Articles in the ‘Reading’ category
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Effective progress or experience points? The double-edged sword of measuring your Chinese learning
Measuring your Chinese progress is a double-edged sword: it can keep you motivated, but it can also tempt you to chase numbers that don’t reflect real progress.
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The best time to start learning Chinese is now: A guide for expats
The best time to start learning Chinese might be behind you, but the second-best time is now. If you’ve been surrounded by Mandarin for years and keep putting off learning the language, this guide is for you!
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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.
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Chinese reading practice for beginners: 7 resources to improve your Mandarin
The best way to learn to read Chinese is to read texts you can understand without constantly using a dictionary. As a beginner, those texts aren’t always easy to find, but let’s look at the best reading resources I know for beginners.
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Chinese subtitles and transcripts: Reading before, while or after listening
Subtitles and transcripts can help you understand spoken Chinese, but do they also help you become a better listener? Should you read along, read first, or save the text for after you’ve listened?
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Reading is a lot like spaced repetition, only better
You can build vocabulary in Chinese with flashcard apps spaced repetition, but reading is more effective and more enjoyable. It helps you recognise words, understand how they work in context and build your sense of how the language works.
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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?
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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?
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Learning Chinese through comprehensible input
Can you really learn Mandarin through listening and reading alone? What is comprehensible input, and how do you get enough of it?And how do speaking, writing, grammar, and flashcards fit in?
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16 reasons to learn to write Chinese characters by hand
Does handwriting still have a place in modern Chinese learning? Let’s explore 8 popular arguments in favour of writing characters by hand, each critically examined to see which ones truly stand up to scrutiny.
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