{"id":182078,"date":"2022-07-25T02:47:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T06:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/chinese-for-beginners\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T01:13:34","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T06:13:34","slug":"chinese-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese for Beginners: 6 Basics You Need to Learn First"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mandarin is often painted as one of the most difficult languages to learn<\/a>. But once you’re past a few challenges, you’ll realize that Mandarin isn’t all that challenging and that it’s actually a beautiful and logical language<\/a>.<\/strong> It also helps that it doesn’t have cases, genders or tenses.<\/p>\n

Take a look at the six basics of the Chinese language for beginners.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc skip=3]<\/p>\n

1. Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese Characters<\/h2>\n

There are a few factors to consider when deciding if you should learn simplified or traditional characters, such as the Chinese dialect<\/a> you want to learn, who you’ll be communicating in Chinese<\/a> with and where you’ll be traveling or moving to.<\/p>\n

What Is Simplified Chinese?<\/h3>\n

Simplified Chinese is the standardized form of the Chinese script<\/strong> introduced in 1954. It’s used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

With print media on the rise, the government implemented a script with fewer brushstrokes in the characters to increase literacy throughout the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are a few examples of Simplified characters:<\/p>\n

\u8fd9 (zh\u00e8)<\/em> \u2014 this<\/p>\n

\u6765 (l\u00e1i)<\/em> \u2014 to come<\/p>\n

\u7231 (\u00e0i)<\/em> \u2014 to love<\/p>\n

Mandarin speakers predominantly use Simplified Chinese, except Taiwanese Mandarin speakers who use traditional characters.<\/p>\n

What Is Traditional Chinese?<\/h3>\n

Traditional Chinese is what the writing system looked like before it was standardized for the masses. It’s used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Traditional Chinese had been used for over a thousand years <\/strong>prior to its simplification in the 1950s<\/a>. This writing system evolved considerably over time, but during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the script transformed into the Traditional characters we recognize today.<\/p>\n

Here’s what the previously mentioned Simplified characters look like next to the Traditional form:<\/p>\n

\u8fd9 vs. \u9019 <\/p>\n

\u6765 vs. \u4f86 <\/p>\n

\u7231 vs. \u611b <\/p>\n

If you want to learn Cantonese instead\u2014the most widely spoken Chinese dialect after Mandarin\u2014you’ll need to learn Traditional Chinese. Cantonese is mainly spoken in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong Province in the mainland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Learn More About Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese<\/h3>\n

Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese: How They Differ and Which You Should Learn<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n