Articles in the ‘Vocabulary’ category Page 2
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Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden… or burn it down and start afresh
Flashcards are powerful, but what if your deck feels more like an overgrown thicket than a carefully cultivated garden? Do you clear away the weeds and bring it back under control, or burn it all down and start afresh?
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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.
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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 (or not learning) Chinese slang
Slang and swearing often top the list of what people want to learn in a foreign language. But is this curiosity actually helpful for learners, or just a fun distraction?
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7 ways to learn to write Chinese characters
There are many ways of practising writing Chinese characters and they all have their pros and cons. In this article, I discuss seven different ways of practising and what advantages and disadvantages they have for you as a learner. Which do you use?
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Same building blocks, different characters: How component placement changes meaning in Chinese
Chinese character components are usually placed in predictable ways. If you remember the components, you can often write the character. But not always. Some characters share components but differ only in how they’re arranged.
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16 myths about learning Chinese that are holding you back
Believing the wrong things about learning Chinese can waste time and lead you astray. Let’s explore 16 myths that might be holding you back!
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How to improve your Mandarin speaking skills with a tutor
Most Chinese learners want one thing above all: to speak better. Many turn to a teacher for guidance, but that is only the first step. True progress depends on how you work with that teacher.
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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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Classroom Mandarin: Essential expressions for learning Chinese in Chinese
The fastest way to learn to communicate in Chinese is to learn classroom expressions first. Master essential phrases that help you learn Mandarin without relying on English!
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