#learning Chinese

[marilearnsmandarin]

These are the apps and links I currently have on my phone to study Chinese:

SuperChinese: my main study resource. There are currently 7 levels, level 7 (still incomplete, they are still slowly adding lessons to it) being HSK 5 stuff. Each lesson has vocabulary, grammar and a short dialogue where those are used in context (I love context). It has a few free lessons in the lower levels but after that you have to buy a subscription. There are many sales though. When I was a beginner I used HelloChinese instead, which has more free content, and switched to SuperChinese when I finished all the free content there. It also has social network features and chat rooms I don't use.

TofuLearn is like a flashcard app with many pre-made decks (you can also create your own on their website and import decks from Anki) and the option to practice writing hanzi. Anki didn't work for me, but I find Tofu very helpful. Practicing writing helps me with character recognition, and it also helps me remember the tones thanks to the audio in the pre-made HSK decks.

Dot is a reading app with new texts being added every day. It used to be completely free, which actually seemed too good to be true, and then they put practically everything behind a paywall and very strict limits for free users. After a couple of months they made it a little less restricted though - we still can't choose the articles but we can read as many as we want as long as we do the vocabulary exercises after each article (plus, during the Spring Festival, they made all articles available for free for 3 days and we could save the ones we were interested in to read later). It follows the new, not-yet-implemented (and harder) HSK levels, so you should start one or two levels below yours and if the texts are too easy move up.

Google Translator: not the best but helpful when I need to translate whole sentences, plus I can point my camera or open an image and it translates writing.

Pleco: best Chinese to English dictionary.

Stroke Order: not an app but a website, does what it says in the tin: shows stroke order for a specific character.

YouGlish: also a website, you can put a word or phrase and it shows videos where people say that word/phrase. Very cool.

Todaii is a graded news app that has only two levels: easy and hard. I'm around level HSK4 and the "easy" level is quite hard though (but I admit reading is my nemesis).

I also use YouTube and Spotify a lot.

[linghxr]

75 essential single-character verbs (单字动词)

When I started consuming more native Chinese content, I quickly discovered an area in which my knowledge was lacking: single-character verbs. In my experience, it’s very easy to focus on learning words consisting of two or more characters and overlook single-character words.

Driven by curiosity, I went through my Anki deck (and also wracked my brain) to generate a list of characters/words that I have learned over the past couple years (roughly). Then I selected 75 verbs that are fairly common and important to know. They skew towards intermediate and advanced vocabulary.

Definitions are from MDBG. For characters with additional meanings that I am not yet familiar with, I have bolded the meanings I want to share.

(1) 抢 qiǎng - to fight over / to rush / to scramble / to grab / to rob / to snatch

(2) 救 jiù - to save / to assist / to rescue

(3) 扶 fú - to support with the hand / to help sb up / to support oneself by holding onto something / to help

(4) 催 cuī - to urge / to press / to prompt / to rush sb / to hasten sth / to expedite

(5) 夹 jiā - to press from either side / to place in between / to sandwich / to carry sth under armpit / wedged between / between / to intersperse / to mix / to mingle / clip / folder / Taiwan pr. [jia2]

(6) 咬 yǎo - to bite / to nip

(7) 砸 zá - to smash / to pound / to fail / to muck up / to bungle

(8) 毁 huǐ - to destroy / to ruin / to defame / to slander

(9) 嚷 rǎng - to shout / to bellow / to make a big deal of sth / to make a fuss about sth

(10) 塞 sāi - to stop up / to squeeze in / to stuff / cork / stopper

(11) 贪 tān - to have a voracious desire for / to covet / greedy / corrupt

(12) 拆 chāi - to tear open / to tear down / to tear apart / to open

(13) 掏 tāo - to fish out (from pocket) / to scoop

(14) 跪 guì - to kneel

(15) 摘 zhāi - to take / to borrow / to pick (flowers, fruit etc) / to pluck / to select / to remove / to take off (glasses, hat etc)

(16) 拎 līn - to lift up / to carry in one's hand / Taiwan pr. [ling1]

(17) 扛 káng - to carry on one's shoulder / (fig.) to take on (a burden, duty etc)

(18) 拽 zhuài - to pull / to tug at (sth)

(19) 愣 lèng - to look distracted / to stare blankly / distracted / blank / (coll.) unexpectedly / rash / rashly

(20) 搂 lǒu - to hug / to embrace / to hold in one's arms

(21) 垮 kuǎ - to collapse (lit. or fig.)

(22) 撑 chēng - to support / to prop up / to push or move with a pole / to maintain / to open or unfurl / to fill to bursting point / brace / stay / support

(23) 甩 shuǎi - to throw / to fling / to swing / to leave behind / to throw off / to dump (sb)

(24) 围 wéi - to encircle / to surround / all around / to wear by wrapping around (scarf, shawl)

(25) 愁 chóu - to worry about

(26) 插 chā - to insert / stick in / pierce / to take part in / to interfere / to interpose

(27) 漏 lòu - to leak / to divulge / to leave out by mistake / waterclock or hourglass (old)

(28) 披 pī - to drape over one's shoulders / to open / to unroll / to split open / to spread out

(29) 歇 xiē - to rest / to take a break / to stop / to halt / (dialect) to sleep / a moment / a short while

(30) 抄 chāo - to make a copy / to plagiarize / to search and seize / to raid / to grab / to go off with / to take a shortcut / to make a turning move / to fold one's arms

(31) 哼 hēng - to groan / to snort / to hum / to croon / humph!

(32) 哄 hǒng - to deceive / to coax / to amuse (a child)

(33) 啃 kěn - to gnaw / to nibble / to bite

(34) 眯 mī - to narrow one's eyes / to squint / (dialect) to take a nap

(35) 趴 pā - to lie on one's stomach / to lean forward, resting one's upper body (on a desktop etc) / (Tw) percent

(36) 揍 zòu - to hit / to beat (sb) / (coll.) to smash (sth)

(37) 蹭 cèng - to rub against / to walk slowly / (coll.) to freeload

(38) 凑 còu - to gather together, pool or collect / to happen by chance / to move close to / to exploit an opportunity

(39) 敲 qiāo - to hit / to strike / to tap / to rap / to knock / to rip sb off / to overcharge

(40) 滑 huá - to slip / to slide / slippery / smooth / sly / slippery / not to be trusted

(41) 碎 suì - to break down / to break into pieces / fragmentary

(42) 盯 dīng - to watch attentively / to fix one's attention on / to stare at / to gaze at

(43) 塌 tā - to collapse / to droop / to settle down

(44) 背 bēi - to be burdened / to carry on the back or shoulder 背 bèi - the back of a body or object / to turn one's back / to hide something from / to learn by heart / to recite from memory / unlucky (slang) / hard of hearing

(45) 数 shǔ - to count / to count as / to regard as / to enumerate (sb's shortcomings)

(46) 按 àn - to press / to push / to leave aside or shelve / to control / to restrain / to keep one's hand on / to check or refer to / according to / in the light of / (of an editor or author) to make a comment

(47) 压 yā - to press / to push down / to keep under (control) / pressure

(48) 亲 qīn - parent / one's own (flesh and blood) / relative / related / marriage / bride / close / intimate / in person / first-hand / in favor of / pro- / to kiss / (Internet slang) dear

(49) 补 bǔ - to repair / to patch / to mend / to make up for / to fill (a vacancy) / to supplement

(50) 舔 tiǎn - to lick / to lap

(51) 拼 pīn - to piece together / to join together / to stake all / adventurous / at the risk of one's life / to spell

(52) 埋 mái - to bury

(53) 抖 dǒu - to tremble / to shake out / to reveal / to make it in the world

(54) 涂 tú - to apply (paint etc) / to smear / to daub / to blot out / to scribble / to scrawl / (literary) mud / street

(55) 抹 mǒ - to smear / to wipe / to erase / classifier for wisps of cloud, light-beams etc

(56) 吞 tūn - to swallow / to take

(57) 拦 lán - to block sb's path / to obstruct / to flag down (a taxi)

(58) 露 lòu - to show / to reveal / to betray / to expose 露 lù - dew / syrup / nectar / outdoors (not under cover) / to show / to reveal / to betray / to expose

(59) 滚 gǔn - to boil / to roll / to take a hike / Get lost!

(60) 扣 kòu - to fasten / to button / button / buckle / knot / to arrest / to confiscate / to deduct (money) / discount / to knock / to smash, spike or dunk (a ball) / to cover (with a bowl etc) / (fig.) to tag a label on sb / (Tw) (loanword) code

(61) 夸 kuā - to boast / to exaggerate / to praise

(62) 挥 huī - to wave / to brandish / to command / to conduct / to scatter / to disperse

(63) 求 qiú - to seek / to look for / to request / to demand / to beseech

(64) 吸 xī - to breathe / to suck in / to absorb / to inhale

(65) 响 xiǎng - echo / sound / noise / to make a sound / to sound / to ring / loud / classifier for noises

(66) 擦 cā - to wipe / to erase / rubbing (brush stroke in painting) / to clean / to polish

(67) 踩 cǎi - to step on / to tread / to stamp / to press a pedal / to pedal (a bike) / (online) to downvote

(68) 撕 sī - to tear

(69) 扫 sǎo - to sweep

(70) 锁 suǒ - to lock / to lock up / a lock (CL:把)

(71) 扎 zhā - to prick / to run or stick (a needle etc) into / mug or jug used for serving beer (loanword from "jar")

(72) 撞 zhuàng - to knock against / to bump into / to run into / to meet by accident

(73) 追 zhuī - to chase / to pursue / to look into / to investigate / to reminisce / to recall / to court (one's beloved) / to binge-watch (a TV drama) / retroactively / posthumously

(74) 抽 chōu - to draw out / to pull out from in between / to remove part of the whole / (of certain plants) to sprout or bud / to whip or thrash

(75) 删 shān - to delete

[budinggou]

小王子 The Little Prince ✎ 生詞 002

著: 安東尼・聖修伯里 / 譯: 墨丸 生詞 002 (第一章 Chapter 01)

描繪 (描绘) miáo huì — describe, depict, portray

長達 (长达) cháng dá — up to, to extend as long as

睡眠 (睡眠) shuì mián — sleep

歷險 (历险) lì xiǎn — go through adventures, experience dangers

叢林 (丛林) cóng lín — jungle, forest

冒險 (冒险) mào xiǎn — take risks or chances

幻想 (幻想) huàn xiǎng — illusion, fantasy

生平 (生平) shēng píng — all one's life, ever since one's birth

傑作 (杰作) jié zuò — masterpiece

巨蟒 (巨蟒) jù mǎng — python

吃飽喝足 chī bǎo hē zú —eat and drink one's fill

無所謂 wú suǒ wèi — indifferent, doesn't matter

[doitinanotherlanguage]

Updates on Learning Mandarin Chinese 6/∞: 课本和可理解输入

Currently working my way through NPCR4 (just started the second chapter!) and balancing it off with some comprehensible input videos in Chinese.

I'm loving the fact that comprehensible input has become The Thing in language learning circles in the past couple of years, because it's caused a veritable explosion of comprehensible input videos on Youtube. I recently found out about Lazy Chinese - Comprehensible Input, and I'm really enjoying her videos!

🎵 曹格 Gary Chaw 【一 One】

[yeoubbi]

GUYS THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE I SWEAR. I THOUGHT THEY WOULDNT LET ME KNOW FOR A WHIIILE OMGOMG IM GOING TO TAIWAN

[ichverdurstehier]

in like svsss fanfictions when characters refer to themselves as 'this one' what exactly are they saying? Like the hanzi, the pinyin, etc.

[i-read-in-five-languages]

beautiful (and I understood this am so happy)

[chinesekoreanandmore]

Vocabulary List #58

夕 [xī] - evening

名 [míng] - name

千 [qiān] - a thousand

舌 [shé] - tongue

不 [bù] - no; not

的 [de] - belonging to

大 [dà] - big

又 [yòu] - again

粥 [zhōu] - congee

茶 [chá] - tea

橙子 [chéngzi] - orange (the fruit)

子 [zi] - child; noun suffix

了 [le] - completed action marker

错了 [cuòle] - wrong

对了 [duìle] - correct; oh, by the way...

土 [tŭ] - earth; dust

[marilearnsmandarin]

[linghxr]

Chinese Time of Day Vocabulary

I’ve been keeping a list of words/characters related to times of day since last year. You probably know basic words like 早上, 上午, 晚上, etc. But there are so many other words and characters you may encounter in your language journey! Note: this list isn’t meant to be complete.

Sunset (I think) by Tian’anmen Square about 3 years ago.

Dawn/early morning

天亮 tiānliàng - dawn / daybreak

日出 rìchū - sunrise

早 zǎo - early / morning / Good morning! / long ago / prematurely 一大早 yīdàzǎo - at dawn / at first light / first thing in the morning 早上 zǎoshang - early morning

旭 xù - dawn / rising sun

昕 xīn - dawn

晓 xiǎo - dawn / daybreak / to know / to let sb know / to make explicit 破晓 pòxiǎo - daybreak / dawn

晗 hán - before daybreak / dawn about to break

晞 xī - dawn / to dry in the sun

晨 chén - morning / dawn / daybreak 凌晨 língchén - very early in the morning / in the wee hours 早晨 zǎochén - early morning 晨曦 chénxī - first rays of morning sun / first glimmer of dawn 清晨 qīngchén - early morning

朝 zhāo - morning 朝阳 zhāoyáng - the morning sun

黎明 límíng - dawn / daybreak

The single characters above can be found in Chinese names. Some are quite common.

Daytime

午 wǔ - 7th earthly branch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., noon 上午 shàngwǔ - morning 下午 xiàwǔ - afternoon 中午 zhōngwǔ - noon / midday 午前 wǔqián morning / a.m. 午后 wǔhòu - afternoon

昼 zhòu - daytime 白昼 báizhòu - daytime

白天 báitiān - daytime / during the day / day

白日 báirì - daytime / sun / time

Dusk/evening

晚 wǎn - evening / night / late 傍晚 bàngwǎn - in the evening / when night falls / towards evening / at night fall / at dusk

夕 xī - dusk / evening / Taiwan pr. xì 夕阳 xīyáng - sunset / the setting sun

天黑 tiānhēi - to get dark / dusk

日落 rìluò - sundown / sunset

暮 mù - evening / sunset

汐 xī - night tides / evening ebbtide / Taiwan pr. xì

霞 xiá - rose-tinted sky or clouds at sunrise or sunset 晚霞 wǎnxiá - sunset glow / sunset clouds / afterglow 彩霞 cǎixiá - clouds tinged with sunset hues

黄昏 huánghūn - dusk / evening / nightfall

Night

夜 yè - night 半夜 bànyè - midnight / in the middle of the night 夜晚 yèwǎn - night 夜深人静 yèshēnrénjìng - in the dead of night (idiom) 夜色 yèsè - night scene / the dim light of night 夜里 yèli - during the night / at night / nighttime 夜间 yèjiān - nighttime / evening or night 大半夜 dàbànyè - the middle of the night 深夜 shēnyè - very late at night 黑夜 hēiyè - night

宵 xiāo - night

晚间 wǎnjiān - evening / night

Now hopefully you have some more words to describe beautiful sunrises and sunsets and everything in between 🌄🌇

[chineseffect]

Speak DECENT CHINESE in 4 months - 8 easy tips

______

1. Have someone to guide you to get good pronunciation habits. It is almost impossible to re-learn bad habits later so make sure you get your pronunciation right from the beginning. I mean the pronunciation of the sounds, not the tones. Tones take more time to get used to and you can't rush it - but try the best you can. Some tutors don't bother too much about the pronunciation so make sure you find someone who is strict about that, you will be grateful later. Also get confident in pinyin, you will need it.

2. Understand the composition of the sentences. The word order is super easy and it stays the same all the time (the question and informative sentences have the same word order). I have a formula for the word order but I won't reveal it here, it is one of the secrets I keep for my students and people who use my materials.

3. Understand that there are no tenses in the sense we think about them in English and other languages. Learn to express future, potential future, finished action, change of state, experience in the past and circumstances of the event. See the difference between action verbs and verbs of state.

4. Learn to use modal verbs and conjuctions.

5. Build usable vocabulary based on the fact that everything in Chinese is interconnected.

6. Understand 就， 才，的 and 得

7. Don't learn grammar rules and words separately. Learn functional practical sentences that will serve you as examples of the grammar structures (then you just need to change the words in these sentences).

8. Develop your listening skills - that is very important. For that there are Youtube channels and podcasts on Spotify (and in my materials the audio part also plays an important role). You can listen to Chinese radio stations just to get the feeling of the language.

______

After 3-4 months you should feel pretty confident in normal conversations if you study regularly under competent guidance.

______

R-evolutionary learning materials and resources: https://chineseffect.com

MAGIC PLAYBOOK for beginners

[doitinanotherlanguage]

Updates on Learning Mandarin Chinese 5/∞: 学习学习！

Last month, I read the book 《北京娃娃》 (2002; Beijing Doll) by 春树 (Chun Shu). Obviously, my Mandarin is nowhere near the level yet where I could read an entire book in Mandarin (although I AM planning to get there one day!), so I read it in Finnish translation. Not my new favourite book (perhaps I would have enjoyed it more back when I was a teenager), but an interesting depiction of turn of the millennium teen angst and rebellion all the same. Definitely made me want to read lots and lots more of Chinese lit in translation during the rest of the year to motivate me to keep studying.

In other news, I just started the 4th book in the New Practical Chinese Reader series 🎉 Full speed ahead!

🎵 自從 Since Chou 【花火 頹廢版 Fireworks Decadent Edition】

[yeoubbi]

looking for mandarin show/movie recommendations plsss

i currently watch street dance of china and used to watch the chuang series but i dont know how to branch away from the competition/survival shows

[atlas-affogato]

Yes! Yeeeeesssssssss! Finally!

I got my textbook, I got my dictionary and notebook, I've got my study guide. I checked out additional material from the library, it is so on.

[i-read-in-five-languages]

Chinese vocabulary I’ve learned recently

消费 = to consume, consumerism

听力 = hearing

收到 = to receive

顾客 = client

合适 = appropriate, suitable

服务 = to serve, service

上升 = to ascend, to rise

变成 = to become, to turn into

方便 = convenient

环境 = environment

凉快 = cool (for weather)

暖和 = warm

交通 = traffic, transportation

热闹 = lively

命运 = destiny, fate

必要 = necessary, elemental

楼 = building

地下室 = basement

笑话 = joke

秘密 = secret

预报 = forecast

[hailsatanacab]

Languageblr, studyblr, mandarinblr, please help!

So I've heard that when a third tone comes before another third tone you change the first into a rising tone - but what if you have three third tones in a row?

What if I were to say 我很好, is it 3 2 3? Or 2 3 3?

And what if I had four or more in a row, like 我也很好 - does that go 2 3 2 3?

I've googled, but I can't find anything other than rising before the first third, so any help would be appreciated 🙏