{"id":183401,"date":"2015-12-09T21:17:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-10T02:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/learn-to-read-chinese\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T05:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T10:33:14","slug":"learn-to-read-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/learn-to-read-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Shortcut for Learning to Read in Chinese: 15 Common Phonetics and Radicals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wouldn\u2019t it be nice to wake up one day and find out you could effortlessly read Chinese<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Well, that\u00a0didn’t happen to me (or anyone that I\u00a0know of), so chances are this won’t be your story either.<\/p>\n

But the good news is there are some seriously useful hacks and tricks that will make the whole learning-to-read-in-Chinese process<\/a> much easier\u2014and dare I say, even fun!<\/p>\n

Like most things, once you figure out the rules to the game, playing it becomes much simpler.<\/p>\n

In this article, we will show you these rules by breaking down what makes reading Chinese so tough, and then showing\u00a0how to overcome those difficulties\u00a0by learning strategically<\/a>.
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General Tips to Learn to Read Chinese<\/h2>\n

When you are first starting out<\/a>, learning to read Chinese feels like a daunting task. After all, you have probably heard the rumors that there are over 20,000 characters you will need to master, and that this is a\u00a0completely different system from the alphabet you’re used to. Here are three helpful\u00a0tips that can make it much easier\u00a0to start.<\/p>\n

Stick to either traditional or simplified<\/h3>\n

Don’t try to\u00a0be Superman by\u00a0mastering traditional and simplified Chinese at the same time. Many characters will be similar, but trying to master both at the beginning will hurt you rather than help\u00a0you.<\/p>\n

You may have heard that reading Chinese is about understanding the pictures they are representing. This is true for some traditional and simplified Chinese, but most of the time it’s not as simple as that. Sometimes it can help with memorizing and referencing characters, but unfortunately most characters will not represent objects in the physical world.<\/p>\n

Start with the most common words<\/h3>\n

You have probably already done this with your Chinese speaking skills<\/a>, but starting out with the most common words is important because you can begin spotting them right away: in your readings, in a menu or walking around Chinese streets.<\/p>\n

This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to read entire\u00a0newspapers or even menus with the most common words (because of how specific Chinese characters can be), but it’s a fantastic start!<\/p>\n

Use mnemonics to memorize characters<\/h3>\n

Memory aids are key to making reading in Chinese easier<\/a> when you are beginning. Remembering things in general, regardless of what language,\u00a0is something that can be practiced.<\/p>\n

When working with mnemonics, make sure they are are personal and catered towards yourself. Other people\u2019s mnemonics can help, but only if they trigger something in your brain. For optimal results, focus each session on 5-10 words, and first get them into your short-term memory.<\/p>\n

There are many free resources<\/a> that can help you learn Chinese characters, which you should take advantage of immediately.<\/p>\n

FluentU is another program that can help you study Chinese through videos with interactive subtitles.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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