Recent articles about how to learn Mandarin
-
Chinese mimicking challenge, September 2026
Let’s improve our pronunciation together! Mimicking is one of the best ways to improve pronunciation and prosody, while also helping with vocabulary and grammar. Enrol, pick a model and see how close you can get before the end of the month!
Read → -
Back-to-school course discount: Getting the most from Hacking Chinese in 2026
Hacking Chinese can be seen as one very long answer to the question of how to learn Mandarin better. Most people don’t want to read a million words to get the full picture, though, so I’ve distilled the most useful information and advice into a few courses. Get $31 off any single course, or $128 off when buying three!
Read → -
How to nail dictation tests in Chinese: The ultimate guide to 听写/聽寫 (tīngxiě)
Dictation tests, or 听写/聽寫 (tīngxiě), are common in Chinese courses, but many students struggle with them. Here is a guide for how to nail any dictation test!
Read → -
Communicative handwriting: Writing Chinese with a real purpose
Flashcards can teach you to write Chinese characters, but they can be boring and hide problems. Communicative handwriting is more engaging and prepares you for real-world tasks.
Read → -
How to create mnemonics for general, abstract or overlapping character components
Mountains, trees and rocks are easy to use in mnemonics. But what do you do with character components whose meanings are general, abstract or overlapping?
Read → -
Chinese reading challenge, August 2026
It’s time for a Chinese reading challenge! It starts on August 10th, so enrol, set your goal and read as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, as well as some advice about improving reading ability in Chinese.
Read → -
The Chinese iceberg: Why speaking more isn’t enough to speak better
90% of an iceberg is underwater, yet we mostly pay attention to the bit that sticks up. The same is true for proficiency in Chinese: speaking ability is easy to see, but relies on a much larger system underneath.
Read → -
New book: Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection
I have published a book! It’s called Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection and contains articles I wrote in 2025, the Year of the Snake. The articles cover a wide variety of topics, but characters, tutors and input are the most prominent.
Read → -
30 minutes of podcast, 3 minutes of Chinese
Most learners know they should “listen more”, but what they listen to matters. To improve, you need to make sense of spoken Mandarin, not listen to people explain Mandarin in English.
Read → -
Chinese writing challenge, July 2026
It’s time for a Chinese writing challenge! It starts on July 10th, so enrol, set your goal and write as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, some important things to keep in mind as well as some advice about improving writing ability in Chinese.
Read →