how I learned Chinese | 10 tips to fluency (resources provided)

------------CHINESE IS NOT HARD!------------
Okay, it's really not as hard as you think it is. With the right attitude and a bunch of resources you can start learning Chinese right now. I have dozens of tips, but I decided to condense a few of them into this video. I started learning Chinese back when it was hard to find good resources online, and now it's hard NOT to. So definitely take advantage of the many websites and apps that can take your Chinese to the next level.
00:00 - intro
00:37 - invest in a course or tutor
01:09 - acting out dialogue
01:49 - find a language community
02:47 mastering pronunciation
03:44 build vocabulary
05:13 study abroad/immersion program
06:40 get on Chinese social media
07:36 get over your fears
09:53 get over mental blocks
11:24 read aloud
12:32 puppy makes an appearance
12:40 speaking in Chinese
13:07 Terry makes an appearance
Tips and Resources:
1) Invest in a Program or Tutor
Online tutors:
www.italki.com
Chinese Textbook Titles:
www.amazon.com/shop/chaniece
2) Act Out Dialogue
3) Find a Chinese-Speaking Community
www.meetup.com
www.italki.com
www.hellotalk.com
4) Work on Pronunciation
Pronunciation Chart:
chinese.yabla.com/chinese-pin...
TV Shows:
Home With Kids
• #杨紫 租”狂野男孩“假扮男友 故意惹夏梅生... (turn on CC)
Movies:
Lust, Caution (Mature audiences)
Dumplings 2004 (horror movie)
Love is Not Blind (失恋三十三天)
Netflix Shows/Movies:
Dear Ex
Our Shining Days
The Wandering Earth
No Where Man
5) Build Your Vocabulary
Small Colored Index Cards with Metal Ring
www.amazon.com/Debra-Designs-...
Search: 3,000 most common Chinese characters
6) Go to China! (If you can)
Some of the top immersive programs:
The Middlebury School in China (college)
Hamilton’s Associated Colleges in China (college)
7) Chinese Social Media!
Douyin 抖音 (Tiktok)
WeChat 微信 (Facebook + WhatsApp)
Weibo 微博 (twitter)
Red Book 小红书 (instagram)
8) Don’t Be Afraid to Talk!
9)Get Rid of Mental Blocks
10) Read Books Aloud
三毛流浪记 Sanmao Liulang Ji
西游记-少年儿童版 - Journey to the West (children’s book)
www.amazon.com/Classical-Bedt...
www.amazon.com/Journey-Chines...
Not enough tips? Drop a comment below if you need more help!

[@thisischaniece]

Hey! I just learned I can set up a shop online to make it easier for those looking for Mandarin Chinese resources (www.amazon.com/shop/chaniece). It is commissioned, so feel free to check it out if you either want to see resources that I have used or if you'd like to support my channel. Thanks so much! I have a few Mandarin Chinese videos in the works--getting back into the groove of videos--so stay tuned!

[@nibi6431]

The link is broken :(

[@SardarKhan-gf8vq]

Who ai nhi

[@SenorJuan2023]

Do you do some other kind of work there, or just this KZbin Channel?

[@estherjohnson9207]

I super agree with “If you don’t know the tone, you don’t know the word” that is awesome advice to avoid developing bad pronunciation habits...

[@thisischaniece]

It really makes a huge difference if you have a strong foundation. So if you can avoid it as a beginner it's best to do that! Much, much harder to correct later on.

[@rezagrans1296]

@Esther Johnson 🐷😶🐼

[@nicodubn]

And sometimes, you may know the tone, and still don't know the word 😅😭(a bunch of 汉语 are pronounced exactly the same and have different meanings)

[@skay1992]

@@nicodubncontext is everything, lol

[@NhatLinhNguyen82]

​@@thisischaniece I have also hear people with advance vocabulary / fluency with wrong pronunciation of initials and finals, but because their tones are correct, they are well understood. However some of them are teaching Chinese to others....it drives me mad.

[@eringao3512]

As a Chinese, I know the difficulty of Chinese, just as I learn English. And I really wanna make a friend who wants to learn Chinese and whose mother tongue is English, and then we can practice together and make progress together. Learning together can be more motivating. Languages are amazing, but learning them is crazy!!!

[@greenfairy549]

How about someone who grew up learning 2 languages at the same time? Like English and Spanish

[@daphnethegamer]

I've been studying Chinese since September last year... but I didn't start studying full time on my own until like 2 months ago. I've been wanting to connect with more Chinese people to have some sort of language exchange.. or you know, friends for life is always fun!! :)

[@jackiethepianist_]

Im learning chinese right now and I speak English. Would you like to practice and learn together?

[@daphnethegamer]

@@jackiethepianist_ Sure!

[@jackiethepianist_]

@@daphnethegamer do you have snapchat by any chance?

[@italico2792]

Chiniese is a beautiful language, I also wanna learn it since I love their food. I'm still a beginner and I'm following several advices to learn in a smart way

[@thisischaniece]

Awesome! Hopefully some of this was helpful. What really expedited my process was being in situations where I was only able to use Chinese (after having a basic foundation in the language).

[@thatweirdgirlinthecorner3073]

Their food is so good but I developed an allergy to it after hitting my 20s 😥 I miss it so much

[@TheBulletPointOfASoldier]

You’re on the good track. There’s a beautiful Chinese saying which goes“兴趣是最好的老师”xìngqù shì zuì hǎo de lǎoshī. ”interest is the best teacher”. One can be the smartest, have all the tolls but can’t get the best out of want they want if they’re not fully interested. On thé other hand someone can be average at learning not having the best tools but still can achieve most of what they want if the are very interested.

[@kira5612]

This was so lovely!! I am currently learning Mandarin and taking classes on italki. For me it was just forcing myself to get over my mental block and kinda just tell myself "it's not about you" XD I am an ESL teacher and so I kind a just had to think about my students. When they speak they don't have a filter, they just say things with the words they have. If my students says a word wrong or doesn't use proper grammar I never ever would be mean or rude etc. lol So I guess thinking like that also helped and continues to help me just make lots of mistakes and keep learning. One of the sweetest moments was when I was teaching (I teach ESL to children in China) my student didn't understand the question, and so I was able to say it in Chinese and omg they were soo excited that I knew Chinese, and they understood the class assignment. It was the best feeling to see how excited and proud my students were, and I am finding that learning Mandarin is also helping me to be a better ESL teacher as well. Thanks for such a great video :)

[@419waywardkid5]

“Working on my mimicking skills” “if you don’t know the tone you don’t know the word” is such a great tip. The first language I learned with tones was Thai and it took me sooo long to master the tones cause I attempted to just speedrun it instead of taking the time to practice in a repetitive manner, I was more worried about memorizing the words instead of pronunciation. When learning Chinese, I’d use an auditory resource and, as she said in the video, I would play it back over and over until I was confident and that helped a ton

[@MatrixCoder01]

If you speak English and you learn Mandarin , I automatically assume you are smart. Not just because it's a hard language ,but because you went out of your way to do something difficult and taught yourself !!! Such an amazing accomplishment.

[@friedegg7215]

As an English learner I find that your suggestions are also helpful and constructive! It feels like any language learning has the similar core, and one language’s learning methods can always be shared to another one.

[@thisischaniece]

So glad you find them helpful!

[@lexilynch7265]

Tbh people say the language is hard because of it being a tonal language but i find it cooler and easier with it being tonal

[@thisischaniece]

Honestly the tones make it so there are only so sounds that you can even make, for me that makes things easier! I also think the tones make it a very unique and interesting language.

[@homiekeen23]

Easier?? How?! 😭😭😭😭 help 🫠🫠🫠

[@ctleung168]

You are absolutely right, Chinese is the easiest language to learn in the world for conversation purpose. But on the other hand if you want to master the artistical part of the language, that's the poetry and calligraphy you probably need a PhD equivalence.

[@thisischaniece]

Yes, have definitely heard of this. Though it's quite rare for me to meet people learning Chinese who aspire to this level! I think most people just want the ability to talk to people, watch movies, read books, etc.

[@Angel-th8yz]

作为一个中国人，我给那些想学习中文的人一些建议，就是一定要熟练掌握汉语拼音，然后再常备一本新华字典和汉语词典，接下来就是积累你的汉语词汇量，最后开始学语法

[@kkzxxc]

中文语法我自己都搞不清楚

[@tokumii3436]

this is soo well produced and put together with such good tips! thank you so much

[@diegojimenez1726]

The shows and book recommendations were exactly what I needed! Thank you so much!

[@pandaluvr222]

I love your take on learning Chinese and techniques for mastering the language. It’s so refreshing to hear✨ talking to yourself is such a good tip 🤯 I get nervous talking to my Chinese friend so I like this idea a lot!! Hopefully I can immerse myself during my last semester of learning Mandarin!

[@TheTMax]

I used the same workbooks from the intro and video🤓📙 I never thought about talking to myself as a way of learning, because I talk to myself ALL THE TIME😅 It is reassuring to hear someone else using a lot of the same techniques as me to improve in a language. Now that I'm in St Pete, FL I found some Chinese people here and started a conversation club, which is fun and helpful.

[@simk7227]

This was such a lovely and motivating video, thank you for the helpful advice!!

[@stephenreiss7181]

Great video and tips! Love the idea of pronunciation chart and signing up for Chinese social media. I think out of your list of 10, living in China/immersion would have to be weighted the greatest opportunity to learn but the other 9 were very helpful too…time to start talking to myself!

[@Theo-oh3jk]

I have studied Chinese intermittently for years. Over a decade ago, I had a year of college-level intro to Chinese. I used the traditional-set integrated Chinese 1 parts 1 and 2. I had a very confusing time because my Spanish was negatively transferring. Then, years later, I had another year of college-level intro to Chinese in another state using the simplified-set integrated Chinese 1. That went better because, even though I hadn't used any of my paltry Chinese in years, I was more familiar with it. Now I have my integrated Chinese textbooks (and I eventually want to get parts 2, 3, and 4) and I bootlegged the HSK 1-6 texts and workbooks. I also have a subscription to YoYo Chinese and Du Chinese reading. Here's the thing: my pronunciation is good, although I struggle a bit with x, q, and j. Tones are descent, especially in isolation. I sound like an absolute dork when I try to speak. Just awful. I have zero speaking competence, while my listening, reading, and writing are kindergarten level. I'm somewhat burnt out with classes (and I'm a teacher, the last thing I need is more time in a classroom), but I did do well with the structure, routine, and accountability. Learning other languages is hard, and I find that I'm losing my heritage Spanish the more I try to learn Chinese. Honestly, I'm willing to lose it (and come back to it later) in order to really pick up Chinese. I'm the poster child for demonstrating that having a lot of resources means nothing if I don't actually DO anything. I'm a little embarrassed and intimidated to really get into speaking, but I have that good ol' can-do attitude. I just need to commit my tired-ass stressed overworked self to this somewhat strenuous task. I need to study again to pick back up basic grammar, read and expand vocabulary, immerse myself the best I can in an area that doesn't have much of a Chinese community, and find online language partners and parents. I know I'm rambling, but I'm tired of collecting learning materials and watching videos about learning Chinese. I just need to do the actual work. I expect my students to find motivation and develop grit, and I know it's not easy, but it's time I did, too. I should probably have a little grace for myself, too. But I'm trying to shape up! lol I work almost 50 hours a week teaching, grading, lesson planning, babysitting :P, and attending pointless meetings. It's hard to have energy to do anything. It's that time of the year for resolutions, but, resolutions don't work; instead, I have two goals: exercise more and learn Chinese. If you made it this far, sorry, but also have a good new year (in a year that promises to be even worse than 2022 was), and I hope that you and your loved ones will be happy, healthy, and wealthy.

[@SilviaGarciaStupervitta]

I'm Silvia from Brasil and my native language is Portuguese , but I speak English , I've been studying Chinese and Korean language , Korean from 2 year and half and Chinese from one year and half . I loved your video thanks a lot ❤️ you are very nice

[@fredbyers4790]

Everything suggested is on point. I studied Mandarin in college for three years, then a post grad summer scholarship in Shanghai (Hua Dong Shi Da), but it took living and working in Taiwan for 2 years to finally have dreams in Chinese. Immersive is the key. I wish I could have gone to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. 现再我学了跟老是在詹娜大所以可刷新内存. Too bad Shanghai isn’t like it was in 1982 when I was there. It was like traveling back in time to 1945.

[@ThisisFit]

Thank you! A tremendous help and benefit to this baby Mandarin learner. I think I psyched myself out by saying Mandarin was hard all these years.

[@classesfantastiques389]

Woooow! This was super super helpful! Very practical! Thank you for sharing😍

[@juangarcia6473]

acting out dialogue is important for me, when i was learning german in college i had to ride the trolley home over an hour and frequently found myself using that time playing out scenarios in my head like talking about childhood or asking about their hobbies in detail in the way i would want to in english. it helped me learn some of the nuances and reinforce the fundamentals.

[@theriseofanime]

I did step number two while I would shower when I learned Spanish and it really helped. These are some great tips!👏

[@fernandes.ricardo]

this is such a great video! i wish your channel grows fast! :)

[@Biblicaltaylors]

Love your videos. Straight to the point

[@jmel-nw6pc]

I LOVED your video, seriously! And as a black woman, I feel so motivated cuz I don't see many black people (on KZbin at least) speaking about how learn Chinese Mandarin or talking about their lives in China. So yeah, thank you so much for that! Also, I will come back to review these tips every time I feel lost. (Is it my English grammar correct?)

[@c.stephanieberry8695]

I have seen photos and videos of Black people in China being treated like animals. Locked in their apartments and forbidden to leave, beaten and despised. I was so shocked.

[@zuozuo9192]

Yes your English grammar is great

[@penssuck6453]

Thanks for the tips, especially about that pinyin chart for pronunciation.

[@tayejnr]

Glad I found this! Awesome tips

[@Cassandra6]

Thank you so much for the resources, especially for the Yabla pronunciation chart

[@yangro2s235]

Just started en I was in a bit of a dip but OMG, I’m so motivated again. Thanks. 😃

[@apollo3446]

Great video. Been learning chinese for 3 years (university), not only it is online, because of corona, and studying chinese became a torture, but I also neglected tones at the start, and because of that now I suffer. You said it right in the video. Never underestimate tones in chinese. I was also more into grammar, which isn't bad, but my vocabulary is extremely poor. What's the point of knowing all the grammar when you don't know any words to express your thoughts :/

[@thisischaniece]

Even when it comes to learning English I always tell people the most important function of language is communication, so it's important to focus on what helps you be understood the most. It's definitely easy to get caught up on things like grammar, especially because school typically emphasizes those things when it comes to testing, etc. I can't imagine learning Mandarin online only, that's definitely not the most ideal way to learn any language. But I guess at least there are apps where you can chat with native speakers to get more of an environment. I know some people use Clubhouse (if available where you are) and join groups with people chatting in Mandarin just so they can practice listening and sometimes speaking with actual people. It will force you to improve your vocabulary.

[@apollo3446]

@@thisischaniece I'll look into clubhouse, thank you!

[@thisischaniece]

@@apollo3446 No problem!

[@edmundlubega9647]

Despite my age I will try to learn some Mandarin at the earliest convenient opportunity. I am feeling quite handicapped and out of place in this new China dominated world

[@thisischaniece]

Age is just a number! I know of people in their 80s still learning Mandarin and making improvements. It's definitely possible.

[@markbrandon7756]

You are So Smart and So Honest and So Nice a person.

[@petersayatshkin7454]

😍😍😍 soooooo perfect! You made my day ☺️ thank you very much for sharing all those ideas 😊🙏

[@thisischaniece]

I am glad you found it helpful!

[@acquiremandarin]

Your Chinese is quite fluent and you also made this video fun to watch. well done:)

[@krishnar1182]

Thanks for sharing, this is very helpful information

[@Henry-teach-Chinese-in-jokes]

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.

[@bawngtimkh9196]

One of the best videos. 谢谢你

[@gabrielle8571]

Currently learning Chinese Medicine and have been thinking about taking on the language as well. I believe it will help me immerse myself in the culture more and help with my studies. Thanks for these tips. You are absolutely gorgeous btw. 💜🌺🇨🇳

[@tymanung6382]

Internet and youtube have Chinese language instructional videos for both Western allopathic and traditional medicine. There are some bi lingual Chinese and English books, mostly published in Mainland China, for both sorts of medicines. Good luck !!! Zhu. ni, hao yunqi !!! Jia, you !!!

[@gabrielle8571]

@@tymanung6382 Thank you! 🙏🏽☯️🌺

[@JoshuaTanzer]

Hi Chaniece - Great video! I had three years of Chinese in school so I speak moderately well. I agree with pretty much everything you said here. Especially #9, Chinese is not hard! It's pretty easy! I would just re-emphasize something you said - do not skimp on learning the tone of each word. It's not a shortcut - it's a way to end up confused in the long run. On the other hand, if you do learn the tones well, Chinese people will tell you you speak so well. I have one thing to add: It's a little bit difficult to use flash cards for vocabulary because there are only two sides and you have to learn three things - the character, the pinyin and the English. I figured out some workarounds that let me quiz myself on all three things. Anyway, congratulations on moving to China, learning the language and making it work!

[@nguyenthichi7879]

i'm vietnamese and i wanna learn a little Chinese lol. so thanks a lot i can improve listening english skill and learn the way studying chinese. so great!!

[@thisischaniece]

Awesome! Glad you can do both at once :))

[@kevinli2574]

As a Chinese native speaker, speaking English as second language, and teaching my daughter reading and writing Chinese, I found this video interesting.

[@MaraLatorre]

This is really helpful thank you!!

[@jamiehush]

The reason I started learning Chinese in the first place was I was using your bonus tip to begin with :P

[@thisischaniece]

Hahaha. Hopefully lots of improvement now :)

[@aaronw2522]

This is awesome that you learned this language

[@silvane1193]

We need your hair care routine, your curly hair is so stunning

[@thisischaniece]

Aw thank you! I will write that down for a future video :)

[@jollygoodgordon5580]

too be honest living 8 years in a country is more than enough to become fluent in the language. sadly some immigrants live way longer in a country but can still barely speak the language, i notice this is because some people dont try to learn the language of the country they moved to, and they only link and mingle with other migrants from their home country this way they never become better at the language of the new country and only mainly keep speaking they mother tongue, this is how you stay behind in a language! if u wanna learn a language u should focus on having to converse with the locals, at work, social events, daily life etc. just natural way and you will learn and become better ande eventually become fluent.

[@samman9478]

Heyy thanks soo much for the infos/ tips 🙏

[@matildawolfram4687]

Huh, that's an interesting video! Many thanks to the author of the channel for the recommendations! The problem with many people is that they want to take a "magic pill" or get "secret knowledge" and immediately have skills and abilities. However, the truth of life is that knowledge, skills, and abilities do not come by themselves. You can't learn a foreign language without doing anything, without wasting your time and effort, just like you can't learn to ride a bike lying on a comfy couch, listening to lectures and watching videos about "modern methods of learning" on a bike. To really learn something, you have to really practice every day. You're going to fall down while you're learning, and you're going to get bumps - that's normal! The ups and downs of learning are an integral part of our lives. Motivation from success and depression from failure will always be your study companions. However, every student has problems in his or her studies that he or she lacks the knowledge to solve. It can be: poor memorization of words; no progress in language learning; the student can speak, but does not understand speech by ear; misunderstanding of grammar; incorrect pronunciation, etc. Agree that a problem you don't know how to solve is very demotivating. In order to find the answer to our question we have to spend a lot of time to read videos, articles and books by polyglots. In today's world, we have to solve problems as quickly as possible. I don't have time to study and analyze a huge amount of information. My goal is to master the basic knowledge of a foreign language as quickly as possible and already start earning money effectively in the international arena. I settled on the practical guide by Yuriy Ivantsiv " Polyglot's Notes: practical tips for learning foreign language". This book is always in my bag. If I have a problem while learning a language, I quickly find the answer in this book. There are many different techniques and tips for learning a foreign language in Polyglot Notes. I have made my own individual schedule and plan for language learning. Now I know what I am going to study, how I am going to study, when I am going to study and what results I am going to achieve. No problem could stop me! With an effective language learning plan my professional skills are more and more in demand internationally every day. Friends, don't stop there! Everyone has talents that millions of people around the world need! Learn the language and make your ideas and dreams come true! Thanks to the author of the channel for the informative and useful video! Your videos motivate me.

[@k.p.8955]

Thanks for this!!

[@pinkaddiction13]

Love these!!

[@VincentFulco]

Great perspective

[@user-wy1ti8db9r]

As a Chinese, I appreciate your passion for learning this language. Are you still in Shanghai?

[@thisischaniece]

Yup, still here!

[@Themindofreyrey]

Great video! Question, once you learn the sounds properly using the Latin alphabet on the pronunciation chart, will courses allow you to learn to speak Chinese using the Latin alphabets without learning Chinese characters?

[@troymartinez108]

I agree with the talk to yourself!!

[@Shuntae100]

Thanks for the tips! I am sitting in my apartment in Pudong practicing as we speak lol.

[@chunna_meimei7645]

Hi, I really love ur video, thanks for sharing it, I love chinese as well🤗

[@Poe168]

Found ur channel finally. Subscribed.

[@tymanung768]

1) Very comprehensive! 2) Suggestions A) reference grammars---most important 1 sort of book or website in any language--- example--wikipedia s Chinese grammar websute, China and Taiwan books 3) Chinese African American if N and S America, and African continent connections A) Both had non Euro agricultural societies 1) clan based villages 2) multi deity religions 3) tonal languages (Niger Congo giant language family--- easy fir such speakers to learn Chinese tones--- some tones are the SAME!!) 4) In Spanish and English speaking Caribbean islands, Chinese men often married Afro Caribbean wine 5) Ming era China traded much with Kenya Chinese fleet stayed fir 2 years), Tanzania, Somalia 6) Both groups have highly developed drum and percussion.music 7) US, Carubbean, Continental Africans joined China and US, Caribbean Chinese to help Republic in Soanish Civil War vs fascism and Nazism 8) US 1) Paul Robeson, supported Spain China vs Japan empire, performed, recorded Yiyong Jun,Xingqu (Volunteer Army March), or Qilai, now national.anthem 2) 1963, Mao Zedong issued state meant pro US African American movement 3) Robert Williams? for a while broadcasted political shows from China to US on Radio Beijing 4) Black Panther Party was much influenced by Mao Zedong s China 9) Wilfredo Lam was world famous Afro Chinese Cuban surrealist painter 1) had series on Yoruba deities Cuba 2) went to Spain in Civil War 3) Was student and friend of world famous painter Pablo Picasso Etc There may be more Cuba Carnaval time, some bands use Chinese suona, or trompeta china, etc etc etc Hope that these help. Xiexie!! Zhu ni, hao yunqi!!!

[@QQ251647742]

Glad you were reading "Journey to The West". Sun Wukong is definitely my favorite character.

[@thisischaniece]

A classic!! And a must read :)

[@sonniendoro1721]

been in china 2 years... and i really wanna master the language... thank you for this vid

[@irritatedanglosaxon1705]

That means u hv bright thoughts... Ummh I really love beauty with brain ❤️

[@williamsmith5898]

This is definitely one of the most honest and reassuring vids out there for learning Chinese specially about the fear of speaking and making mistakes in front of others. The last tip was duly noted HAHAHA 😜

[@asnasherin872]

I like to learn zhoug and hanyu😊😊🥰

[@youarestronger]

You're gorgeous btw and your hair is amazing!

[@sovietwizard1620]

I think your partly right at the beginning, but I was able to self-study chinese completely for free in 1 year up to AP standard (and because I didn't originally follow "textbook" based things, I can just talk normally like a native). Although, I think what you're saying is that its hard for many people to get good without paying for courses.

[@markbrandon7756]

Proud of your Accomplishments !!! Tieng Viet Oi

[@gullee1099]

Thank u so much

[@PerryCuda]

Hi, great channel. What's the Chinese version of Italki? There's an app for tutors of Chinese in China.

[@bigthangz5489]

thnx fr ths vidd i wana learn it

[@wintkaungkyaw8274]

your advices are so helpful. thank you . i watch billibilli animes and some tv shows in iqiyi.

[@thisischaniece]

so glad you find them helpful!!

[@PaleMore]

Great video, I'm more intentional about learning Chinese and would like to know... How long did it take you from day zero (knowing no Chinese at all) to fluency?

[@antonia8877]

Im here cause I just got accepted to an exchange program in China, Im going for a year and I dont have any knowledge of the language so Im kind of nervous to not understand anything. What do you recommend I should do? I love your videos, Thank you

[@seanluinigh-youtube2463]

The hardest part with me has been speaking out loud confidently, I know quite a bit (in intermediate) - but then it comes time to speak I tend to freeze up. So difficult!! lol I already speak softly in english so it's extra hard for me. I love Wuhan dialect especially because it's so intense and it's the opposite how I speak, my girlfriend and her family is from Wuhan so it would be fun to learn more Wuhan dialect as well. These are really really great tips. How do you access Chinese Tiktok though from the US? I think I have to change my region? Is it possible to have both?

[@thisischaniece]

Been there! It's almost as if the whole world will crumble if you make a mistake, and while I encourage learning the language properly and with a good foundation I also encourage just going for it no matter how bad you think you sound because that's really the only way to improve! Just let people laugh at you and move through it 😂. Eventually you become immune to it and it becomes easier to speak confidently because you just don't really care anymore about mistakes. Honestly, I STILL struggle with this, but I have no problem talking at all anymore. It must be possible to access Chinese Douyin, but as of now I just know you need a Chinese phone number. I don't think you can have an account without that. There are definitely people abroad who have access to Douyin so maybe just some combination of using either a Chinese sim card, and Chinese VPN or both.

[@applewhite8000]

You sound like one of smartest persons I’ve ever heard speak.

[@a55tech]

Good point that skills aren't hard if you have a good plan. If others are learning faster, they prolly be doing it a different way.

[@notalot22]

This is really encouraging! Xiexie!

[@thisischaniece]

Glad you find it encouraging! No problem :)

[@woodensurfer]

The first thing to drill into one's mind about pinyin is that it is the use of the English alphabets as pronunciation indicators, nothing more. Think of letters a b c in seat arrangement in a theater. While there are incidental similarities to English pronunciations, do not let these similarities prejudice yourself. Pinyin letter b is very much in line with English b, but the Xi in Xijinping is quite dissimilar to any x in English. Xi is rather similar to see or sea in English. Just a few hours of study will be enough to correctly pronounce pinyin (when written as pinyin), except for the tones. For the tones, some people have good ears, and some do not. I think this is related to music talent or tone recognition ability in music.

[@aspoonfulofknowledge]

Thanks for the wonderful video! I am learning Mandarin. Love the Stephen King Carrie scene in your video!! :) I am looking to visit China perhaps in 2022. I am interested in your life there and how you get around and what kind of work you do? I would like to create a documentary in China, but I don't know what are the regulations for doing so, thus I need to to learn them. I want to bring my cinema camera and film quality learning skills of children and adults. I have other ideas as well. Thanks again for your video. I am now a subscriber.

[@thisischaniece]

Haha, now that I look at the scene it looks so random, bwahaha. But I am glad you liked it. I will need to do a day in my life video for sure. I got a new job lately so have been quite busy but I just need to put everything down in my schedule and get to it one by one I guess. For documentaries it really depends on what exactly you want to film and where. Probably something you will need to explore more after coming to China. Thanks for subscribing and welcome to China :))

[@aspoonfulofknowledge]

Always looking for more videos if you have time. 😀

[@thisischaniece]

@@aspoonfulofknowledge I need to get into it! Sorry y'all 😭 I promise it's coming this year. 2022!!

[@user-bq4mj5gz5b]

Please can u recommend me great short TV show for learn Chinese fast ?

[@brentoncoghlan8702]

Hi Chaniece, Thank you very much for this. Is there a beginners books available you suggest? I coming to China in July. I have basic but really need to move forward in Chinese.

[@thisischaniece]

My college used New Practical Chinese Reader (you can also youtube NPCR videos and see the acted out dialogues--so this is one of the main reasons I recommend this book), but you can also look at books like Elementary Spoken Chinese (if you search on Amazon it's the red cover with the 1 on it). I used the advanced version when I was taking Chinese classes here for a few months and I thought it was pretty good so I imagine the beginner version is also good.

[@highhopes9801]

What do you think about skipping writing characters part? I know that many Chinese people don't write characters anymore because they are using smartphones and keyboards...Maybe it would make sense to skip that part for now and focus on more useful things? I understand that being able tow rite a character helps to memories it better I just thought maybe skipping that would boost the learning part.

[@xuexizhongwen]

I am at an advanced level of speaking, comprehension, and reading. I can type in Chinese, but I never memorized how characters are written by hand. I haven't found it to be at all necessary.

[@katkatk4446]

Hope folks who want to learn 'Chinese' can first tell the difference between 'simplified' Chinese characters and 'traditional' Chinese characters, let alone Cantonese and Mandarin. They are mostly different. Never get confused and misled into believing that you know 'Mandarin'/'Putonghua' and simplified Chinese characters and you know 'Chinese'.

[@katkatk4446]

To be specific - speaking in Putonghua (in PRC), in Mandarin (in Taiwan), in Cantonese (mainly in Hong Kong); writing in simplified Chinese characters (in PRC, Malaysia, Singapore), in traditional Chinese characters (in Taiwan and Hong Kong). The most difficult ones - Cantonese and traditional Chinese characters.

[@thisischaniece]

I remember when I first studied, I wanted to go to Taiwan after graduation and started studying the traditional characters. Though, after learning Mandarin for so long, it's pretty easy for me to read traditional characters through context alone just based on my knowledge of simplified characters. I think at least recognizing characters comes naturally if you study long enough. Though I have heard that some of the phrasing is completely different in some cases, so that would be a little harder.

[@directxxxx71]

Actually simplified Chinese isn't new at all, it's the one ancient Chinese use when they write 草书 （ChaoShu) calligraphy, which basically means simplified calligraphy. It's essence is to write all the Chinese characters with just one stroke or write it as less stroke as possible just like English cursive writing. And that is really beautiful and artistic. So what I'm saying is Simplified Chinese has been part of Chinese language all along since ancient times. Every Chinese who wants to write or practice ChaoShu ( 草书）calligraphy will need to learn simplified ones, including Taiwan Chinese who mostly use traditional Chinese. Since ancient times in order to write very fast in their daily writings, Chinese people have used the simplified Chinese already. My point is that let's not assume simplified Chinese as a kind of separate part or a newly created Chinese language, and traditional Chinese as the old one. They are all part of the language. We will need to learn them or know them naturally one way or the other if we go deeper into the language blevel.. BTW, I'm from Myanmar and I'm a third generation Myanmar-Chineses. We learn Chinese here from from kindergartner to high school in Chinese school. But we need to get up early morning around 5:15am or 5:30 am to attend the school eveyday, including Saturday. The morning class is from 6:00 am to 8:00am, and then attend the afternoon class from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. So we could still manage to go to Burmese school from 9:00am to 3;00 pm as usual. That's how we Myanmar-Chineses learn Chinese here in Myanmar. P.S. we used Taiwan curriculum in our Chinese school in our time. But now there are schools using Mainland China curriculum.

[@marikothecheetah9342]

Pronunciation nerd - finally! Someone as evul as me! :D

[@thisischaniece]

You know it 😂!! Glad to see more like me exist out there!!!

[@marikothecheetah9342]

@@thisischaniece Likewise! :D And I am a beginner in Chinese but soooo love it :)

[@thisischaniece]

@@marikothecheetah9342 Keep it up! 加油!

[@marikothecheetah9342]

@@thisischaniece 谢谢你

[@SkincarewithAliKhalid]

What do you mean by stretch vocal cords

[@lisayang7083]

I’ve met several people who tell me they learned conversational English by watching Friends. Is there a Chinese equivalent to Friends? Something with lots of dialogue?

[@aldistoteles2919]

Chinese series

[@thisischaniece]

Yes, there is a show called 爱情公寓, it was called the "Chinese Friends" when I used to watch it. You can probably find it on KZbin too.

[@ParkJimin-sc9et]

Does somebody know a free chinese course online??

[@MascothStudios3D]

As for the last tip, I've been given that by a Japanese chef when I asked him how I could improve my Japanese. I wonder how effective that really is.

[@swldnsstory9843]

Chinese is easier than English, but when I got to a level where I found out they had measure words: me "these are so dumb" like seriously, why would they do that

[@thisischaniece]

We have measure words in English as well: a stalk of broccoli/corn, a cup of water, a bunch of grapes, a tank of gas, etc. Though in Chinese you can always just replace a measure word with "一个" most of the time and the person will understand anyway :))

[@swldnsstory9843]

@@thisischaniece haha 谢谢你

[@EgdeFilms]

9:56 WOW!

[@speakyourchinese]

HAHAHA loved the ending🤣

[@PNWPawsPathsPad]

I too use the Chinese Practical Reader. I talk to my dog. Lol

[@AEPFF]

lol love the bonus tip

[@IrisAnn26]

Wow your Chinese sounds really natural, even have a hint of Shanghai accent 😂

[@thisischaniece]

😂 Thanks for the compliment and that’s the first time I’ve heard that one! Maybe influence from all my Shanghainese neighbors.

[@abi3574]

March 3 2022❤️

[@Dmi-Don]

Hi , I have a Chinese root . And for me this is good moments learning English. I’m so sorry my English its not well.

[@ClaudiaPlaysHard]

Do you recommend Rosetta Stone?🤔

[@weirdmyst7963]

An app called Super Chinese is what helps me. Its very accurate and gives you tests to make sure you understand

[@thisischaniece]

I personally do not recommend it based on my limited exposure to it a very, very long time ago. They might have updated their software by now. I think whatever you have the most fun with that gives you results is the best tool to use.

[@cathybroadus4411]

Sis, you are writing the map for me!

[@igaobin]

我同意播主讲的是标准中文普通话❤视频最后的老奶奶讲的是地方方言。 我可以很好的讲普通话，但是我想学美国英语，我们可以交换学习吗❤