Author Archive | Brooke Bagley

Chinese Language: A Complete Guide, Including Dialects, Spoken and Written Forms and History

As a student, a pet peeve of mine was when someone asked me: “Are you learning Chinese?” This irked me because I wasn’t learning Chinese; I was learning Mandarin. While this may seem confusing, especially for beginners…

How Long Does It Take to Learn Chinese? The Honest (and Surprising) Truth

Figuring out how long it takes to learn Chinese depends on various factors—such as your native language, current level, experience with languages, etc. And most importantly: your goal. Becoming fluent and highly proficient in Mandarin Chinese (and passing the HSK …

Cantonese vs. Mandarin: 5 Key Differences

Did you know that there are actually hundreds of Chinese dialects? But when it comes to learning Chinese, most people opt for the most commonly spoken dialects—Mandarin and Cantonese. So how does one choose between the two? This is …

Pastime Paradise: Discuss Your Hobbies in Chinese with 25+ Words and Phrases!

Having hobbies is important. Hobbies are a way to express yourself, give you something to devote your time to, allow you to escape stressful situations and reconnect with yourself. When learning Chinese, it only makes sense that you’d …

The 7 Major Chinese Dialects and How They Came to Be

China is a diverse nation—geographically, culturally and linguistically! If you’ve ever traveled through China, you’ll soon realize, even if you speak Mandarin Chinese, you’ll still end up unable to understand someone. That’s because the Chinese language has (at least) …

The Chinese Le (了) Particle: Your Guide to Its Aspect and Modal Functions

The Chinese 了 (le) particle can do a lot. It can change situations, express time durations, complete an action and even describe ongoing events. With all of these varied uses, knowing when and how to apply 了 can be tricky.…

How to Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes: The Busy Learner’s Guide

Contrary to popular belief, if you want to learn Chinese—or any language for that matter—it doesn’t have to take two or three hours a day. Although, if you have that much free time, then go for it! But be …

6 Ways to Say Sorry in Chinese (and 4 Ways to Respond to Apologies)

Saying sorry is important, though it’s not always the same between languages. As a result, it’s only natural that learning how and when to say sorry in Mandarin Chinese is a high priority on a beginner’s checklist. So …

How to Practice Shadowing Chinese: The Simple but Effective Shortcut to Fluency

Listening and speaking are two of the hardest skills to cultivate when learning a language. Enter shadowing. Allow me to enlighten you about the mysterious method of shadowing, how to use it and why shadowing Chinese is a surefire …

The Chinese Numbers Ultimate Guide: How to Count from 1-1000 and Beyond

If you recently started learning Chinese, odds are learning to count is one of your first goals. This is a great goal, because you can discuss a lot of topics once you know your Chinese (shù zì) — numbers.…