Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Recent articles about how to learn Mandarin

  1. Chinese vocabulary challenge, December 2024

    It’s time for a vocabulary challenge! It starts on December 10th, so enrol, set your goal and learn as many characters and words as you can before the end of the month. This challenge is sponsored by Skritter, so there are also prizes on the line! This article contains more information about the challenge, some important things to keep in mind as well as some advice about learning Chinese characters and words.

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  2. Student Q&A, December 2024: Learning similar Chinese characters, polyphonic characters, and flashcards vs. reading for building vocabulary

    How can you remember the difference between similar Chinese characters? Are flashcards better than reading for building vocabulary? And how do you learn polyphonic characters?

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  3. Which Chinese learning resources are worth paying for?

    Thanks to the internet, learning Chinese is now more accessible than ever, and you can do it completely for free. Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should, however. If you have money to invest, here’s how to do so with the greatest impact.

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  4. Black Friday discounts for Hacking Chinese courses

    Let my courses guide you towards your Chinese-learning goals, now with $31 off until Tuesday, December 3! Already enrolled or not interested for yourself? Give the gift of language to someone else, or simply help spread the word!

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  5. Welcome to The Fluent Listener, a new course from Hacking Chinese!

    Develop essential Mandarin listening skills with my new course, The Fluent Listener. Enrol by November 24 for lifetime access to video lessons, curated resources, tailored guidance, and a supportive learning community.

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  6. Four key principles to improve your Mandarin listening comprehension

    Listening is the cornerstone of language learning, yet many students struggle to improve their Mandarin listening comprehension. Fortunately, making progress isn’t as difficult as you might think; just follow four key principles!

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  7. Chinese reading challenge, November 2024

    It’s time for a Chinese reading challenge! It starts on November 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.

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  8. Student Q&A, November 2024: Pros and cons of digital tools for Chinese reading, and the struggle to find comprehensible and interesting texts

    Is reading digitally in Chinese better than on paper? What are the best digital tools for reading? And what should you do if you can’t find texts that are both interesting and at the right level?

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  9. How to learn Zhuyin (Bopomofo) in two hours

    Many people believe that learning a new script is challenging, but mastering systems like Zhuyin (Bopomofo) or Japanese kana is surprisingly easy. With the right approach and resources, you can do it in just a few hours!

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  10. Do you really know how to count in Chinese?

    Counting is one of the first things we learn in a foreign language, yet mastering it takes time. While basic numbers may seem simple, using them effectively in communication requires much more than just memorising words.

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