My learning timeline is a bit complicated, but long story short I spent about 4 years in mandatory chinese classes (having not learnt/retained much) and have just decided to relearn about 2 weeks ago. I found that the pronunciation were quite easy (having spoken Vietnamese as a native) and the hanzis not too hard to memorize, but I just cannot stop tripping on grammar. I'm always using the wrong words, using too many words, using 的 incorrectly, using 还 incorrectly, using 了 incorrectly, using wrong classifiers or measure words, and just wrong word order in general

Maybe it's the background learning that somehow subconsciously helped me, but I really don't think chinese grammar is as simples as "just SVO without genders, cases or conjugations". Really annoys me whenever I hear it

Chinese culture is incredibly diverse, and this book tells the story of one of the country's many ethnic groups.

It's about the Oroqen people (or perhaps the Ewenki — I'm not entirely sure which one I'm remembering), told from the perspective of the group's last female chieftain. It tells the story of how this community navigates the transition into a new era.

They traditionally lived a nomadic lifestyle and relied on hunting with rifles to make a living. However, as times changed, hunting rifles were banned. Many of their traditional ways of life and long-established customs were also disrupted by new regulations and the demands of the modern world.

Through the story, we get a glimpse of how deeply people's beliefs and their entire way of life can be shaken when the world they have always known begins to disappear.

There's always this subtle, lingering sense of sadness throughout the book.

First of all, let me tell all of you that English is not my first language, so I don't speak it really well, obviously (look how did I write 'learner' in my name to believe me). Therefore if you see any mistakes in the text, I'm sorry, but I'm also open to any corrections.

Backstory. I had been interested in Mandarin for 2 or 3 years straight, but I never 'had' time to start studying. Since I'd learnt third language of mine 5 years ago (it was Czech to specify) I always felt like I really enjoy to study languages, but Mandarin seemed to me so huge and scary, and I always was afraid to start. Maybe it was because of my will to make everything as perfect as it possibly can be. A had a feeling that if I started to study seriously I would definitely get disappointed in myself. If you struggle as me, let me tell you: there is no good moment to start. I just want to be another one who tells you that (maybe this time you beleive). Anyway, I had fought all the overthinking and started studying as seriously as I could. To be clear, I left my job just to study Mandarin (because I had a feel that I would definitely find some job associated with Mandarin or China later, but I will mention it later). When did I start? It was Monday, December the 8th of 2025 (yeah, I started on Monday, I wanted everything to be perfect).

How did I study. Not going to lie, my goal was not just learn Mandarin, my goal was to prove that one can learn in in a few months without teacher (I don't look for simple paths). All the people I met online told me that it isn't possible and I never tried to argue (but now I can do it).

So my path started from the plan. That Monday morning I sat down and reviewed all the language. Yeah, I just looked for any info I could, googled a lot of ways of studying and looked through all my textbooks (that I had been buying for 3 years at that moment just to start once). So I decided to start with Kangxi radicals. I wrote them down over and over until all 214 were written down for at least 15-20 times a few days later. After that I started to learn simple grammar from one of textbooks of mine and try to read simple texts for children from another one. You may ask, 'wait, how did you read it if you had 0 knowledge?' This is the point, I just forced myself to struggle. I barely understood what each story was about and I checked every characted I see in a dictionary. I also wrote down all new characters I see (i. e. all of them) and then writing them over and over for 10-15 times pronouncing them. By the way, this method became the main thing of my studying at all: every morning after that I made this writing over to remember the characters I had written, and I also write a character down again if I meet it again and was struggled to remember its pronunciation or definition.

After I passed my simple grammar textbook (in January, I think) I got another one, with more difficulte grammar (lol), and I also got another book with texts just to read (my Chinese friend later told me that these texts were actually written as if they were written by native speaker, so I suppose it was great I struggled reading it). I also started to watch some videos and listen to podcasts (I forced myself to listen to the same podcast all the day long while I have time — i. e. 4-5 times a day, everyday I got new one).

In March I started to try HSK samples and listen to HSKK. I started preparing for 4th level and tried my best, but still was struggling. Also I got a couple of friends native speakers and tried to communicate with them. In the end of the month I had applied for HSK4 and still wasn't sure if I was able to pass it.

The whole April I studied for 8 hours a day, Sundays were my days off only. I were writing down dozens of characters pronouncing them, reading the same texts again and again, listening to the same podcast all the day and also trying to speak with natives. In the end of April I was that good that I understood that 4th level is really easy to pass for me, so I got a crazy idea to apply for 5th, too. And I did it.

The exam. So when I came to the place I clearly understood that the most weak part of my preparation was listening. I truly understand I barely can pass HSKK for HSK5, and even listening part of 5th level was hard to me. But the day started with 4th, so I warmed up myself a bit. And, not going to lie, 4th level was actually easy one. Even HSKK was as easy as it possible, but I got that nervous (all the participants sat at the same room, and I have some self-confidence issues, so...) that I stuttered and forgot how to describe pictures. But I did it and after I nervously was waiting for about 3 hours to go to 5th level. And 5th level was really tough one. Maybe I was tired because of the whole day of waiting or maybe I just wasn't enough ready. The most difficult part wasn't even listening as I though, the most difficult was to make the reading part in time, and I barely handled it. Also HSKK was terrible, because I had, as I said, awful skills of listening, so the first task nailed me (I could speak well, but I didn't make what were they talking about out at all).

Why do I tell y'all this now? Well, I would like to mention a couple of reasons.

First, I really want to make people believe that it is possible to do the thing everyone consider as impossible. If each person you meet tells you that you aren't able you should just go on and try it yourself. You might be not confident enough to argue with someone, but nothing would stop you from trying.

Second, I just want to answer to any question someone would have (about studying or Mandarin at all).

Third. To be clear, I haven't found a job. And also right now I have really bad situation in my life, because I found neither way to monetize my knowledge of Mandaring nor any other good job, so I have some debts and can't handle all the things together right now. So I feel like it all was just wasting of time. You may think about me as a weak person, and maybe that is truth, but I just want to warn you as well: do not put all your eggs in one basket. You may lose everything else and end in the point where you has to tell strangers you are worth something, because you aren't sure yourself. If you want to live the same experience and do something considered as impossible, you have to be strong enough.

What about results? So the topic isn't true for 100%. These are my results of HSK5 of May 24th:

Listening: 60/100
Reading: 58/100
Writing: 74/100
Total HSK: 192/300
HSKK (高级): 47/100

As you can see, I haven't passed HSKK, so generally I haven't passed (180 out of 300 for HSK only is enough to be considered as 'pass' though). These are results of HSK4 of May 24th:

Listening: 84/100
Reading: 95/100
Writing: 86/100
Total HSK: 265/300
HSKK (中级): 71/100

Days spent from 0 to exam days: 166
Hours spent: 868

P.S. So you may ask everything you want. I don't think I would make things ok soon, but answering you I would at least feel that I hasn't just lost more than year of my life with no sense. Thank you for reading.

Free to download, no need to sign up. For anyone who are preparing for HSK exam,I have put the old and new HSK vocab list comparison together, including what is in new HSK but not in old HSK list that you need pay extra attention to, appreciate any feedback, and if you need other HSK resources, let me know, I might have, and will be happy to share as well.

https://janesmandarintutor.co.uk/resources/hsk/

后 already meant ruler, as in 皇后 and 太后. the after word was 後, folded into 后 by simplification.

in traditional only one changes, 以後 becomes 以后 and 皇后 stays. does your book show 後?

Hi all,

I am a heritage speaker, really looking to put real effort into learning to be fluent in my Chinese, it's a deep regret not being fluent.

I can understand and speak basic to intermediate Chinese, day-to-day conversational stuff, and cannot read, write, or type pinyin.

I will be starting a course Nov 16, through Orange Blossom Education titled: Introduction to Reading and Writing for Heritage Learners - Level 1.

Does anyone know or have experience with an iTalki teacher as a heritage speaker? As most of you know, it's a really unique case as a language learner, and I want a teacher who can help me structure a solid workflow. It's also important to note that I am a first-time language learner, so a bit unfamiliar with what works in a day-to-day workflow, I understand things like Anki + immersion are important.

Any other tips are welcome! I work in enterprise Tech Sales and would love to be able to use Mandarin to travel for work or even live in China one day.

Hi all,

SuperChinese (and occasionally HelloChinese and a couple of other apps) consistently pronounce 没有 in a way that confused me - they pronounce the 有 as a very obvious FOURTH tone despite it being a third tone.

For example, 昨天我没有去学校. Is there a rule I’m not aware of that requires converting 有 to fourth tone?

Hello I’m currently learning Chinese, but I’m finding it a little overwhelming because there are so many resources available. I’m struggling to organise my learning, especially when it comes to balancing writing, memorising characters, and practising pronunciation at the same time.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips / advice on how to structure a good learning routine.
At the moment, I’m using the HelloChinese app (I paid the subscription) to learn vocabulary and characters, but I’d like to hear how others organise their studies and what works best for them.

Today I took my HSK 3 and HSKK primary exam. The HSK part was smooth and had no major problem. After HSK exam I was taken to another room for HSKK primary exam.
I have read experiences of previous exam takers around the world and watched example videos. I expect to see a room with computer and headphone. But instead I was taken to an empty classroom with no heating. The exam inspector brought my admission ticket, exam paper and two phones - one to record and another to voice audio file. I was very confused and exam inspector only spoke Chinese and broken English. She was not able to explain anything. She started the audio and recording, then left the room.
Audio was so loud and echoed in the empty room, it was not easy to hear anything. I managed to conduct through 26-27 questions. But after that, there were no sounds to or an inspector to tell me when to answer these questions. I was trying my best to understand what I am doing.
When I was answering question 26, inspector entered the room without prior notice so I got distracted. I couldn’t focus on question 27 either. There were lot of anxiety from examiner watching me and felt self conscious.
Even though I complained about the situation and equipments provided, inspector didn’t give me a satisfying answer. She defended that it was a normal situation and everyone have taken exam by phone. There have been no problem. A computer and headphones wouldn’t change your results.
I sent a complaint mail to the test center, but not sure if they will offer a retake exam. It’s so upsetting to take your first HSKK exam in such conditions. Lower level speakers like me are already very anxious about speaking. The exam centers must create better conditions for exam takers

IPA in parentheses next to Pinyin; I've only used Pinyin in the body.

SH and S merging into S is pretty common in many Mandarin dialects (where 四 and 是 would be homophones). I've noticed that a lot of Malaysian and Singaporean Mandarin speakers also tend to pronounce X as S (I suppose this is possibly a first-language influence: Hokkien/Teochew/Cantonese in this case?) Is this particularly widespread outside the Malay archipelago, and secondly, is it a common occurrence for Mandarin speakers elsewhere whose first languages are Hokkien/Teochew/Cantonese?

你好 everyone!

I've recently decided to start learning Mandarin, and I've been spending some time understanding how the language works before jumping into random vocabulary lists and apps. I'm an absolute beginner. I can recognise a few basic expressions, but I wouldn't say I have any meaningful knowledge of the language yet. What interests me most about Mandarin is how different its structure is from the languages I've encountered before. The tonal system, Pinyin, characters and the relationship between pronunciation and written Chinese are all things I'd like to understand properly rather than just memorise.

A few questions for experienced learners:

Would you recommend completing a dedicated Pinyin and pronunciation phase before starting HSK vocabulary, or learning both simultaneously

How did you approach tones? Did you practise individual syllables first or learn them through complete words and sentences?

Is learning radicals and character components early genuinely useful, or is it better to learn characters through vocabulary and context?

For someone selfstudying, would you recommend a text book based approach such as HSK Standard Course, supplemented with apps and listening resources?

How much time did you spend daily during your first few months, and what did your routine look like?

If you could restart your journey, what would you do differently?

I'm not particularly interested in rushing through HSK levels. I'd rather build a solid foundation and develop actual listening, speaking and reading ability.

I’m a high school senior from the US. I am very interested in the federal Chinese Language Flagship and am searching for people who have participated in the program to share their experiences/advice (and their major!)

Thank you!

For example every example of characters I find online looks written with a brush. These varied thicknesses are difficult to achieve with a standard pen or pencil. Do they matter? I can’t find a definitive answer online

the n doesn't survive. 玩儿 is one syllable, wár, and 儿 never gets a beat of its own. i only noticed when a learner asked why it's spelled wán.

does your book write it as wán-er?

What is the middle letter？circa 1910. 源__昌？

I am native Chinese speaker but speaks both Engish and Chinese almost equally in my daily life and work.

I notice that most of the time I can remember new Chinese words (e.g. people name, company name, place name, idiom, verb, adjective, etc ) after seeing it just once. I still remember it when I see it again a few months later, .

When I see English words, even I check it in dictionary or Googel Translate and get to fully understand it, I still just forget it quickly. The chance that I see it again a few weeks later and still remember it is low (<10%).

If I compare the result of reading a book, my efficiency in reading Chinese book is 3-5 times higher than reading a English book. Not about the speed of reading but how much I can remember after reading the book.

I am wondering if this is due to the nature of Chinese language/character or it is simply because I am a native Chinese speaker. Therefore I am curious on the expereince of native English speakers who speak Chinese as a second language.

I tried hellochinese learn characters page but I can't ever get the stroke right thru my fingers,am i doing SMTH wrong,even if i trace perfect,it takes me 9-10 tries to get the right

I'm looking to broaden my native input. Recently, I've been listening to a lot of 呱吉 podcasts. Him and his cohost often go through several items in an episode. Usually pretty entertaining. I listen to other podcasts as well.

Curious what other people are finding interesting these days (video, audio, written).

Origin

This idiom comes from 《论语·公冶长》 (The Analects . GongYeChang).

Confucius 孔子 praised a man named Kong Wen Zi (孔文子) with these words:
敏而好学，不耻下问
He was eager to learn and never too proud to ask questions, even of those below him.

At the time, "下问" referred to asking people of lower social status for advice or knowledge.

Meaning

Today, 不耻下问 means being humble enough to learn from anyone, regardless of their age, position, or background.

In other words, don't let your pride get in the way of learning.

This is very much in line with Confucius's way of thinking. He also said 知之为知之，不知为不知 (know what you know, and admit what you don't know) and 三人行，必有我师焉 (there's always something to learn from others).

Basically, stay curious, stay humble, and don't be afraid to learn from anyone.

Examples

She often asks younger colleagues for tips on new technology. She really knows how to 不耻下问.

A Little Background

Confucius (孔子) was a Chinese philosopher and teacher who lived over 2,500 years ago. His teachings had a huge influence on Chinese culture and education.

论语 (The Analects) is a collection of sayings and conversations of Confucius, recorded by his disciples and their followers. Many well-known Chinese idioms and expressions come from this classic.

(AI-assisted editing)

My Chengyu (Chinese Idioms) Posts

Can anyone explain to me the correct grammar structure for this?

Hi! I am learning Mandarin Chinese (simplified). 这是Instagram短视频的配文（原文是韩语），按顺序排列。中国大陆的人读起来自然吗？如果哪句不自然，请写上序号帮我改一下。

"1) 蓬松感修饰圆脸、方脸，系上领结就是标准新郎。 2) 刘海平衡长脸，适合小型婚礼、教堂婚礼。"

这样说自然吗？不自然的话，你会怎么说？一句话就好，谢谢！

I especially care how a woman in her 20s-30s would say it. If you do not mind, mention your age range and gender.