Articles in the ‘Distinctively Chinese’ category
-
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 → -
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 → -
How technology can make learning Chinese easier
Technology can make learning Chinese easier, not by doing the learning for you, but by helping you spend more time on what actually matters: listening, reading and communicating in Chinese.
Read → -
Learn Chinese by playing Chinese chess (象棋, xiàngqí)
Chinese chess, or 象棋 (xiàngqí), is more than a classic strategy game. It’s a fun, practical way into Chinese language and culture.
Read → -
The best podcasts for learning Chinese in 2026
Podcasts let you create your own Chinese immersion experience, with level-appropriate stories and authentic conversations. Learn flexibly on the go with the best podcasts for beginners, intermediate and advanced students!
Read → -
How to not memorise Chinese characters: The anatomy of bad mnemonics
Mnemonics are clever memory techniques that help you remember everything from PIN codes to Chinese characters. Good mnemonics make learning easier, but bad ones can distract you or even hold you back.
Read → -
A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand
Chinese characters are beautiful and fascinating, but learning to write them by hand is time-consuming. If you want to learn to write Chinese characters by hand with the least possible time investment, what’s the best approach?
Read → -
How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese
How do native speakers talk about Chinese characters? The writing system is not phonetic, so you can’t spell out words, but it is still possible to talk about Chinese characters.
Read → -
What a big Rubik’s Cube taught me about Chinese characters
How small can Chinese characters be while still being legible? How much information do they contain per unit area? And what can a big Rubik’s cube teach us about Chinese characters?
Read →