Note: Chinese words in this article will be written in simplified characters, then traditional characters, then accompanied by the pinyin and meaning, e.g., 中国 / 中國 (zhōng guó) – China.
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Author Archive | Daniel Lal
3 Chinese Conversation Scripts to Prepare You for Real-world Dialogues
Beginner Chinese conversation scripts are the worst.
No, that’s not a typo.
Imagine you look up a scripted example dialogue in Mandarin and read through it.
You download PDFs with lists of words and phrases for Chinese conversations and practice …
The Half-hour Guide to Learning Basic Mandarin Writing
Real-world Mandarin writing is a beautiful mess.
Like with any written language, there are various styles.
There are tons of fonts.
There’s unfathomably bad handwriting.
It’s a lot to deal with.
But learning the basics will set you up to …
The Mandarin Learner’s Guide to (All 214!) Chinese Radicals
“The characters are so complicated!”
“There are soooo many characters!”
“There’s no alphabet!”
These are three of the most common reasons people don’t want to read and write Chinese.
Here’s what those reasons would sound like if they were …
How Many Chinese Characters Do I Need to Know? HSK-inspired Vocab Goals
The simple, unabridged answer:
Zero.
Even if you couldn’t read or write a single Chinese character but could still have a full conversation with a native Chinese speaker, wouldn’t you be fluent?
Okay, sure…
But let’s get real.
Whether …
Learning Chinese Grammar? Own It with These YouTube Videos!
Navigating the seas of Chinese grammar isn’t easy.
That can often mean “not fun.”
It’s enough to drive you to an existential crisis.
Unfortunately, you can’t just ignore Mandarin grammar.
But we’re here to help.
There are a handful …
How to Learn Chinese by Reading It, Even If You “Can’t”
Some friends of mine recently organized a hike that ended up being a steep, arduous, bruising climb.
When they got to the top, they found a group of nicely dressed people, young and old, picnicking.
Turns out, if they had …
