Learning to speak Chinese isn’t rocket science. There are some things you can do to make it painless or nearly so. You should speak to Chinese people when you get a chance, and in their native tongue. Doing so can improve your Chinese fluency quickly.

Learning to Speak Chinese

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Learn some basic vocabulary. The first thing to do when learning a new language is to memorize some simple yet important words and start practicing with them as soon as possible. Although things like grammar and sentence structure are important, they mean nothing until you develop a basic vocabulary. Here’s a short list to get you started:

• Hello = nǐhǎo, pronounced [nee hauw] With 2 third tones. Not “ho” or “how” somewhere in the Listen to a native speaker as a reference.
• Yes = shì, pronounced [sher]” But not as in “sure”.

ALWAYS listen to a native speaker, as describing with English pronunciations in the learners minds will be difficult.

• No = bú shì, pronounced [boo sher] look abo
• Goodbye = zài jiàn, pronounced [zai jee-ian]
• Morning = zǎoshàng, pronounced “[zauw-shaung- hauw]”
• Afternoon = xià wǔ, pronounced There is almost no clear way to describe the “x” in pinyin with English pronunciation Look it up and listen to a native speaker say it. Contrary to popular misinfomation,

the “x” DOESN’T AT ALL sound like “sh”!

• Evening = wǎn shàng, pronounced [wang shaung]
• Head = tóu, pronounced [toe] with a 2nd tone, that goes up.
• Feet = jiǎo, pronounced [jee-yau]
• Hands = shǒu, pronounced [show] With a 3rd tone, this goes from neutral to lower to neutr
• Beef = niú ròu, pronounced [nee-o row] but not with the soft “r”, more defined “r”.
• Chicken = jī, pronounced [jee]
• Egg = jī dàn, pronounced [jee dan] “dan” has a 4th tone, that goes do Slightly forceful sounding. (not too forceful sounding!)
• Noodles =miantiao pronounced [miàn tiáo]
• Always look up pronunciations of every word spoken by a native speake Most Mandarin pinyins just simply cannot be described perfectly with English sounds!

2

Learn some basic phrases. Once you’ve built up a little vocabulary, you can start working on some basic phrases and expressions that will help you to navigate everyday conversations. Here’s a few to get you started:

• How are you? = nǐ hǎo ma? pronounced [nee hau mah] (see above for pronunciations)
• I’m fine = wǒ hěn hǎo, pronounced [wuh hen hau]
• Thank you = xiè xiè, pronounced There is almost no clear way to describe the “x” in pinyin with English pronunciation Look it up and listen to a native speaker say it. Contrary to popular misinfomation, the “x” DOESN’T AT ALL sound like “sh”! The “ie” part sounds close to “yieh”
• You’re welcome = bú yòng xiè, pronounced [boo yong xi-yeh]
• Sorry = duì bu qǐ, pronounced [dway boo qi] Like with the Mandarin “x” a proper pronunciation described with English letters is almost impossible. As always, I can’t stress enough the importance of looking up native speakers pronouncing the pinyin.
• I don’t understand = wǒ bù dǒng, pronounced [wuh boo dong]
• What is your surname (family name)? = nín guì xìng, pronounced [neen gway xing] (I’m sure you know by now why I just put “x” instead of the phonetic)
• What’s your name? = nǐ jiào shén me míng zì, pronounced [nee-jee-yow shen-ma ming zi]”
• My name is      = wǒ jiào          , pronounced [wuh jee-yau]

3

Learn the tones. Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the same word can mean different things depending on the tone used to express them (even if the spelling and pronunciation are the same). This can be difficult for English speakers to grasp, but learning the tones is essential if you want to speak Chinese properly. There are four major tones in Mandarin Chinese, as well as a neutral tone:

• The first tone is a high, flat t It is expressed in a relatively high voice, with no rising or dipping. Using the word “ma” as an example, the first tone is expressed in writing as “mā”.
• The second tone is a rising t It starts at a lower level and gets progressively higher, like when you say “huh?” in English. The second tone is expressed in writing as “má”.
• The third tone is a dipping tone. It starts at a medium level, then dips lower before rising again, like when you say the letter “B” or the word “horse” in English. The third tone is expressed in writing as “mǎ”.
• The fourth tone is a falling t It starts at a medium level and gets progressively lower, like when you are giving a command (such as telling someone to “stop”) in English. The fourth tone is expressed in writing as “mà”.
• The fifth tone is a neutral t It does not rise or fall, like the first tone, but this tone is expressed in a flat voice.. The fifth tone is expressed in writing as “ma”.

4

Work on your pronunciation. Once you have learned the correct pronunciation of the tones by listening to native speakers (Youtube is good for this) and practicing them yourself, you need to work on applying them to words.

• This is essential, as the same word can have a completely different meaning depending on which tone is use For example, using the tone “mā” instead of “má” could be the difference between saying “I want cake” and “I want coke” — two completely different meanings.
• Therefore, when you’re learning vocabulary, it is not enough to learn the pronunciation, you must also learn the correct Otherwise you could use the word in the wrong context and be completely misunderstood.
• The best way to work on your pronunciation is to speak with a native Chinese speaker who can encourage you when you get it right and correct you when you’re wrong.

5

Work on grammar and sentence structure. It’s a common misconception that Chinese is a “grammar- less” language. Chinese has quite a complex grammar system, it’s just very different to that of English and other European languages.

• Luckily, when learning Chinese you will not have to learn any complicated rules involving verb conjugations, agreement, gender, plural nouns or tense. Chinese is a very analytic language, which makes it quite simple and straightforward in some respects.
• Another bonus is that Chinese uses a similar sentence structure to English — subject-verb-object — which makes translating back and forth between the two languages somewhat easier. For instance, the sentence “he likes cats” in English is translated as “tā (he) xǐ huan (likes) māo (cats)” in Chinese even when the pronouns change!

• On the other hand, Chinese has its own grammar structures which are very different to those used in English and can therefore be very difficult for the English speaker to g These grammatical features include things like classifiers, topic-prominence and preference for aspect. However, there’s no point in worrying about these things until you’ve mastered basic Chinese.

Learning to Read and Write in Chinese

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Learn pinyin. Pinyin is a Chinese writing system which uses letters from the Roman alphabet instead of Chinese characters.

• It is useful for Chinese language learners as it allows you to get started with reading and writing Chinese without the time involved in learning traditional character There are many Chinese textbooks and learning materials available in Pinyin.
• However, it is important to be aware that even though Pinyin uses letters from the Roman alphabet, its pronunciation is not always intuitive to the English speaker. Therefore, it is important to use a proper pronunciation guide when learning Pinyin.

 

2

Learn to read some Chinese characters. Although the ability to read traditional Chinese characters is not necessary for learning Chinese, the idea appeals to many people and makes them feel more in touch with traditional Chinese culture.

• Learning to recognize and read Chinese characters is no easy t In order to read a newspaper, the average Chinese reader will need to be familiar with about 2000 different characters — and that’s just the beginning. It is believed that there are over 50,000 Chinese characters in total (though many of them are no longer in use).
• The major benefit of learning to read Chinese characters is that you will have access to a broad array of other literatures, including Cantonese, Japanese and Korean — all of which use Chinese characters (or a simplified version of them) in their writings, despite the fact that the spoken languages are very different.

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Learn to write some Chinese characters. Once you have learned to read Chinese characters, you may be interested in learning how to form them yourself. Writing Chinese characters is a complex skill, which requires patience and a touch of artistry.

• The first step in learning how to write Chinese characters is to learn the “radicals” — these are the individual brush strokes that form the building blocks of each cha There are 214 radicals in total — some can stand on their own as individual characters, while others are only used as part of a more complex character.
• When writing Chinese characters, the order of the brush strokes is very important and you must follow a specific set of rules — such as top to bottom, left to right and horizontal before If the stroke order is incorrect, the completed character will not be accurate.

4

Read Chinese texts. If you want to improve your Chinese reading skills, you’ll need to practice a little reading for at least 15 to 20 minutes a day.

• To begin with, you could try using some children’s readers or workbooks (which are nearly always written in Pinyin) to practice your basic reading skills.

You should also be able to find some good resources for reading Chinese online.

• You can also try to incorporate your Chinese learning into your everyday lif You can do this by reading the Chinese labels on food products at the Asian supermarket, or asking your server for the Chinese language menu at a restaurant.
• Once your reading becomes more advanced, you could try to get your hands on a Chinese newspaper (which are printed using traditional Chinese characters) and do your best to read through the article This is also a good way of familiarizing yourself with Chinese culture and current affairs.

5

Write a little Chinese everyday. In order to practice your Chinese writing skills, you should try to write a little everyday, whether in Pinyin or in Chinese characters.

• One option is to keep a small personal diary in Chinese, where you write down simple things like a description of the weather, how you are feeling that day, or what you did. If you’re not to shy about it, you could ask a Chinese-speaking friend or acquaintance to look it over and check for any mistakes.
• Alternatively, you could try to find a Chinese pen-pal to write letters t This could be mutually beneficial, as you could get some practice writing in Chinese, while your pen-pal could practice their English. You could also ask your pen-pal to include the corrected version of your original letter when replying.
• A last way of practicing your writing is to make simple lists in Chinese, like your shopping list, or to make Chinese labels for items around the house.

Immersing Yourself in the Chinese Language

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Practice with a native Chinese speaker. The absolute best way to learn Chinese is just to speak it with a native speaker — this will force you to think on your feet, help with your accent and expose you to more informal or colloquial forms of speech that you won’t find in a textbook.

• If you have a Chinese-speaking friend, ask them if they’d be willing to sit down with you for an hour or two each week. They’d probably be happy to help — as long as the coffee’s on you!
• If you don’t know any Chinese speakers personally, you could try placing an ad in your local paper or online for Alternatively, you could look into finding a Chinese conversation group or oral Chinese class in your local area.
• If all else fails, you could try to connect with a Chinese speaker on Skype, one who’d be willing to exchange 30 minutes of Chinese conversation for 30 minutes of English.

2

Listen to Chinese tapes/CDs. Listening to Chinese podcasts or CDs is a great way to immerse yourself in the language — even when you’re on the go!

• It doesn’t matter if you can’t follow everything that’s being said — just try to be an active listener and attempt to pick out key words and phrases. Slowly but surely your overall comprehension will improve.

• This is a great option for people who have long commutes as they can simply stick a Chinese CD on in the car or listen to a Chinese podcast on the You could also try listening while exercising or doing housework.

3

Watch Chinese films and cartoons. Watching Chinese films and cartoons is a more fun, relaxed way of immersing yourself in the language, however, it will still help to expose you to the sounds and structure of Chinese.

• Try watching short cartoons or clips on Youtube, or rent a full length Chinese film from your local movie stor You may need to use subtitles at first, but try not to rely on them too much — see how much of the dialogue you can understand on your own.
• If you’re feeling particularly proactive, you could pause the film after particular words or phrases and try to repeat them — this will help your accent to sound more authentic.

4

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The biggest obstacle that will stand in your way of learning Chinese is your fear of making mistakes.

• You need to try to overcome this fear — and even embrace it — if you are to reach your goal of fluency.
• Remember that everyone makes mistakes when they are learning a new language, and you are bound to have your fair share of embarrassing mistakes and awkward moments, but this is all part of the process.
• Remember that you are not aiming for perfection when you are learning Chinese, you are aiming for progres So go ahead and make as many mistakes as you like — as long as you learn from them and continue to improve.

5

Consider taking a trip to China. Can you think of a better way to immerse yourself in the Chinese language than a trip to its native land?

• China is an amazingly diverse country — from the busy, bustling streets of Beijing to the ancient majesty of the Great W There is something for every traveler — whether you’re looking to immerse yourself in traditional ethnic cultures, to sample the many delicious Chinese delicacies or to travel to the sites of ancient ruins and epic battles.

• Alternatively, you could take a tour of other places with large Chinese-speaking populations, like Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippine Just make sure that you are prepared for differences in dialect (not all are mutually intelligible) before you book your flight!

Welcome to have my face to face lesson on http://www.verbling.com/teachers/dawei  !  🙂

 

 

 

From one long-term student of Chinese, to all those who aspire to achieve a working knowledge of this fascinating language, here are the top five insights:

 

1. Understand that Chinese, while difficult, can also be very easy to learn.

Most people believe that Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world. In some senses, this is true. The Chinese writing system is non-alphabetic, comprising thousands of pictographs called “characters,” which need to be studied and internalized through rote memorization and constant reading and writing over a long period of time. Additionally, Chinese is a “tonal” language, meaning that changing the shape of one’s voice over a single syllable can actually generate multiple words with multiple meanings. The most famous example in Mandarin Chinese is the syllable “ma” which, depending on how it is pronounced, might mean “mother,” “hemp,” “horse,” or the verb “to scold.” This is a feature of the spoken language which does not exist in the same form in Western languages, and therefore can pose great challenges to many non-Asian students.

However, what most non-Chinese do not realize is that the language boasts one of the easiest grammars in the world. Sentence structure largely mirrors that of English (subject + verb + object). Verbs exist in a single form, with no conjugations whatsoever. There is no gender, no plural nouns, and while mechanisms do exist to express tense (e.g. past/present/future), they are much simpler than those of any Western language. North American students who are much more familiar with both Spanish and French would instantly find Chinese grammar refreshingly basic, and much more accessible than those languages.

2. Learn Mandarin, not Cantonese.

There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of regional and local spoken Chinese dialects which have developed over the long period of China’s classical history when transportation was rudimentary, broadcast media non-existent, and most people lived and died within a small radius of their birth places. Although speakers of all Chinese dialects share the same, non-phonetic written language, many of the dialects are mutually unintelligible when spoken, giving rise to the unique ability of Chinese speakers from different regions to write to each other, even when they cannot speak with each other. Among Chinese who have emigrated, the two most common spoken dialects are Mandarin and Cantonese. Historically, Cantonese dominated within the largest Chinese communities in the United States and Canada due to a century of Chinese immigration rooted in the southern Chinese regions of Guangdong (Canton) Province and Hong Kong. However, with the recent massive influx of Mainland Chinese, Mandarin-speaking immigrants in the last 20+ years, Mandarin will soon match, and eventually overtake, Cantonese to become the dominant spoken Chinese dialect in North America.

For non-Chinese seeking to learn the language, Mandarin is the clear choice. Mandarin, the predominant dialect in Northern China, is the official language of politics, education, and media in both Mainland China and Taiwan, and it is one of the four official languages of Singapore. Even in Hong Kong, which historically has been a Cantonese-speaking area, Mandarin use is now ubiquitous since the return of China’s sovereignty in 1997. In Mainland China, the Chinese word for “Mandarin” translates as the “common language,” and outside of the Mainland it is most often referred to as the “national language” — both these terms are indicative of the broad reach which a competency in Mandarin can afford a speaker. Fortunately, for students of Chinese, Mandarin is also arguably the easiest of all the Chinese dialects to learn, owing to a “tonal” structure which is much simpler than that of Cantonese and most other dialects.

3. Speak first, then decide if you need to read and write.

Given the complexity of the Chinese written language, contrasted to the comparative simplicity of the grammar, prospective students of Chinese would do well to focus on learning to speak first, and only then tackle the written language if their studies or business require them to do so. While the tonal character of the spoken language is a challenge, this can be mastered fairly quickly, in contrast to the many years needed to achieve a working familiarity with the several thousand written characters that most educated Chinese adults have learned. Of course, most Chinese language programs simultaneously teach both the spoken and written language. It is up to the individual student to decide where to emphasize his or her needs.

4. If you do decide to write Chinese, consider learning “simplified” characters.

There are two major Chinese writing systems currently in use in the world — “traditional” or “complicated” Chinese characters, and “simplified” Chinese characters. Traditional characters are the characters which evolved from ancient Chinese pictographs, and which have been used throughout most of Chinese history to modern times. Many of these characters are, at the same time, both beautiful and complex, requiring students of Chinese to spend many hours and nights practicing intricate “stroke orders” to properly form words. Beginning in the middle of last century, the government in Mainland China began to promulgate an alternate system of Chinese writing called “simplified” characters in an effort to dramatically increase written literacy throughout the country. For many characters, this system significantly reduces the number of brush or pen strokes required to form specific words, thereby enabling students to more quickly commit the characters to memory.

Today, simplified characters are the official script of both Mainland China and Singapore, while traditional characters are still the norm in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and within most Chinese immigrant communities throughout the world. While I would still encourage students of Chinese who intend to spend many years developing and refining their abilities to begin by learning traditional characters (and only then overlay a knowledge of simplified characters), anyone seeking to accelerate his or her acquisition of the written language would do well to begin with the simplified script.

5. Take your studies seriously.

Unlike many Western languages which share some common linguistic roots with English and which can often be learned fairly quickly with a large amount of self-study, acquiring a basic competency in a language as different from English as Chinese requires a high level of commitment and perseverance. Practically speaking, this means that:

• Unless you have an unusual aptitude for learning foreign languages, you probably won’t learn Chinese in a once-a-week, one-hour private session. Rather, start by looking for an established Chinese language program or workshop. Universities and dedicated language schools are a good place to start. Some colleges even offer intensive courses that cram a full year of basic Chinese into 4-8 weeks. Do your homework to find the best program.

• If you still seek a tutorial, merely looking for a native speaker of Chinese to study with does not always mean you will obtain the best instruction. Chinese immigrants constitute the single largest Asian American population, representing 3+ million people nationwide, many of whom would be happy to teach new students of Chinese. However, teaching Western students to overcome the unique hurdles of the language is a special skill. If you decide on private lessons, look for a native-speaker with proven professional or private teaching credentials, as well as a roster of former student references.

• Finally, practice, practice, practice. The good news is that those 3+ million Chinese Americans are our neighbors. Once you have developed basic conversational skills, go into the top Chinese communities of our country and speak. Order a lunch, buy a book, chit-chat about the weather, or ask for directions — even if you don’t need any! Westerners who have mastered Chinese will also unanimously confirm that real fluency comes only when one has spent some time in a Chinese-speaking region of Asia. So, get ready for your next business trip, take advantage of the many short-term or long-term Chinese language courses available in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Singapore, or just plan a personal or family adventure to Asia.

One of those very famous Chinese sayings says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.“ Well, it definitely does not need to take a “thousand miles” to learn Chinese, but now, more than ever, is the time for more Americans to take that first step.

 

Many students often ask me: Hey David, how to learn Mandarin Chinese fast? Maybe in 3 or 5 days?

Me: Are we talking about A.I. or something?

Questions like this tells me that there are some misconceptions about learning a language. Since there are too many “fast-food” language-learning advertisements around us, we are easily misguided into believing that learning a new language can`t be easier and faster. I can confidently say that learning Chinese as a second language is not a three or five-day thing. Of course, it is not considered mastery if you just know “你好(nǐ hǎo)”, “谢谢(xiè xie)” and “我很好(wǒ hěn hǎo)”. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t be afraid of learning Mandarin Chinese. There are ways to make your learning more efficient and faster through a more logical method. Here are seven steps that will help you how to learn Chinese fast.

1. Do basic research

There is a Chinese saying, “磨刀不误砍柴工”, which means “the more the preparation, the faster work gets done.” To begin with, you need to do some basic research about your target language, Mandarin Chinese. There are thousands of articles and videos that introduce the Chinese language. You should read and view these to know the language’s general history and how it works. Several questions that could arise are:

Why are there traditional and simplified Chinese characters?

Which one should I learn?

Why are Chinese characters made of strokes and not letters? What is the history behind this?

What is the difference between Mandarin and Cantonese?

Are 汉语(hànyǔ), 中文(zhōngwén) and 普通话(pǔtōnghuà) the same?

What is your learning goal?

How long would you like to spend on learning this language?

……

During your research, you may find the answers to these questions and decide the right and suitable way to go to learn the language.

2. Lay a solid foundation

I`m often asked if learners can just skip the boring beginning part and learn the “useful” and “practical” conversation part. Well, if you are in a hurry and just want to grab several basic greetings to warm up the meeting with Chinese people, then yes, you can just imitate some greetings directly. However, these greetings won`t take you far. If you are a serious learner who wants to have a longer and more meaningful conversation with Chinese people, take some language tests, or live in China, a solid foundation of the Chinese language will make your learning easier and give you fewer obstacles. In other words, you can learn Chinese faster and better. All in all, a good beginning is half the battle.

So, what the is the foundation of Chinese? The first foundation should be the Pinyin system. It is definitely necessary and never too late to make sure your pronunciation is correct, but how? The answer is to start from the basics, such as the tone, the final, the initial, the spelling rules, etc. I wrote a complete pronunciation guide which should give you a general idea about how to best learn Chinese pronunciation. After this stage, you can spell all pronunciation of Chinese characters out automatically with no hesitation. Good pronunciation will make your communication with Chinese people more smooth without any misunderstandings when speaking.

Besides pronunciation, another foundation is learning Chinese characters. You may wonder why Chinese characters are necessary. Are they worth learning? Yes, you can learn some basic sentences even if you don`t know any Chinese characters. But with that method, you need to make sure you have a very good memory and be immersed in an everyday Chinese speaking environment, so that you will not forget the content you learned through listening and repeating. But without a doubt, you will definitely lose the ability to read and distinguish many Chinese homonyms. Without knowing Chinese characters, you have no way to be an advanced or even an intermediate learner. If you learn simple characters from the beginning, you may find it`s not that difficult to learn especially when you get past the first stage. There are four main Chinese Characters types, and learning the basic characters stroke by stroke will lay a good foundation and benefit your future learning.

3. Master the knowledge points and link them together: make a logical net

Whenever we speak of knowledge points, grammar comes to our minds immediately. It seems there are many grammar points to learn during the whole language learning process. However, as I always claim, Chinese grammar is really not as difficult as you think. We don`t even need to change the tense and gender in Chinese, unlike in other languages. Using English speakers as an example, you should know the difference between English and Chinese first, then this can give you a better overview of the target language. And if you have learned some rules on the periods of time, you can summarize most of the grammar points into one sentence structure:

Subject + time preposition + Time + location preposition + Location (from the biggest to the smallest) + how (can be adverb or a phrase containing a preposition.) + Verb + time duration + indirect object + Object

With this structure, you can solve many Chinese grammar problems. The process you learn to summarize those grammar points is the key to link them together and make a whole knowledge net. What you need to do is put the new point in the right position of the grammar net.

As you can see, the picture above also shows us a net for learning vocabulary. You can start with a topic that interests you such as shopping or playing sports. Write down this main topic in the middle of a big sheet of paper. Add branches from the main topic and use related phrases or words as the titles. This method also works when learning Chinese characters. It`s a fun and easy way to start building your vocabulary of Chinese characters through a continuous and vivid approach.

4. Sharpen your learning method

How to learn Chinese fast? Choosing the right and suitable way for you to learn a language can make you learn faster. Generally speaking, there are two ways to learn: self-learn, or learn with a tutor. No matter which way you choose, the method and tools of each way are important to know.

Self-learning
As a self-learner, the ability to collect high quality learning materials and resources is necessary. The development of internet technologies has been constantly changing the process of learning a foreign language, and we should use the maximum available online tools to do so. A complete resource website can help a lot, such as DigMandarin. You can find all Chinese learning skills, materials, resources, and even courses there. It is quite convenient to have it all in one digital place. There are also lots of online libraries where you can browse textbooks for free. If it fits your need, you can buy them on Amazon or other online bookstores. When you drive or are stuck in traffic, you can listen to some podcasts to strengthen your Chinese listening, such as Chinese Class 101 and ChinesePod. At home or at the office, you can also attach some individualized flashcards somewhere conspicuous to remind you of some related vocabulary every now and then. During your own study time, you can focus on a selected textbook or on an online Chinese video course. For sure, more study APPs have come out now. You can try various APPs and take advantage of your learning time. If you use these tools properly, you can definitely control your learning better.

Learn with a tutor
“A professional Chinese tutor can save you quite a lot of time if your goal is to learn Chinese fast, primarily because a Chinese tutor can offer you one-on-one instruction that is tailored to meet your specific needs and abilities.” At your own convenience, you can choose an online or an offline Chinese school. Online learning is quite convenient for learners who have requirements about time and place. No matter where you are, you can start to learn anytime. Without the limitation of time and place, offline local language school is your best choice. Face to face communication can boost your passion for this language and make you more Chinese speaking friends. All in all, a professional tutor can save you lots of time to achieve your goal.

5. Immersion learning: make your own language environment

Language is a kind of communication tool. If you don`t use it, you will obviously lose it. Sometimes, no letting-down in your learning is also a sign of progress. Therefore, we need to keep activating our senses for reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Find your own way to make an environment for the Chinese language and immerse yourself in it.

“Living in” the target language is the ideal way to acquire it amazingly fast. It pushes you to keep involving yourself fully with the language. Thus, the best way is to try to live in China for a period of time, if you can. Of course, don`t just be with non-Chinese speakers everyday. Make more Chinese-speaking friends! Those everyday first-hand local Chinese language terms and sayings are not found in the textbook.

But how about if you can`t be in China? Then you`re lucky if you happen to have Chinese speaking family-members, classmates, colleagues, or neighbors around you. It`s very easy to develop a Chinese-speaking environment. I know some of you are embarrassed to trouble others, but what you can do is call all the Chinese learners of your community together and make a Chinese corner. You can then all learn together! Or you can also find someone to learn with as your language partner.

As the saying goes, “interest is the best teacher”. Even light-hearted activities can also help you immerse in the language. You can watch Chinese TV series, Chinese movies, or listen to Chinese songs. You can enjoy the content and learn the language at the same time. This method works all the time.

6. Use it as much as you can

As a second language learner, I know Chinese students have a common problem, which is we often avoid speaking the target language out. Many Chinese are too shy to dare making mistakes, thus we just keep silent. Of course, we can`t acquire the language very well since we rarely use it in real life. Therefore, I keep telling my students and audiences, use Chinese as much as you can! Don’t be shy or afraid. Regardless of output, it`s not only about speaking, but also writing. Speaking and writing in Chinese can help you organize your knowledge and acquire it very well. Regarding input, listening and reading are the common methods to learn more of the target language. Many foreigners live in Shanghai or Beijing for several years, but they can only say 你好 and 谢谢. Why? Because they never use Chinese, only their daily social languages. It`s ok if they don`t even want to learn this language. But for you, a serious Chinese learner, just open your mouth and ears. Use the target language in your daily life, so that you know which part you need to improve or refresh.

7. Strengthen the weak parts and the useful parts

Setting an achievable goal is an effective method of study. For example, you can try to take some Chinese language tests like HSK or HSKK. The test itself is not the aim. Rather, we can get a direct and clear understanding of your Chinese level through the test. At the very least, your listening, reading, and writing skills can be tested by taking HSK. The results of each part are quite clear and objective. Then you would know which parts you need to improve on. Based on the Cannikin law, it is only if we strengthen the weak parts can we step forward to the next, higher level.

Besides the weak parts, we also need to strengthen the parts useful for us. For example, to a business Chinese learner, it`s really not necessary to learn many classroom expressions. After the foundation stage, we can start our target part. After all, language is a tool which we should use frequently. So now we can be back to our first tip: ask yourself why you want to learn Chinese? Don`t get lost in the language ocean. Always keep your focus on your language goals.

Strengthening these parts can not only encourage you, but can also help you learn Chinese as fast as you want.

Welcome to have my face to face lesson on http://www.verbling.com/teachers/dawei  !  🙂

Some students don’t understand very well the rule to make an emphatic phrase, in this article, I am going to tell how to use Chinese emphatic structure “是……的”

One of my students told me: she doesn’t understand very well the rule to make an emphatic phrase “是……的”, she sent me this question together with pictures as below:

First of all, let me tell you the meanings of sample sentences.

 

Translation of sample sentences on textbook are as below:

1 我是在北京学的汉语。 Wǒ shì zài běijīng xué de hànyǔ.

Its translation into English: It was in Beijing that I studied Chinese.

2 是何塞给我打的电话。 Shì hé sài gěi wǒ dǎ di diànhuà.

Its translation into English: It was Jose who called me

3 他是昨天晚上来的。   Tā shì zuótiān wǎnshàng lái de.

Its translation into English: It was yesterday night that he came.

 

Concerning “是……的”，it can lay emphasis on time/ method/way / objects /place/ purpose/ the person who gives the action , its complete structure is as below:

Subject + 是 + time/ method/way / objects /place/ purpose/ the person who gives the action + verb (+object) + 的 (+object)

 

I show you samples of its applications as below one by one:

 

1 你是什么时候去的？  Nǐ shì shén​​me shíhou qù de?

Its translation into English: When did you go there?

This sentence lays emphasis on time

Possible reply: 我是去年去的（Wǒ shì qùnián qù de）

It was last year that I went there.

 

2 你是怎么去的？       Nǐ shì zěnme qù de?

Its translation into English: How did you go there?

This sentence lays emphasis on method/way

Possible reply: 我是坐飞机去的（Wǒ shì zuò fēijī qù de）

It was by plane that I went there

 

3 你是和谁一起去的？   Nǐ shì hé shuí yīqǐ qù de?

Its translation into English: With whom you went there?

This sentence lays emphasis on objects

Possible reply: 我是和家里人一起去的（Wǒ shì hé jiālǐ rén yīqǐ qù de）

It was with my family that I went there

 

4 你是在哪里买的这个包？Nǐ shì zài nǎlǐ mǎi de zhège bāo?

Its translation into English: Where did you buy this bag?

This sentence lays emphasis on place

Possible reply: 我是在商店里买的这个包（Wǒ shì zài shāngdiàn lǐ mǎi de zhège bāo）

It was in the shop that I bought this bag

 

5 你是来做什么的？      Nǐ shì lái zuò shénme de?

Its translation into English: What’s your purpose of coming here?

This sentence lays emphasis on purpose

Possible reply: 我是来上课的（Wǒ shì lái shàngkè de）

It is to have class that I come here.

 

6 这盆花是谁送的？      Zhè pénhuā shì shuí sòng de?

Its translation into English: Who sent this flower?

This sentence lays emphasis on the person who gives the action

Possible reply: 这盆花是老师送的（Zhè pénhuā shì lǎoshī sòng de）

It was the teacher that sent the flower

 

Let’s use Chinese emphatic structure “是……的” to complete exercises of the textbook as below:

 

用“是……的”回答下列问题（Yòng “shì……de” huídá xiàliè wèntí）

Use “是……的”to answer the following questions.

 

1. 马丁的生日晚会是几点开始的? Mǎdīng de shēngrì wǎnhuì shì jǐ diǎn kāishǐ de?

马丁的生日晚会是晚上7点半开始的。Mǎdīng de shēngrì wǎnhuì shì wǎnshàng qī diǎn bàn kāishǐ de.

 

2. 你是什么时候去的王老师家? Nǐ shì shénme shíhou qù de wáng lǎoshī jiā?

我是昨天上午去的王老师家。Wǒ shì zuótiān shàngwǔ qù de wáng lǎoshī jiā.

 

3. 王大伟是在哪儿学的西班牙语? Wángdàwěi shì zài nǎ’er xué de xībānyá yǔ?

王大伟是在北京大学学的西班牙语。Wángdàwěi shì zài běijīng dàxué xué de xībānyá yǔ.

 

4. 王大伟是属马的吗? Wángdàwěi shì shǔ mǎ de ma?

王大伟是属马的。Wángdàwěi shì shǔ mǎ de.

 

5. 马丁是不是一九七八年生的? Mǎdīng shì bùshì yījiǔqībā niánshēng de?

马丁是一九七八年生的。Mǎdīng shì yījiǔqībā niánshēng de.

 

6. 昨天晚上你是几点钟睡觉的? Zuótiān wǎnshàng nǐ shì jǐ diǎn zhōng shuìjiào de?

昨天晚上我是11点钟睡觉的。Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ shì shíyīdiǎn zhōng shuìjiào de.

 

7. 这个办公室是张明的吗? Zhège bàngōngshì shì zhāng míng de ma?

这个办公室不是张明的。Zhège bàngōngshì bùshì zhāng míng de.

 

8. 这张画儿是谁画的? Zhè zhāng huà er shì shuí huà de?

这张画儿是马丁的朋友画的。Zhè zhāng huà er shì mǎdīng de péngyǒu huà de.

 

用“是……的”句就划线部分进行提问，并做出回答。（Yòng “shì……de” jù jiù huá xiàn bùfèn jìnxíng tíwèn, bìng zuò chū huídá）

Use “是……的”to ask questions on the crossed part of the sentence, and to answer.

 

1. 爸爸开车去公司了。Bàba kāichē qù gōngsīle.

A：爸爸是怎么去公司的？Bàba shì zěnme qù gōngsī de?

B：爸爸是开车去公司的。Bàba shì kāichē qù gōngsī de.

 

2. 我爷爷前天去乡下了。Wǒ yéye qiántiān qù xiāngxiàle.

A：你爷爷是什么时候去乡下的？Nǐ yéye shì shénme shíhou qù xiāngxià de?

B：我爷爷是前天去乡下的。Wǒ yéye shì qiántiān qù xiāngxià de.

 

3. 他在商业大厦买了一条裤子。Tā zài shāngyè dàshà mǎile yītiáo kùzi.

A：他是在哪儿买的这条裤子？Tā shì zài nǎ’er mǎi de zhè tiáo kùzi?

B：他是在商业大厦买的这条裤子。Tā shì zài shāngyè dàshà mǎi de zhè tiáo kùzi.

 

4. 我昨天和妹妹一起看电影了。Wǒ zuótiān hé mèimei yīqǐ kàn diànyǐngle.

A：你昨天是和谁一起看电影的？Nǐ zuótiān shì hé shuí yīqǐ kàn diànyǐng de?

B：我昨天是和妹妹一起看电影的。Wǒ zuótiān shì hé mèimei yīqǐ kàn diànyǐng de.

 

5. 奶奶把伞给小明送来了。Nǎinai bǎ sǎn gěi xiǎomíng sòng láile.

A：是谁把伞给小明送来的？Shì shuí bǎ sǎn gěi xiǎomíng sòng lái de?

B：是奶奶把伞给小明送来的。Shì nǎinai bǎ sǎn gěi xiǎomíng sòng lái de.

 

So now you already know how to use Chinese emphatic structure “是……的”, when you complete a sentence with this structure, please be sure to know which part you want to lay emphasis, you want to lay emphasis on time? method ? way ? objects ? place? purpose? Or the person who gives the action? Then, according to the complete structure I offered above, put each part in the right position. That’s it! I hope that all of you have understood the rule to make emphatic phrase “是……的”after reading this article.

 

Welcome to have my face to face lesson on http://www.verbling.com/teachers/dawei  !  🙂