while.” 

明天见 [míng tiān jiàn]

This useful phrase means “see you tomorrow.” It’s easy to say and good to use when you know you’ll see someone again the next day.

周一见 [zhōu yī jiàn]

You might use this phrase to say goodbye when it’s the weekend. It means “see you on Monday,” though “Monday” can be swapped out for almost any day or date.

Here are some more examples:

• 一会儿见 [yī huǐ er jiàn ] “See you in a while.”
• 明天见 [míngtiān jiàn] “See you tomorrow.”
• 下午见 [xiàwǔ jiàn] “See you this afternoon.”
• 下周见 [xià zhōu jiàn] ”See you next week.”

我不得不说再见了 [wǒ bù dé bù shuō zài jiàn le]

This phrase translates to “I’ve got to go.” It conveys friendliness and warmth, but it doesn’t necessarily sound polite or formal. It’s kind of like when you tell your friends, “listen guys, I’d really love to stay, but I’ve got to go.”

挂了啊 [guà le a]

Use this phrase to end a call in Chinese. It means “I’m hanging up!”

How to Say Goodbye in Chinese: Formal and Polite Expressions

In more formal situations, you should know how to say goodbye in Chinese politely. These expressions will help you navigate the special occasions that call for them.

告辞 [gào cí]

This is a formal announcement of departure. Literally, it means “I’m leaving.”

失陪了 [shī péi le]

This very polite phrase translates to “sorry for leaving.” It’s the most formal way of saying goodbye. This is a phrase you technically could use with your friends, but it would feel like you’re trying to use it ironically or humorously because it’s so polite and formal.

Literally, “失” (shī) means “to fail” or “to lose.” “陪” (péi) means “to accompany.” Together, they express something like “excuse me, but I must be leaving now.”

A closely related phrase, “失陪一下” means “excuse me, but I must leave you for a while.”

保重 [bǎo zhòng]

This phrase means “take care” and is an important phrase to use before someone departs on a journey or otherwise goes off for a while.

To express a lovely farewell in Chinese, combine “保重” with “一路顺风” (yī lù shùn fēng), which means “may the wind be with you”.

我先告辞了 [wǒ xiān gào cí le]

This phrase translates to “I must leave first.” It’s a very standard and polite way to take your leave in social settings. Its level of politeness almost implies that you’re saying “pardon me.”

祝你今天愉快 [zhù nǐ jīntiān yúkuài]

“Have a nice day” is not a common sentence in Chinese, but this phrase can function similarly. When you translate “祝你今天愉快” word for word, you get: “wish you today happy.” 

Alternatively, you can say “玩的开心” (wán de kāixīn; “have fun”) or “祝你愉快” (zhù nǐ yúkuài; “I wish you happiness”), and you’ll sound more like a native.

晚安！ [wǎn’ān!]

Last but certainly not least, this useful phrase means “good night!”

Bonus: Gestures for Saying Goodbye

China is pretty relaxed when it comes to etiquette, but you should be aware of a few key points about the body language used to say goodbye in Chinese:

• When you’re saying hello or goodbye, you can shake hands, but don’t kiss someone’s cheek. What should you say? A simple “你好” or “再见”  (or “拜拜”) works great.
• In some Western cultures, you might kiss, hug, or shake hands with someone when it’s time to part ways. But in Hong Kong, people generally just say the parting words, possibly followed by a gentle wave. Local Cantonese people do not like touches in general, and kisses on the cheek are especially unacceptable.
• If you’re in a business setting where you need to give a formal farewell, a firm handshake will do the job just fine.

Conclusion

With these phrases in hand, you can substantially bolster your Chinese farewell vocabulary. To ensure you remember how to say goodbye in Chinese when it comes time to part ways with others, memorize these phrases with Hack Chinese. 

Log in to your Hack Chinese account and create your own lists of words you’d like to learn. Try it out with these different ways of saying goodbye so you can confidently know how to end a conversation appropriately in Chinese.

Liked this article? Check out another article from this series to learn some of the most essential Chinese greetings.

To help you enhance your listening skills and your ability to communicate smoothly, this article gives tips on how to improve Chinese listening skills and lists some helpful listening resources for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners of Chinese. 

Beginner Chinese Listening Resources (HSK Levels 1-2)

Below are listening resources appropriate for beginners, meaning Chinese learners around HSK levels one and two. It’s good to start practicing your listening skills early, so make sure you get in some productive Chinese listening practice with these resources.

Textbooks

Many beginner learners probably have Chinese textbooks handy. To practice your listening skills using a textbook, be sure to make full use of the book’s provided audio and Chinese listening exercises. Here’s one surefire way to do that.

When encountering new material as you’re making your way through the textbook, first listen to the new texts once. Then read through them to learn the new words they introduce. Afterwards, listen to the text’s audio once more, this time without reading the text.

Repeat this method whenever new text comes by. Over time, your Chinese listening skills will improve alongside the other Mandarin skills you’re acquiring.

If you’re not sure what textbook to start Mandarin listening practice with, the series Integrated Chinese is ideal for learners with no prior knowledge of Chinese.

Learning Chinese through Stories

The podcast Learning Chinese through Stories produces episodes entirely in Chinese that beginners can listen to. The provided stories are short, and you can find the Chinese text accompanied by pinyin transcriptions on their site.

We highly recommend that you add words to your personal flashcard set as you follow along with the stories. Hack Chinese makes this really easy to do with its custom lists.

ChineseBuddy

ChineseBuddy is a great source for finding easy, catchy tunes for learning Mandarin. The figure behind ChineseBuddy, Tim, is a professional composer who has written not only 120+ Mandarin education learning songs, but also operatic, orchestral, and choral music.

To get an idea of what his work is like, check out this charming song:

Slow Chinese

Slow Chinese from Everyday Chinese is a YouTube playlist that features short news briefs and stories in Chinese. The content is read in slow and clear Mandarin Chinese and includes pinyin transcriptions and English translations.

Here’s a great video on the story of Mulan by Slow Chinese:

Intermediate Chinese Listening Resources (HSK Levels 3-4)

The resources listed in this section are appropriate for intermediate learners, or those who have reached HSK levels three and four. At this stage you should still be trying to expose yourself to spoken Mandarin in a variety of different contexts, so get to listening!

Coffee Break Chinese

Coffee Break Chinese is a podcast that’s perfect for beginner and intermediate Chinese language learners. Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, and Crystal, a native Chinese speaker, host each episode. During the episodes, Crystal answers Mark's questions about the Chinese language and helps him with his pronunciation.

AsianCrush

AsianCrush is a streaming platform for movies and shows. It offers Chinese, Japanese, and Korean content. It typically provides subtitles in both the native language and in English. 

If you enjoy watching shorter videos with subtitles, there is also an AsianCrush YouTube channel. There you can find entertaining content in Chinese, like this short film:

Mandarin Corner

Mandarin Corner is a YouTube channel for intermediate and serious elementary Chinese students who want to get their Mandarin skills to a much higher level. Videos from Mandarin Corner help students learn casual Chinese conversation and HSK Vocabulary. They provide a truly immersive Chinese learning environment with little spoken English. 

In this video, you can follow along a tour of a neighborhood with subtitles:

Advanced Chinese Listener Resources (HSK Levels 5-6)

Advanced Chinese learners (those around HSK levels five, six, or above) should be working on solidifying their conversational skills while learning how to understand spoken Chinese in specific contexts that may require knowledge of specialized or technical vocabulary. A Chinese audiobook might be in reach for the most advanced learners, but for others, Chinese YouTubers or a Chinese podcast are always great options.

Here are some resources that can help these learners out.

TiffwithMi

The Singaporean YouTubers creating content at TiffwithMi are extremely entertaining and produce addictive videos. Their channel is full of challenges, pranks, vlogs, travel videos, and much more. They subtitle their videos in Chinese and English. 

You can check out their goofy take on Squid Game here:

青春愛消遣

The random, funny, and downright absurd podcast 青春愛消遣 will be challenging for most Chinese learners. Even so, its dynamic content will keep your ears engaged even if your brain starts to blur the words together.

The hosts, Xiao Hua Bing and Xiao Bu, will bring your day to life with sketches, music, interviews, and aimless banter. When they’re not getting sidetracked by their laughter, they still manage to touch on important topics like current events, language, and relationships.

Netflix

Shows on Netflix are a great resource for learning Mandarin. Netflix’s movies and TV shows in Mandarin offer something for fans of all genres. Offerings on Chinese Netflix encompass romantic dramas, thigh-slapping comedies, creepy horror flicks, and action-packed thrillers. 

Here are some of our recommendations to get you started:

The Legend Of White Snake

“In this new take on a classic tale, an ancient snake spirit transforms into a beautiful woman and falls in love with a doctor unaware of her true form.”

Chosen

“When a mysterious box arrives at his door, a doctor and father is forced to participate in a twisted killing game, or risk losing everything.”

A Love So Beautiful

“The ups and downs of school, family and growing up test the affection between a budding artist and her handsome but indifferent classmate and neighbor.”

Meteor Garden

“Dong Shancai is determined to excel at her dream university, where she encounters an elite clique of dashing, popular high-achievers -- and finds love.”

Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain

“As the nine continents face a crisis, a young disciple joins the Spirit Blade sect and comes under the tutelage of a temperamental sage.”

Beijing News Radio

Finally, Beijing News Radio is another excellent resource for any intermediate or advanced learner. It exposes you to more complex and sophisticated manners of speaking while keeping you up to date with timely news.

Conclusion

With so many resources now available on the Internet, the road to Chinese fluency has become considerably easier. For great Chinese listening practice, you can use internet resources to hear native speakers converse in Chinese in a variety of different contexts.

As a learner at any ability level, one further way to practice your Chinese listening skills is by studying with Hack Chinese. While you learn Chinese vocabulary, Hack Chinese lets you hear what words and phrases sound like. This helps you learn your vocabulary while simultaneously training your listening skills.

Once you find listening resources that work for you, you can effectively improve your skills through Chinese listening practice. When you get proficient enough, you can engage with Chinese-language content while sitting back and just enjoying the ride!

Chengyu have a long and significant history in Chinese culture. If you go to the library and read through some Chinese poetry, you’ll see that idioms are everywhere. If you watch Chinese TV,  you’ll hear people spouting off chengyu like it's nothing. If you try to learn Mandarin with Chinese songs, you’re bound to encounter chengyu in the lyrics.

When you put in the effort, a good mastery of Chinese idioms will help you understand Chinese culture, but it will also help you express yourself in an authentic way. In this article, we’re going to figure out what exactly a chengyu is and take a look at some of the most common Chinese idioms for you to grow your vocabulary.

Chinese Idioms: What Exactly Is a Chengyu (成语; chéngyǔ)?

Chinese idioms—or 成语 (chéngyǔ)—can be proverbs, common sayings, idiomatic phrases, or groups of words that convey a figurative meaning that goes beyond the words’ literal meanings. Most Chinese chengyu have been derived from ancient myths, stories, or historical facts.

While all 成语 are Chinese idioms that consist of four characters, not all Chinese idioms expressed in four characters are 成语.

What Makes a Chengyu?

There are a few tell-tale signs that help you pick out a chengyu:

• They consist of four characters.
• They are typically used as independent phrases.
• They don’t adhere to the usual SVO (subject, verb, object) syntax.

As chengyu are usually drawn from Chinese literature and history, it can be very difficult to understand what a specific chengyu means without understanding the context. Consequently, more so than memorizing Chinese idioms in English, learning Chinese idiom stories will help you better grasp their meanings while exposing you to interesting stories from Chinese cultural history.

Chengyu List: Useful Chengyu to Learn

1. 马马虎虎 (mǎ ma hū hu)

马马虎虎 is a famous chengyu because its literal translation means “horse horse, tiger tiger.” This fun phrase most commonly means “so-so” or “not bad.” Nowadays, the idiom can also refer to the carelessness of people or the ordinariness of situations and things. 

Example 1:

Chinese: 我妹妹是个马马虎虎的人，经常丢三落四。

Pinyin: Wǒ mèimei shì ge mǎma hūhu de rén, jīngcháng diūsānlàsì.

English: My sister is a careless person and always forgets about things.

Example 2:

Chinese: 

• 你唱歌好听吗？
• 马马虎虎 

Pinyin: 

• Nǐ chàng gē hǎo tīng ma?
• Mǎma hūhu.

English: 

• Are you a good singer?
• Just so-so.

What’s the Story Behind 马马虎虎?

Here’s the story from eChineseLearning:

In the Song Dynasty, there was once a man who painted whatever he felt like. One day, a friend asked him to paint a horse for him. 

Having recently finished painting a tiger’s head, the painter simply added a horse’s body to the head he had already painted.

When the friend asked whether the image was of a tiger of a horse, the man bluntly responded: “马马虎虎” (mǎma hūhu; horse and tiger).

2. 熟能生巧 (shú nénɡ shēnɡ qiǎo)

熟能生巧 is a Chinese saying that tells us that skills come from practice. Think of this one as meaning something like “practice makes perfect” or “you’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”

Example:

Chinese: 写汉字要多练习，才可以熟能生巧。

Pinyin: Xiě hànzì yào duō liànxí, cái kéyǐ shúnénɡshēnɡqiǎo

English: It takes a lot of practice to write Chinese characters well.

What’s the Story Behind 熟能生巧?

There was once a very talented archer by the name of Chen Yaozi who lived during the Song Dynasty. He was so skillful at hitting targets that he earned the nickname “The Magic Archer.” One day, as Chen Yaozi was practicing—and hitting the target nearly every time—an old man selling oil stood to watch him for a while.

Feeling proud of his skills, Chen Yaozi asked the old man if he knew anything about archery himself. The old man dismissively replied that Chen Yaozi’s archery skills were nothing, as all it took was constant practice. Infuriated, Chen Yaozi demanded, “How dare you underestimate my skill?”

Saying nothing, the old man took out a bottlenecked gourd and placed it on the floor. He placed a coin with a hole in the middle on top of the gourd. Then, using a ladle, the old man poured oil into the gourd without spilling a drop of oil onto the coin. The old man turned around and told Chen Yaozi that his skillful oil pouring was also nothing—it was only a matter of repetition.

3. 九牛一毛 (jiǔ niú yì máo) 

This idiom literally translates to “one hair from nine oxen.” This chengyu is used to describe something that is relatively small and insignificant when compared to a bigger picture, like one hair taken from a group of nine cows. An English idiom that’s similar to this chengyu is “a drop in the bucket.”

Example:

Chinese: 在7000万只狗里，受感染的数量不过是九牛一毛而已

Pinyin: Zài 7000 wànzhǐ gǒu lǐ, shòu gǎnrǎn de shùliàng bú guò shì jiǔniúyìmáo éryǐ

English: In a population of 70 million, that’s a drop in the bucket.

What’s the Story Behind 九牛一毛?

Here’s the story from Learning Mandarin Chinese:

Under the rule of Emperor Wu of Han, Li Ling, a great general, was forced to surrender in battle, though he had another plan in mind. As a result, rumors began to circulate around the emperor that Li Ling’s surrender was a failure.

Trying to advise the emperor that Li Ling must have surrendered for a good reason, Sima Qian defended Li Ling. The emperor grew angry and imprisoned Sima Qian.

In a letter to a friend, Sima Qian then wrote:

“I’m currently working on a book of history. If I end up dying here, it would only be as if one ox in a group of nine were to lose a single hair or as if one ant were to die. Punishment will not deter me from finishing this book.”

In the end, Sima Qian was able to complete his magnum opus, the Records of the Grand Historian (史记; Shǐjì).

4. 家喻户晓 (jiā yù hù xiǎo)

In English, this idiom means something like “well known” or  “understood by everyone.”

Example:

Chinese: 這​是​一​個​家​喻​戶​曉​的​故​事​。

Pinyin: zhè shì yí gè jiā yù hù xiǎo de gù shi.

English: It's a story known to every household.

What’s the Story Behind 家喻户晓?

Here’s the story from Transparent Language:

The origin story of this chengyu centers around a woman named Liang. Once, after she had left the house, her house caught on fire. Upon returning home and seeing the flames, she realized that her nephew as well as her own child were still inside the burning house. Liang then ran into the house. She hoped to rescue her nephew first.

When Liang emerged from the smoke, she found that she had actually rescued her own child. She feared that others would criticize her for being selfish, so she ran back into the house to save her nephew as well. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it back out alive.

Following this tragedy, everyone in the village was aware of Liang’s story and fate.

5. 买椟还珠 (mǎi dú huán zhū)

买椟还珠 literally means “keep the case and return the pearl.” Figuratively, the idiom means “to show poor judgment.”

Example:

Situation: Your friend buys a nice phone that comes with a protective case. They throw away the phone but keep the case. Upon learning this, you’d say:

Chinese: 你这是买椟还珠。

Pinyin: nǐ zhè shì mǎi dú huán zhū.

English: You’re buying the case and returning the pearl.

What’s the Story Behind 买椟还珠?

The story behind this chengyu takes place in the Chu State. Once there was a merchant selling a valuable pearl. To showcase the gem and mark up its price, he put the pearl in an elaborate case.

When a man from the Zheng State came across the pearl, he was struck by its beauty. He ended up buying it from the merchant.

However, just minutes later, the customer returned to the merchant to return the pearl.

The merchant was surprised. It turned out that the merchant knew how to sell the elaborate case but not the pearl, while the customer had no idea how to gauge the values of the pearl and its container.

More Chinese Idioms to Use in Everyday Conversations

• 入乡随俗 (rù xiāng suí sú): This means something like "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." When you visit somewhere new, you should pick up the local customs.
• 一模一样 (yì mú yí yàng): This is close to the expression “two peas in a pod.” It is used to describe things that are exactly the same.
• 一见钟情 (yí jiàn zhōng qíng): This idiom means “to fall in love at first sight.” This can express affection for people as well as physical objects. If you want to tell someone you love them in plain language, you can just say “我爱你！” (wǒ ài nǐ!).
• 乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo): This translates to “a total mess.” This chengyu can describe anything messy, from a disorganized office, to an inept bureaucracy, to a confusing personal relationship.
• 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi): This refers to starting an endeavor only to quit midway through. The chengyu literally means “to walk half the road and give up.”
• 亡羊补牢 (wáng yáng bǔ láo): The literal meaning of this chengyu is “to repair the pen after the sheep is dead.” Figuratively, it means something like “to act belatedly” or the English idiom “better late than never.”
• 感恩戴德 (gǎn ēn dài dé): This idiom refers to a heart overflowing with thankfulness, and it’s used to express great gratitude. To express thanks in plain language, you can say “谢谢你！” (xiè xiè nǐ!).

Conclusion

Learning and memorizing some of the most frequently used Chinese idioms will greatly improve your speech in Mandarin. Knowing how and when to use these idioms can earn you the respect of your Chinese-speaking friends and colleagues, particularly if you also know the Chinese chengyu stories behind them.

Hack Chinese, an app designed to help students learn Chinese vocabulary, can also help you memorize chengyu. Hack Chinese allows you to make your own vocabulary lists and add new or unknown words and phrases to them. Once you add the chengyu you want to learn to a list, you can practice them on a daily basis. After all, 熟能生巧 (shú nénɡ shēnɡ qiǎo; practice makes perfect)!

To address this question, in this post we’ll share some practical advice on how to learn Chinese fast, from what you shouldn’t do to what you should do. As we’ll go over, there are no magical shortcuts for learning Chinese, but there are ways to speed up your learning by studying more efficiently.

How to Learn Chinese Fast: What Not to Do

When you’re trying to learn Chinese faster, you’re bound to encounter programs and techniques that promise to speed up your studies. Not all of these are effective. Here are some of the things that you shouldn’t do.

Don’t Buy into Shortcuts

The internet is full of products and programs that promise to get you fluent in Mandarin in less than a year—maybe even in less than a month. Unfortunately, these are misleading claims.

How long does it take to learn Mandarin? The US State Department’s Foreign Service Institute estimates that it takes English speakers an average of 88 weeks or 2200 classroom hours to reach professional working proficiency in Mandarin.

If you were to follow this intensive schedule, you would have to spend five hours in class, five days a week for 88 weeks with no breaks. This is what it would take to learn Mandarin at a fast pace.

The truth is that there are no shortcuts to learning Mandarin. No matter what your approach to learning Chinese is, you’re going to have to put in a lot of consistent time and effort into your studies. There’s plenty of material to cover, and you need to devote considerable time to practice your reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Skimping on this practice time will hinder your progress in the language overall.

Consequently, you should remain skeptical about programs that claim to have found a shockingly quick way to learn Mandarin. If you really want to start learning Chinese, you’re much better off forming good study habits that you can sustain over the long run.

Don’t Rely on Folk Etymologies

Memorizing Chinese characters can be a trying process, and it’s easy to turn to quick mnemonic solutions to get them in your head. One of these is learning folk etymologies.

Folk etymologies attempt to construct a framework of meaning around characters to explain why they are how they are, and the internet is full of them. These explanations are not derived from the most up-to-date linguistic scholarship on the character’s origins but from laypeople’s imaginations and conjectures.

While folk etymologies might help you remember a single character in the short term, they will hinder your understanding of Chinese characters overall. 

For example, let’s say you’re trying to learn the character “蜻,” which means “dragonfly.” If you break it up into two, you get 虫 (“insect”) + 青 (“blue-green”). Using these components to form a folk etymology, you might say that a dragonfly is a blue-green insect.

This folk etymology might help you remember the character in the short term, but over time, it can end up confusing you rather than helping you. After all, aren’t there other blue-green insects that are not dragonflies? And aren’t there dragonflies that are not blue-green?

The character starts to make more sense when you dig into how Chinese characters actually function.

In this case, it helps to know that the components of Chinese characters are not always used for their semantic properties but for their phonetic ones as well. The character “蜻” is pronounced “qīng.” Within the character, the left component (“虫”) is used for its meaning (“insect”) while the right component (“青”) is not used for its meaning (“blue-green”) but for its sound (“qīng”).

Other characters that contain “青” as a phonetic component behave similarly, and once you have this pattern down, you don’t have to try to shoehorn the concept of “blue-green” into abstract characters like “情” (“feeling”; pinyin: qíng), “请” (“to ask”; pinyin: qǐng), or “清” (“clear”; pinyin: qīng) that really have nothing to do with the color blue-green (is a blue-green heart really illustrative of the concept of feeling?). You understand that the component “青” is not there for the concept of “blue-green” but for its sound as “qīng”.

When you’re studying your vocabulary and want to learn the origins of specific characters, use a trusted dictionary backed by credible scholarship to find the etymologies of Chinese characters. These will help you to understand the actual logic behind them, allowing you to learn them—and other characters—faster.

How to Learn Chinese Fast: What You Should Do

So, if there’s no secret shortcut to learn Chinese fast, then how do you actually speed up your Chinese learning?

Assuming you already have a solid study plan in place and maintain good study habits, this comes down to making your studies more efficient so that you get the most out of your time and effort.

Enhance Your Studies with Technology

One way to speed up your studies is through the proper use of technology. As you’re running the marathon that is learning Chinese, the right tools will make your studies more efficient. This efficiency will save you time and help you learn faster in the long run.

Hack Chinese is one such tool that has been built specifically to make your Chinese studies more efficient. Hack Chinese does this by optimizing the way you memorize and retain Chinese vocabulary.

Using spaced repetition, Hack Chinese prioritizes your vocabulary retention. Its personalized review schedules refresh your memories of words at the optimal times. In short, this means that Hack Chinese helps you remember the words that you’ve already learned, meaning that you don’t have to spend extra time backtracking and relearning words that you’ve forgotten.

Hack Chinese also saves you time by streamlining your studies. Making good use of Hack Chinese’s lists and built-in dictionary can save you loads of time. With these resources, you don’t have to input vocabulary lists on your own. You can just concentrate on learning.

When you efficiently build up your knowledge of Chinese vocabulary this way, you’re ultimately strengthening all of your language skills. The more expansive your vocabulary is, the sooner you’ll feel comfortable in different situations, whether you’re reading a difficult text or striking up a conversation.

Immerse Yourself in the Language

Language immersion is a powerful method to learn a new language, and you don’t have to live in China or book the next flight over to benefit. Particularly with the aid of internet resources, you can immerse yourself in Mandarin wherever you happen to find yourself.

Immerse yourself in the language by incorporating a variety of different activities into your studies. Watch Chinese movies and TV shows. Find Chinese YouTube channels to watch, blogs to read, and podcasts to listen to. Listen to Chinese music and try learning a song or two! For speaking practice, you can try to find language exchange partners or tutors online.

Language immersion speeds up your Chinese learning by exposing you to the language in many different real-world contexts. You’re not just relying upon one textbook or source to learn Chinese. Through immersion, you deepen your cultural understanding of the language and cover material you might not have seen otherwise.

Language immersion also speeds up your learning by keeping you motivated. Motivation is a crucial ingredient to learning Chinese. If you find yourself getting bored of your studies, your learning pace might slow or even stall. Keeping yourself interested using different immersive activities will help you to maintain a good learning pace.

Conclusion

While there’s no magical way to learn Chinese fast, you can speed up the process by learning more efficiently. As we’ve gone over, you shouldn’t buy into shortcuts or use folk etymologies. You should also take advantage of technology and immerse yourself in the language. If you incorporate these tips into a comprehensive long-term study plan, you will learn Chinese more effectively and faster.

Learning Chinese songs is a fun and very effective way to learn Chinese. You practice your listening, speaking, and vocabulary skills, all while having a good time and learning more about Chinese culture. And when you find songs that you really connect with, you’ll find yourself practicing Chinese without even feeling like you’re studying!

But you don’t have to just take our word for it...

Meet Laurier Lachance

Laurier is a Canadian musician who has been learning Chinese for about five years. He has 700k+ followers on TikTok and almost 300k followers on Douyin. With his sharp videos, impressive language abilities, and stellar voice, Laurier has wowed viewers all over the world with his covers of popular Chinese songs. 

You can find Laurier on TikTok at his handle @laurierlachance. He shares a lot of his work on Instagram as well with some of the content featuring exclusive materials like behind-the-scenes stories and such. Check out Laurier’s Instagram page using the same handle @laurierlachance.

So, what’s Laurier’s secret to learning Chinese vocabulary so effectively?

Keep reading below to find out how to start learning Chinese with music. 

How to Study with Popular Chinese Songs

You don’t have to be a professional musician like Laurier to benefit from learning popular Chinese songs. All Chinese learners can boost their studies using music in Chinese. Just follow these easy steps to learn a Chinese song of your choice and strengthen your Chinese language skills in the process.

1. Choose Your Favorite Popular Chinese Songs

Find a song that you love! This is one of the most fun parts since you get to explore a bunch of different music. You should pick a song that you actually like and want to study.

Don’t know where to start with Chinese music? At the end of this post, we provide a playlist of some of Laurier’s favorite Chinese songs. See if any of those can pull your heartstrings or get your toes tapping.

If you decide to curate your own playlist, be aware that Chinese music spans all the contemporary genres you can think of, from hip hop to alt rock, from heavy metal to reggae. Chinese pop music isn’t all that’s out there.

Just search for your favorite genres on Google or YouTube with “Chinese,” browse through some songs, and you should be well on your way to finding a song that catches your attention. No matter what your tastes are, you’re bound to find music that suits you, so don’t give up your search if the first Chinese song you listen to isn’t your favorite.

2. Parse the Lyrics

Once you have your song, find the Mandarin song lyrics online. These are usually very easy to find on Google, particularly when you search for popular songs.

Once you have the lyrics, skim through them to try to see how much of the song you can understand.

Next, read the lyrics again, but more slowly. Look for all of the words that you don’t know.

3. Set Up a List with Hack Chinese

Create a new vocabulary list for your song on Hack Chinese, and add your unknown words to the list. Hack Chinese makes all of this super easy to do.

Once you’ve created and named your list, you can add vocabulary items to it by searching Hack Chinese’s built-in dictionary. You can search for your words using English, pinyin, or Chinese characters, and Hack Chinese will find them for you.

Check out Laurier’s video guide on how to add the lyrics to your Hack Chinese learning plan here:

Once you’ve found the words you need, just add them to your list! Once you’ve done this with all your unknown words, your list is all set.

4. Study Your List

Now it comes time to study the vocabulary.

For optimal long-term vocabulary learning, you can study your new vocabulary words using Hack Chinese’s ‘Everyday’ study sessions. As long as your list is in your study queue, Hack Chinese will ensure you learn and retain your new words.

If you want to learn faster (maybe you’re heading out to rock the karaoke machine at KTV tonight!), you can also use Hack Chinese’s Cram Mode to help you learn the vocabulary faster. (Then, study with ‘Everyday’ mode in the future to help keep this vocabulary in your head long-term.)

5. Practice, Practice, Practice

As long as you choose songs you enjoy, you don’t have to put too much thought into this part. Just do your everyday thing and listen to your Chinese songs regularly for fun. When you have the chance, try to sing along, too!

To ensure you remember and understand the lyrics, make sure you keep up with your Hack Chinese reviews to get the vocabulary into your long-term memory.

6. Impress Yourself and Your Friends

When you feel comfortable enough with your song and its vocabulary, you can try to sing it. If you can work up the courage, you can even serenade your friends. Have fun with this! Who among them could have guessed that you were so good at singing in Chinese?

Once you have one song down, find another song to learn. If you keep this up over time, you’ll have substantially built up your vocabulary (as well as your secret repertoire of popular Chinese songs to belt at KTV).

Laurier’s Favorite Chinese Songs

If you need some leads on the best Chinese songs to learn, here’s a playlist that Laurier has generously put together for you to get started.

Check out his playlist of Chinese songs below:

1. G.E.M. (鄧紫棋) — “光年之外 (Light Years Away)”
2. Wanting (曲婉婷) — “我的歌声里 (You Exist In My Song)”
3. Hebe Tian (田馥甄) — “小幸运 (A Little Happiness)”
4. Michael Wong (光良) — “童话 (Fairy Tale)”
5. JJ Lin (林俊傑) — “江南 (River South)”
6. G.E.M. (鄧紫棋) — “句號 (Full Stop)”
7. Faye Wong (王菲) — “紅豆 (Red Bean)”
8. Marcus (李俊緯) & Laurier (洛瑞艾) — “失眠飛行 (Insomnia Flight) (EDM cover)”
9. Jay Chou (周杰倫) — “告白氣球 (Love Confession)”
10. Hebe Tian (田馥甄) — “魔鬼中的天使 (Angel Devil)”
11. Leehom Wang (王力宏) — “改變自己 (Change Me)”
12. Joker Xue (薛之謙) — “演員”
13. Marcus (李俊緯) — “這是我的表白 (My Confession)”
14. Mayday (五月天) — “倔強 (Stubborn)”
15. G.E.M. (鄧紫棋) — “泡沫 (Bubble)”
16. Eason Chan (陳奕迅) — “̌紅玫瑰 (Red Rose)”
17. Leehom Wang (王力宏) — “你的愛 (Your Love)”
18. Harlem Yu (庾澄慶) — “情非得已”
19. Marcus (李俊緯) — “數位愛情 (Digital Love): 第二集 (Part 2) 見習男友 (Pursuing Love)”

Conclusion

Whether you have a perfect pitch or struggle to carry a tune, learning popular Chinese songs is a blast that makes it easier to learn the language. Just think of how easy it is to get a song stuck in your head. Hack Chinese makes learning Mandarin songs and their vocabulary incredibly easy to do, so give it a shot. Once you find your inner Chinese rockstar or diva, just remember not to hog the mic when you’re out for karaoke!

In China, the Moon Festival is the second most important holiday after Chinese New Year. The Mid-Autumn Festival occurs on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which places it in September or October in the Gregorian calendar.

In 2021, the Mid-Autumn Festival will be on Tuesday, September 21st.

In China, the public holiday for the festival will run from Sunday, September 19 up to the 21st.

Origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival

Precursors to the Mid-Autumn Festival are at least 3,000 years old. The Mid-Autumn Festival generally falls around the autumnal harvest season, and the holiday originated from ancient Chinese traditions for honoring the moon for good harvest.

From these origins, the present-day festival developed over the course of hundreds of years. The 15th day of the eighth lunar month was officially made the Mid-Autumn Festival during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). It recently became a Chinese public holiday in 2008. Nowadays, the festival is celebrated as a welcome time off to relax, spend time with family, and participate in festivities.

Like many Chinese traditions such as the Qixi Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also explained by an origin myth. The myth in question here is the legend of Houyi and Chang’e. There are variations in the myth, but the general story goes something like this.

The Myth of Houyi and Chang’e

The story begins with ten suns in the sky scorching the land with their combined heat. Houyi, a great archer, shoots down nine of the ten suns, thereby saving his people. Houyi’s reward from heaven is an elixir of immortality.

When Houyi brings the elixir back to his wife, Chang’e, neither Houyi nor Chang’e wants to leave the other, so neither of them drinks the elixir. Chang’e then holds onto the elixir of immortality for safekeeping.

One day, when Houyi is out hunting, one of his apprentices comes to their home to demand the elixir from Chang’e. To guard the elixir from the greedy apprentice, Chang’e drinks the elixir herself. As a result, she rises to heaven, leaving the Earth behind. To remain close to the Earth, she decides to reside on the moon, which is as close to the Earth as she can stay.

Houyi, still on Earth and devastated by Chang’e’s departure, makes yearly offerings to the moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chang’e’s image on the surface of the moon. Sympathetic villagers join him, and people keep the tradition to this day.

Mid-Autumn Festival Traditions

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the roundness of the moon becomes an important symbolic component of many traditions, so things that are round are accorded a special symbolic status. Roundness represents wholeness and the coming together of family, and all of this plays in quite nicely with the family reunions that occur during the festival.

In general, the various traditional ways of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival in China vary by region, but here are some common ones.

Family Reunions

Families get together during the Mid-Autumn Festival much as many do for Chinese New Year. Families might plan to gather at someone’s home to eat a sumptuous meal and celebrate the holiday together. Popular foods are harvest season foods or round fruits and vegetables like grapes, pumpkins, and pomeloes

For a more traditional celebration, families might make a joint offering to the moon then enjoy the spread together. Afterwards, families participate in the holiday’s festivities. 

Admiring the Moon

Families, friends, and individuals also seek out the best spots to admire the full moon during the holiday. The full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival is believed to be the moon when it’s the brightest.

People seek out special sites to appreciate the moon for the Mid-Autumn Festival. In Chinese cities, people visit temples, altars, and public greenspaces to find the best spots to view the moon. In rural areas, you might be able to watch the moon from a mountaintop. Many people are also drawn to bodies of water to see the moon’s reflection.

Lanterns

Lanterns are another important tradition during the Mid-Autumn Festival. These serve as festive decorations brightening streets and the facades of buildings. They announce the holiday season with their light and (in many cases) roundness, and children usually get some lanterns to play with. In some regions, people also release sky lanterns to watch their glimmering light and send off their wishes.

Mooncakes

Of course, there are also mooncakes. Mooncakes—shaped to be round like the full moon—symbolize reunion and happiness.

Different regions of China have different mooncake specialties, but generally, the recipe calls for a pastry that’s stuffed with dense filling. The pastries are then molded into round shapes with decorative patterns before they are baked.

There are many mooncake fillings, some of which are more traditional, others of which have been updated for contemporary palates. Classic fillings for mooncakes are lotus seed paste and red bean paste. Mooncakes can also be filled with savory fillings like pork or seafood or sweet fillings like chocolate, fruits, green tea, or ice cream.

The custom of gifting mooncakes to friends, colleagues, and family during the Mid-Autumn Festival is important in China. If you’re buying a mooncake to munch on yourself, you can pick one up on the street or from a market.

If you’re gifting mooncakes to someone you want to impress, you might buy them a beautifully packaged (and expensive) set of mooncakes from a supermarket or department store. If you’ve ever wanted a deluxe set of mooncakes from Louis Vuitton, Fendi, or Gucci, then you’re in luck.

Mid-Autumn Festival Vocabulary

Here are some words and phrases to help you talk about the Mid-Autumn Festival. You can also check out some more elaborate Mid-Autumn Festival greetings here.

Learn the Mid-Autumn Festival Vocabulary with Hack Chinese

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a great opportunity to learn more Chinese. To memorize these words, learn them with Hack Chinese. In your profile, you can set up custom vocabulary lists to suit your own needs, so try making a list for the Mid-Autumn Festival!

With this vocabulary in hand, you can talk about how gorgeous the moon looks and celebrate a great Mid-Autumn Festival as you nibble on your mooncakes.

These strategies are called extensive reading and intensive reading. With extensive reading you read a lot of long texts that you can easily understand. With intensive reading you read a smaller amount of content which is more difficult than your current level of language comprehension. The two methods are like two sides of the same coin, and you should practice both methods in your Mandarin study program.

Extensive Mandarin Reading

When you practice extensive reading, the goal is to read many different long texts that are easy for you to understand. This is about exposing you to the language in many different contexts to help you read faster and more fluently.

When it comes to finding material for extensive reading, you’re encouraged to find texts on your own that you actually want to read. You can read the news on whatever topics interest you. You could also read novels, comics, or blogs. What matters here is that you read texts that are very easy for you, in addition to being interesting.

Fun content makes extensive Mandarin reading more enjoyable and entertaining, and this enjoyment factor makes it easy to stay interested and motivated. It shows you how the language is used to talk about topics you already like reading about. Once you’ve practiced extensive reading enough, you might find yourself reading in Chinese for fun and not thinking much of it.

Your Chinese reading skills will benefit nonetheless. You’ll expose yourself to Chinese as it’s used in real world situations. When you see words you’ve already learned used in different ways, you’ll reinforce your understanding of them. By reading widely, you also expose yourself to more vocabulary and grammar patterns that you can learn in context. 

Tips for extensive reading

For best results with extensive reading, you should try to find sources in which you understand 98% of the content. This rate helps you learn new words through context clues without making the reading feel burdensome. You’ll also be able to cover more ground since you won’t have to stop to look up words in a dictionary as often.

Finding extensive reading materials in Chinese can be difficult because it takes a long time for Chinese learners to understand 98% of the words in readily available sources like newspapers. It takes even longer to be able to read novels.

Nevertheless, Chinese learners should still practice extensive reading. You just need to have enough material. When you’re a beginner, graded readers can help you find texts at appropriate difficulty levels. Once you’re at an advanced level and can easily find content that’s appropriate for you, you can just make it a regular, fun thing to do.

Finally, combine extensive reading with intensive reading. When you’re reading extensively, you’ll pass over words and phrases you don’t understand. That’s not a bad thing—in extensive reading, reading faster is actually the point.

But when it comes time to get into the nitty-gritty details of grammar, vocabulary, and in-depth reading comprehension skills, intensive reading is better for the job. In extensive reading, you don’t take the extra time to examine and analyze what you’re reading like you do in intensive reading.

Intensive Mandarin Reading

In intensive reading, you concentrate on getting into the fine details of one short, difficult text. This is what you do when you read short passages from Chinese textbooks and then go over grammar points, vocabulary, and comprehension questions related to what you’ve just read.

Intensive reading will make sure you understand the technical details of the material you’re reading as you explore in-depth what’s going on with the language. Why was this word used instead of that word? Why do you have to use this grammatical construction instead of that one? What does this sentence mean in this paragraph? You’ll explore the answers to questions like these through intensive reading.

Tips for intensive reading

Be patient with yourself. Intensive reading is hard, and when you’re dissecting a text, you’re learning a lot of new information. If you need to read the text multiple times to understand it, then you should. Don’t be afraid to take the time to write notes and look up definitions, either. This will help you learn specific grammar and vocabulary points.

Again, supplement intensive reading with extensive reading. One disadvantage of intensive reading is that, because you focus on analyzing a few texts in great detail, you’re not seeing the language used in various contexts. This problem is easily remedied by combining intensive reading with extensive reading.

Extensive reading also offsets another disadvantage of intensive reading. When intensive reading is difficult, it can feel taxing. When the content is boring, it can feel tedious. Extensive reading is an enjoyable way to get in your Chinese reading practice.

Boosting Your Vocabulary with Mandarin Reading

Here’s one final tip. When you practice both extensive and intensive reading, you’re going to encounter a lot of new vocabulary words that might not be in your textbook. When you’re reading intensively, you can take the time to look them up then and there. When you’re reading extensively, make sure to jot them down or at least underline or highlight them.

Either way, you should add them to your Hack Chinese learning list to ensure you remember them. Building your vocabulary naturally this way will broaden your knowledge, which will, in turn, strengthen your Mandarin reading skills.

For any particular resource you are reading, you may want to create a new list on Hack Chinese. This will help you organize your words, as well as Cram from this list in particular before you come back to read the text again.

Once you’ve created a list, you can add new words by searching the dictionary with the magnifying glass:

Search for a word in English, Pinyin, or Chinese.

From the dictionary page, click 'Add to List'.

Once you’ve added words to your list, they will appear in your regular study sessions and Hack Chinese will make sure you never forget them!

For everyone who wants to learn more about one of China’s holidays dedicated to love and romance, in this post we’ll go over the Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine’s Day.

What is the Qixi Festival?

The Qixi Festival is a holiday that occurs on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The double sevens in the date are easy to remember since the characters in “七夕节” (Qixi Festival) literally translate to “seven,” “evening,” and “festival.” 

In 2021, the Qixi Festival falls on Saturday, August 14th.

According to tradition, the Qixi Festival celebrates the romantic annual union of the mythical characters Niulang (牛郎) and Zhinü (织女). The two are literally star-crossed lovers, as the myth finds its astrological parallel in the stars Vega (which symbolizes Zhinü) and Altair (which symbolizes Niulang).

In the legend, Niulang is a poor cowherd. Meanwhile, Zhinü is the seventh daughter of the Jade Emperor and the Goddess of Heaven. When Zhinü goes to Earth to escape the boredom of heaven, she meets Niulang. They fall in love, get married, and have two children.

When Zhinü’s mother, the Goddess of Heaven, learns of Zhinü’s life on Earth, she becomes furious and brings Zhinü back to heaven. To find Zhinü, a heartbroken Niulang carries himself and his two kids to heaven using the magical skin of his ox. Once they reach heaven, the Goddess of Heaven forms a great river—the Milky Way—to separate Niulang and Zhinü forever. 

Magpies, taken by the subsequent grief of Niulang and his children, decide to help. They fly into heaven and form a bridge over the river. The Goddess of Heaven, now also moved by Niulang and Zhinü’s love, allows the couple to meet on the Magpie Bridge on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year. 

How Do You Celebrate the Qixi Festival?

The Qixi Festival has roots that go back at least 2,000 years, and in the originally named “Qiqiao Festival,” the major focus of the holiday was on girls praying for wisdom, a good marriage, and domestic skills. Girls made offerings and played traditional contests and games. They could also gather at someone’s home to honor Zhinü together; they would then spend the night chatting while eating peanuts and melon seeds.

Other traditional treats eaten during the Qixi Festival vary by region, and symbolic foods can range from dumplings to nuts to bean sprouts. Qiaoguo (巧果) is the main dish associated with the holiday. Qiaoguo is a fried thin pastry that’s been molded into elaborate decorative designs. These can then be threaded together with a red string.

In terms of taboos, Qixi Festival traditions dictate that there are some things that you shouldn’t do during Qixi. Chinese people believe you shouldn’t get married during the Qixi Festival because it implies that you will be separated like Zhinü and Niulang. In honor of the magpies in the myth, you shouldn’t eat birds. You might also avoid beef in honor of the ox. And, since Qixi is supposed to be a happy occasion, you shouldn’t put a damper on the mood in any way. 

Nowadays, the Qixi Festival is celebrated much like Valentine’s Day in the West. Gifts of flowers, chocolates, and cards are common, while couples will spend time together during romantic dinners and dates. If it rains during the Qixi Festival, the rain symbolizes the tears of Zhinü and Niulang having to separate.

Essential Vocabulary for Chinese Valentine’s Day

To participate in Qixi Festival celebrations, you should have some useful love words in Chinese at your disposal. The list below will help you talk about love in Mandarin and wish others a Happy Valentine’s Day in Chinese. To take advantage of the best way to learn Chinese characters, learn these expressions with Hack Chinese.

Conclusion

With Hack Chinese’s spaced repetition platform, you can learn vocabulary in an effective and seamless manner. For the Qixi Festival, you can create a custom list of vocabulary in your Hack Chinese profile to make sure you always remember how to write “love” in Chinese characters.

Once you’re equipped with the above knowledge and vocabulary, you can get out and practice your Chinese skills while celebrating the Qixi Festival. Eat some qiaoguo with your friends or participate in online discussions about Zhinü and Niulang from the Qixi Festival story. Who knows what the stars will have in store for you this Qixi Festival? Maybe you’ll even get to practice using some Chinese love sayings this holiday.

For best results, you should know more than how to say “hello” in Mandarin. Sometimes you’ll need to say “good morning”, at other times, “good afternoon” or “good evening.” Sometimes you’ll have to sound more formal, like when meeting a coworker for the first time. At other times, like when you’re with friends, being too formal will sound out of place. 

In this post, we list a range of expressions you can use to start up a conversation. Learn various forms of greetings so you can adapt what you say to your particular social situation and the time of day. 

“Ni Hao”: the most famous of Chinese greetings

The most famous Chinese greeting is probably “ni hao,” meaning “hello.” Even if you’ve never taken a Chinese course, if you know any Chinese greetings, you probably know “ni hao.”

“Ni hao” is a greeting that can be translated into English as “hello.” Each syllable in the expression corresponds to a Chinese character. The characters for “ni hao” are “你” (nǐ) and “好” (hǎo). These two characters literally translate to “you” (你) and “good” (好), and the phrase is basically a shortened version of “Are you well?”

Now here’s the twist. Even though “ni hao” is the most famous greeting, it actually isn’t used the most often by native Chinese speakers. “你好” is generally used between people of roughly the same age and social status in formal situations, like when meeting each other for the first time. In other informal situations, it sounds rather stiff. 

For example, you probably wouldn’t say “你好” to your friends when you’re meeting up to catch a movie. It would be like greeting your friends by saying “how do you do?” instead of “hey” or “what’s up?” It’s technically an acceptable greeting, but it sounds awkward with people you’re already familiar with. 

List of Chinese greetings to remember

Below is a table of Chinese greetings to expand your vocabulary. These expressions can help you make the right impression in a variety of situations. Notice that the time of day and the social context affect which expression you should use. The list also includes several options for asking “how are you” in Chinese as well as several different ways of saying “hello” so you can be prepared for all different kinds of situations. 

If you’d like to use these expressions to greet someone in Chinese online, here’s your quick guide on how to type in Chinese.

Memorize these Chinese greetings with Hack Chinese

To ensure you remember these phrases when it comes time to use them, learn them with Hack Chinese. Hack Chinese is a spaced-repetition platform for learning Chinese vocabulary that will help you learn more efficiently and effectively.

In your Hack Chinese account, you can create a custom list of words you’d like to learn. Give it a try with these Chinese greetings. Once you have these expressions memorized and at your disposal, you’ll be prepared to greet others and open up conversations whether you’re with friends or colleagues in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

In short, traditional characters are more or less the same characters that have been used in China since about the fifth century. Today they’re used in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Simplified characters are based on traditional characters, but they look different and are both easier and faster to write by hand. Today, China and Singapore use simplified characters.

Simplified characters are relatively recent. They were not standardized until China’s modernization efforts in the twentieth century. If you want to learn more about the origin and use of traditional and simplified Chinese characters, keep reading below.

Traditional and simplified Chinese: historical facts

The Chinese writing system has taken thousands of years to get to where it is today, and over that time, it’s gone through some major changes. Simplified characters are just one of the most recent major official changes to the Chinese writing system.

In actuality, simplified characters have existed for centuries as shorthand abbreviations and calligraphic forms of standard characters, but these were never formally made a part of the language. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that China promulgated a standardized set of simplified characters for widespread use.

This happened during a period of massive political and cultural transformation in China. At the beginning of the twentieth century, China was trying to modernize itself and adapt to the evolving globalized world. Many within China debated how to best shape China’s government, economy, and culture for the future.

Improving China’s literacy rates was one goal that Chinese thinkers took on, and Chinese characters were one of the factors they considered. In the 1920s, intellectuals of the May Fourth Movement directed a lot of criticism towards the Chinese writing system. The critics argued that the complicated characters hindered people’s literacy, which affected the nation’s advancement as a whole.

Once the Chinese Communist Party gained power, they set about instituting sweeping reforms that included the introduction of simplified characters. This was not a completely smooth process; the first effort to officially introduce simplified characters in 1935 was suspended in 1936, while another effort to introduce reforms in 1977 was quickly retracted due to its unpopularity.

The Chinese government successfully promoted the use of simplified characters in the 1950s and ‘60s. A committee was formed in 1949 to devise a system of simplified characters. Work on simplifying the script started in 1952, and the first round of lasting reforms was introduced in 1956. More came in 1964. Together, these reforms changed or removed about 1,200 characters.

Outside of China, Singapore reformed its Chinese characters in the ‘60s,’ 70s, and ‘90s. Now Singapore uses the same set of simplified characters that China does. Chinese-language instruction in Malaysia also adopted simplified Chinese characters in 1981.

Examples of traditional vs simplified Chinese characters

To give you an idea of how traditional and simplified Chinese characters look different from each other, below is a table that compares ten common characters in their traditional vs simplified Chinese forms. You can probably tell that the simplified characters require fewer strokes to write, so they save a bit of time when writing by hand.

Traditional vs simplified Chinese: which one should you learn?

Learn simplified Chinese if you want to engage with mainland China or Singapore. Learn traditional Chinese if you want to engage with Hong Kong or Taiwan. This just has to do with the practical consideration of where traditional vs simplified Chinese characters are used.

If you have no preference, you will probably want to learn simplified Chinese to study in, work in, or visit mainland China. There are also more study materials available for learning simplified Chinese than there are for learning traditional Chinese.

If you are getting ready for the HSK, the simplified character set is the best choice, as simplified Chinese characters are used on the exam.

In any case, no matter which set of Chinese characters you start off learning, once you get comfortable with them, you can also begin to learn the other form of characters, at least for reading proficiency. For example, a student who learned simplified Chinese might want to eventually learn traditional Chinese to read Chinese literature.

For intermediate and advanced learners who reach this level, this isn’t as difficult a task as it might sound to a beginner, so you probably won’t regret starting with one or the other.

Learn with Hack Chinese

Whether your goal is to learn traditional or simplified characters, make sure you set yourself up for success by studying with Hack Chinese. 

Hack Chinese is a spaced repetition based tool that Chinese learners use to memorize and retain Chinese characters and vocabulary. When it comes to learning traditional vs simplified Chinese characters, Hack Chinese makes it easy for you to choose which set you want to study.

Even if you start with one set and want to study or just take a peek at the other set, it’s easy to switch between the two.

References

“Introduction to Simplified Chinese Characters.” CLI.

Jordan, David K. “More Than You Want To Know About Simplified Characters.”

“Simplified Chinese characters (简体字).” Omniglot.

“Traditional and Simplified Chinese Characters.” Chinasage.

There are many different input methods for Chinese. Some methods—like the pinyin method, Bopomofo (“Mandarin phonetic symbols”), and voice recognition—allow you to input Chinese characters based upon what they sound like. Others—like Wubi (“five strokes”), Cangjie, and handwriting recognition—work with how the characters are written.

In this article, we’ll focus on how to type in Chinese using pinyin, as it’s an easy and accessible way for English speakers to type in Chinese. Keep reading below, and you’ll be typing in Chinese in no time.

What Is Pinyin?

In case you’re unfamiliar with pinyin, it is the official romanization system for Chinese in China. Chinese characters don’t include precise information about what they sound like, and pinyin allows you to spell out the sounds of Chinese characters using the Latin alphabet.

For example, the pinyin for “你” is “nǐ,” and the pinyin for “好” is “hǎo.” The diacritic “ˇ" above the “i” in “nǐ” and above the “a” in “hǎo” is one of four marks that indicate tone. This one tells you that these characters are pronounced with the third tone.

Each Chinese syllable is given a precise spelling in the pinyin system, and it’s important to know how to spell them correctly when it comes to typing with pinyin. For example, you’ll have to know that “chu” and “qu” are different syllables, and that “lu” and “lü” are, too. Incorrect spellings of syllables won’t get you the characters you want.

This usually isn’t a problem. The pinyin input method is a very accessible way for most English speakers to type in Chinese. Since pinyin is used to teach Chinese to English speakers, most already know the system. As long as you know pinyin, typing in Chinese is also very easy to learn.

How to Type in Chinese with Pinyin

Set Up Your Pinyin Keyboard

To type in Chinese with pinyin, first, you’ll have to set up your Chinese pinyin keyboard.

You can generally find the option to add Chinese keyboards to your device in your keyboard preferences. If it’s not there, check the language preferences. Since there are multiple Chinese keyboards, make sure you select the pinyin input option. Also, make sure you select the keyboard for either simplified or traditional characters depending on which one you need.

If you have trouble activating the pinyin keyboard, there are a lot of quick and helpful guides online to help you prep your specific device.

Once your keyboard is set up, you can start typing in Chinese!

The Basics

Now that you have your pinyin keyboard, let’s say you want to type “你好吗.” You first need to recall the pinyin for the characters, which you know is “nǐ hǎo ma.”

When typing Chinese with pinyin, you do not use tones. For example, the input for both “马” (mǎ) and “妈” (mā) is “ma,” not “ma3” or “ma1.” So to get “你,” you just type in “ni.”

When you type in “ni” while your Chinese keyboard is active, you’ll see a menu displaying characters that match the “ni” input. You then have to select the character you want from the list. Pressing the spacebar will select the first option. 

After selecting “你,” you can also select “好” by inputting “hao” and “吗” by inputting “ma.” Once you’ve done that, you’ve typed in Chinese!

Pretty easy, right? Now you can try it yourself! If you need more guidance and tips, we also recommend watching this YouTube video by Grace Guo where she perfectly explains how to type in Chinese:

Selecting the Right Characters

Generally, you won’t have to do very much searching for the character you want. The list of suggested characters prioritizes characters based upon the surrounding context, your typing history, and the frequencies of the characters. The guesses are usually very good, but you might have to go searching through the list for more uncommon characters from time to time. Devices vary in terms of how you scroll through the list, but they’re all pretty straightforward.

If you end up searching through dozens of characters in the list and can’t find the one you want, double-check your pinyin spelling. Also, remember that you have to use “v” for “ü” to get characters like “女” (nǚ). “nu” will not work; you must input “nv.” 

When you want to write a character but don’t know its pinyin, the pinyin input method unfortunately can’t help you. In this case, you can try to input the character using handwriting recognition if you also have it set up on your device.

How to Type Faster

Pinyin input systems are quite advanced by now and have been tuned to let you type faster. You don’t actually have to select each character individually. You can also just type “nihaoma,” and you should see “你好吗” as an option. 

To type even faster, you can input just the first letters of each pinyin syllable to get common words and phrases. For example, “nhm” can also get you to “你好吗.” This method is much speedier, and native Chinese speakers have even incorporated shortcuts like these into Chinese internet slang with phrases like “awsl” and “xswl” (“awsl” is for “啊我死了,” meaning “(It’s so cute) I’m going to die!”; “xswl” is for “笑死我了,” meaning “lmao”). Just keep in mind that this won’t always work for more uncommon words and phrases.

Conclusion

For English speakers learning Chinese, pinyin makes it really easy to learn how to type in Chinese. All you need to do is activate your pinyin keyboard, and you’re ready to type. Once you try out the pinyin input system and spend some time getting used to it, you’ll see that it is quite intuitive and very easy to use.

This article will arm you with some tips on how to effectively work with your Chinese textbook. Plus, at the end of this post, you’ll find a list of the best Chinese textbooks we think highly of. 

Tips for Working with Chinese Textbooks

Once you’ve chosen the textbook that best suits your needs, how do you incorporate it into your Chinese learning curriculum? Follow these hacks to make the most of your new study companion.

Double down on listening

We can’t stress the importance of audio content enough. Make full use of the audio content and aim to listen to the texts and dialogs about ten times. Before you even get your book, be certain that it includes access to recordings.

A common problem for Chinese learners is not having enough listening and reading material to learn from. To ensure you get plenty of input and practice, acquire the beginner-level textbooks from several series. This will give you more audio content to work with.

Practice Chinese Vocabulary

As you go through your textbook, study the words from each lesson using Hack Chinese. It’s a proven way to memorize your book’s vocabulary and retain what you’ve learned long-term.

Hack Chinese will make your studies easier to manage. Since Hack Chinese schedules your vocabulary reviews for you, you don’t have to keep track of when to review vocabulary from different lessons. Using one of Hack Chinese’s premade lists will save you the time of inputting the new vocabulary words into a flashcard program yourself.

Have a study plan for each lesson

Start off your lesson by listening to the text and going through the new vocabulary for the first time on Hack Chinese. Listen to the text again. This time, identify unknown words in the text that aren’t specifically introduced as new vocabulary for the lesson. If these words aren’t already in your Hack Chinese list, add them now.

Listen to the text again, but this time, stop after each sentence and try to repeat what you’ve heard. Go slowly and be sure to focus on your pronunciation and tones. Afterward, try reading the text out loud twice on your own, without the audio. After having reviewed the vocabulary and listened to the audio for a few days, you should be ready for this.

Ideally, you need to combine self-study with in-class work. Going over the textbook lesson in the classroom or with an online tutor, you’ll have a chance to ask questions and practice speaking and pronunciation. 

Revise regularly

Another critical problem for students is getting into the harmful habit of finishing a lesson and never returning to it, thinking that moving onto the next lesson is the best use of their time. Like anything you want to learn, you need to practice new ideas and concepts in Chinese many times before you can consider the material truly “yours.” Make sure you review your textbook lessons after you’ve finished them. 

The Best Chinese Textbooks

With so many Chinese textbook series to choose from, you may be struggling to decide which to study from. Below are five Chinese textbooks that Hack Chinese recommends for English-speaking Mandarin learners.

Vocabulary lists from these textbooks are already available to study on Hack Chinese, so feel free to browse through them!

New Practical Chinese Reader

The New Practical Chinese Reader (NPCR) is a six-volume series of textbooks that provides students with lessons structured around key texts. The text is arranged with a dialogue at the start of each chapter which exposes the learner to language in more natural contexts focusing on practical, everyday expressions. This is helpful for those looking to quickly build up an active vocabulary. 

Each chapter builds progressively on the last making the learning easier. Characters are introduced right away, from the very first chapters, and radicals (the components of Chinese characters) are clearly presented.

Here’s your pre-built Hack Chinese word list for the New Practical Chinese Reader series.

HSK Standard Course

HSK Standard Course is a nine-volume series that is designed around the HSK (the official Mandarin proficiency exam in China). This book is especially helpful for those getting ready for the HSK exam as it also has a workbook which provides practical exercises. 

We should also note that the HSK is changing from its current six-level model to a new nine-level model. We have published this interactive HSK guide that covers all major changes and breaks down the differences between the old and the new HSK. We encourage you to check it out! 

You can find the word list for the HSK Standard Course series on Hack Chinese here.

Boya Chinese

Boya Chinese is a series that is often used in intensive courses and is another popular book for Chinese instruction in China. If we compare the HSK Standard Course to Boya Chinese, the first is built based on the HSK vocabulary levels while the Boya series covers about twice as much vocabulary. 

You can find Boya’s word list on Hack Chinese here.

Integrated Chinese

Integrated Chinese is a four-volume series designed specifically as the curriculum for 2 years of college study. These textbooks are very popular in North American colleges and universities and they are perfectly suited for absolute beginners. 

Integrated Chinese provides many in-class and group exercises that help students practice speaking. Its many Chinese cultural lessons make the material more approachable. 

The word list for Integrated Chinese is available on Hack Chinese here.

Developing Chinese

Developing Chinese is a collection of textbooks divided into three skill levels (elementary, intermediate, and advanced) and five series (comprehensive, listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Developing Chinese is a popular book in China for teaching Chinese as a second language.

The “comprehensive” series contains the main textbooks; the other four series offer the student additional material to hone specific skills. This series works well for students who want to seriously work on strengthening one or more of their abilities.

Developing Chinese’s word list is up on Hack Chinese here.

Final Thoughts

After choosing the Chinese textbook that fits you best, make full use of the media the textbook provides by returning to the material over time. 

It’s important to remember that while a textbook is a helpful asset in your study routine, it is just one of the components of an effective, well-rounded study plan to learn Chinese. Even if you’re learning with the best Chinese textbooks, you need to make sure you’re incorporating other activities into your studies—like classroom instruction, podcasts or YouTube content, vocabulary practice. This balanced approach will help you address different language skills. 

This idea is backed by research that shows that study sessions that are spread out over time are more effective for long-term memory retention than study sessions that cram a lot of information into a short amount of time. This means that learning Chinese in 5 minutes every day for a week will help you remember the material for longer than studying for thirty-five minutes one day each week.

Five minutes every day doesn’t sound so bad in theory, but in practice, we know that it’s actually pretty hard to find time, energy, and motivation to study every day, no matter how short the sessions are. So how do you get to studying Chinese every day? Read on for some tips on how to learn Chinese in 5 minutes and make it a lasting habit.

Make It a Habit to Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes

No matter how short we make our study sessions, when it comes time to sit down and study, our minds seem to interrupt us with excuses.

“Nah, I don’t have the time/I’m too tired/I don’t feel like it right now,” you say to yourself, “I’ll get to it later.” You skip your study session, and before you know it, you’re all tucked in for bed at night, ready to fall asleep, and a thought occurs to you in the dark: “I didn’t do my five minutes of Chinese today.”

How could this happen? It was only five minutes!

Before you blame yourself (or others), let’s acknowledge that it’s really hard to make new habits we want to keep, even when the habit is to do something for only five minutes. When we have the best conscious intentions to change up our routines for the better, our minds don’t always listen to us and can protest.

To coax our minds into forming a new habit, let’s break the study session down even further. Before you get to five-minute study sessions, try studying Chinese every day with James Clear’s 2-minute rule. Really. Just study Chinese for two minutes per session.

Following Clear’s reasoning, the point of using the 2-minute rule here isn’t so much to actually study Chinese as much it is to get accustomed to the idea and rhythm of studying every day.

Maybe two minutes is only enough time for you to gather together your study materials and sit at a desk. Maybe it’s only enough time for you to log in to Hack Chinese and review three words. You might feel like you’re not doing much, but you’re actually building yourself a strong foundation for your continuing Chinese studies. You’re making it a habit. You’re showing up every day.

Once you feel comfortable with showing up to Chinese practice every day for two minutes, a new thought might occur to you: “I’m already here, and I’ve already studied for two minutes, so can I study for three?”

The answer is: absolutely! As you grow accustomed to studying for two minutes each day, you can gradually increase the amount of time you spend on your studies. Just make sure that your increments are reasonable so that you don’t overtax yourself and burn out.

Eventually, you can focus on making the most of these five-minute sessions that thwarted you earlier, and learn Chinese in 5 minutes.

Quick Activities to Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes

Even when compared with two minutes, five minutes might not sound very long when it comes to studying Chinese. Nevertheless, there are plenty of effective activities you can fit into five minutes to steadily exercise and advance your Chinese skills.

Vocabulary Revision

An app like Hack Chinese makes it easy to learn Chinese in five minutes. All you have to do is log in and study what Hack Chinese’s spaced repetition algorithm has in store for you for the day. This will keep your vocabulary work efficient and on track, the importance of which we’ll go into a bit later.

Listening

If you want to practice your listening skills or freshen up on some grammar points, find a quick YouTube video or podcast. It’s particularly easy on YouTube to find quick Chinese lessons or even Chinese music videos to watch. For a more active approach, take notes!

Communication

To practice both listening and speaking skills, chat with a language exchange partner for just five minutes. With the human interaction involved, the time will fly by, and you’ll be preparing yourself to think on your toes in Chinese in an unscripted environment.

Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes for These Benefits

So you’re studying Chinese for five minutes every day now. Where will this habit get you?

To answer this question, let’s consider a situation where you’re using Hack Chinese for five minutes a day.

On a primary level, these studies will build up your vocabulary. If you use Hack Chinese every day for a few days, you’ll end up knowing dozens of Chinese words. In a few months, you’ll know hundreds. In a year, thousands.

If you want to learn how to study Chinese effectively and learn Chinese in 5 minutes, keep in mind that focusing on vocabulary like this is key, since vocabulary actually empowers all your other skills.

A strong vocabulary will help your reading and listening comprehension skills by increasing the amount of words you immediately understand in the language you encounter. This will improve your ability to use context clues to guess the meanings of unknown words and save you the time and frustration of looking up every other word in the dictionary.

It will also help your writing and speaking skills. At first, it might simply provide you with the basic words you need to use to express yourself at an elementary level, but at more advanced levels, it’ll give you the ability to choose among different words and expressions to express yourself with both clarity and nuance.

After a year of studying Chinese for five minutes a day with Hack Chinese, you’ll have the structural support of thousands of words behind you, giving you the ability to speak, write, read, and listen to Chinese with confidence.

“A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step”

If you still feel like five-minute (or even two-minute) study sessions seem a bit short when considering how much time needs to go into learning Chinese, just take it from Laozi: “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (千里之行，始於足下; pinyin: Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià).

On the long journey that is the road to Chinese fluency, you need to start somewhere, and the first step towards a good foundation will take you a long way. For a solid first step in that direction, learn Chinese in 5 minutes per day, make it a habit, and make it one that lasts.

In this article, we’ll show you how to open up Chinese characters to better appreciate their beauty while improving your ability to recognize and remember them. Chinese can be hard to learn for English speakers, but taking a closer look at its characters helps us make sense of how they work. 

Check out this list of Chinese characters that show the historical depth and beauty of the language. 

聽

(simplified: 听; pinyin: tīng)

Chinese characters are mostly made up of multiple components. These components are basically individual characters that act as building blocks to form new characters (e.g. 日+月=明). Learning the individual components of characters can make them make sense.

“聽,” the Chinese character for “listen,” consists of six components. The six components in “聽” are: “耳” (ear), “王” (king), “十” (ten), “目” (eye), “一” (one), and “心” (heart).

You can interpret these six components as follows:

When you listen,

1. you use an ear to hear 
2. while treating the other like a king (or while using a kingly mind to listen)
3. with the focus of ten
4. eyes
5. and the feeling of one united
6. heart.

When we draw out the meanings of characters like this, they really begin to shine while also becoming easier to remember!

Individual characters also combine with other characters to form compound words (e.g. 明+天=明天). Learning the compound words that contain a particular character will help you learn the range of meanings a character can take on.

Take, for example, these compound words with “聽”  (from here on, the simplified form “听”):

• 难听 (nántīng): bad-sounding (“difficult” + “listen”)
• 好听 (hǎotīng): pleasant-sounding (“good” + “listen”)
• 听觉 (tīngjué): sense of hearing (“listen” + “feel”)
• 听力 (tīnglì): listening skills (“listen” + “power”)
• 听话 (tīnghuà): to obey (“listen” + “speech”)

好

(pinyin: hǎo)

“好,” the Chinese character for "good," joins two components. The left component depicts a woman (女), and the right depicts a baby (子).

Traditionally, the character “好” has represented the goodness of mothers and children being together or the mutual affection between mothers and children.

Like “听,” “好” can be combined with other characters to take on more expansive definitions:

• 你好 (nǐ hǎo): hello (“you” + "good")
• 好吃 (hǎochī): tasty, delicious ("good" + "eat")
• 好听 (hǎotīng): pleasant-sounding ("good" + "listen")
• 好笑 (hăoxiào): funny ("good" + "laugh")
• 爱好​ (àihào): hobby ("affection" + "good")

木

(pinyin: mù)

“木,” the Chinese character for "wood” or “tree," resembles a tree with roots and branches.

“木” appears as a component in many characters that denote names of trees or ideas related to wood or lumber. Wood is also one of the five Chinese elements alongside fire, earth, metal, and water, which is why it can be found in Chinese words like “木星” (pinyin: Mùxīng), which means “Jupiter” (“wood” + “star”). As an adjective, “木” can also mean "simple-minded” or “slow in thought."

When we find “木” doubled or even tripled within one character, we see how intuitive some Chinese characters are:

• The character “林” (pinyin: lín) consists of two “木” characters written side by side, suggesting plurality, and means “forest.”
• The character “森” (pinyin: sēn) consists of three “木” characters written together, further indicating denseness, and means “dense forest.” 

Taking advantage of these three characters, a famous Chinese clothing brand for men is named 木林森.

Here are some compound words with “木”:

• 木工 (mùgōng): carpentry (“wood” + “work”)
• 木头 (mùtou): wood, timber (“wood” + “head”)
• 木头人 (mùtourén): blockhead (“wood, timber” + “person”)
• 木星 (Mùxīng): Jupiter (“wood” + “star”)
• 松木 (sōngmù): pinewood (“pine” + “wood”)
• 硬木 (yìngmù): hardwood (“hard” + “wood”)

大

(pinyin: dà)

“大,” the Chinese character for "big," is a pictograph of a man with outstretched arms.

Though “大” usually refers to physical size, that isn’t always the case. There are also instances where you would use “大” in Chinese but wouldn't use "big" in English:

• 你多大？
• “How old are you?”
• literally: “How big are you?”
• 今天太陽很大
• “It's sunny today.”
• literally: “The sun is big today.”

Here are compound words that show the range of “大”:

• 大人 (dàrén): adult ("big" + "person")
• 大学 (dàxué): university ("big" + "study")
• 大陆 (dàlù): continent, Mainland (China) ("big" + "land")
• 强大 (qiángdà): powerful (“strength” + “big”)
• 放大 (fàngdà): magnify (“to release” + “big”)

家

(pinyin: jiā)

“家” is the Chinese character for "home."

The first Chinese character for “home” was a pictograph of a pig inside a house, and the character we see today still represents the character for hog (豕) underneath the roof radical (宀). 

The concept of “home” in “家” allows it to form some interesting words:

• 大家 (dàjiā): everybody ("big" + "home")
• 家人 (jiārén): family ("home" + "people")
• 家具 (jiājù): furniture ("home" + "tool")
• 科学家 (kēxuéjiā): scientist ("science" + "home")
• 专家 (zhuānjiā): expert ("special" + "home")

马

(pinyin: mǎ)

“马” is the Chinese character for "horse." In Chinese culture, the horse is a positive animal that represents energy and hope. “马” is used to form all kinds of words, some using the literal meaning of “horse,” some the figurative.

“上马” ("on" + "horse") means "to mount a horse," but it can also mean “to begin a new project.” If we change the position of the two words, we get “马上,” which means "immediately, at once."

The expression “黑马” ("black" + "horse") is derived from the English term “dark horse” and, like the English term, refers to both a black horse and an unexpected winner.

If we put "horse" and "tiger" together, we get “马虎,” which not only stands for the two animals but also means "sloppy." If we double both characters, we get “马马虎虎,” which means either “careless” or "just so-so."

Here are some more compound words that use “马”:

• 马车 (mǎchē): horse-drawn carriage (“horse” + “vehicle”)
• 马球 (mǎqiú): polo (“horse” + “ball”)
• 马房 (mǎfáng): stable (“horse” + “house”)
• 海马 (hǎimǎ): sea horse (“sea” + “horse”)
• 河马 (hémǎ): hippopotamus (“river” + “horse”)

五

(pinyin: wǔ)

“五” is the Chinese character for “five,” and in Chinese Internet slang, "520" means "I love you."

So what does the number 520 have to do with love?

As it turns out, “520” is still pronounced “五二零” in Chinese, and it’s used for its sound rather than its meaning. “五” sounds similar to “我” (wǒ), which means “I.” In the same way, “二” (èr), which means “two,” sounds similar to "爱" (ài), which means “love.” “零” (líng), which means “zero,” also sounds similar to “你” (nǐ), which means “you.”

Put all together, “五二零”—or “520” for speedy typing—sounds a lot like “我爱你.”

Using “五” as a number, five more compound words are shown below:

• 十五 (shíwǔ): fifteen (“ten” + “five”)
• 五十 (wǔshí): fifty (“five” + “ten”)
• 第五 (dìwǔ): fifth (“ordinal number” + “five”)
• 五官 (wǔguān): the "five sense organs" ("five" + "organ")
• 五经 (wǔjīng): the “Five Classics” (“five” + “classics”)

日

(pinyin: rì)

The Chinese character for "day” or “sun" is an excellent character for illustrating the origin of Chinese characters.

“日” is a pictograph of the sun. Its earliest form was a circle with a dot in the center with four rays extending from the circle. In the modern form of the character, the central dot has become a horizontal stroke.

In addition to standing on its own, “日” acts a radical, meaning that it is a key component of many other characters that have to do with the sun or daytime. You can find “日” in characters like “早” (early, morning) and “旴” (dawn).

Of course, “日” can also be used to make other compound words:

• 星期日 (xīngqīrì): Sunday ("week" + "sun")
• 日出 (rìchū): sunrise ("sun" + "to go out")
• 日本 (rìběn): Japan ("sun" + "origin")
• 日记 (rìjì): diary ("day" + "to record")
• 生日 (shēngrì): birthday ("to be born" + "day")

情

(pinyin: qíng)

“情,” the Chinese character for "feeling," consists of three components: “忄” (heart), “丰” (plentiful), and “月” (moon). In “情,” the heart radical (忄) tells you something about the meaning of the character (“feeling”), while the right side of the character (青) isn’t used for its meaning but for its sound (qīng).

Now, if you keep the right part of “情” (青) and change the heart radical (忄), you can also make different characters. With the speech radical (讠), you get “请” (pinyin: qǐng), meaning “to ask.” With the water radical (氵), you get “清” (pinyin: qīng), meaning “clear.”

For all three of these characters, the radicals on the left provide meaning while the component on the right (青) provides the sound; they all sound like “qing” but with different tones.

Knowing that some Chinese characters behave like this can help you with your Chinese characters recognition as you learn to look at one part of a character for meaning and another part for the sound it makes.

“情” can form all kinds of compound words having to do with “feeling”:

• 交情 (jiāoqíng): friendship (“to cross” + “feeling”)
• 同情 (tóngqíng): to sympathize, empathize (“same” + “feeling”)
• 心情 (xīnqíng): mood (“heart” + “feeling”)
• 情场 (qíngchǎng): affairs of the heart; love (“feeling” + “field”)
• 情意 (qíngyì): affection (“feeling” + “idea”)

忍

(pinyin: rěn)

“忍” is the Chinese character for "endure.” The top half of “忍” is “刃,” which is a blade, and the bottom half is “心,” which is the heart. Together, these form the image of a blade upon the heart, representing the suffering of having to endure a tough situation.

Like the other characters we’ve looked at, “忍” can be combined with other characters to make interesting compound words:

• 容忍 (róngrěn): to tolerate (“to contain” + “to endure”)
• 隐忍 (yǐnrěn): to endure silently (“to hide” + “to endure”)
• 残忍 (cánrěn): brutal (“to damage” + “to endure”)
• 忍者 (rěnzhě): ninja (“to endure” + “person who does something”)
• 忍讓 (rěnràng): to be forbearing (“to endure” + “to permit”)

When the Origin of Chinese Characters Isn’t Helpful

Unfortunately, some Chinese characters don’t yield associative meanings as easily as the ones in this list. For the characters that do let you learn them through association, hopefully, this article has given you some helpful techniques to work with them. You might even remember the characters in this article better!

In the end, you might have to resort to rote memorization when you can’t determine the origin of Chinese characters and they don’t look like anything recognizable. For these cases, you should have the best tools at your side. An app like Hack Chinese will help you handle these more puzzling characters by optimizing your studies, and you can also use Hack Chinese to study the compound words they form, too!

The more familiar you become with your adopted culture, the more you realize: for all our differences, we are all overwhelmingly the same.

We all love our families, and would do anything to protect them.

And we all care about our communities, and would go to great lengths to feel welcome in them.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed unconscionable acts of violence towards people of Asian heritage. No one should look away in the face of such hatred. As Americans, as humans, we must come together and state loud and clear that violence will never be tolerated.

For the next 30 days, we will be donating 5% of our sales to stopaapihate.org, an organization dedicated to standing up to racism against Asian Americans.

Among the Hack Chinese learning community, Chinese language and culture are hobbies for some, lifelong passions for others. It’s our time to give it back to the community.

Being able to say hello in Chinese will help you start a conversation when visiting China. This would, of course, mean that you would have to know some Chinese to further continue speaking with the people you meet. Is Chinese hard to learn? Yes, but you don’t have to be fluent to make a short, lasting introduction in Chinese.

If you want to learn how, check out this list of Chinese introduction phrases below. 

Phrase List: How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese

No matter what level you’re at, as you go through the list, try to work on your Chinese pronunciation. Many Chinese sounds can be tricky for English speakers to imitate, even though pinyin makes Chinese look like it uses familiar sounds. Try to find recordings of native speakers (or speak with a native speaker in person) to hear what these common phrases sound like, and get used to saying them as naturally as you can.

All of this practice will come in handy when it comes time for you to land your introduction and make a solid impression in a real situation.

Learning Chinese Vocabulary to Introduce Yourself

To remember how to introduce yourself in Chinese, learn Chinese vocabulary with Hack Chinese. Hack Chinese platform makes studying Chinese much easier by helping you learn and review vocabulary as efficiently as possible. It will schedule when and how often you need to revisit words and phrases to refresh your memories of them, allowing you to stock your brain with useful information while you spend your study time more wisely.

Once you’ve spent some time studying and getting comfortable with these phrases, it’s time to get out there and practice! Keep in mind that making mistakes is a part of the learning process, and that even if the conversation with your new acquaintance ends up switching to English after your Chinese introduction, you’ve already made a memorable impression.

At the very least, you’ve proved to them that you cared about meeting them enough to learn how to introduce yourself in Chinese. You’ve put in the effort to step outside of your comfort zone and familiarize yourself with unfamiliar language and culture. Great job! That’s not such a bad first impression to make!

By collecting some of the most common questions beginners ask about Chinese, we’ve put together an FAQ that covers topics like traditional and simplified Chinese, Mandarin and Cantonese, and more.

When you’re ready, read on below to see our answers to commonly asked questions!

Is Chinese hard to learn?

Yes, Chinese is hard to learn for English speakers.

Along with Arabic, Japanese, and Korean, both Mandarin and Cantonese are listed as “Category IV, super-hard languages” (the hardest level) by the Foreign Service Institute. This means that, according to their estimates, it would take an English speaker 88 weeks (or 2,200 class hours) to reach professional working proficiency in speaking and reading Chinese.

Compare this to their estimated 24 weeks (or 600–750 class hours) it would take an English speaker to reach the same level in Spanish or French, and you can get a sense of how much more effort is required to learn Chinese.

How many countries speak Chinese?

Five countries/regions list Chinese as an official language.

The official language of both China and Taiwan is Mandarin. In Singapore, Mandarin is one of four official languages. In Hong Kong, Cantonese and English are official languages. In Macau, Cantonese and Portuguese are official languages.

There are also sizable populations of overseas Chinese in countries where Chinese is not an official language, like in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the US, and Canada. Many in these communities continue to speak some form of Chinese, even if the Chinese language is not an official state language.

How many Chinese characters are there? 

The largest Chinese character dictionary—the Zhonghua Zihai (中华字海; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Zìhǎi), compiled in 1994—lists 85,568 characters.

That being said, the vast majority of those characters are not used in everyday life. Many of those characters are considered archaic and come from old literary texts and historical documents. Not even educated Chinese native speakers will know the vast majority of these characters.

To be proficient in the Chinese language, you need to know far fewer characters. To pass HSK level 6—at which point you should be able to express yourself effortlessly in Chinese—you’re expected to have learned 2,663 characters to be able to form 5,000 different words. This considerable amount is still only about 3.11% of the characters present in the Zhonghua Zihai.

How long does it take to learn Chinese?

According to the Foreign Service Institute, an English speaker should reach professional working proficiency in speaking and reading Chinese in 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours.

This is going at a fast pace, too. Assuming you have Chinese class five days a week, to get 2,200 class hours to fit into 88 weeks, you would have to be in class for five hours a day, five days a week, for 88 weeks.

Of course, students of Chinese with different circumstances will learn at different rates. Some factors that influence acquisition rates include the student’s personal abilities, the student’s past language experiences, the environment in which the student learns (through language immersion, in a classroom, online, through self-study, etc.), and how much extra personal time the student devotes to interacting with Chinese (through TV shows, music, books, movies, newspapers, etc.).

Is it Chinese or Mandarin or Mandarin Chinese?

“Chinese” refers to a language that groups together many different dialects, including Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hakka. “Mandarin” and “Mandarin Chinese” refer to the same thing, a specific dialect of Chinese.

Nevertheless, if you say that you “speak Chinese,” most people will assume you mean you speak Mandarin, even though you could have actually meant that you speak Cantonese or another dialect. If you say that you “speak Mandarin” or “speak Mandarin Chinese” there will be no confusion as to what dialect of Chinese you speak.

To complicate matters a bit, some linguists consider Mandarin and other varieties of Chinese to be their own languages rather than dialects of Chinese since many varieties of Chinese are not mutually intelligible.

In this schema, “Chinese” would be more like a language family (like the Romance languages) rather than a single language (like English). In other words, the differences among varieties of Chinese would be more like the differences among Spanish, French, and Italian rather than the differences among American English, Australian English, and British English. 

Should I learn traditional or simplified Chinese?

Learn simplified Chinese if you want to engage with mainland China or Singapore. Learn traditional Chinese if you want to engage with Hong Kong or Taiwan. 

This just has to do with the practical consideration of where traditional and simplified Chinese characters are used.

If you have no preference, you will probably want to learn simplified Chinese to study in, work in, or visit mainland China. There are also more study materials available for learning simplified Chinese than there are for learning traditional Chinese.

In any case, no matter which set of Chinese characters you start off learning, once you get comfortable with them, you can also begin to learn the other form of characters, at least for reading proficiency. For intermediate and advanced learners who reach this level, this isn’t as difficult a task as it might sound to a beginner, so you probably won’t regret starting with one or the other.

Should I learn Mandarin or Cantonese?

Most people who want to learn “Chinese” should learn Mandarin.

Mandarin will simply be more useful to most people. If you want to work in, study in, or visit mainland China, then you should definitely learn Mandarin. Mandarin is the main language in China and is used as a lingua franca throughout the country, even in regions where other dialects and languages are dominant.

You should nevertheless learn Cantonese if you have personal reasons for doing so, like Cantonese-speaking family, friends or loved ones. Also, If you have business or other interests in Cantonese-speaking regions like Hong Kong, Macau, or Guangdong Province, then by all means, learn Cantonese!

What is pinyin?

Pinyin is the official system for romanizing Mandarin Chinese in China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Its full name, Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音; pinyin: Hànyǔ Pīnyīn) literally means “spelled sounds” (拼音) of “the language of the Han people” (汉语). Basically, pinyin allows you to write out the sounds of Mandarin using the Latin alphabet. 

For example, pinyin allows you to write out the sound of “你好” as “nǐ hǎo” since the pinyin for “你” is “nĭ,” and the pinyin for “好” is “hăo.” If you come across characters that you don’t recognize, pinyin can tell you how to pronounce them.

Though convenient, pinyin is not a replacement for or alternative to Chinese characters. It simply tells you what the characters sound like in Mandarin.

What is the HSK? 

The HSK, or the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (汉语水平考试; pinyin: Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì), is a standardized Chinese language proficiency exam for non-native speakers.

The HSK is divided into six levels that get progressively harder from level 1 to level 6. Level 1 tests for very basic knowledge of Mandarin, while level 6 tests for your ability to converse fluently in Chinese about complex topics. Each level tests listening, reading, and oral skills, though the oral exam is administered separately. Writing skills are tested beginning in HSK level 3.

Both students and professionals take the HSK to demonstrate their levels of Chinese proficiency. Students take the HSK to gain entry into Chinese universities, while professionals take the HSK to show employers that they can work in Chinese. Generally, both students and professionals try to show that they have passed either HSK level 5 or 6.

For future considerations, though this six-level system is still in place, the HSK is undergoing reform to make it more difficult with nine levels. This will take effect at a future date that remains unannounced. 

How to learn Chinese words?

The best way to learn Chinese words is to study them every day and concentrate on retaining your memories of the words you’ve already learned.

Even if you learn a bunch of new words, it will be wasted time if you don’t review them and end up forgetting them. Try to make a habit of spending some time every day reviewing your Chinese vocabulary, even if it’s only for 15–20 minutes. Do your best to make this habit sustainable over a long period of time.

Thankfully, an app like Hack Chinese makes reviewing vocabulary a breeze. With its spaced repetition algorithm and tools for tracking your vocabulary growth and maintenance, you don’t have to devise your own study system from the ground up—everything here is already taken care of for you. All you have to do is study.

Continuing Your Chinese Language Journey

Whether you’re already studying Chinese or are now feeling ready to take the plunge, hopefully, this FAQ was able to answer some of your questions and help you understand the Chinese language a bit better.

If you’re now ready to delve in deeper, check out the rest of the Hack Chinese blog. There you can find more tips on how to make the most of your Chinese language learning, from articles on how to learn Chinese online to tips for those wanting to learn Chinese for business.

You stumbled upon a delightful video of a sleepy cat falling asleep in its food bowl, and when you went to comment, you realized that you didn’t know how to say “cute” in Chinese. For that matter, what is “lol” in Chinese?

You look at the other comments. You see that someone has written “886” and wonder if it’s just a typo. You later see “666,” which just confuses you even further.

You study Chinese and may even learn Chinese online, so why can’t you make heads or tails of what’s going on?

Welcome to the World of Chinese Internet and Social Media

The Chinese-speaking internet is rapidly changing and growing. Today in 2021, nearly 1 billion people are online in China, buzzing in the cybersphere. China is the world’s largest social media market, and though its apps may sound foreign to most English-speaking social media users, their uses will be familiar.

Some of the biggest social media platforms in China are WeChat (like WhatsApp but with greatly expanded functionality), Weibo (like Twitter), Kuaishou (for short videos), Douyin (the Chinese Tik Tok), Baidu Tieba (like Reddit), and Youku (like YouTube).

Like their English-speaking counterparts, Chinese-speaking internet users have developed their own subcultures and slang as they react to viral videos, spread hysterical memes, and find faster—and often goofier—ways of expressing themselves via keyboards.

Like English internet slang, Chinese internet slang transforms the Chinese language in unexpected and highly nuanced ways. Like the difference between calling a dog a “dog” or a “doggo,” or that between saying “that’s funny” instead of “lulz,” the differences between “standard Chinese” and Chinese internet slang make it possible to express subtle emotions and feelings through mechanisms like abbreviations, puns, rhymes, and visual cues.

In addition to using Chinese characters, Chinese internet slang even incorporates Arabic numerals and the Latin alphabet. When you see “886” (Chinese meaning: “bye”) or “666” (Chinese meaning: “awesome”), you’re seeing faster ways of typing approximations of what Chinese phrases sound like. Abbreviations in the Latin alphabet like “awsl” (Chinese meaning: “that’s so cute!”) and “xswl” (Chinese meaning: “lmao”) are also faster ways of typing by using the first letters of the pinyin that underpins the phrases. The meanings of these phrases aren’t easy to guess if you’re not a native speaker.

Useful Chinese Internet Slang

Below is a list of Chinese internet slang to give you a taste of what it can be like.