Hacking Chinese

A better way of learning Mandarin

Articles tagged with ‘Memorisation’

  1. Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese?

    Learning things by heart used to be a mainstay of language education but is now often frowned upon. Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese or just a waste of time

    Read →

  2. Are mnemonics too slow for Chinese learners?

    Mnemonics are very effective for certain types of learning, but how effective are they for learning Chinese? This article is the first of two that looks at the effectiveness of mnemonics, focusing on the question of speed. Are mnemonics too slow to be really useful in the context of using a foreign language?

    Read →

  3. 5 levels of understanding Chinese characters: Superficial forms to deep structure

    How much do you need to care about the actual composition and meaning of a Chinese character when learning it? In general, better understanding means it’s easier to learn, but is there a limit to how closely you should stick to actual etymology? This article explores the spectrum from using superficial images to real etymology from the perspective of a language learner.

    Read →