How to Learn Mandarin Chinese

Studying Mandarin can be tough, but once you find a combination of study habits that work for you it's much easier. Here are some ideas that might make your journey more enjoyable.

The subway map in Beijing. Don't press that English button!

Live abroad. Immerse yourself in the language and the culture.

Try only speaking Mandarin for a week or more. Once you start dreaming in Mandarin you know you're on your way.

Learn pinyin and zhuyin. Pinyin is essential, but zhuyin will improve your pronunciation since the symbols are more precise phonetically. Typing in both is useful and a great way to learn.

Text and post on your cell phone using pinyin and zhuyin to find the right characters.

Sing karaoke.

Listen to Mandarin songs. There's a wide range of genres so you can easily find something you like listening to.

Learn children's songs that have familiar melodies.

Watch Mandarin movies with English subtitles. Better yet, watch Mandarin movies without any English subtitles and see if you can understand what's happening.

Meet people and make friends with Mandarin speakers.

Join a Mandarin toastmaster's group to practice your Mandarin speaking in public. This is a huge confidence booster.

Find a method of study that works for you. Memorization is key, so what I found to work was handwriting a list of 20 characters and the corresponding pinyin with tone marks. I would say the characters out loud repetitively while I was writing.

Watch the news in Mandarin and read Chinese newspapers. Start piecing together the words you already know and write down or circle the words you're unfamiliar with. You'll probably already understand the story being told, so it's a great exercise to make your brain work on filling in the gaps.