That all changed in 2022 When ChatGPT became publicly available. At that time I was about to embark on a year-long journey to Taiwan, where I would live and study. I was eager to see how this new AI tool could enhance my studies and provide more dynamic, personalized support. Since then, I’ve explored various ways of using ChatGPT to practice my Chinese, testing different methods and prompts to get the most out of it.

If you’re unfamiliar with ChatGPT, it’s an AI chatbot that generates customized responses to any prompt you give it. The most basic version is free to use, and you don’t need to install anything, you can simply access it through your browser.

In this blog post, I’ll share some of the ways ChatGPT changed the way I learn Chinese, as well as some pitfalls to watch out for when using it yourself.

1. Conversing with ChatGPT in Chinese.

The first and most straightforward way in which I began practicing Chinese with ChatGPT was to converse with it in Mandarin in the same way that I would in English. I would ask it questions on topics of interest, such as, ‘对于外国人来说， 中文最难学的地方是什么？’  – what is the hardest aspect of learning Chinese for a foreigner?  I found doing this very useful, as it allowed me to practice interacting in Chinese when none of my Chinese friends were online.

However, over time I found ChatGPT’s use of Chinese could sometimes feel slightly off, especially for conversational text. After showing the answers to my tutor and friends, they told me the Chinese wasn’t too far off from native, though at times it can come across as overly formal or just slightly unusual. Studies have since confirmed this is the case with as many as one in 10 Chinese sentences generated by the chatbot being unnatural. 

So while chatting with ChatGPT in Chinese is definitely enjoyable, and far better than having no one to practice with, it’s still always preferable to chat with a native speaker. Especially if your goal is to learn authentic conversational Chinese!

2. Using ChatGPT to generate original stories in Chinese.

The next way I started using ChatGPT was by asking it to generate stories in Chinese. I found it was surprisingly good at doing this. The language it uses to tell stories is arguably much more natural than its attempts at conversational Mandarin. This is almost certainly because ChatGPT’s language model bases its output style on the input it has been fed by programmers, which is restricted to written Chinese, including fiction. 

I found it to be surprisingly good at building engaging settings and creating interesting plots. However, there are a few drawbacks. Sometimes, the stories lack depth or consistency, especially with longer narratives. Certain cultural nuances or complex emotions can feel a bit flat, making the story feel less authentic than real Chinese novels. 

Since I was already at a level where I had read a few authentic Chinese novels written by humans, ChatGPT’s attempts at fiction could never compete with human authors like 余华 or 三毛. But I see real value in relying on AI to generate stories for learners at higher elementary and intermediate levels. 

3. Using ChatGPT for grammar and vocab explanations

ChatGPT is pretty helpful for answering certain questions about the Chinese language, for example breaking down grammar points and explaining the precise meaning of a particular word. That said, I’ve learned to be cautious as sometimes it tends to “hallucinate” facts, creating answers that sound credible but aren’t always accurate. Occasionally, it will come up with something that’s completely off but is delivered in an authoritative tone, making it hard to distinguish fact from fiction.

One area where ChatGPT has been especially helpful for me is when I ask about subtle differences between words that are similar in meaning. For example, I asked it to explain the difference between 制造 (zhìzào, “to manufacture”) and 创造 (chuàngzào, “to create”). Its answer was surprisingly thorough and well-articulated, highlighting how 制造 implies producing something physical, like goods or products, whereas 创造 often implies creating something more abstract, like art or ideas. 

Most human tutors will intuitively understand these differences but may struggle to explain them in detail, so ChatGPT’s breakdown was quite useful for me.

4. Correcting my Chinese

In my experience, ChatGPT is not particularly strong at correcting Chinese mistakes. I’ve had it correct straightforward sentences that didn’t need any adjustment, yet it might miss small slips that a native speaker would catch right away. 

This inconsistency makes it hard to trust ChatGPT for corrections, as you can never be sure whether they’re right or not. So while ChatGPT is useful and convenient for quick feedback, I still rely on human native speakers for final corrections. 

5. Chatting with ChatGPT’s voice feature

I recently tried ChatGPT 4.0’s latest voice feature, and it actually felt a lot like having a real conversation with a human being. This feature was recently launched and is a lot more natural than previous editions. 

In the past, when having a voice chat with ChatGPT you would need to wait several seconds after speaking to wait for it to generate an answer. Now, the chatbot is able to intuit when you’ve finished speaking and respond immediately, making it feel much more like a natural back-and-forth conversation. 

It’s not quite the same as chatting in Chinese with a native speaker, but it’s surprisingly responsive. The language is still a little formal at times, but I’ve found it especially useful for practicing Mandarin in a non-Chinese-speaking environment. 

Since returning to the UK from Taiwan, I’ve missed the everyday interactions that kept my language skills sharp, so this feature has been incredibly useful. It helps me keep up my listening and speaking skills, even if it’s just with an AI, and it feels like a solid way to maintain my Mandarin while I’m away from a native-speaking community. 

6. Generating Mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory aids or techniques that help people remember information more easily. They work by linking new information to something familiar, using vivid imagery or associations. This could include creating a memorable story to make recalling facts simpler. Although I’ve never used mnemonics, some learners use them to remember Chinese vocabulary better, especially at a lower level where it’s hard to retain new words. And I was keen to test how well ChatGPT performs in this area.I asked it to generate one for the word wallet in Mandarin. Here’s what it said:

“In Mandarin, the word for “wallet” is 钱包 (qiánbāo).

Here’s a mnemonic to help remember it:

Imagine a “chain” (sounds like qián) wrapped around a treasure-filled “bag” (sounds like bāo), keeping your valuables safe. Picture yourself holding this chain-wrapped bag as your wallet, where all your money is stored.

Visualizing a “chain bag” can help you remember that qiánbāo means “wallet” in Mandarin!”

7. Explaining the stories behind Chinese idioms

One of the most effective and engaging ways to learn Chinese idioms (成语, chéngyǔ) is by understanding the unique stories behind them. Chinese idioms are often steeped in ancient folklore, and knowing these stories can make the phrases seem more meaningful and memorable. ChatGPT can explain the original tales behind these idioms, helping learners connect with the deeper cultural and historical roots of the language.

For example, say you’re learning the idiom 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù), which translates to “to guard a tree stump, waiting for a rabbit.” Without context, this phrase might seem puzzling. I asked ChatGPT to tell the story and it replied:

“The idiom comes from a tale about a farmer who saw a rabbit accidentally run into a tree stump and die. Expecting to catch more rabbits in this way, he wasted time guarding the stump instead of tending his fields, symbolizing a reliance on luck rather than hard work.”

One issue with this is that, without actually knowing the original story or historical context, it’s hard to know if ChatGPT is making it up. Even if it is made up though, it still helps make the phrase more memorable. 

Conclusion

ChatGPT is an excellent tool for learning Chinese if used correctly and with caution. As discussed, its Chinese tends to be a little formal, and it can’t yet replace a native speaker for conversational Chinese, although it’s likely to improve in these respects in the future. 

Despite these drawbacks, in this blog post, I’ve outlined some ways in which ChatGPT can be used right now to boost your Chinese learning. There’s no doubt that if ChatGPT had been available when I was an elementary student, using it to generate graded stories and mnemonics, among other things, would have hugely benefited my learning. 

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Introduction

Why has tutoring shifted to online in recent years?

During the past three years, due to the effects of Covid, lots of language learners have switched from offline to online schooling. Yet, along with the easing of various restrictions in most areas, some learners have gone back to offline learning again, but most of them have decided to remain online. The same is true for Chinese language learning.

It’s easy to understand why an adult learner would choose online learning now. It’s more convenient and flexible. Learners can have their Chinese class out of town, even in other countries. It’s up to the learners to decide when to hold the class, such as during their lunch or early coffee break. And, especially for Chinese, there are few choices for parents and children to learn offline in their own town. If they want professional Chinese tutoring, they would prefer a native professional tutor. Online tutors come into their sights.

What are parent’s concerns with online tutoring?

But many parents are still worried if online tutoring is effective or sufficient for their children.

Children have their own needs and learning paces. Especially for younger kids, it’s a little hard to keep them facing a screen for a long time. After half an hour, they easily lose focus. And many parents don’t want their kids to have so much screen time in a day. No wonder why so many parents have concerns about online tutoring.

Actually, it depends on which subject they are taking. If it’s sports or playground activities, it’s really hard to keep it online. But if we are talking about language learning, then online tutoring is quite a viable choice.

The pros and cons

The benefits of learning Chinese with an online tutor

1. Online class schedules are often much more flexible than offline. You can decide when to take the class and adjust the schedule as you need.
2. No matter where the students are, the class can still be held. Parents don’t need to bring their children to the classroom. It’s quite time-saving. Without the added time of dropping and picking up kids from a physical classroom, parents’ have more time on their hands.   
3. It’s more convenient and easier to find a native professional Chinese teacher online who suits your children’s needs.
4. Online Chinese classes are affordable. It’s often much cheaper than offline classes.
5. Audio and video content online can be very enjoyable.
6. It’s okay to record online classes. Children can review the class again or practice any time after class at home.
7. If parents want, they are free to observe and be around when children take online classes in case they get distracted. Parents can also monitor the lesson quality..
8. With private online tutors, the study plan can be very personalized. They can even help with school homework or other special Chinese language requirements.

Potential issues of learning Chinese with an online tutor

1. During school years, children need more interaction with peers. Classroom time can provide them with a neutral environment for social interaction and real communication. If the class goes online, then real-life interactions get harder.
2. Online language classes need a quiet place and a stable internet connection. If you can’t assure these basic requirements, then your children cannot learn as easily.
3. For younger kids, it’s easy to get bored or distracted if the online class is not very appealing to them. And sometimes the tutor can’t find out what they are thinking or doing immediately.
4. Too much screen time is not ideal or healthy for children.
5. Children have an easier time developing a relationship with offline tutors, which may help cultivate enthusiasm for learning. But online tutors it may take a long time and a lot of patience to get the same result.

What to pay attention to when choosing an online tutor or class

It truly depends on what your needs are and what circumstances you are in. For children, if you are able to keep learning in a classroom, that would be terrific. They need more interactions and lessons with language partners and tutors. In addition to social interaction skills such as cooperation, empathy, and leadership, if you focus more on the language learning itself, then here are some tips.

1. You need to verify the teacher’s credentials

What is the tutor’s teaching experience? How long have they been teaching Chinese? Have they taught children before? Is this tutor familiar with online teaching? Does this tutor have related Mandarin teaching degrees and certifications? Are they a native mandarin Chinese speaker?

Check out more detailed suggestions to help you find an excellent Chinese teacher: How to Find a Really Good Chinese Teacher to Guide Your Learning

2. Make sure your children are learning content that fits their language skills and level

If your children are beyond the current classroom level, then they might be very comfortable in the lessons, but the problem is that it’s hard to continue progressing and keep going. On the contrary, if your children are learning content beyond their own level, then it’s very easy to get tired of learning the language, and they may lack confidence. Private tutoring can help with this problem. No matter whether you want an online tutor or an offline tutor, the right teacher can make a very personalized study plan, which will help your children to progress at the right speed.    

3. The tutor’s ratings and reviews are very important

Ratings and reviews from other students and organizations are very important for you to consider. The tutor’s reliability, patience, clarity, and accuracy are the factors you should pay the most attention to.

Some online schools have their top recommended tutors. You can ask for their professional advice and tell them your biggest needs. These schools often have various tutors who have different strong points which could help them adapt to each child’s special requirements. 

If your friends have Chinese tutors for their children who have excellent feedback, then don’t hesitate to ask for their recommendation. Feel free to ask your friends about your concerns.  

4. An independent freelance teacher VS A teacher who works for a school

Thanks to the internet, there are countless options for you all around the world when you want something, and it’s the same with Chinese tutors. There are mainly two kinds of teachers online.

One is working as a freelancer who often posts themself on language exchange websites, such as italki, preply, verbalplanet, etc. Teaching Chinese is often their part-time job or hobby. Most of them are Chinese native speakers. Some of them also have professional Chinese language teaching certifications, some don’t. They are often quite flexible, but you need to book the class every single time. If you are looking for a spoken Chinese partner, then this is a good choice. You can communicate a different native speaker in every single class. And some of them are with quite low cost. If you have limited access to Chinese immersion, this can help teach more about Chinese people. 

The other is working for an online language school and is often a professional mandarin Chinese teacher with rich teaching experience. The schools often have free trial classes so that learners can find a good fit, but after that, you can’t only buy one class at a time. There are often different class packages, and you’ll need to ask for more details about the school’s class services. The advantages are obvious: parents don’t need to worry about the class plan, reliability, and consistency. It’s easy for parents to communicate with the teacher and administers and keep track of their children’s progress.

Learning Mandarin Online: Teacher Vs. School

5. Online live class VS Recorded video class

When choosing online tutoring, you may find that there are not only one-on-one live Chinese tutors, but also systematically recorded video classes. Generally speaking, recorded video classes can be a supplement for children. It’s okay for reviewing or practicing content after class. Live class tutors are more suitable for children since the real tutor can draw their attention instantly and have more interactions during the class. The tutor can adjust the lesson content and teaching style along with the children’s feedback. If there are any questions or problems that come up, the tutor can explain immediately.  

Chinese learning resources for kids

Amazing Books for Kids Learning Chinese

In addition to a Chinese tutor, Chinese learning materials are also very essential and necessary. For kids, learning materials need to meet higher requirements and different needs, for example if it’s informative, entertaining, appealing, suitable, etc. It has to guarantee that kids won’t be bored while acquiring the language knowledge.  

YCT (Youth Chinese Test)

YCT is the Youth Chinese Test, which was launched to encourage young second language learners to learn Chinese and test their current proficiency. You can find the corresponding test structure, learning books, vocabulary list, sample tests and other resources you may need here.  

GCSE / IGCSE Chinese

If you are based in the UK, Singapore, Canada, Australia, or India, then GCSE and IGCSE are there for your children to develop their Chinese skills and understand Chinese culture. There are more details about the assessment themes and intros here.  

Chinese Flashcards for kids

Chinese songs for kids

Chinese poems for kids

These Chinese word flashcards, songs, and poems are all supplemental learning materials for kids. These materials can be an introduction to the Chinese language, which might help motivate their passion for learning or broaden their understanding and interest in this language and culture.   

Parental Strategies in Supporting Their Children to Learn Chinese

You can never just leave the children to their tutors only. Parents are always the key to children’s studies. When it comes to learning the Chinese language, some parents feel lost and confused about tutoring and parenting. They have no idea where to start and how to deal with their studies. There are also some parental strategies for you to support your kids’ learning.

Conclusion

As with the world becomes more and more digitized, it’s inevitable to let internet-based learning step into your children’s study, no matter whether it’s the main method or just a supplement. For Chinese language learning, online tutoring is a great opportunity to meet professional native teachers from all around the world, which opens your choices widely. The variety of learning materials online can enrich their learning content and broaden their knowledge too. Learning with an online Chinese tutor is more effective and convenient than you may have thought. To cater to children’s learning needs and their special requirements, it’s best to use online and offline learning resources together.

Common online class expressions (PDF download)

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As a language learner, if you ever tried to search for language learning apps, it’s highly possible that you’ve seen Duolingo already. Duolingo is a hugely popular language-learning app, launched in 2012. There are about 500 million users worldwide. It promises to let you master a new language on your phone at any time, including Mandarin Chinese. Some of our DigMandarin users have mentioned that they’ve used Duolingo Chinese before. We are curious about this app, so this time let’s dig more into it together.

How Duolingo Chinese works:

The inside logic of Duolingo lessons:

Duolingo claims that they googled the 3,000 most commonly used words in each language, translated them into English, and used the words to compose simple sentences. Then they wrote an algorithm that would spit out lessons that include prompts for words and sentences using translation, listening, and reading.

How Duolingo Chinese works:

For Duolingo Chinese, you will first choose if you want to start from scratch or test your current level. When starting from scratch, you will directly jump into the first lesson’s exercise. If you take the test, it will direct you to some topics in the middle of the course after answering several questions. The whole Chinese course covers over 1,500 words and 2,500 sentences. You can then set up a daily learning goal, such as 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, or 20 minutes.

Exercise types:

• Flashcards: test if you can recognize the target character or word; test if you can connect the pronunciation and the shape of the character.
• Translation: test if you can remember the corresponding meaning.
• Listening: test if you can recognize the pronunciation. If you are not available for listening at that moment, you can skip it. There are normal and slow speed options to listen to.
• Matching: test if you can match the pinyin, meanings, and words.

The rules:

There are many gamification tricks to draw users’ attention closely, such as gaining points, treasure chests, and streaks.

If you make a mistake, it might cost you a “heart”. If you didn’t perform well enough during the lesson and lose them all, it will freeze your learning progress unless you do the review practice once again and pass it. To be able to continue learning and start a new lesson, you have to practice and review the content you just saw. You can’t skip a certain topic to do a further one unless you can pass the test of that topic. So, it’s designed for learning step by step, topic by topic. If you want to be unlimited when playing, you will need to purchase a subscription for Super Duolingo.    

Duolingo’s reminder system is also famous. If you don’t open the app and practice each day, it will keep reminding you until you start your lesson.

Verdict:

Overall, the whole Duolingo interface is very simple and clear. Everyone from children to the elderly can easily go ahead and learn. As a learning app, Duolingo is fun and not a complete waste of time. You can at least learn some basic Chinese characters and words through daily exercises on your phone. The lesson length and exercise types are apt. You won’t feel very pressured during the practicing process. The gamification also eases the burden, especially when it turns into a daily assignment.

As a learner, you can definitely learn some basic knowledge from this app; however, if you want to be level up in Chinese, it won’t be enough. You can learn as many basic words as you want through it. But as a language, the final goal is always communication. When you want to transform the words that you’ve learned into spoken language in a real-life situation, you might find that it’s hard to be fluent. Especially for Chinese learning, there is no real writing and speaking practice.

And Duolingo often just drops a new character or word on you without much explanation of what it does. The whole process of learning is by rote memorization, which connects the pronunciation, character, and meaning with each flashcards exercise. There are no real instructions for the grammar rules and there is no background knowledge.

In this case, if you want to go further in learning the Chinese language, Duolingo Chinese is definitely not enough. But if you just want to get to know this language a little bit, or use it as a word review game, it’s apt. 

Supplement and Recommendation:

Learning through an app might be a beginning, but not the end. To help you really step into studying Chinese language, we have some supplementary learning materials for you when you are using Duolingo Chinese.

Recommendation

First, the Pinyin system:

You might find that even if you choose “learn from scratch” with Duolingo Chinese, you will still directly jump to character and pronunciation recognition without any instruction. So, to create a good foundation and better your understanding, you need to learn the Chinese pronunciation system — Pinyin, systematically. After this, all the exercises won’t be a blind guess, but real practice.

Chinese Characters:

For almost all the Chinese learners, Chinese character is a real pain. So, a better understanding of the characters’ background knowledge and construction process and methods are really necessary. There are some recommended character learning resources for you to choose.

Chinese grammar:

Grammar explanation is also lacking in Duolingo Chinese. You have no idea how the sentences are constructed and why they come that way. To produce more sentences naturally, you can’t miss out on learning Chinese grammar. Here is exactly the grammar course you need.   

Supplements

Since the whole Duolingo course just contains very basic words and the corresponding words are limited, you can’t learn more through it. So, to better expand your vocabulary, you can check out our Vocabulary Training Camp, which is also designed topic by topic. It can be a great supplement for Duolingo’s Chinese exercises.

Some ambitious learners might want to start learning Chinese in a formal and efficient way after trying the Duolingo app. To be fluent and get a deep understanding of this language, a professional tutor is the key. Here are some tips for you to choose a proper tutor. Or, if you want to learn by yourself, there are many online Chinese courses available for you. You can learn anytime, anywhere, in a more structured way as long as you have a phone or computer.

Language learning is never an easy road. If you want to master a language in no time, hard work is the key. Furthermore, great learning materials and resources can also help you learn more efficiently and faster. There is an old Chinese saying: “工欲善其事，必先利其器”, which means the mechanic, who wishes to do his work well, must first sharpen his tools.  It’s the same way with Chinese. Sharpen your learning tools first!

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#1: YangYang – Based in the U.S. but of Chinese descent, YangYang consistently delivers high-quality Chinese learning videos. With professional presentations, effective teaching methods ,and concise explanations, Yangyang does a great job of teaching Mandarin. She covers topics such as grammar, Pinyin, and important Chinese basics. Finding really high quality Chinese learning videos online is always tough, but Yangyang is right up there in providing the best of these kinds of videos. You can also find more of her video lessons on YoyoChinese.com.

#2: ChineseClass101 – Do you want to learn Chinese in three minutes? ChineseClass101 supplies various Chinese learning videos, and one of them is about how to learn Chinese in three minutes. There are several basic simple sentences that the teacher, Ma Yanru, explains in detail. They also have special vocabulary learning videos. It’s a very simple way to learn; different pictures are shown, along with their pronunciation, making it a good resource for kids to learn new words. Their travel videos are very useful as well, and they give you a tour of some places, and even include survival skills.

#3: ChineseFor.us – ChineseFor.us is hosted and run by Lili, who lives in the US and focuses on teaching through video. Her courses include pronunciation, characters, and a how-to-say series. Now she is making a course based on HSK. Her teaching style is repeating the target content several times to make sure you are engaged and will remember her lessons.

#4: DigMandarin – DigMandarin does not mainly focus on making videos on Youtube, but you can always find newly released Chinese courses or introductions about Chinese learning on their YouTube page. What`s more, since DigMandarin is a comprehensive platform, the videos are made by various Chinese teachers in systematic ways. Thus, you can always find the type of course which can fit your taste and learning abilities. You can find more high quality Mandarin Chinese learning video courses on their site.

#5: ShuoshuoChinese – With over years of experience as a Chinese teacher, Shuo shares her expertise and unique perspective on her YouTube channel, Shuoshuo Chinese. Her lessons aim to provide a complete understanding of Chinese language and culture by building a rich and authentic vocabulary. In addition to teaching new words that aren’t included in most textbooks, she also helps students unlearn words and phrases that Chinese people don’t actually use. Shuo is a very personable teacher, her videos feel just like a one-on-one session with a tutor. You can get to know her better through interviews and vlogs, which are also excellent listening practice. If you’re looking for content that is authentic and engaging, you’ve come to the right channel.

#6: GoEast Language Center – Looking to go beyond the words and expressions taught in textbooks? Well, these videos are worth watching. One of their playlists is called Beyond Class. They have over a hundred short videos that focus on teaching you mandarin words that you won’t learn in a class but are frequently used by Chinese people in their daily lives. Each video illustrates one word with a mini drama, which is entertaining and fun. It only takes 1 or 2 minutes to learn a new word in your spare time. Why not?

#7: MandarinBean  – You may already be familiar with Mandarin Bean’s graded reading content from their website. You may also know that the content on their website also features full audio, which allows you to listen along as you read. Well, in early 2022, Mandarin Bean launched their official YouTube channel, where you can discover high-quality graded audio content. Organized by the HSK level, their channel offers content for all learners, from absolute beginners to advanced students. Each video lasts about 5-10 minutes and briefly explains a topic of interest using level-appropriate vocabulary and sentence structures at regular speed and slower speed. It is an excellent supplement to any learner’s regimen, allowing you to practice listening comprehension and get familiar with hearing new vocabulary words in context. Besides, they also provide the corresponding reading comprehension exercises in each episode. And, if you don’t have YouTube premium, you can also go to their website and download these lessons to listen to while you’re on the go. Overall, this channel is just another way to discover Mandarin Bean’s top-notch graded reading and listening content.

#8: Chinese Zero to Hero – Although also focusing on HSK content learning just like other channels, this YouTube page still stands out. This channel shows two Chinese men explaining grammar points according to the HSK requirements. The grammar points coverage is wider than many of the other Chinese teaching YouTubers. You can find some explanations on their page which are less mentioned by others.

#9: ChinesePod – ChinesePod has been one of the most popular and reputable Chinese learning channels on YouTube for about 10 years now. They offer many different series hosted by a variety of teachers, including Question Time with Rebecca and Daily Characters with Carly. From newbie lessons to their survival series, this YouTube channel is always trying to make new and unique content. All of their videos are fairly short– anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes–which is perfect for getting in some studying during your free time.

#10: Everyday Chinese – With nearly 350k subscribers, Everyday Chinese is one of the most popular Chinese learning channels on YouTube, and with good reason. Their lessons go beyond teaching basic vocabulary and grammar. They introduce interesting cultural points, explain complex grammar concepts, and teach useful, authentic vocabulary. Most of their content is directed at different HSK levels. There are also videos that focus on sharpening specific skills, such as writing and pronunciation. In many of the areas you want to work on, Everyday Chinese has content to help you improve your language skills in the process.

# Honorable Mention : Meditation for Chinese Learners – Immersion is one of the best methods for learning a new language, and Meditation for Chinese Learners is a new channel (started in 2021) dedicated to creating immersive and relaxing experiences. Their channel offers short meditations, narrated in Chinese, for a variety of proficiency levels. Crafted by a team of very professional Chinese teachers, each video includes relevant vocabulary and sentence structures. You can even view the full script and a list of vocabulary words in the video’s description. The teachers speak softly and clearly, which not only creates a calming atmosphere but also makes the content easy to follow. Each lesson is also enhanced by gentle music and ambient sounds. It’s easy to just sit back, unwind, and let your listening practice be a calming experience.

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Hosting meetings online adds a new layer of complexity. For many learners, it can be embarrassing to revert to English because they don’t know how to say ‘Your video is frozen’ or ‘I can’t hear you clearly.’ That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 32 essential phrases to help you tackle online meetings and take your business Chinese to the next level.

Getting Set Up

Unlike traditional meetings, online meetings require some extra effort to set up properly. Before the actual discussion can begin, everyone must make sure that the other participants can clearly see and hear them.

Here are some handy phrases to get you started:

Fortunately, many of these phrases use the same sentence structures that you’re already familiar with. They simply add some new vocabulary words, such as 摄像头, or camera. Here’s a tip: if you have trouble remembering certain words or short expressions, write them on a post-it note and stick it to your monitor. Then if you find yourself struggling to remember it during a meeting, you can sneakily glance over at your note.

Once you become more comfortable with these new words, you can start to use them in more complex sentence structures. For example, if you want to say 你可以打开摄像头吗？or 请大家打开摄像头, but you want to put more emphasis on the word 摄像头, you can use the 把 sentence structure. So instead, you would say 请把摄像头开设。You can read more about how to use 把 in this article.

These expressions help you start the meeting off on the right foot. They show your colleagues or clients that you are comfortable speaking Chinese and help you come across as both intelligent and confident. In the next section, we’ll talk about maintaining this impression when problems arise.

Technology Problems

The unfortunate reality of hosting digital meetings is that you are bound to run into tech problems sooner or later. This is another scenario where many Chinese leaners end up reverting to English. Being able to handle unexpected problems while still speaking Chinese is a true sign of fluency, and these phrases are an excellent way to prepare for those moments.

When you can’t hear someone on a video call, or they can’t hear you, how can you tell them in Chinese that there is a problem? You can’t write Chinese characters on your screen with a pen, but you CAN type them using your keyboard. If you want to type messages in Chinese, you can use what is called a pinyin input keyboard.

To set up Chinese pinyin input on Windows 10, go to Settings > Time & Language > Language > Add a Language. From there, Select Chinese (Simplified, China) and complete the setup. This will allow you to switch to Chinese mode whenever you need to type messages in Mandarin. You can simply type the pinyin of the character you want and use the number keys to select the character from a list.

To set up Chinese pinyin input on Mac, go to Apple menu  > System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources. From there you can click the Add button and select Chinese, Simplified. This will also allow you to type in Chinese using pinyin and selecting the characters you want.

Conducting a Meeting

This next set of phrases can be used both for online and in person meetings. They are all polite expressions that help you run a meeting smoothly.

Pay attention to the use of 您 instead of 你 in the expression 您先说. This emphasizes the respect that you show when you let someone else speak first. In business meetings, it’s a good idea to address others formally, especially if you are in a meeting with more senior colleagues, people you have never met before, or clients.

Saying Goodbye

Now that the main part of the meeting is over, it’s time to end on a positive note. These expressions help you wrap things up:

Once you have answered everyone’s remaining questions, you can quickly say goodbye before hanging up with a simple 再见, or if you will see them again soon, 下次见 or明天见。

Conclusion

Digital meetings have become an essential part of conducting business in the modern world, and that makes having the vocabulary to participate in these meetings an essential part of learning Chinese. The expressions we’ve looked at today will give you a solid foundation for running meetings and dealing with most common problems that arise. Once you become comfortable using these key phrases, you’ll be prepared to handle important meetings with Chinese clients, or you’ll be able to impress your Chinese colleagues with your authentic, modern vocabulary. To help you get started studying these expressions, you can download the full list as a PDF below. From there, you can make flashcards or put post-it notes on your computer screen to help you study as you work. If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment down below! We’ll see you soon with more business Chinese essentials.

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The strokes and simple pictogram characters are most frequently mentioned in courses, such as “人” “大” “天” “日” “月” “水” “火”, etc. Very familiar and easy to understand, right? Many people find that courses generally don’t explain characters in-depth or go beyond teaching basic characters.

The problem is trying to figure out what’s next. Besides the strokes and theoretical creation methods, how can we really learn and memorize the other Chinese characters? Only a few simple and easy-to-memorize characters are covered, how about the rest of the more complicated ones? No one prepares learners to learn and memorize the thousands of other characters.

How It Works

To help the learners who would like to learn more, the Topic-oriented Character learning method comes into play. If you have basic knowledge of characters, you can find that Chinese characters were created in categories. In ancient China, it was a systematic way to create characters. If we could memorize the characters with the same thoughts and logic, not only can we understand the WHYs behind the culture, but also master all the characters more efficiently.

The course consists of 10 main common, daily topics, including Numbers (数字), People（人）, Position（地点）， Nature（自然）， Weather（天气）， Description with Adjectives（形容词）， Location（地点）， Body（身体）， Furniture & Home appliance（家具&家电）and Food（食物）. Each of the topics contains related and commonly used characters.

Structure

Topic-Oriented Key Characters

Under each topic, several key characters are most commonly used. With the key characters, the most frequently used words and sentences are also presented. For individual characters, there is not only a simple translation but also the origins of the character and how/why it formed to its current form.

Components to Words

After the first section, there are two or three components derived from the key characters. These extended characters are made by the components. The corresponding words and sentences are also made and presented.

Practice & Review

To help the learners better understand, memorize, and use the characters, a practice & review section follows each lesson. Using content you have learned in previous and current lessons, you can practice creating new sentences and holding conversations. Even though the course is about character learning, the corresponding grammar and uses are provided.

Writing

While learning Chinese characters, writing is necessary and unavoidable. Some may say they just need to read or type, and that writing is not that important. As a matter of fact, writing can help you memorize and recognize the characters much easier. We acknowledge the importance of writing, so we decided to include that in our video lessons. The characters are clustered section by section. The instructor will show you the whole writing process by hand, stroke by stroke. With the proper speed, you can easily follow and imitate the writing.

Verdict

Learning to write characters is also a great way to learn Chinese language. From characters to words, from words to topics, and from topics to conversation, it’s all connected. If you understand the logic behind Chinese characters, the following process could not be easier. This topic-oriented Chinese character method provides you with the route to learning.

This course contains about 240 Chinese characters and corresponding words, which range from HSK level 1 to level 3. It’s an ideal course for beginner to intermediate-level learners.

Just learning by watching is not enough for sure. As a writing character course, there are also downloadable, stroke-by-stroke, writing sheets of each topic. All the key and extended characters are listed there for the learners to write and review. In addition, there is also a test in each lesson which helps the learners check if they have mastered and memorized the characters properly.

As a character learning course, it fills the gap between beginner to intermediate level, especially after the fundamental stage, with quite a systematic and logical thought. Learners can easily access the course and begin their journey to Chinese character mastery.

Additional Resources:

Rooted on the Topic-oriented Character Learning Method, other resources are available to help you learn Chinese characters efficiently.

For instance, articles like Chinese Characters About Farming and Nature and Chinese Characters for Animals offer insights into specific categories of characters. Learning characters related to body parts, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and numbers can provide a deeper cultural context and aid memorization.

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Of course, this idea isn’t completely unheard of and is actually a relatively common practice amongst many language learners. Coming from someone who enjoyed watching Chinese TV shows in her free time, it isn’t as simple as just watching TV. There is a bit of planning and work that must happen for it to actually improve your Chinese.

It is best to choose the right TV show – one that uses vocabulary that is appropriate for your level – and to use the right method, depending on what you want to achieve. Chinese TV shows can help improve your Chinese listening, speaking, reading and vocabulary if used appropriately.

In this article, we introduce how you can use Chinese TV shows to improve different areas of your Chinese learning.

Listening

Practicing listening can be quite difficult, especially considering the many dialects and accents that you can encounter when talking to native Chinese speaker. When practicing listening with strictly audio-based content, speed, accent, and lack of vocabulary all become obstacles to understanding and render the whole process inefficient and boring. The added visual aspect of TV shows helps to solve this problem.

To practice listening while watching TV shows, there are just a few things that you need to do.

First, I would recommend using a TV show that you have already seen and understood, or at the very least, one that you are familiar with. When you already understand what is happening, it makes it easier to concentrate on what you are hearing and infer what the characters are saying.

Second, I recommend excluding any kind of subtitles from the show when you are watching it. While Chinese subtitles may seem helpful, they become a crutch for practicing your listening. It is important for you to get used to only relying on your ears.

Last, make sure to stay focused. When re-watching a TV show, it can become easy to lose focus and stop paying full attention to the audio. So, make sure to pay consistent attention, even when the characters may be saying things you don’t understand.

The fact that TV shows are an audio-visual resource makes them more conducive to building your auditory capabilities. As humans, we have a natural ability to gain meaning from body movements and facial expressions, so having those added hints while practicing makes for a more natural and enjoyable process.

Speaking and Pronunciation

The optimal way to improve one’s Chinese speaking ability is to speak to a native Chinese speaker, but that does not mean there’s no way for you to practice by yourself. Using TV shows, you can practice your speaking and pronunciation without any added pressure.

To practice speaking, it is very important to use a TV show that contains vocabulary that is at your level. I would also recommend watching with Chinese subtitles on since that would make it easier to be sure of what is being said. 

Practicing speaking and pronunciation with TV shows is very easy. You simply watch the show and when you hear a sentence you understand, repeat that sentence out loud. Be sure to mimic the character’s speech and intonation as best as you can. It may feel silly to do this at first, but as you keep doing it, you will become more familiar with Chinese speech patterns and tones, and they will come out more naturally the next time you actually speak. It goes without saying that this practice should be done in a place where you will not disturb others and will feel comfortable.

Keep in mind that this is not a replacement for your conversation practice, it is simply a way for you to improve your pronunciation and get more familiar with speaking in Chinese.

Reading

Similar to speaking, reading is better practiced with more appropriate resources like books, articles and other such materials. The language that can be read from Chinese TV shows is generally colloquial spoken language, which differs from that used in written resources. However, using TV shows to practice reading can help you get better at recognizing Chinese characters at a faster rate.

To practice reading with Chinese TV shows, you must simply watch a show with Chinese subtitles which shouldn’t be too difficult since practically all Chinese audio-visual media include subtitles. As you are watching, be sure to read the subtitles while paying attention to the audio. This will train your brain to associate the sound and meaning of the characters with their appearance.

Practicing reading with simpler more stimulating material like TV shows allows the transition into reading longer written texts to be much smoother.

Vocabulary

Acting as the building blocks of language, vocabulary can be acquired via practically every language resource. Of course, this also includes TV programs, but I would argue that TV media is one of the best resources to acquire vocabulary from. The audio-visual properties of the medium allow learners to receive visual, auditory and contextual references for every word they encounter.

When watching a TV show in Chinese, you are likely to come across many unknown words. There are a variety of practical ways to deal with such an abundance of vocabulary. I would like to offer a disclaimer that the method written below is one that I personally use and is not the only way to learn vocabulary from Chinese shows.

First, have a pen/pencil and notepad with you as you watch the show. Make sure that you have chosen a show that is appropriate for your level and only contains Chinese subtitles that you have already seen. This allows for maximum clarity with minimal distraction.

Then, enjoy the show while looking out for sentences where you understand all but one or two words. When you encounter such a sentence, write it down and look up the words you don’t understand. Doing it this way ensures that you understand the meaning of the context in and the usage of the new words, and increases the likelihood that you’ll remember them. It also allows you to enjoy the experience more rather than pausing the video at every second to write down words that you don’t know.

By the end of an episode, you’ll surely have a whole list of new words and example sentences noted down. Whether you choose to further study those words is completely up to you, but the process alone is already a good way to expand your vocabulary.

Now, having taken all of this in, I’m sure that your approach to watching Chinese audio-visual media will be at least a little bit different. While Chinese TV shows may be a versatile and practical tool for your Chinese learning journey, it’s important to keep in mind that the key point of using them for language learning is to have fun in the process. The methods listed above should be taken as informative guidelines of how a Chinese show can help you to improve your Chinese skills rather than strict rules to follow whenever you sit down to enjoy your favourite show. Just remember to have fun as you explore Chinese language and culture through television!

For a list of suggestions of Chinese TV shows (click here)

For many other Chinese learning resources (click here)

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Definitely not! We Chinese use the same keyboards as other countries. But how can we type out so many characters with just the regular 26 letters? That`s what I`d like to share with you: how to type in Chinese.

Methods of Typing Chinese Characters

1. Pinyin Input Method

As you can see from the following image, Chinese characters are constructed with various strokes, which are relatively independent of the phonetic system. It`s impossible to list all the characters on the keyboard since there are about 80,000 characters in total. Each character has its own pronunciation, though many of them share the same phonetic syllables, known as Pinyin. Thus, we can get a list of the characters by typing the phonetic syllables.

The phonetic syllables are constructed from three parts: the initial, the final, and the tone. The initial and final are composed of the 26 English alphabet letters, the same as those on your keyboard. You may wonder, then, how about the tones? Well, tones are often the most challenging part of Chinese pronunciation for many foreigners. Fortunately, it`s not necessary to type out each tone. All you need to type are the letters. This typing method also makes many Chinese learners feel comfortable since they don`t need to memorize the exact tone of each character. When you input the letters of the initial and final, all the corresponding characters with 5 different tones will be shown. You just need to choose the one you want and ignore the others.

2. The Five-stroke Input Method（五笔输入法）

Chinese characters have many small components that need to be put together in a specific order. Each component is made of smaller strokes.The modern modular strokes are based on the “扎”字法, which are regulated into five types: “一”（横）、“丨”（竖）、 “丿”（撇）、“丶”（点）and“乛” （折）. This system is the foundation for Chinese people to learn how to write characters. 

五笔输入法（The five-stroke input）was very popular for a period because it is based on the stroke construction of each character. As you can see from the following image, each letter on your keyboard represents several Chinese strokes. What you need to do is break down the character into its different stroke components, find the corresponding alphabet letter that represents each stroke, and then you can form the character you want.

The advantage of this method is that even if you don`t know the pronunciation of a character, you can easily type it out. With the Pinyin input method, it`s hard to type a character if you do not know or are unsure about its pronunciation. This five-stroke input method has a lower error rate.

However, more and more Chinese people are taught to learn pronunciation and characters using Pinyin in primary schools. As a result, many people feel more familiar with Pinyin, leading to fewer people choosing to use the five-stroke input method.  Additionally, it`s really not easy to memorize all the small components.

3. The Handwriting Input Method（手写输入法）

This is the easiest method to understand. Unlike the Pinyin Input Method, you don`t need to know the exact pronunciation of each character; you can input by hand. Unlike the Five-Stroke Input Method, you also do not need to memorize the strokes on your keyboard. You can simply write the characters on the screen.

The drawbacks of this method are that you need to use a touchscreen (which may not be easy), or you may find it hard to write characters accurately. And if you do not write neatly and properly,  the input software may not recognize what you have written. The common characters listed by the Radicals and How to Memorize Chinese Characters Guide could help better improve your handwriting.

Tool Recommendation

The three input methods mentioned above are very popular. You can easily acquire the input method tool of your choice on your smartphone or computer. Below is a list of some commonly used tools

Pinyin input method applications:

• 谷歌拼音（Google）
• QQ拼音
• SOGOU 拼音

Five-stroke input method applications:

• SOGOU五笔
• QQ五笔
• 百度五笔（BAIDU）

Notes

Even if you are comfortable typing with the pinyin input method, don`t forget to practice your tones while speaking. People cannot distinguish words without tones when talking with each other.If you have mastered typing Chinese characters with pinyin, sometimes handwriting may seem unnecessary. However, handwriting can help Chinese learners remember the characters more accurately and systematically. With actual writing, your muscle memory will help you remember and master these characters because they are easier to recall this way.  Additionally, writing by hand is also a part of understanding Chinese culture.  Therefore, I highly recommend you continue to practice handwriting.

Closing

Understanding how to type Chinese characters can greatly enhance your ability to communicate in Chinese, whether you are a beginner or an advanced learner. By familiarizing yourself with the Pinyin, Five-Stroke, and Handwriting input methods, you can choose the one that best suits your needs and preferences. Each method has its own advantages and challenges, but with practice, you can become proficient in typing Chinese characters. For more detailed information on Chinese characters, you can explore this guide on Chinese characters. Additionally, to learn more about efficient ways to master Chinese characters, check out this article on the topic-oriented method. 

Here is an all-in-one guide to mapping your learning for all Chinese beginners. 

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This may surprise some people but the quality and variety of resources available to Mandarin learners are really high.

With the constant improvements in technology, the amount of a language that you can learn via online materials continues to grow. Not long ago, learning Mandarin independently would have been really expensive.

Nowadays, you can learn nearly everything on your own from online resources without spending much money.

Regardless of your budget, level, learning style, or focus area, you’ll be able to find something to help you.

Use something to structure your study plan

If you’re studying on your own, it can be easy to lose the benefits of a structured study plan. But, it’s easy enough to add structure to your own learning.

The traditional way to structure language learning would have been through textbooks. While textbooks are incredibly useful, I’ve always had a hard time sticking with them.

Luckily, there are some affordable, and free online courses that can help keep you on the right path (I’ll mention some of my favorites nearer the end of this article).

Be willing to try out different resources

Learning Mandarin is a long-term activity. You’ll be studying for years.

It’s hard to stick with only a couple of resources for such long periods of time. You should be willing to try out lots of different tools. If you get bored with one, there’s nothing wrong with moving on to another.

I think it’s also quite important to periodically assess your strengths and weaknesses.

For the first year of studying Chinese, I primarily used ChinesePod and Pleco’s flashcards. This led to my listening and vocabulary skills becoming high but my speaking and grammar fell behind.

By regularly assessing yourself, making adjustments, and altering your study plan, you’ll avoid major gaps in your Mandarin skills.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money

Studying doesn’t need to be expensive. If you go out and purchase or subscribe to lots of different resources, they can get costly.

Spending some money will get you access to better resources that are more convenient to use. But if you don’t have money to spend, there is still a plethora of high-quality free tools to help you.

Some of my favorite resources

There are far too many good resources for me to list them all here. But, let’s look at some of the best resources for a few different categories.

Courses

Online Chinese courses have become just as good, if not better, than traditional courses. Some of the best are Chinese For Us, Chinese Zero to Hero!, Yoyo Chinese, Ninchanese, Hello Chinese, LingoDeer, edX and Coursera.

Reading

It’s quite easy to find interesting content to read written using simpler language for learners. Some of the best options are The Chairman’s Bao, Du Chinese, Manga Mandarin, Wordswing, LingQ, MandarinBean, and Iron Mandarin.

Writing

You can practice writing characters with Skritter or TofuLearn. Alternatively, can also have passages you’ve written corrected for free in the notebooks section of italki.

Listening

There are lots of podcasts for learning Mandarin but the most popular is ChinesePod. Some others are Learn Mandarin Now, Slow Chinese, Coffee Break Chinese, and iMandarinPod.

Additionally, there are two popular platforms for making it easier to watch tv shows (FluentU and Yabla) but I prefer the free alternatives (CaptionPop and Captron.tv).

Speaking

Obviously the ideal option for improving your speaking is having friends to speak Chinese with. But, even if you have a hard time finding any Chinese speakers, you can still improve your speaking skills.

For affordable online tutors, you can try out italki or Verbling. If you’d prefer a language exchange, then Hellotalk, italki, Speaky, Tandem, or Lingbe could all be helpful.

Additionally, for improving your pronunciation, try out Speechling or WaiChinese.

Grammar

There are a few good places where you can learn grammar online for free, with the most popular being The Chinese Grammar Wiki. Ninchanese and Chineseboost also have lots of in-depth grammar lessons online.

Characters and Vocabulary

Zizzle and Outlier Linguistics are completely different, but both can help you learn Chinese characters. Pleco is an excellent dictionary. Memrise is a fun way to learn new words and Clozemaster can help you learn words in context.

Learning Chinese has never been easier

Even just a decade ago, finding good resources to study Chinese would have been difficult and expensive.

It’s amazing how quickly things have changed.

Nowadays you can find lots of excellent resources that are affordable, or even free, to fit all sorts of interests, levels, and areas that you’d like to improve.

Of course, it all depends on you, because you need to actually put in the time studying!

Background: I’ve tried out over 40 Chinese learning resources

I started studying Chinese seriously a few months after moving to Beijing in 2016. Prior to that, I wasn’t sure how much I really wanted to focus on learning the language.

I had struggled learning Spanish in the past, so didn’t have a ton of confidence in my abilities. Part of me just wanted to learn the basics so that I wouldn’t be completely helpless. After a while though, I really began to enjoy studying the language.

About a year later, I ended up starting All Language Resources.

I kept seeing people ask the same questions about which resources they should use to learn the language, or if a certain one was any good.

There are already some great blogs about learning Chinese, such as Hacking Chinese, Sinosplice, Sensible Chinese, and of course, DigMandarin.

At the time though, there weren’t many sites talking about which resources are worth using, and which ones are a waste of time and money.

I saw quite a few websites recommending courses that were expensive and terrible (Rosetta Stone, Rocket Chinese, and some others).

Although my Chinese is nowhere near good enough to teach the language, I figured that I could help others learn about the available resources and which ones could be worth using. That way, they could save some money and learn Chinese quicker.

There aren’t many Chinese learning resources that I haven’t tried yet. For these, I’ve typically used them over the course of several days, or in some cases, months and years. I’ve also tried out a bunch more but haven’t taken the time to write about them yet.

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MandarinBean is a new English language website that attempts to “provide Mandarin Chinese learners with easy access to study materials that are high-quality, contextual …and definitely not boring!” At a glance the website is aesthetically pleasing, clearly labeling everything and sporting bright pictures on a clean white background.

The content, all of which is accessible for free, is grouped into three levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The website conveniently labels each entry with a corresponding HSK level. Beginner is made up of content from HSK Levels 1 and 2, Intermediate from HSK Levels 3 and 4 content, and Advanced from HSK Levels 5 and 6 content. As expected, each higher level brings with it more advanced vocabulary, typically longer entries, and more complex subject matters.

In addition to categorizing by HSK level, MandarinBean also employs a tag system to further group the entries. The tags used include Business & Economics, Culture, Fun, History, Lifestyle, News, Story, and Travel. These tags allow you to sort by entry topic and help you to easily find and learn about the content you’re most interested in.

With a free membership, all entries can be viewed in either simplified or traditional characters (a single click allows you to easily switch between the two). A membership also provides you access to the site’s notes, translations, and Download Center which makes all entries downloadable as PDFs in both simplified and traditional characters. The notes typically come in the form of important vocabulary from the entry and also include a link to Quizlet, allowing you to practice these new words with digital flashcards.

An additional perk from a current membership is the ability to bookmark your favorite entries, making them easily accessible from your free profile.

To this point, this website probably sounds pretty standard but there is one characteristic that makes it stand out.

Every entry includes pinyin which can be hidden from view, an audiotrack recorded by a native speaker, and a popup dictionary for each word’s english meaning. The popup dictionary is reminiscent of Perapera and really serves to expedite the learning process. It is here where MandarinBean sets itself apart from many other similar sites. The convenience and thoroughness really impressed me and definitely warrants further use.

The site still appears to be in the preliminary stage of development so between the lack of options and the clear “free” label next to my profile, I would imagine there is more to come and the creators will eventually introduce buyable add-ons.

It is here where my largest critique of the site arises: it’s just too new. With it only being a few months old, there is not a huge amount of entries in total. The amount is impressive given the brevity of MandarinBean’s existence but I was able to read through all of the Advanced content (22 entries at the time of writing) in a few hours. Especially with the assistance of the popup dictionary making up for any of my vocabulary limitations.

While not a lot in aggregate, I was very pleased with the quality of the content – some of the more advanced entries being made up by news articles, blurbs, or even accounts originally in English translated into Chinese (one example being Elon Musk’s “Five Secrets of Success for the Young.”) Overall I quite enjoyed my time using MandarinBean and look forward to them amassing more content. In my opinion this is a great supplementary source to your Mandarin learning endeavors. With practical content, a simple layout, and thorough entries, this site is an abundance of convenient that, at least for the time being, is accessible in its entirety for free.

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