Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Recent articles about how to learn Mandarin Page 7

  1. Should you learn Chinese vocabulary from lists?

    Students often rely on lists to learn new Chinese characters and words. This can be useful in some situations, but there are also many problems with this approach.

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  2. 6 benefits of learning Chinese through sports

    The general benefits of physical activity are well-known, but the more specific benefits for learning languages are often overlooked, so let’s have a look at 6 benefits of learning Chinese through sports!

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  3. Should you use an efficient method for learning Chinese even if you hate it?

    Methods for learning Chinese can be good because they are efficient, because they to focus on the right content, or because they are enjoyable, allowing you to spend more time. But no method is good in all these ways at once, so what should you do if you just don’t like the most efficient method?

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  4. Don’t try to improve everything at once when learning Chinese

    To communicate in Chinese, many skills need to work in unison, but trying to improve all of them at once is a recipe for frustration. Instead, limit your focus to make progress and stay motivated!

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  5. Learn Chinese by playing Mahjong (麻将, májiàng)

    Playing Mahjong is an excellent way of learning Chinese.

    Playing games is a wonderful way of learning Chinese, and 麻將 (májiàng) works for all beginners and advanced students alike! Apart from the numbers 1-9, you only need a handful of extra words to play. The game is extremely popular and as such, it can open up many doors, both cultural and social.

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  6. Can ChatGPT pass the HSK?

    Robot reading. Created with Stable Diffusion and some GIMP editing for the book cover.

    ChatGPT has been all over the news for its remarkable ability to interact in a human-like manner, understand questions and respond in a meaningful way. It has even been used to pass university exams. But how good is it at Chinese? Can it pass the HSK?

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  7. Beginner Chinese listening practice: What to listen to and how

    The best way to learn to understand spoken Mandarin is to listen as much as you can to engaging content you can make sense of without looking things up. In this article, I go through the best types of beginner Chinese listening practice!

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  8. Using the HSK as a roadmap to learning Chinese

    For some students, the HSK is not just a proficiency test, but also a roadmap to learning Chinese. Is treating it as such a good idea? And if you do, what should you keep in mind?

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  9. Best of Hacking Chinese 2022

    Sparkler celebrating the best of Hacking Chinese 2022.

    2022 was a year of stability on Hacking Chinese; consistent but without major breakthroughs. What was the most popular article? The most popular podcast episode? Let’s summarise the year that was and highlight content you really shouldn’t miss!

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  10. Hacking Chinese reader and listener survey

    500 articles and 125 podcast episodes on Hacking Chinese, but how is this content created? And what do you think about it?

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