How to Get the Tones in Chinese Right, and then Fix Them in Your Head!
The first thing that most beginners learn in Chinese is the four tones – how the meaning of a sound changes depending on whether you say it in a flat pitch,…
The 4 Best Ways to Learn Mandarin Faster
As a fellow Mandarin-as-a-second-language student, I know first-hand how challenging it can be to learn Chinese, especially if it’s your first language other than English. Fluency can frequently seem like…
5 Common Mistakes Chinese Learners Make
Having taught Chinese for a while, we’ve noticed a lot of common errors that English speakers make when learning Chinese. This is understandable, as Chinese has very different grammatical rules…
Cool Chinese Character Memorization Methods
It seems like every day a new app comes out that promises to help you learn Chinese characters easily. With a growing pool of research in memory and memory competitions…
How to Master Tones without Using Tone Marks
I’ve been learning Chinese for over 10 years and one thing I’ve seen countless students struggle with is the tones. Why is it that so many Chinese language students struggle…
All about The Word 就(jiù)
The Mandarin particle 就(jiù) is a very common word in Chinese with a ton of different uses. Depending on the context, it can be a verb, adverb, preposition, or even…
Meet Your Mandarin Goals for 2015 – with just 3 Months Left
I don’t mean to scare you but the last quarter of 2015 is almost upon us. 2016 is approaching fast! This got me thinking about my Mandarin studies, and how…
Chinese: A Language of Compound Words
At first glance, learning Chinese characters can seem intimidating. And it can be a difficult task, especially if you try to memorize them one by one like many teachers force…
Describing Actions with 得(de) in Chinese: Tips and Examples
When it comes to describing actions in more detail, English relies on adverbs and adjectives to say things like “I run quickly.” or “I get up early.” However, describing verbs…