Questions tagged [learning]

For questions about the process and techniques used to learn Chinese or its topolects.

This tag encompasses all questions that are about the learning process itself, including materials, techniques, memorization strategies, etc.

Please note that it's very easy to ask questions like these that are off-topic. Make sure your question follows the general guidelines, otherwise it may attract close votes.

A few rules of thumb: try as much as possible to ask questions that define a practical issue, and that can be answered objectively.

Asking for recommendations based on your specific situation and background is off-topic, as the answers will probably benefit only you, e.g. "I just got my HSK 5, what should I do next?" or "How can I improve my X".

The reason why "How can I improve my X" is off-topic even though other people might find the answers useful, is because everybody's learning process is different. So answers to such a question simply can not be objective. Everybody here is happy to help you learn Chinese when you encounter difficulties, however open-ended personal questions are just not a very good fit for the format of this Q&A site (see more here).

Asking for learning resources is also likely going to be off-topic, as it's very hard to ask a good question about that. Make sure you check the dedicated thread first: Resources for learning Mandarin Chinese.

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What is the best way to teach a child Mandarin?

My son is almost 8 weeks old. I don't speak Mandarin (yet, currently in progress) and am looking for ways to start him on learning Mandarin early, maybe at about 1 year of age. What is the best way to go about doing this?
N_A
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How to get started learning Chinese?

I'm new on this website and my only objective is to get some answers. But the main question I have is: How and where to start learning Chinese? How to begin?
Ozair7
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Mnemonic for differentiating 买 and 卖

I always mix up their tones and/or meaning. Do you know a good mnemonic to differentiate the two? Maybe there are compound words which contain either character which could help me? I found 买卖 which I get right tone wise (mai3mai5) and meaning wise…
Roman Reiner
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Early childhood Chinese language immersion accent exposure

Is it important for young children (4 or 5 years old) in a Chinese language immersion program to be exposed to more than one type of Mandarin accent? If the child only hears one accent (and one that is not bad but not entirely standard Putonghua)…
Dan
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How many non-native speakers of Chinese are there?

I have been reading about the rapid expansion of the Confucius Institute program and am interested in what its 'results' have been in terms of actually producing people who can speak 普通话. I have found an answer in the context of Australia, where the…
Burrough Clarke
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How do I overcome my inability to think in Chinese? I instead translate what I read into English

I am not sure why, but whenever I read something in Chinese...I don't know how to say this, it just doesn't click, Every word I read is instantly translated to English, If I try to force my self to not do so, I tend to get confused. I am not too…
Cheeseu
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if ... then ... in Chinese without any special words

I found the following example on this webpage: 你 高兴,我 也 高兴。 nǐ gāoxìng, wǒ yě gāoxìng. If you are happy then I am happy. Somehow, the translation sounds weird to me, as I would rather translate it more literally with "You are happy, (and) I am…
Patrick Trentin
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How do I know when I am "fluent"?

What in a common test for fluency in Chinese? Is it when I can; talk to a shopkeeper converse meaningfully about a film do business purely in Chinese pass HSK6 When my friends ask I don't know what to say.
Matthew Rudy 马泰
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What is the best way to go about beginning to learn mandarin pronunciation?

I have had an interest in trying to learn Mandarin for a long time. However, I am apprehensive about starting this process because I don't want to end up initially learning the pronunciation incorrectly. I have trouble hearing the difference between…
Joe
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Does China have any website like Youtube?

I want to let learn about Chinese and I want to watch some short video to begin with. Is there any website like Youtube in China and can be access from USA?
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Word list for computer UI and technical. (Simplified character, pinyin, English)

My Chinese is very rusty, and I would like to learn to recognize more Chinese characters that appear in the GUI of operating systems, and popular apps. For example: 取消 Qǔxiāo = Cancel 控制面板 Kòngzhì miànbǎn = Control Panel I don't know if such a…
Doochz
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Self-Teaching and Methods of Practice

I am trying to learn Chinese. I have no trouble with pronunciation; I lived in Taiwan when I was young. However, I can't seem to begin. I try to start learning, but I stop, only to try again a week or two later. I feel that I have no structure. I…
user6520
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1 answer

Why are sites like youku and baidu so slow overseas?

When I was in China, these video sites were great for getting chinese material to watch. Ever since I came back though, these sites are too slow to watch anything. Why are these so slow and is there a way to make them download faster?
Chits
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Is Duolingo a good place to start if I am a complete beginner?

I'm interested in learning Chinese, and I know right now next to nothing about it, besides some basic words and phrases. I know Duolingo is a very trusted language learning platform, but I'm not completely sure if it's the best to begin to learn…
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How many people are learning Chinese as a second language today?

I am currently trying to acquire statistics and studies regarding trends and historic data regarding the total number of people that are learning Chinese as a foreign language globally along with country level statistics. I have read that it is…
Axel
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