Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Recent articles about how to learn Mandarin Page 5

  1. Is Chinese difficult to learn?

    Is Chinese difficult to learn, even impossible? Or is it in fact quite easy? The answer is that learning Chinese is difficult, but not in the way most people think!

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  2. Timeboxing Chinese: Get more done in less time

    If you don’t invest the necessary time into learning Chinese, it doesn’t matter how good your method is. Timeboxing is a wonderful way to get more done in less time.

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  3. Insights from the new HSK 7-9: Interview with Sara Jaaksola

    Are you curious about the new HSK? Do you want to know what it’s really like to take and pass the advanced level? And how should you prepare to ace your own exams?

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  4. How I learnt Chinese, part 7: Teaching, writing, learning

    What’s it like to study Chinese when you’ve already reached the goals you had when you started out? How can you keep on learning when you’re no longer studying the language? And is there such a thing as being done with Chinese?

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  5. How narrow reading and listening can help you bridge the gap to real Chinese

    Varying your diet of Chinese reading and listening practice is often considered good, indeed necessary, for your learning, but this could be wrong. In some cases, variation makes things too difficult, and then narrow reading and listening is a better option!

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  6. Seeing through the illusion of advanced Chinese learning

    Courses and textbooks encourage narrow but advanced proficiency in Chinese, but if you want to be able to communicate well, you need to see through the illusion.

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  7. Why travelling isn’t the best method to learn Chinese

    Travelling is often touted as one of the best ways to learn a language, but is it really? What are some downsides of travelling to learn Chinese, and how should you travel to get the most out of it?

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  8. Skritter review: Boosting your Chinese character learning (2023 edition)

    Skritter is a modern tool for learning ancient characters. It combines research-based methods such as active recall and spaced repetition with great Chinese-specific tools and content. While it’s not a free resource, it has enough edges over more generic, free services to be worth it in my opinion.

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  9. Get to know your Chinese voice to level up your speaking ability

    Have you listened to a recording of yourself speaking Chinese, only to find that your voice sounds unfamiliar and strange, like another person? Then you’re not alone!

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  10. How learning some basic theory can improve your Mandarin pronunciation

    Listening, mimicking and getting feedback is the best way to learn Chinese pronunciation, but unless you’re a small child or extremely talented, adding some theory to the mix can also be helpful.

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