I would also like to add this: _don't get too hooked up on not being able to recognise every single character, without fail._ That'll take quite some time. You'll probably forget them again and again, but don't let that keep you from learning more characters. They’ll probably help you. This works because of something similar to what ABChinese said: the more you characters you learn, the easier it is to remember new ones. If you are already used to the components*, characters like『露』become a lot less intimidating. Learning new characters will help you remember the old ones you might have had difficulties with. Patterns will become more and more recognisable. Also, characters can have many meanings - not always related ones. Most of the time, it is easier to learn the meanings of single characters as parts of entire words first. In my opinion, there is no need to over-analyze them in the beginning. *(by "being used to the components" I do NOT mean having studied them in depth, but simply being used to the sight of them.)
So true. I overanalysed the meaning at the beginning. Right now, I just want to recall the meaning I encouraged in context. So for example, I remember 着 first as durative stative aspect marker, then I learn 着急 and learn it also means 'to feel', 'to be affected by'.
As a spanish native speaker I'm very eager to learn chinese mostly because of the beauty of its characters not caring at all if they are difficult or easy to learn.
Llevo 2 meses estudiando Chino en línea, 2 horas por semana y somos 3 estudiantes. Siento que estoy aprendiendo más en estos 2 meses de Chino que de los 6 años que llevo estudiando japonés por mi cuenta, ya puedo leer varios carácteres sin necesidad de tener el pinyin e incluso practicando caligrafía con una "tela mágica" y su pincel. El hecho de saber Inglés, Alemán y Español, creí que sería más fácil aprender Chino, conociendo que los tonos lo complicaría, y si, de cierta manera es complicado, pero más que los tonos es los sonidos de las consonantes, lo que toma más tiempo. Una vez solucionado eso o sobre la marcha se va corrigiendo. De verdad recomiendo mucho que inicies con las clases de Chino. :)
I’m conscientious in creating funny way of teaching Chinese. I hope it can help those who want to learn Chinese. Chinese characters still retain their pictographic origins. Knowing what the characters look like originally can help understand the meanings and remember them. I’ve spent about 100,000 hours studying English humor and Western culture, and many years studying Chinese culture and jokes. My native language is Chinese.
Interesting, but yeah pinyin is a crutch that should be discarded as quickly as possible once a certain level of proficiency is reached. I only started learning it because I had no other way of inputting chinese characters in the computer. I know some folks that have studied Chinese for 10 years and can only read a paragraph of Chinese only if the pinyin is above each character. For other languages such as Korean, there's virtually no point in learning the romanization of characters as it has its alphabet system. I do feel sorry for folks that give up on Chinese though, its certainly got one of the steepest learning curves.
"Because I had no other way of inputting chinese characters in the computer." Why Pinyin is not "a crutch". It's an integral part of the Chinese language. You NEED Pinyin to input characters.
Pinyin is not a crutch. It's an alternative way to write the language. If a person doesn't want to study the characters, they don't have to. Sure it means that they won't be read and write original texts but they can still speak and listen. And that's already an achievement on its own.
@@thisismycoolnickname Pinyin is not alternative. Pinyin is the way that the correct pronunciation is indicated in dictionaries approved as correct by the authorities of the People's Republic of China. These are loosely based on Beijing dialect. It is also what you're going to find as the input method for characters, which is the way people almost always write standard Chinese. There are a few occasional snags. For instance many input systems can't handle what the island with the big Macao casinos are called.
Ugh, ok let me be honest pinyin should only be used to learn pronunciation. Even duolingo in lesson 1 uses the characters. They go hand in hand. No as far as writing characters one can wait. Even children in china don't learn writing as soon as they enter school. Once you reach hsk 1 or 2. You will need to learn to write if you wish to further down the hsk route. Pinyin is a crutch. You will have to learn the characters. The learning method he describes works best for auditory learners. I am an extremely visual learner. So for me I can read at an hsk 2/3 level however my speaking ability is hsk 1/2. I have just recently started writing. If you are a tactile learner then by all means write as you learn. Don't rush. Take your time. Also just keep going. You can do it.
Hmm, good point! Depends on your learning style... The main point I'm making is that characters can come after speaking(with Pinyin) and writing should definitely be last.
Yes, but pinyn is also important for writing on different platforms like smartphones, computers, laptops and other media. Therefore, we cannot underestimate the importance of understanding and using pinyn characters, I guess.
@@franciscoandre2007 To be pedantic, there are other methods of inputting Chinese characters that do not require pinyin - e.g. shape based methods such as Wubi or Cangjie, voice recognition, or handwriting recognition. Pinyin input is probably the easiest for learners though!
I am not sure your advice is right. Most polyglots advise to read, read , read and the language will follow. Surly to be able to read you need to learn characters first. Also most advise that writing characters is a waste of time, no one writes anything anymore.
零 is one of the hardest basics to learn 🤣 What you said is true. I gave up on learning characters I am not so familiar with. Instead, I get familiarized with the most commonly used characters. I can’t write yet, but at least I can recognize which character to use when typing on my phone👌🏻
Chinese characters, though difficult, make reading easier. After learning Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, you will find it frustrating to read Korean and Vietnamese due to tons of homophones, but Japanese text is easy to read because of the meaning the character Kanji display explicitly
totally agreed! ima a native Chinese speaker, I found leanrning Japanese is so much easier than Korean~ even thou their grammers are so similar, the Korean words is jus hard for me to remember😅
i feel like there should be a way of using an alphabet while still making written words visually distinct. english does this with irregular spelling which isn't ideal, pinyin's irregularities and silent sounds are already annoying. for starters, pinyin would use spaces, unlike chinese characters, so the difference between two syllables separated by a space is already differentiated from two syllables merged into a single word. i imagine that a solution could be adding diacritics to consonants that have no pronunciation quality to them, their function would simply be there to differentiate homophones from each other, the most commons words could omit the diacritics. similarly, silent letters could be added to the ends of words; the most common word would be spelled normally without silent letters, and the silent letters could be added alphabetically, or maybe esthetically. alphabetically, you'd have the [word] and attach the silent letters like a suffix: [word]a, [word]b, etcetera. if certain letters are too confusing, like vowels or especially nasal consonants, then those could be skipped. there'd still definitely be enough letters without additions since the letters could be stacked: [word]b, [word]c... [word]z, [word]bb, [word]bc, etcetera.
I tried twice to learn (mandarin) Chinese. In Singapore in my teens, and in Canada in my thirties. I failed both times. The only explanation I have for both failures was that I focused too early on the writing, i.e. doing the complicated thing before doing the simpler one.
You are so genuine and make me so much more relaxed to continue my chinese learning. Writing has been so difficult for me, but reading and pronunciation has come a bit easier with repetition and sentence structure practice. It's a relief to know that it's ok to not tackle writing from the get-go. I subscribed and look forward to learning more from you! 谢谢
I've only started the past few weeks due to my new obsession of Chinese drama and so far, the only thing I'm struggling with are the characters. I have a poor memory so no doubt I'll never master this beautiful language when it comes to those but that doesn't deter me away from trying to learn at least. :P
@@mayanlogos92 Empresses in the Palace(alt name Legend of Zhen Huan) and Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace are the best historical harem ones in my opinion, Ruyi's Royal Love even more so but it's sad. Not bad but sad.
I feel like there's one pillar you're not pointing out which is the most important in my opinion, that is Listening. Having to listen a lot, makes it easier to speak and sometimes write, because you create the foundation for all those difficult phonemes Chinese has, so I feel like the main focus should be on listening, then reading and then either writing or speaking.
I am taking the first method, I am learning how to pronounce and read the characters (which for me it has become like a combined exercise that I do simultaneously) and it’s now, when I already have a level (HSK 2~3), that I am starting to try to learn how to write the characters. I really struggle with writing characters, I can barely fully remember all strokes for; 我, 是 and my Chinese name. I don’t quite give too much importance to writing since I don’t see myself using it in any situation at all in my future. Just by being able to know the pronunciation and how to recognise the characters when reading I think it’s enough for me, because when I write in the computer or my phone, I use pinyin.
Difficult to recall character from stroke. It is easy to write part. Using drawing method ㄣ, or フ，L J to FORM 与与马写鸟与吗妈 勺 鸟乌鸦,呜. ㄣ denote bird leg, or horse, pen .counter check with handphone keyboard If forget use voice input For foreigners using draw method , using two L 7, to draw 口，then try to draw three 囗，唱喝吃哭叫吻 曰目白 由早 四回西 胃旧申...，then filled up to form 吕,串，石，check handphone software, using voice inputs?n. together
I agree 💯 with this! I have been learning Mandarin on my own and with a few friends from China and this is how I have been learning. I feel like learning 2 word a day and listening to Chinese podcasts at work and while I'm driving helps me alot. Then when I have time to practice the characters either online for from pen or brush then that helps too. I feel after almost 2 years I have some good basics but I feel I still have about 7 more years to go then I would feel confident visiting China. Best language to learn for us older people, it is good for brain memory and it is interesting.
Fun fact for second language learners: real life Chinese users use pinyin ALL. THE. TIME. Why? Because they use phones and keyboards to enter information. They key in the pinyin without the tones then select the appropriate simplified character/word. Frankly, it's a lot more important to learn to READ Chinese characters unless you are going to be attending school in China.
I just found your channel yesterday and I'm so happy I did! So far, it's been such a huge help for all different aspects of learning! Thank you so much for dedicating your time to help people like me, who are really interested in learning Chinese but don't exactly know how to walk that path alone!
I went to a Chinese school here in the Philippines and for me, it's easier to write it first because it helps me recall the pronunciation of the word and the meaning.
Speaking, reading 📖 and writing ✍️ are not as difficult 😣 as LISTENING/ hearing and understanding quickly! I can’t (yet) hear 👂 then comprehend 🤔 long sentences, without at least pausing after each phrase to break it down little by little. Thank you so much ☺️ for all the work you do for us! I love your patient attitude. I’m enjoying learning Chinese. It interlaces music, 🎶 🎶 art and story concepts in such an interesting and meaningful way! 我们开始吧! Wǒmen kāishǐ ba! Lit: We - start - how about? Trans: Let’s start! Here we go!
Thanks for the video ! Do you think it is still important to learn how to write chinese characters ? With all the technology we have today, don't you think learning pinyin is enough ?
Great question! You should never only rely on Pinyin. The first reason is that you'll never learn a character well when you only have to recognize it as opposed to produce it from memory. Secondly, learning to write the characters will give you a better understanding of the language. You'll find that Chinese characters aren't just random strokes and there's a lot of patterns and meanings in them!
Some might prefer to write first because they enjoy it. I spend a lot of time writing characters because the tactile hand movement helps me remember faster. There is another factor: deciding between learning traditional and/or simplified. I studied simplified for years because I worked in mainland for 12 years. Now I am in Taiwan and about 25% of the simplified characters I know are not used here. Some of these characters are similar looking but most are completely different. I now have to learn a new character set. So I have to re-learn that 25%. So a good strategy for me is to learn both at the same time. Also, I started learning standard Mandarin (Putonghua) before coming to Mainland China. When I got to my city I was told that the natives did not speak putonghua but instead used a local dialect. This dialect was nothing like putongha and the locals did not understand anything I said. This appliced mainly to the older generation. The people under 40 ish could swith to putonghua because it was required in school. Another advantage of learning characters is that in China you will see them constantly and be reminded of the words you are learning, -just as ABC said; 'you start recognizing patterns'
Coming from a background of studying Japanese kanji first, I find it difficult to form tone associations with characters that I'm already used to in Japanese. Also, you mentioned characters like the "enter" word rù that is more obscure in Chinese. It's a really common character in Japanese kanji, so the difference in which characters are rarer and which ones are more common can be pretty dramatic sometimes. It has taken me years to get past some of this confusion, but I feel like I'm finally starting to overcome it a bit.
Thank you! This was very informative and it's nice to know that taking it slowly while learning a language, or most things, is okay! (Which I had no doubts on that but hearing that is another thing!)
Pinyin gets on my nerves because I don't find "cài" helpful when the sound is "tye." I'll switch off the pinyin and just read characters for that reason, which is more important anyway. 😅
If I don't learn the character, neither the sound nor the meaning get stuck in my mind. Pinyin confuses me a lot (as a native Spanish speaker, letters sound very different) so I switched to Bopomo which I find it a better tool for pronunciation, it kinda works as an alphabet for me. But I have to learn the characters to remember everything. I don't know why. Maybe because I have a stronger visual memory. The thing is that I'm much better at reading and writing than speaking (at which I really suck...😭) 謝謝你老師！
Started learning hanzi after 6-7 months of learning the language. When I finished the entire Duolingo course I just felt like "the time has come" :) So in a couple of months I've practiced writing over 300 characters, and everyday I feel more and more comfortable doing it. Here's what my learning experiece looked like: 1-3 Months: learning new words, understanding the grammar, using pinyin only 4-6 Months: started naturally noticing and learning the tones, getting deeper into grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, pinyin predominantly 7-9 Months: started naturally noticing and learning the characters, connecting them to my basis, practicing writing and all the other stuff I've already learned Since I already have the experience of learning a foreign language, English in particular, I kinda did this intuitively, I mean skipping stuff that I don't feel comfortable with. My everyday routine now is like this - 15 minutes for phrases, 15 minutes for new characters, 15 minutes for the writing, plus some random online content. I dunno what to expect next, but my guess is I will start recognizing radicals naturally :)
I am Chinese in Fujian, but until Primary School, I can't speak Chinese, can't write Chinese Characters. Because Chinese have a lot of dialect. It's so interesting...
I’ve just started learning Chinese and I’m dyslexic. I’m glad to see videos like this as I’m putting so much pressure on myself to learn characters and behind my peers in class. The language is fascinating and enjoyable.
I’ve spent about 100,000 hours studying English humor and Western culture, and many years studying Chinese culture. My native language is Chinese. I teach Chinese in humorous way and with cute pictures. Hope somebody recommend my videos to those who want to learn Chinese.
Honestly, I find it much easier to go completly oposite way. Speaking and listening chinesse it 10x more difficult than writing it down or recognizing characters.
I find it always difficult to understand when people separate reading and writing from “the language“. Unless you are illiterate to begin with I think they go together. I speak 2 foreign languages and I never learned to read/write them and I always have been confused when people said things like “I understand/read but can’t speak” so I usually just took it as they are still learning or they brag they speak but they actually don’t
I'd argue strongly that the Aural aspect of learning Chinese is probably the most important for new learners. Learning the sounds and rhythms of the language make reading and speaking easier to accomplish. Writing should be the last thing you attempt, but even among native speakers how quickly people begin to write can vary. Linguistically speaking, the typical order is listen, speak, read, write. Expression precedes production.
@@toddjohnson271 Practice is the only thing that works.Think about it another way: babies listen to people around them talk for at least a year, more like three, before they can understand and reply to most of what they hear.
I agree. People learn to speak their native language before they learn to read. Makes sense to do that as an adult, especially so you don't feel overwhelmed.
I agree. People learn to speak their native language before they learn to read. Makes sense to do that as an adult, especially so you don't feel overwhelmed.
I've noticed that advanced Chinese learners are often really toxic. I personally don't care, my learning isn't based on them, but it's crazy because natives seem pretty cool with it and helpful, but learners are kinda nuts. When learning Spanish, learners and natives were always both chill. I don't know what it is about Chinese learners that makes them that way.
I've actually enjoyed writing the characters more than learning the actual language haha. But I know I have to actually know what they mean and everything
I just subscribed yesterday.. And I just learned two words from Doulingo which are nihao and zaijian. (I can pronounce them also learned how to write them in chinese, and then I felt proud of myself. 😂) I felt encouraged to learn more Chinese because of what you've said on this video. Thanks I'll follow your tips.
你好 I hope you have a lot of fun learning Chinese! I highly recommend adding a Chinese keyboard on to your phone and/or computer and learn how to use it. Basically you type the pinyin or even just the first letter of it. So for nihao I just typed nh and the characters popped up. It is a great way to be able to continue to practice. I just open the note app on my phone and type sentences, or the vocab that I am working on that day. Also, another really cool app for learning Chinese is Lingodeer it is very similar to Duolingo in the way it teaches, but I think it does a better job explaining the language. Good luck I hope you continue to have lots of fun learning this really cool language. 再见
It doesn't take genius to know China has dumb outdated Chinese writing which is hard to learn n use. I knew this when i was 16 year old im 61 now when i was introduced to learn Vietnamese writing i found out so easy only take me few hour my older brother 22 said i must know Vietnamese writing because i live in Vietnam but i hate Vietnamese language due i look down Vietnamese due they were so poor n my Chinese side looked down on them too n i thought Vietnamese writing was ugly too just wiggling curving up n down. After few days i tried learn to read n write by myself after help from my brother due i love reading intellectual subjects like civilization culture history capitalism communist USA China etc... Then i ask my old brother why China don't use alphabet too because alphabet writing is so easy learn. 10 year ago Chinese said Chinese language sound different than English so we can't use alphabet then i later yeah but Vietnamese don't sound like English nor France but we all use alphabet fine that mean Chinese language can adopt alphabet for writing too. Then Chinese say we do use alphabet too. Then we Chinese still use dumb outdated Chinese writing for. Alphabet pin yin is for help to know sound of each word. Then Chinese say but each word has many sound n many meaning so we can't use alphabet. Vietnamese language has many words same sound but many meaning too so English inventions investment intelligence instead in n out into information buy bye bi by. Anyway just tiny percentage words like that. Dumb Chinese politicians n people many Chinese use dumb excuses too. Why China has over 1.4 billions people don't know they use dumb writing which make Chinese dumb ignorant shy square slow small short scare. 50 millions Chinese oversea too beyond me they too dumb to know yet n Chinese are very smart too to accomplish lot in China Taiwan n oversea too im confused.
Is there somewhere I can look up the origins of the characters? I wondered why 他 and 也 looked similar but didn't know why they ended up in the current state. I wonder what the first part of 她 means if the first part of 他 refers to people.
I found a list that separates characters by grade level. Do you think it would be a good idea to use something like this to learn characters? It looks like it provides a good foundation and progressively gets harder. drive.google.com/file/d/1ZYegIHad5Dn8SRASd0FakOWtejjEBgt-/view
I actually learnt characters well before learning any Chinese, only learning the meaning. The first ones I learnt were 木 (tree) and 火 (fire), after which I picked up some more from anime (ones that are the same in both systems) and also random sources like one TEDx talk on teaching Chinese characters, earning me 日 (sun), 月 (moon), 人 (person),本 (source), 林 (woods), 森 (forest), 山 (mountain), 川 (river), and 水 (water), among others (including a few numbers). This actually made it super easy to learn and recognize characters when I started learning because I already had the idea of the script being separate from the get-go and Chinese became a simple language like any other for me. Actually still don't know how to say some of those in Chinese, made it kinda hard to write them 😂
I’m not sure how it’s in Chinese, but in Japanese 日 is more like “day” and 本 is “book “ maybe in Chinese has a different meaning. It’s a bit hard in the beginning but the more characters you learn it gets easier to recognise and learn new ones. Don’t give up.
@@Anderson_101 In Chinese, 日 can also mean "day", and I did learn to interpret "sun" in this dual way, like one day _is_ one sun. So I would read 毎日 as "every sun", character by character and still understand the whole thing as "everyday", just a bit more fantasy sounding 😁. It's similar in Chinese where the word 天 (sky/heavens) is used more for "day" over 日, but I can read 每天 as "every heaven" and still understand the sentiment of "everyday". For 本, I understand it as "source", but I do know the "book" definition in Japanese. These two characters I actually learned from the word 日本 (Japan) as "source of the (rising) sun" 🇯🇵 but I did find it fun to learn 本 could mean "book" as well because it makes a lot of sense 😁. In Chinese, the character 书 (書) is used for book, but 本 is the measure word (super easy to remember 😁), so “三本书” = "three books".
@@stephenwaldron2748 thanks for the reply, I'm studying Japanese and I find very interesting the similarities and differences between the two languages.
Add: Don’t get hooked up on not regonise the characters in chinese like the Tones r hard probably the one going down going up ans down and flat is the easy tones ig of you can study the Meaning and hanzi first before the Tones like - or maybe / up maybe down \ or slanted
A tip: The easy Things to learn is writing Hanzi and meaning Another tip: to understand the meaning of diffrent tones Another tips: the Reading Vacbulary in Chinese especially the tones r hard to learn so learn more characters i chinese first before the Tones
There is one point that you do not cover. Why you learn. The important part for me is that I would like to be able to read Chinese text used in everyday life. To be able to speak and write would be nice, but reading is really the focus for what I want to learn. Your guide to learning is still valid, and are basically how I have done it so fare. I find the videos I have seen so fare on your channel very helpful and easy to follow.
Tip: if you don’t regonise the charathers whole hanzi Tones they are 4 tones in chinese unless you actually remeber because chinese have no alfabet Tip: you should understand all Tones in chinese is the Gramar are best to learn than the pronunciation
Interesting..I actually find that writing the characters hugely helps me to memorise them, so it never occurred to me to decouple the reading and writing steps. But we all have different brains, I suppose :D
Listening is the most important form of practice, and should take up the bulk of any learner's study time. Personally I started with characters immediately, and listen with closed captions in characters alone, but I was coming from having some Japanese literacy, and I enjoy working with characters for their own sake: it is very enjoyable to practice my 楷書 and 行書 with brush pens and brushes, and I feel accomplished when I get the proportions just right. It's nice starting with characters when you're coming from Japanese, even if Japanese often uses chinese words that are old, and obscure in modern dialects. For example 他人[たにん] means something like "a stranger" or "strangers" in Japanese, whereas in Mandarin 他人[ㄊㄚ ㄖㄣˊ] basically means "others", whereas 他[ほか] on its own is usually means "another" or "other" in the adjective sense, it only rarely means this in Mandarin as 他[ㄊㄚ/ ㄊㄨㄛ] it only means this in formal contexts. 探索[たんさく] means something pretty similar to 探索[ㄊㄢˋ ㄙㄨㄛˇ], 設定[せってい] is basically identical to 設定[ㄕㄜˋ ㄉㄧㄥˋ] (在台灣國語). Also 入 is a very common character in Japanese, and also I end up using it in Chinese because I work on 輸入法[日]/入力方法[中], and such, so read the character a lot. P.S. Chinese is waaaaaaaaaaaay easier to learn than Japanese, and a lot easier to remember. Despite studying very little, and not studying for the last six months, I can easily remember how to type 「不會打字簡體字，所以正體字用啦」and have somebody understand, even if it is a bit funny sounding; but it took a lot longer to get there with Japanese.
Speaking, reading and writing, but not listening. That alone tells me you're no expert in language learning. You seem nice enough, but why pretend you know more than you actually do?
I never said I was an expert in language learning, and the video is about learning Chinese characters, which a lot of people struggle with. You can't "listen" to Chinese characters, but you do need to know how to pronounce them to internalize them. But thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate it!
@@ABChinese Thank you for your reply. In your video you said (at 1.29) "When we talk about the learning a language, we're really talking about three separate components. We're talking about speaking reading and writing." That's simply not correct. Secondly, if you can 'speak' the sounds associated with the characters, you can also listen to them. Speaking and listening are equally important in this context.
This guy is an absolute genius. I've only seen two videos but he's been explaining things like a polyglot would, except the concepts are coming from a beginner prospective, meaning he not only consciously recognizes the obstacles of language learning, but is also empathetic and a great teacher/speaker. This information is beyond useful and not just limited to Mandarin. You got yourself a new sub. Keep up the great content!
it feels like i’m learning the pinyin words more than the chinese characters and that’s not good so i’m trying to not pay attention to it too much because it’s like i’m learning the wrong thing
I am learning Japanese so I am facing the same challenge with 漢字 (kanji) and I really like your opinion on this. I have another way to approche the goal to learn chinese characters: Lern how to recognize and write it first with the Book Remembering Simplified Hanzi from James W. Heisig. In the 2nd stage if you learn vocabulary you can easily write the words and are able to remember it better. But dont get too hooked to remember every Hanzi to 100% AND this method dont work for everyone.
Hi, fellow Japanese learner here. My method was to learn Hiragana first, then memorize the characters from the Jojõ kanji from the Japanese government by writing them until I learn them in sets of 10. I write kanji in my notebook an hour a day, and I spend another hour studying grammar. Hope this adds up to learning strategies. Take care.
I enjoy reading this relief in comments below :D Thank you! Your videos are very helpful and/or interesting. I like that when you speak Chinese, you speak with naturall speed (unlike many others), because tones do sound otherwise in natural speech... I only wish you talk Chinese more often :D but anyway, while you don't, I still can practice English listening, all win for me lol
I appreciate your video. For the 1st method you suggest, I don't fully understand what you mean by learn to speak, learn to read since you would be reading in both cases if you are looking at hanzi on a card. Do you mean learn to pronounce and then second learn the meaning? Maybe an example would make it clearer. Thank you!
Thanks for a very practical and encouraging video. I'm a beginner on Mandarin and finding progress slow but the language fascinates and intrigues me. I already speak 5 languages in addition to my native English but Mandarin presents challenges of a whole new order.
I used to work with a man who spoke seven languages fluently. People like you who can speak so many languages are truly blessed. And encouraging to the rest of us. Thank you.
I would also like to add this: _don't get too hooked up on not being able to recognise every single character, without fail._ That'll take quite some time. You'll probably forget them again and again, but don't let that keep you from learning more characters. They’ll probably help you.
This works because of something similar to what ABChinese said: the more you characters you learn, the easier it is to remember new ones. If you are already used to the components*, characters like『露』become a lot less intimidating. Learning new characters will help you remember the old ones you might have had difficulties with. Patterns will become more and more recognisable.
Also, characters can have many meanings - not always related ones. Most of the time, it is easier to learn the meanings of single characters as parts of entire words first. In my opinion, there is no need to over-analyze them in the beginning.
*(by "being used to the components" I do NOT mean having studied them in depth, but simply being used to the sight of them.)
loved this tip!
Thanks so much for this tip
So true. Analyzing how characters are "built" really makes it easier to inderstand
So true. I overanalysed the meaning at the beginning. Right now, I just want to recall the meaning I encouraged in context. So for example, I remember 着 first as durative stative aspect marker, then I learn 着急 and learn it also means 'to feel', 'to be affected by'.
I prefer studying them as words too
As a spanish native speaker I'm very eager to learn chinese mostly because of the beauty of its characters not caring at all if they are difficult or easy to learn.
Llevo 2 meses estudiando Chino en línea, 2 horas por semana y somos 3 estudiantes. Siento que estoy aprendiendo más en estos 2 meses de Chino que de los 6 años que llevo estudiando japonés por mi cuenta, ya puedo leer varios carácteres sin necesidad de tener el pinyin e incluso practicando caligrafía con una "tela mágica" y su pincel.
El hecho de saber Inglés, Alemán y Español, creí que sería más fácil aprender Chino, conociendo que los tonos lo complicaría, y si, de cierta manera es complicado, pero más que los tonos es los sonidos de las consonantes, lo que toma más tiempo. Una vez solucionado eso o sobre la marcha se va corrigiendo.
De verdad recomiendo mucho que inicies con las clases de Chino. :)
@@JorgeGarza2988, en dónde estudias? D:
@@JorgeGarza2988 como aprendiste aleman
Mandarin Blueprint is the way to do it
Aprendiendo Mandarín aquí también. Empecé hace unos pocos días. Hablo inglés fluido. Mandarín será mi tercer idioma
thank you, this puts my mind into calm place, no stress and enjoying learning Chinese
Tuabin có bộ khuếch đại tín dụng
Where are you learning Chinese? I don’t know where to start.
I’m conscientious in creating funny way of teaching Chinese. I hope it can help those who want to learn Chinese.
Chinese characters still retain their pictographic origins. Knowing what the characters look like originally can help understand the meanings and remember them.
I’ve spent about 100,000 hours studying English humor and Western culture, and many years studying Chinese culture and jokes. My native language is Chinese.
Don't forget that native speakers focus on speaking for years before learning characters
Interesting, but yeah pinyin is a crutch that should be discarded as quickly as possible once a certain level of proficiency is reached. I only started learning it because I had no other way of inputting chinese characters in the computer. I know some folks that have studied Chinese for 10 years and can only read a paragraph of Chinese only if the pinyin is above each character.
For other languages such as Korean, there's virtually no point in learning the romanization of characters as it has its alphabet system.
I do feel sorry for folks that give up on Chinese though, its certainly got one of the steepest learning curves.
"Because I had no other way of inputting chinese characters in the computer."
Why Pinyin is not "a crutch". It's an integral part of the Chinese language. You NEED Pinyin to input characters.
Pinyin is not a crutch. It's an alternative way to write the language. If a person doesn't want to study the characters, they don't have to. Sure it means that they won't be read and write original texts but they can still speak and listen. And that's already an achievement on its own.
@@thisismycoolnickname Pinyin is not alternative. Pinyin is the way that the correct pronunciation is indicated in dictionaries approved as correct by the authorities of the People's Republic of China. These are loosely based on Beijing dialect.
It is also what you're going to find as the input method for characters, which is the way people almost always write standard Chinese.
There are a few occasional snags. For instance many input systems can't handle what the island with the big Macao casinos are called.
Ugh, ok let me be honest pinyin should only be used to learn pronunciation. Even duolingo in lesson 1 uses the characters. They go hand in hand. No as far as writing characters one can wait. Even children in china don't learn writing as soon as they enter school. Once you reach hsk 1 or 2. You will need to learn to write if you wish to further down the hsk route. Pinyin is a crutch. You will have to learn the characters. The learning method he describes works best for auditory learners. I am an extremely visual learner. So for me I can read at an hsk 2/3 level however my speaking ability is hsk 1/2. I have just recently started writing. If you are a tactile learner then by all means write as you learn.
Don't rush. Take your time.
Also just keep going. You can do it.
Hmm, good point! Depends on your learning style... The main point I'm making is that characters can come after speaking(with Pinyin) and writing should definitely be last.
Yes, but pinyn is also important for writing on different platforms like smartphones, computers, laptops and other media. Therefore, we cannot underestimate the importance of understanding and using pinyn characters, I guess.
@@franciscoandre2007 To be pedantic, there are other methods of inputting Chinese characters that do not require pinyin - e.g. shape based methods such as Wubi or Cangjie, voice recognition, or handwriting recognition. Pinyin input is probably the easiest for learners though!
yes, one pinyin syllable can represent many characters so it is unstable for general use. Its role is for learning.
@@andrew-l9j Yes! in Taiwan they use BoPo
I am not sure your advice is right. Most polyglots advise to read, read , read and the language will follow. Surly to be able to read you need to learn characters first. Also most advise that writing characters is a waste of time, no one writes anything anymore.
Агар одам забоне омӯзад, ман хоҳам гуфт, ки бояд навиштанро аввалан омӯзад. Вале чунки забони Чинӣ аз дигар забонҳо хеле дигараст, ман ба он одам хоҳам гуфт, ки бояд видёятро бинад.
Душанбе ба хайр!
零 is one of the hardest basics to learn 🤣 What you said is true. I gave up on learning characters I am not so familiar with. Instead, I get familiarized with the most commonly used characters. I can’t write yet, but at least I can recognize which character to use when typing on my phone👌🏻
Thats such a easy character to write
You can write 〇 instead, which is also correct. In some cases like telephone numbers, writing 〇 is better than 零.
Chinese characters, though difficult, make reading easier. After learning Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, you will find it frustrating to read Korean and Vietnamese due to tons of homophones, but Japanese text is easy to read because of the meaning the character Kanji display explicitly
totally agreed! ima a native Chinese speaker, I found leanrning Japanese is so much easier than Korean~ even thou their grammers are so similar, the Korean words is jus hard for me to remember😅
i feel like there should be a way of using an alphabet while still making written words visually distinct. english does this with irregular spelling which isn't ideal, pinyin's irregularities and silent sounds are already annoying. for starters, pinyin would use spaces, unlike chinese characters, so the difference between two syllables separated by a space is already differentiated from two syllables merged into a single word. i imagine that a solution could be adding diacritics to consonants that have no pronunciation quality to them, their function would simply be there to differentiate homophones from each other, the most commons words could omit the diacritics. similarly, silent letters could be added to the ends of words; the most common word would be spelled normally without silent letters, and the silent letters could be added alphabetically, or maybe esthetically. alphabetically, you'd have the [word] and attach the silent letters like a suffix: [word]a, [word]b, etcetera. if certain letters are too confusing, like vowels or especially nasal consonants, then those could be skipped. there'd still definitely be enough letters without additions since the letters could be stacked: [word]b, [word]c... [word]z, [word]bb, [word]bc, etcetera.
0:17 once you are fluent and have a good understanding of the language you can start learning characters
Thank you for your videos ! I just discovered your channel and honestly you're helping a lot.
Welcome! Happy to hear that🥰
I tried twice to learn (mandarin) Chinese. In Singapore in my teens, and in Canada in my thirties. I failed both times. The only explanation I have for both failures was that I focused too early on the writing, i.e. doing the complicated thing before doing the simpler one.
You are so genuine and make me so much more relaxed to continue my chinese learning. Writing has been so difficult for me, but reading and pronunciation has come a bit easier with repetition and sentence structure practice. It's a relief to know that it's ok to not tackle writing from the get-go. I subscribed and look forward to learning more from you! 谢谢
Heyyy, glad to have you here!
I've only started the past few weeks due to my new obsession of Chinese drama and so far, the only thing I'm struggling with are the characters. I have a poor memory so no doubt I'll never master this beautiful language when it comes to those but that doesn't deter me away from trying to learn at least. :P
it's not so hard how you think about it, I assure you) when you look at the Chinese text, you are horrified, but in fact it is not so scary
Take it easy, you aren't gonna go to China in 2 weeks for you to be scared.
Can you recommend some interesting Chinese series?
@@mayanlogos92 general's lady, my little Happiness, Put your head on my shoulder, flaming heart
@@mayanlogos92 Empresses in the Palace(alt name Legend of Zhen Huan) and Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace are the best historical harem ones in my opinion, Ruyi's Royal Love even more so but it's sad. Not bad but sad.
I feel like there's one pillar you're not pointing out which is the most important in my opinion, that is Listening.
Having to listen a lot, makes it easier to speak and sometimes write, because you create the foundation for all those difficult phonemes Chinese has, so I feel like the main focus should be on listening, then reading and then either writing or speaking.
Yes, first 3 months I just listened to spotify 😁 now I'm learning characters
I am taking the first method, I am learning how to pronounce and read the characters (which for me it has become like a combined exercise that I do simultaneously) and it’s now, when I already have a level (HSK 2~3), that I am starting to try to learn how to write the characters. I really struggle with writing characters, I can barely fully remember all strokes for; 我, 是 and my Chinese name. I don’t quite give too much importance to writing since I don’t see myself using it in any situation at all in my future. Just by being able to know the pronunciation and how to recognise the characters when reading I think it’s enough for me, because when I write in the computer or my phone, I use pinyin.
When I think a character is difficult, I make sure to learn the radicals first. I like www.archchinese.com
Difficult to recall character from stroke. It is easy to write part.
Using drawing method ㄣ, or フ，L J to FORM 与与马写鸟与吗妈 勺 鸟乌鸦,呜. ㄣ denote bird leg, or horse, pen .counter check with handphone keyboard
If forget use voice input
For foreigners using draw method , using two L 7, to draw 口，then try to draw three 囗，唱喝吃哭叫吻 曰目白 由早 四回西 胃旧申...，then filled up to form 吕,串，石，check handphone software, using voice inputs?n. together
I agree 💯 with this! I have been learning Mandarin on my own and with a few friends from China and this is how I have been learning. I feel like learning 2 word a day and listening to Chinese podcasts at work and while I'm driving helps me alot. Then when I have time to practice the characters either online for from pen or brush then that helps too. I feel after almost 2 years I have some good basics but I feel I still have about 7 more years to go then I would feel confident visiting China. Best language to learn for us older people, it is good for brain memory and it is interesting.
Fun fact for second language learners: real life Chinese users use pinyin ALL. THE. TIME.
Why? Because they use phones and keyboards to enter information. They key in the pinyin without the tones then select the appropriate simplified character/word.
Frankly, it's a lot more important to learn to READ Chinese characters unless you are going to be attending school in China.
Jayden Wong does airline reviews in English then the same review in Mandarin - worth checking out
You’re an excellent teacher!
I just found your channel yesterday and I'm so happy I did! So far, it's been such a huge help for all different aspects of learning! Thank you so much for dedicating your time to help people like me, who are really interested in learning Chinese but don't exactly know how to walk that path alone!
You really explain the methods very well. Thank you for sharing. 😊
the characters are not necessary, pinyin is better
I went to a Chinese school here in the Philippines and for me, it's easier to write it first because it helps me recall the pronunciation of the word and the meaning.
I am with you Keen. Do you plan to take the HSK exam?
Speaking, reading 📖 and writing ✍️ are not as difficult 😣 as LISTENING/ hearing
and understanding quickly!
I can’t (yet) hear 👂
then comprehend 🤔
long sentences,
without at least
pausing after each phrase
to break it down little by little.
Thank you so much ☺️
for all the work you do for us!
I love your patient attitude.
I’m enjoying learning Chinese.
It interlaces music, 🎶 🎶
art and story concepts
in such an interesting
and meaningful way!
我们开始吧!
Wǒmen kāishǐ ba!
Lit: We - start - how about?
Trans: Let’s start! Here we go!
Young man... you are a good teacher!
Wow I loved how u broke this down it made everything so much more organized and less stressful when u feel like you have hit a block in ur leanring
Thanks for the video ! Do you think it is still important to learn how to write chinese characters ? With all the technology we have today, don't you think learning pinyin is enough ?
Great question! You should never only rely on Pinyin. The first reason is that you'll never learn a character well when you only have to recognize it as opposed to produce it from memory. Secondly, learning to write the characters will give you a better understanding of the language. You'll find that Chinese characters aren't just random strokes and there's a lot of patterns and meanings in them!
What word banks should I start with ??
Some might prefer to write first because they enjoy it. I spend a lot of time writing characters because the tactile hand movement helps me remember faster. There is another factor: deciding between learning traditional and/or simplified. I studied simplified for years because I worked in mainland for 12 years. Now I am in Taiwan and about 25% of the simplified characters I know are not used here. Some of these characters are similar looking but most are completely different. I now have to learn a new character set. So I have to re-learn that 25%. So a good strategy for me is to learn both at the same time. Also, I started learning standard Mandarin (Putonghua) before coming to Mainland China. When I got to my city I was told that the natives did not speak putonghua but instead used a local dialect. This dialect was nothing like putongha and the locals did not understand anything I said. This appliced mainly to the older generation. The people under 40 ish could swith to putonghua because it was required in school. Another advantage of learning characters is that in China you will see them constantly and be reminded of the words you are learning, -just as ABC said; 'you start recognizing patterns'
Coming from a background of studying Japanese kanji first, I find it difficult to form tone associations with characters that I'm already used to in Japanese. Also, you mentioned characters like the "enter" word rù that is more obscure in Chinese. It's a really common character in Japanese kanji, so the difference in which characters are rarer and which ones are more common can be pretty dramatic sometimes. It has taken me years to get past some of this confusion, but I feel like I'm finally starting to overcome it a bit.
Thank you! This was very informative and it's nice to know that taking it slowly while learning a language, or most things, is okay! (Which I had no doubts on that but hearing that is another thing!)
This guy I need to follow! I'm currently learning Chinese I struggle a lot as I only started few months ago
Best quote!! "Shame on you if you are discouraging anyone from a new language..."
People be like “U R A 4 EN NERD DOESNT MATTER IF U SPEAK OUR LANG GLITCH U WIL NAT BE 1 OF US” and then wonder why their language is dying.
Pinyin gets on my nerves because I don't find "cài" helpful when the sound is "tye." I'll switch off the pinyin and just read characters for that reason, which is more important anyway. 😅
If I don't learn the character, neither the sound nor the meaning get stuck in my mind. Pinyin confuses me a lot (as a native Spanish speaker, letters sound very different) so I switched to Bopomo which I find it a better tool for pronunciation, it kinda works as an alphabet for me.
But I have to learn the characters to remember everything. I don't know why. Maybe because I have a stronger visual memory. The thing is that I'm much better at reading and writing than speaking (at which I really suck...😭)
謝謝你老師！
Started learning hanzi after 6-7 months of learning the language. When I finished the entire Duolingo course I just felt like "the time has come" :)
So in a couple of months I've practiced writing over 300 characters, and everyday I feel more and more comfortable doing it.
Here's what my learning experiece looked like:
1-3 Months: learning new words, understanding the grammar, using pinyin only
4-6 Months: started naturally noticing and learning the tones, getting deeper into grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, pinyin predominantly
7-9 Months: started naturally noticing and learning the characters, connecting them to my basis, practicing writing and all the other stuff I've already learned
Since I already have the experience of learning a foreign language, English in particular, I kinda did this intuitively, I mean skipping stuff that I don't feel comfortable with.
My everyday routine now is like this - 15 minutes for phrases, 15 minutes for new characters, 15 minutes for the writing, plus some random online content.
I dunno what to expect next, but my guess is I will start recognizing radicals naturally :)
NOT speaking, reading and writing! Listening and speaking are what counts. Therefore get that BEFORE you attack reading and, god forbid, writing.
Thank you so much @ABChinese keep it up! 💯
I am Chinese in Fujian, but until Primary School, I can't speak Chinese, can't write Chinese Characters. Because Chinese have a lot of dialect. It's so interesting...
I appreciate the logic in the steps you suggest that l follow. Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless China and the Chinese.
I'm really thanks to much for recommend us how to learn Chinese
I’ve just started learning Chinese and I’m dyslexic. I’m glad to see videos like this as I’m putting so much pressure on myself to learn characters and behind my peers in class. The language is fascinating and enjoyable.
I’ve spent about 100,000 hours studying English humor and Western culture, and many years studying Chinese culture. My native language is Chinese. I teach Chinese in humorous way and with cute pictures.
Hope somebody recommend my videos to those who want to learn Chinese.
This wisdom doesn't only apply to learning chinese. You may adapt it to other fields, like medicine
Honestly, I find it much easier to go completly oposite way. Speaking and listening chinesse it 10x more difficult than writing it down or recognizing characters.
I find it always difficult to understand when people separate reading and writing from “the language“. Unless you are illiterate to begin with I think they go together. I speak 2 foreign languages and I never learned to read/write them and I always have been confused when people said things like “I understand/read but can’t speak” so I usually just took it as they are still learning or they brag they speak but they actually don’t
I'd argue strongly that the Aural aspect of learning Chinese is probably the most important for new learners. Learning the sounds and rhythms of the language make reading and speaking easier to accomplish. Writing should be the last thing you attempt, but even among native speakers how quickly people begin to write can vary. Linguistically speaking, the typical order is listen, speak, read, write. Expression precedes production.
I have trouble listening.......so fast and tough to make out the vocabulary.
@@toddjohnson271 Practice is the only thing that works.Think about it another way: babies listen to people around them talk for at least a year, more like three, before they can understand and reply to most of what they hear.
@@cmaven4762 yup.....
I agree. People learn to speak their native language before they learn to read. Makes sense to do that as an adult, especially so you don't feel overwhelmed.
I agree. People learn to speak their native language before they learn to read. Makes sense to do that as an adult, especially so you don't feel overwhelmed.
Does Vehicle Plates in the China are somehow Latin-Only as given ISO standard? and Where these Chinese characters are used in Your Home Made Vehicles.
I've noticed that advanced Chinese learners are often really toxic. I personally don't care, my learning isn't based on them, but it's crazy because natives seem pretty cool with it and helpful, but learners are kinda nuts. When learning Spanish, learners and natives were always both chill. I don't know what it is about Chinese learners that makes them that way.
Wow your videos are amazing I just loved them but I have a problem with recognizing the characters
I just looking forward A guy who wanna learn chinese and i want to learn english.Let's do language exchange.
Do you recommend learning traditional or simplified characters?
I've actually enjoyed writing the characters more than learning the actual language haha. But I know I have to actually know what they mean and everything
2:58 The 'r' sound in Mandarin isn't that hard, it's like the 's' in 'usual' but with your tongue curled back.
Since chinese characters are built based on easily recognizable patterns, why are these patterns not taught extensively in school?
I just subscribed yesterday.. And I just learned two words from Doulingo which are nihao and zaijian. (I can pronounce them also learned how to write them in chinese, and then I felt proud of myself. 😂)
I felt encouraged to learn more Chinese because of what you've said on this video. Thanks I'll follow your tips.
你好 I hope you have a lot of fun learning Chinese! I highly recommend adding a Chinese keyboard on to your phone and/or computer and learn how to use it. Basically you type the pinyin or even just the first letter of it. So for nihao I just typed nh and the characters popped up. It is a great way to be able to continue to practice. I just open the note app on my phone and type sentences, or the vocab that I am working on that day.
Also, another really cool app for learning Chinese is Lingodeer it is very similar to Duolingo in the way it teaches, but I think it does a better job explaining the language.
Good luck I hope you continue to have lots of fun learning this really cool language. 再见
It doesn't take genius to know China has dumb outdated Chinese writing which is hard to learn n use. I knew this when i was 16 year old im 61 now when i was introduced to learn Vietnamese writing i found out so easy only take me few hour my older brother 22 said i must know Vietnamese writing because i live in Vietnam but i hate Vietnamese language due i look down Vietnamese due they were so poor n my Chinese side looked down on them too n i thought Vietnamese writing was ugly too just wiggling curving up n down. After few days i tried learn to read n write by myself after help from my brother due i love reading intellectual subjects like civilization culture history capitalism communist USA China etc... Then i ask my old brother why China don't use alphabet too because alphabet writing is so easy learn. 10 year ago Chinese said Chinese language sound different than English so we can't use alphabet then i later yeah but Vietnamese don't sound like English nor France but we all use alphabet fine that mean Chinese language can adopt alphabet for writing too. Then Chinese say we do use alphabet too. Then we Chinese still use dumb outdated Chinese writing for. Alphabet pin yin is for help to know sound of each word. Then Chinese say but each word has many sound n many meaning so we can't use alphabet. Vietnamese language has many words same sound but many meaning too so English inventions investment intelligence instead in n out into information buy bye bi by. Anyway just tiny percentage words like that. Dumb Chinese politicians n people many Chinese use dumb excuses too. Why China has over 1.4 billions people don't know they use dumb writing which make Chinese dumb ignorant shy square slow small short scare. 50 millions Chinese oversea too beyond me they too dumb to know yet n Chinese are very smart too to accomplish lot in China Taiwan n oversea too im confused.
Your explanation is on point and very clear. A very good job! Thank you for making this video.
I'm so happy my goal is only to understand chinese, so I can watch my favourite shows even if IQiyi screws up the english subtitles xD
Same 😂
Xiexie laoshi
Is there somewhere I can look up the origins of the characters?
I wondered why 他 and 也 looked similar but didn't know why they ended up in the current state.
I wonder what the first part of 她 means if the first part of 他 refers to people.
I found a list that separates characters by grade level. Do you think it would be a good idea to use something like this to learn characters? It looks like it provides a good foundation and progressively gets harder.
drive.google.com/file/d/1ZYegIHad5Dn8SRASd0FakOWtejjEBgt-/view
That's perfect! It looks like the standard lists for elementary students in China
Now I realize how hard that foreigners learning Chinese. Wish anyone who is learning Chinese the best!!
I actually learnt characters well before learning any Chinese, only learning the meaning. The first ones I learnt were 木 (tree) and 火 (fire), after which I picked up some more from anime (ones that are the same in both systems) and also random sources like one TEDx talk on teaching Chinese characters, earning me 日 (sun), 月 (moon), 人 (person),本 (source), 林 (woods), 森 (forest), 山 (mountain), 川 (river), and 水 (water), among others (including a few numbers).
This actually made it super easy to learn and recognize characters when I started learning because I already had the idea of the script being separate from the get-go and Chinese became a simple language like any other for me. Actually still don't know how to say some of those in Chinese, made it kinda hard to write them 😂
I’m not sure how it’s in Chinese, but in Japanese 日 is more like “day” and 本 is “book “ maybe in Chinese has a different meaning. It’s a bit hard in the beginning but the more characters you learn it gets easier to recognise and learn new ones. Don’t give up.
@@Anderson_101 In Chinese, 日 can also mean "day", and I did learn to interpret "sun" in this dual way, like one day _is_ one sun. So I would read 毎日 as "every sun", character by character and still understand the whole thing as "everyday", just a bit more fantasy sounding 😁. It's similar in Chinese where the word 天 (sky/heavens) is used more for "day" over 日, but I can read 每天 as "every heaven" and still understand the sentiment of "everyday".
For 本, I understand it as "source", but I do know the "book" definition in Japanese. These two characters I actually learned from the word 日本 (Japan) as "source of the (rising) sun" 🇯🇵 but I did find it fun to learn 本 could mean "book" as well because it makes a lot of sense 😁. In Chinese, the character 书 (書) is used for book, but 本 is the measure word (super easy to remember 😁), so “三本书” = "three books".
@@stephenwaldron2748 thanks for the reply, I'm studying Japanese and I find very interesting the similarities and differences between the two languages.
@@Anderson_101 本 also means origin. 日本 in chinese and Japanese translates to Sun's origin.
谢谢您，let me know what do you recommend when listening, for early beginners
I'm learning the characters as i go but i don't stress if i don't remember them I'll just write it down and add it to my revision list
Add: Don’t get hooked up on not regonise the characters in chinese like the Tones r hard probably the one going down going up ans down and flat is the easy tones ig of you can study the Meaning and hanzi first before the Tones like - or maybe / up maybe down \ or slanted
0:51 don't start with Pinyin .... try to memorize words and phrases in context and if you want to write something down use your own system
A tip: The easy Things to learn is writing Hanzi and meaning
Another tip: to understand the meaning of diffrent tones
Another tips: the Reading Vacbulary in Chinese especially the tones r hard to learn so learn more characters i chinese first before the Tones
There is one point that you do not cover. Why you learn.
The important part for me is that I would like to be able to read Chinese text used in everyday life. To be able to speak and write would be nice, but reading is really the focus for what I want to learn. Your guide to learning is still valid, and are basically how I have done it so fare. I find the videos I have seen so fare on your channel very helpful and easy to follow.
Tip: if you don’t regonise the charathers whole hanzi Tones they are 4 tones in chinese unless you actually remeber because chinese have no alfabet
Tip: you should understand all Tones in chinese is the Gramar are best to learn than the pronunciation
I'm going to use this method, thank you very much!
Chinese characters have tone information like in chinese pinyin?
zhuyin is better im told by my teacher to learn proper pronounciation
Interesting..I actually find that writing the characters hugely helps me to memorise them, so it never occurred to me to decouple the reading and writing steps. But we all have different brains, I suppose :D
ऋआनब्य हिंदी इस हरड़ तों लर्न Hindi is hard
Listening is the most important form of practice, and should take up the bulk of any learner's study time. Personally I started with characters immediately, and listen with closed captions in characters alone, but I was coming from having some Japanese literacy, and I enjoy working with characters for their own sake: it is very enjoyable to practice my 楷書 and 行書 with brush pens and brushes, and I feel accomplished when I get the proportions just right.
It's nice starting with characters when you're coming from Japanese, even if Japanese often uses chinese words that are old, and obscure in modern dialects. For example 他人[たにん] means something like "a stranger" or "strangers" in Japanese, whereas in Mandarin 他人[ㄊㄚ ㄖㄣˊ] basically means "others", whereas 他[ほか] on its own is usually means "another" or "other" in the adjective sense, it only rarely means this in Mandarin as 他[ㄊㄚ/ ㄊㄨㄛ] it only means this in formal contexts. 探索[たんさく] means something pretty similar to 探索[ㄊㄢˋ ㄙㄨㄛˇ], 設定[せってい] is basically identical to 設定[ㄕㄜˋ ㄉㄧㄥˋ] (在台灣國語).
Also 入 is a very common character in Japanese, and also I end up using it in Chinese because I work on 輸入法[日]/入力方法[中], and such, so read the character a lot.
P.S. Chinese is waaaaaaaaaaaay easier to learn than Japanese, and a lot easier to remember. Despite studying very little, and not studying for the last six months, I can easily remember how to type 「不會打字簡體字，所以正體字用啦」and have somebody understand, even if it is a bit funny sounding; but it took a lot longer to get there with Japanese.
This is easily one of the best(!) videos on how to learn Chinese characters I’ve ever seen! Amazing! Thank you! 👏👏👏
Speaking, reading and writing, but not listening. That alone tells me you're no expert in language learning. You seem nice enough, but why pretend you know more than you actually do?
I never said I was an expert in language learning, and the video is about learning Chinese characters, which a lot of people struggle with. You can't "listen" to Chinese characters, but you do need to know how to pronounce them to internalize them. But thanks for the feedback, I do appreciate it!
@@ABChinese Thank you for your reply. In your video you said (at 1.29) "When we talk about the learning a language, we're really talking about three separate components. We're talking about speaking reading and writing." That's simply not correct. Secondly, if you can 'speak' the sounds associated with the characters, you can also listen to them. Speaking and listening are equally important in this context.
Oh I see, well it’s hard to find the perfect words for these things and it usually sounds clearer in my head than how people hear it in the video🤣
@@ABChinese It's great that you are encouraging people to learn Chinese. Good luck with that.
the traditional characters are easier to learn than simplified imo
A clear logical explanation. Thanks.
This guy is an absolute genius. I've only seen two videos but he's been explaining things like a polyglot would, except the concepts are coming from a beginner prospective, meaning he not only consciously recognizes the obstacles of language learning, but is also empathetic and a great teacher/speaker. This information is beyond useful and not just limited to Mandarin. You got yourself a new sub. Keep up the great content!
Young man you are very intelligent
Do you have suggested set lists?
it feels like i’m learning the pinyin words more than the chinese characters and that’s not good so i’m trying to not pay attention to it too much because it’s like i’m learning the wrong thing
I am learning Japanese so I am facing the same challenge with 漢字 (kanji) and I really like your opinion on this.
I have another way to approche the goal to learn chinese characters: Lern how to recognize and write it first with the Book Remembering Simplified Hanzi from James W. Heisig. In the 2nd stage if you learn vocabulary you can easily write the words and are able to remember it better.
But dont get too hooked to remember every Hanzi to 100% AND this method dont work for everyone.
Hi, fellow Japanese learner here.
My method was to learn Hiragana first, then memorize the characters from the Jojõ kanji from the Japanese government by writing them until I learn them in sets of 10.
I write kanji in my notebook an hour a day, and I spend another hour studying grammar.
Hope this adds up to learning strategies. Take care.
Thanks sir. It was really useful. May Allah bless you
I enjoy reading this relief in comments below :D Thank you! Your videos are very helpful and/or interesting. I like that when you speak Chinese, you speak with naturall speed (unlike many others), because tones do sound otherwise in natural speech... I only wish you talk Chinese more often :D but anyway, while you don't, I still can practice English listening, all win for me lol
I appreciate your video. For the 1st method you suggest, I don't fully understand what you mean by learn to speak, learn to read since you would be reading in both cases if you are looking at hanzi on a card. Do you mean learn to pronounce and then second learn the meaning? Maybe an example would make it clearer. Thank you!
does it mean you are first looking at pinyin only?
How do you create a set of characters by their difficulty if you are Learning the language and don’t know the characters. 🤔
学习汉字最快的办法还是加笔画变字，添加笔画变字，这样认识字就很快，add radical to see more character. Add radical to人 →大，天，太。大→头，买，卖，实在，读书。人→火，灭，灾。一变10。十变100。
谢谢你，我是华文老师，您的tips很有用。😁
Thanks for a very practical and encouraging video. I'm a beginner on Mandarin and finding progress slow but the language fascinates and intrigues me. I already speak 5 languages in addition to my native English but Mandarin presents challenges of a whole new order.
I used to work with a man who spoke seven languages fluently. People like you who can speak so many languages are truly blessed. And encouraging to the rest of us. Thank you.
Please create more handwriting character videos. :)
Nice video! :)
Bhai I phone me vidmate Mahi a raga hai
Very useful information. This will ease my frustration of learning all at the same time. Something I have found impossible to do. Thanks
Awesome! Glad to hear it 🙃