How to Learn Chinese – Ultimate Beginners Guide

Since this is a big question we need to break it down into smaller bite sizes. If you’ve gotten this far you probably realize that learning a second language is never easy and to be successful it requires perseverance, lots of time, and helpful Chinese language resources. This is not to put you off it’s just to remind you that learning a new language is as much about hard work as your mindset, but we will talk about this a bit more later on. For now, here are some basic steps to help you to learn Chinese.

Step 1: Learn Chinese with Determination and Persistence

The first step on how to learn Chinese, actually begins with you asking yourself a very important but big question that you may be reluctant to ask yourself: is this language the right fit for me? Learning a new language can be difficult, but this is especially true for Chinese, there’s a reason why it’s often found on the list of hardest worldwide languages to learn! Learning Chinese is not for everybody, it takes as much strength to start your journey as it does to throw in the towel before the race has begun and admit this isn’t right for you.

So how can you know if Chinese is the right fit? Think about how much time you are willing to invest (as mandarin requires continuous work), what about money towards resources? Online vs classroom classes, etc. The good thing is many online companies, like Lingo Bus will offer a free demo class to new users. So if you are unsure if this is the right language for you the best thing you can do is take a free class with a native speaker to find out without wasting too much of your time or resources.

Now that you’ve started your language journey it brings us onto our actual question on how to learn Chinese?

Step 2. Collect Resources for Learning Chinese

The resources you have available can either make or break your language progress, many language learners quit due to lack of adequate language learning support. My suggestion is to have regular classes with a native speaker as your supporting foundation, then use online resources or textbooks to continue and to support your practice.

Step 3. Break Learning Chinese Into Several Manageable Steps

The final step and third step is actually made up of smaller steps and is the most important! Where you break learning Chinese into several more manageable steps.

Learn Pinyin – Pronounce Chinese Words Properly

Start by learning Pinyin (the system for writing Chinese using roman letters) also known as the Chinese alphabet. You can find a more detailed guide in one of our past posts. Pinyin is essential as it will teach you how to pronounce words properly in Chinese. Because although Pinyin may look like something you could easily read, the words have a different pronunciation than expected.

Speak Chinese – Practice with a Native Speaker

Once you’ve mastered this you can go on to the next step, trying to speak Chinese. The best way to do this is find a way to practice with a native speaker, in this way you can make sure that you are pronouncing words correctly. This will also help you transition from saying simple words to having basic conversations, which will reinforce positive language patterns. It will also help you with your listening. The good thing about learning a language in such a connected world is that you won’t even have to leave your home to practice. There are many platforms that offer online classes with native speakers, or you can even find an online language buddy to practice with.

Listen Chinese – Practice More to Recognize Tones

Although it’s often combined with speaking, listening is its own step. Listening actually has a smaller step within it, the tones. You can star with these. Since you are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese you probably know that Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language so speaking using the proper tones is essential! If you can’t recognize tones not only won’t Chinese people be unable to understand you but you also won’t understand them. This skill comes with a lot of practice, you can start by working towards recognizing tones, there are plenty of free apps that can help you practice this. Tone skills can also fall under speaking, don’t forget to practice your speaking using tones, this may seem impossible at the start but with proper practice it can be achieved.