Edit: this article was originally written for my classmates, but it is also useful for anyone interested in learning Mandarin. It does not cover all of the details, as there are many to cover, but it should give you a good overview of what resources are available, as well as some tips for learning Mandarin—which I highly recommend doing. 🙂
Quick introduction to the language…
Mandarin is spoken throughout Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, as well as parts of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other southeast Asian countries. What makes Mandarin hard? What makes Mandarin easy. Let’s start with the bad news first.
Mandarin is a tonal language. There are four tones (and a neutral tone), numbered one through four. They all have a pitch and a direction. This will be a difficult concept for people who do not already speak a tonal language. However, with some practice and careful attention, it is very doable.
Mandarin uses Chinese characters. There are a lot of them. However, there is a general pattern that will often give insight into the meaning and/or pronunciation of a character. They are composed of “radicals” (pieces of characters) that will make memorization significantly easier (relatively speaking).
And the good news?
Mandarin has no tenses, cases, conjugations, or gendered nouns (why couldn’t German be that simple?). Everything is implied from context, and it is just lovely. There’s also no weird names for days of the week, months, etc.
Pretty nice, eh? 🙂
Resources (podcasts, apps, websites, etc.)
- Pleco (app) — literally the most important thing ever when you’re learning Mandarin. I can’t recommend it more. Use it, make it your bible. You can search with pinyin, characters, English, anything. Don’t use Google Translate. Use Pleco. Download all of the free dictionaries, free add-ons, and I also think the basic add-on bundle is worth the money if you really want to learn the language long-term. I use it as a dictionary, and I also create flashcards. It also has downloadable dictionaries in other languages, some of which are free. If you take anything from this list of tips and resources, it’s Pleco. I beg of you.
- ChinesePod (podcast) — hands down the best learning Mandarin podcast. Really good lessons with vocab lists, good dialogue, good teachers. Super super good. You need a monthly subscription, but if you don’t wanna pay (it’s kinda expensive but very good). There’s also a lesson pdf bundled with the dialogue, vocabulary, with pinyin and characters. Lessons are divided by level, and they go from super super beginner to super advanced, with progressively more and more Mandarin spoken by the hosts. I owe lots of my vocabulary and pronunciation progress to ChinesePod.
- ChineseSkill (app) — it’s the Duolingo of Mandarin. I wish it existed when I started learning Mandarin (or maybe it did and I just didn’t know). Really good, check it out.
- Skritter (app) — I’ll be honest, I’ve never actually used Skritter myself (because it requires a paid monthly subscription and I’m poor), but I’ve heard really good things and it appears to be a really useful tool for learning characters.
- Decipher Chinese (app) — really good app to practice reading. Has tons of articles that are categorized by level, can toggle simplified/traditional characters, hide/show pinyin, and has tap to show definition built in. Really useful app to make use of the 5 minutes you normally spend wasting waiting for the bus.
- YouTube channels (ChinesePod, Fiona Tian, etc.) — Fiona Tian eventually got hired by ChinesePod, but she did Mandarin lessons independently. They’re fun and light videos that have really good stuff! There’s also tons more by lots of other really good stuff on YouTube so give that stuff a look. Links to Fiona Tian, ChinesePod TV, ChineseClass 101, Easy Taiwanese Mandarin.
- Glossika Mandarin (audio course) — another paid resource, but also super, super worth it, in my opinion. I’ve bought Glossika in several languages already. It combines spaced-repetition (what’s that?) with tons of language structures that help you learn grammar and vocabulary intuitively without really directly studying them (crazy, right?).
- Memrise (app/website) — tons of courses that are already made for Mandarin (and a million other languages, too). Flashcards with spaced-repetition, gamification, and lots of super good stuff. Website and app, highly recommended.
- HackingChinese (blog/website) — super good blog. Full of tips and resources for all levels if you’re ever stuck and looking for new resources and/or inspiration. The guy knows his stuff.
- Lang-8 (website) — really good website for practicing writing stuff. You can write little posts and then have native speakers correct your writing (and you give back by correcting theirs). Love it, I use it all the time.
- italki (website) — also has a writing component, but I recommend it particularly for finding language exchange partners if you want to find native speakers to chat with.
- Pen and paper — revolutionary! It is by writing Chinese that one learns to write Chinese. Try to write every day. It’s not only a good idea, it’s also really fun. 🙂
- Music — believe it or not, also a really excellent resource. Here’s a playlist of some of my favourite Mandarin songs.
- Poetry — most poetry will be too difficult at this stage, but I will recommend 顾城 (pron. Gù Chéng) as his poems are beautiful and beautifully simple.
Most importantly, use resources that you enjoy! The best resources are the ones that you will use.
General Advice
Tones — do not neglect the tones. Fiona Tian has a good video about tones where she talks about how they’re super good to learn in pairs (link to really good article about that). Try to over exaggerate the tones at first. Also, remember that the tones have not only direction, but also pitch. I strongly recommend listening to tons of audio resources and practice in order to master these little buggers.
Radicals — try to slowly take note of the meanings of the radicals. Really helps to understand the intuition behind the characters, and remember them that way. Also another piece of advice I wish I had heard earlier in my learning, but I’ve found that studying the radicals is very helpful with remembering and understanding characters.
Repetition — repeat stuff. A lot. For example, pick two or three ChinesePod lessons that you like, and listen to them. A lot. Listen to them 10+ times each. You will learn. 🙂
Pinyin — use pinyin as little as possible. When reading, cover up the pinyin (if it’s written above/underneath). Your brain will naturally try to read the pinyin because it’s easier, but always avoid reading texts with pinyin. Look up the pinyin of a word to find the pronunciation, but pinyin is not the real language, so always practice reading characters.
Measure words — just how you need to learn the gender and articles of words for French or German, try to learn the measure word of nouns as you learn them. There is some logic to the measure words, so while it may seem like an annoying concept at first, it really isn’t so bad.
Practice—start practicing with your classmates! Speak with them when you can, and download a Chinese keyboard on your phone. For Android, I recommend the Google Pinyin keyboard (from the Google Play store), and for iPhone users, you can add new keyboards through your settings. When doing so, make sure to add both the QWERTY pinyin and handwriting inputs when you install the keyboard.
Anticipated FAQ’s
Q: Sam! My Pleco iPhone app doesn’t let me write characters by hand! What do I dooooo?
A: Did you follow the instructions I gave you? The iPhone Pleco app requires that you pay for handwriting as an add-on, but the iPhone handwriting keyboard works (almost) just as well. If you accidentally added the pinyin keyboard only, remove it and re-add it with the handwriting one at the same time.
Q: My textbook is in simplified characters, but I heard that Taiwan uses traditional characters! Am I going to understand any writing when I get there? Also, what kind of shampoo do you use?
A: I’m sure your Mandarin teacher will go more in depth with this, but the difference between simplified and traditional is enough to be a little bit annoying, but not a complete deal-breaker (i.e. you are not wasting your time by learning simplified characters). Personally, I would take note of the equivalent traditional character when I learn a simplified character, but I wouldn’t stress too much about learning how to write it. Maybe learn it once or twice, and just be familiar with the appearance of it to help you recognize it down the road. Also, Head & Shoulders.
Q: Sam! Should I learn traditional or simplified characters?
A: There is huge debate regarding whether one should learn simplified or traditional characters. Mainland China and Singapore use simplified, while Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau use traditional. In a very small nutshell, traditional characters have more strokes and are more similar to the ancient written language. My recommendation: if you are going to learn both, learn traditional first. If you are going to learn one, learn the one that aligns with your learning goals (i.e. if you are going to work in China, learn simplified, but if you are interested in Taiwanese variety shows, learn traditional).
Q: But Sam, I’ve been using Google Translate for so long, and it’s served me well in every other language. I’m not going to use your stupid Pleco app!
A: Please. Do this for me. Just use Pleco.
Q: But Chinese is so haaaaard! It’s going to take me ages to learn, even with your super awesome guide! Your guide is super awesome, by the way.
A: You may surprise yourself. With a little bit of hard work and persistence, you’ll be making progress, and maybe even ordering beers and directing cab drivers before you know it. And thank you, that’s so nice of you to say.
That should be enough to get you going. Mandarin is a difficult but rewarding language. I have benefited from countless experiences as a result of learning Mandarin, and with a little bit of motivation and effort, you can too. Good luck, much love, and 加油
Sam
文山
Samuel Tersigni 