Top 5 Steps for Beginners to Study Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is not an easy language to master, especially for many Native English speakers in the west. However, if you are committed to learn the language and also willing to put efforts to keep practicing, it’s very possible that you can speak fluent Mandarin one day. With some many blog posts, online course, text book online, sometimes it will confuse people what is the exact step to get started. Keep reading it and we are about to show you the best way to help you learn Chinese from scratch.

1. Understand the four Mandarin Chinese tones.

If you have never studied Mandarin before, then let me explain it you. Different tones in Chinese can mean totally different things. That’s why it’s so important to learn the tone first and lay down the good foundation for your future Mandarin learning. In short, Mandarin Chinese has four tones. So if you just get started to learn Chinese, learn the tone first.

2. Learn the numbers.

This is a relatively easy part but it’s extremely useful. If you are planning to travel to China, then learning the numbers would be helpful. You know in China, you need to bargain almost all the time. If you know how to count in Chinese then you don’t need to always talk to the local Chinese through the calculator. In many case, you might have a better deal out of it.

3. The first 500 simple vocabularies.

When you understand the tones and the numbers, it’s about time to get started to learn some simple Mandarin Chinese vocabularies. It’s similar to learn any other language: the more words you remember, the sooner you can improve your language lever. After you remember couple hundreds of Chinese words, then you should able to move to the next level.

4. Learn basic phrases for the daily conversation.

This is the fun part, because you can actually have some basic conversation with Chinese. Try to say “Ni Hao”(Hello) to some Chinese people you meet in the coffee shop, the park or any other places. Most of the Chinese will actually feel surprised and they will give you a big smile. Maybe you can even find some language partners that can help you practice in the future.

5. Learn basic grammar.

Chinese grammar could be very complicated. Even though for native Mandarin speaker, they probably are not able to explain to you all the time. In fact, you don’t need to put so much time for the grammar learning at the beginning stage. But learn some basic Chinese grammar rules can help you to move to the immediate level as an intermediate Chinese learner. The Chinese grammar is very different from English and sometimes the grammar rules like the “opposite” of English or other western language. Don’t feel frustrated.

Now you know some basic tips to get started to learn Mandarin. If you want more tips to advance your Mandarin Chinese language, feel free to visit our Learn Mandarin Now blog for more great articles.