How To Speak Fluent Mandarin Using Immersion: A Complete Guide

Watch this video to learn how to use comprehensible input (immersion) to speak fluent Mandarin faster and easier!
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[@MandarinBlueprint]

✅ WATCH THESE NEXT How to Learn Chinese: The Ultimate Guide ▶ ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJnaoJl8p5l_mc0 25 Ways to Improve Your Mandarin Speaking Skills FAST ▶ ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6WlqGtuo72tm9U Master A Chinese Character In Under 60 Seconds ▶ ▶ kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYa5eYB7itGXaqs

[@AngloSaks666]

You can already use Chat GPT to create content at lower level, or with other limitations. I've created a bunch of texts asking it to use only the 500 most common words of the language, and generated audio (using LingQ makes this possible, plus basically gives you away to make 'flashcards' too. Other instructions, e.g. to make it A1 level or something, or getting it to focus on certain language (which it can translate from English even), can produce easier to understand texts to start with. And you can keep doing it and not have to get bored with what you're listening to/reading. One interesting thing I hit on was asking it to minimize use of nouns but to feel free to use as many 'indefinite nouns' as possible (that are general, referring to something more specific; e.g. place, person, situation, problem, theme, etc., etc.). Then I asked it to use 5 of them in a text, and to use each at least twice. The resulting texts were often interesting and varied (though not always, but you can keep going), and interestingly reasonably simple (though more like B1). Experiment with it and all sorts of stuff can be done with it. I'm also no fan of flashcards, find it tedious, so I collect new words and phrases, and then get Chat GPT to use them in a few texts, import them into LingQ, then listen to them first maybe more than once, making as much sense of them as you can, read them doing the same, create LingQs, do some of the stuff in there (particularly the mixed up sentence reordering), until you start to tire of the context. Move on. As you go you can create increasingly higher level material, and also stuff focusing on certain categories of language you notice, and on subjects or questions or situations that come to mind that appeal to you. A nice, free, individual, graded way to immerse in the language.

[@user-bs3wz1vp6g]

This is a game changer, 感谢你！I am currently planning to study Mandarin as one of three subjects we study in England as part of our last 2 years of high school (called A levels), and am looking for ways to better my chances of achieving a good grade; it is apparently a gruelling task for non-native speakers. I hope to do well, thankyou for this nugget of information.

[@afrocraft1]

Impressive!

[@Vanir-sama]

Hello, I've been trying to generate a text/story with chatgpt only using 500 specific hanzi that I provide, but I never managed to do it. It would only use about 30% each time in the story that it wrote. Do you think it's possible to do it using chatgpt ?

[@AramSupport]

im gonna use this as my prompt xD xie xie ni

[@agustinacanterino3912]

I can understand everything you said so easily like I do it in spanish. That is what I'm looking for with chinese. Is hard because I kind of forgot how I studied english 😅

[@user-lt6yl1tm3h]

I'm immersing in English, my second language, right now!

[@BearvsTrout]

3:11 I actually burst out laughing at the Johnny 5 reference! I knew exactly the part you were talking about... "INPuuuUT!". Love the videos also, your systems are among the best!

[@raywong3946]

Considering how big the difference between English and Chinese languages is, I can totally feel the pain as English is the second language for myself. I totally agree with the immersion theory, in order to get rid of the mother tongue, AKA the voice in your head, you need to practice like you never knew any other languages, treat the language you're learning as your first language, your brain is a powerful machine it can quickly adapts the linguisctical changes via compensation.

[@rexnemo]

I don't think that you can forget your own language willingly although there is a video about a man who suffered an injury and for a while could only speak Chinese language but he had studied it to a level of proficiency . This video seems to be saying that you do need to learn the language before immersion , so it is not quite as straightforward as it appears .

[@Marinettefromrussia]

Great method, I actually learned English like that. Now I’m learning my 4th language via my 2d language learned 😂😄

[@ComprehensibleMandarin]

Khatzumoto & Matt vs Japan put out so much good information back in the day when immersion learning wasn't well-known, & inspired so many language learners! These days, there are finally a few KZbin channels with beginner listening material for Mandarin comprehensible input, hopefully someday soon it will be possible to learn from scratch with 100% immersion.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Yes!

[@jennifermarea8011]

I realized that you actually can rn, the problem is that you can’t find the resources by searching in English. With German, for example, the more I learn to write the better immersion resources I’ve been able to find that I WISH I’d had in the beginning. Mainly apps made for toddlers and lower elementary school kids.

[@ComprehensibleMandarin]

@@jennifermarea8011 Good idea! I've briefly searched for such apps before, but never very seriously. Do you enjoy these apps? I've watched children's cartoons, which is OK, but I don't know if I'd want to do hundreds of hours of it! (Also children are fluent by 4 or 5, so even preschooler cartoons can be difficult for beginners.)

[@jennifermarea8011]

@@ComprehensibleMandarin I love them. I’ve been using SofaTutor for a while. It’s basically like a German Khan Academy. They teach phonics and vocabulary all in German with no English. Plus they teach social rules in Germany that are different from the US. You should definitely try searching for some in the language you’re trying to learn. Imo it’s better than a language learning app because it has no English and it’s SUPER comprehensible

[@jamess-shaw5464]

I mean Matt vs Japan is not a great example because he tells people to start with non-comprehensible input and just listen to 1000's of hours of content

[@androiduser5189]

14:40

[@12degreesnowman11]

I’ve been reading Chinese since I began. I’ve been working on my listening skills because that’s what is getting in the way of immense progress.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Listening is always the final breakthrough, keep up the daily practice!

[@sandram9562]

You are absolutely right .I am Lucky that I found you 👍

[@sunwukng]

9:44 I did this while watching lego monkie kid in chinese, and learnt a few new words, including 凡人, 尾巴 and 徒弟 I cheered when I could understand it more than the first time

[@tangalang08]

First time watching your content and I subscribed immediately, extremely valuable and motivating, thank you!

[@AmbientLifeStudios]

Great tips! I’m especially a fan of comprehensible input. I try to watch Netflix movies in Chinese with subs to follow along and train my Hanzi. For reading and listening I use DuChinese a lot. You can listen to a native person read, listen without the text, tap to translate the characters, and you can save words to either it’s own flashcard SRS or you can export to Anki. I think getting tons of input so it feels second nature is the key. I’m also trying a Chinese tutor on Preply soon since I need to speak more, but it’s the scariest part haha.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

That's fantastic to hear that you're actively working on improving your Chinese language skills! Using Netflix, DuChinese, and working with a Chinese tutor are excellent strategies. Practice and immersion are key to language learning. Don't worry, speaking can be intimidating at first, but it gets easier with time and practice. Keep up the great work! If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask. 😊

[@CrispyTube1]

I can't believe how much great content you are generating and making available. Thankyou so much. Every time my enthusiasm wanes, there is another fantastic pep talk and new stimulating ideas and suggestions to get me back on track. I'm just heading back for some more lessons and also try some of these new ideas. I do manage at least something Chinese every day. Thanks again to all at Mandarin blueprint.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Thanks so much!

[@TheInterloafer]

This video really resonates with me because it intuitively seems like it makes a lot of sense. I am going to try it! I immediately installed Migaku and I will say that one powerful benefit of it that isn't even stated in the video is that it can automatically translate between simplified and traditional character sets, so people who are learning one character set can draw in additional content from videos that use the other set. That's huge! It also color-codes by tone, which is very helpful, and has pixelated English captions that become clear if you hover the mouse. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get Anki to work. It doesn't seem to work with Migaku. When I installed it yesterday, on Sept. 1, 2023, I got an error message that reads "Your Anki version 2.1.66 is newer than the currently recommended version for the Migaku addons (2.1.65). The Migaku addon may not work correctly." Indeed, it doesn't seem to work at all. When I attempt to use Anki add-on while using Migaku for viewing a video, I just get a rotating pinwheel and Anki ultimately fails to load. So what's weird about this is that I downloaded Migaku just a few minutes before downloading Anki, so I am assuming it is the latest version. There is no way to download the previous version of Anki that it says it the one that is compatible. Why would Anki create a newer update that is beyond the capabilities of the app it is supposed to sync with? Very strange. It makes it appear as if this is all bleeding-edge stuff and not really well-established functionality, which is fine. Hopefully it will get there as more people use it. (這個情況的原因可能是我現在使用免費的版本。) At any rate, it looks like for now I will be using Migaku to do two things. 1) to create flashcards manually, which I have been doing with the Sticky Study app, and 2) create subtitles that are better than the ones that are already in the video, colorful, possibly auto-paused for reading comprehension, and with definitions and English translations available by hovering the mouse. (What wasn't clear to me from watching this video is that although the majority of Chinese language KZbin videos have subtitles that appear on screen, often using cool fonts and video effects to highlight key moments, it seems at first glance that Migaku can work only with videos that already have Chinese-language closed captioning enabled natively within KZbin. This seems generally to be professionally produced TV series, but generally not your average vlogger, which is what I had tended to be trying to use for language learning.) So it isn't as if you can watch *any* Chinese-language video and have Migaku work with it. On a separate side note, I will just mention that Migaku appears to be a browser extension for Chrome, but lately I've been watching KZbin using Microsoft Edge because KZbin recently doesn't seem to work well with Chrome. It is slow and awkward. So basically everything would be perfect if Anki worked with Migaku and if KZbin worked with Chrome or if Migaku had a Microsoft Edge browser extension.

[@Snipersounds]

Ha Ha! Great video! Loved the Short Circuit reference too! Thanks for sharing!

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@TheGabygael]

If I'm understanding the way I work in English correctly, I believe that the best way to use traditional analytical learning is in addition to your normal use of the language as a way of polishing or ironing out any kinks in your practice and get a more global view and closer understanding of the language rather than gather new information, learned dutch mainly through the school system and despite having a really great surface level I really lack the personality and comfort I can inject into my English

[@satchycollins3985]

Thanks for the info 👍

[@MandarinBlueprint]

You're welcome

[@danieldynes3929]

这么好的教☺

[@lanmu4807]

应该说：教得真好！

[@alisah6915]

This is what i did with my kids with little fox chinese and tutors. After 5 years my 11 year old is taking debate classes in chinese designed for taiwanese kids.

[@aminamangera4871]

I'm just starting and find listening to songs with the lyrics in English syllables makes it fun and easier to pronounce.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Sounds fun

[@jimh2594]

Number 5 is alive!

[@BrunoZerone]

Yay Johnny 5 is a great reference 🎉 Great tips, I'm certainly gonna try that migaku thing, looks pretty handy. By the way, where do you buy manga written in mandarin Chinese? It hasn't been easy for me to find them. Just started following you, it's been quite instigating ^^

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Just type in 漫画 into the APP store and you should be able to find a lot of options. 腾讯漫画 is great.

[@zephyrmj]

Immersion process sounds a bit like the Waldorf/Steiner School 3 day rhythm but in that system the sleep in between is important. You don't have to wait 3 days to start a new thing to learn, you just need to keep track of which stage of the 3 parts applies to what content.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Interesting! I’ll look into a bit more about Waldorf

[@kinghowardmaneclang4440]

What's the name of the FM you've mentioned in this video? I wish to listen to that FM too, would you be able to drop it here, please?

[@bloodforpeace998]

Nice

[@em-qz3em]

😀

[@LauralieTardif]

Cutting off the dramatic stares from tvshows?😮 But that's the best part😱🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@devinreid9339]

Yo i loved johnny five , i wish i could do that

[@Memoriesdevida]

🔥🔥Gold gold gold. Currently on Phase 2 Mandarin Blueprint you guys are marvelous. The work y'all put into these KZbin videos, the courses, and the advice in general it's crazy admirable the work you've put into all of it. So much attention to detail. I can only imagine how time consuming it is.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Thank you! More on the way :D

[@johnmccann2320]

I think you have done a superior job in picking out the most useful characters and words. Even though I am only at level 13, but I love writing ( i am a calligrapher) little stories like first grade “Dick and Jane”, but it spurs me on. Yes I follow your listening tips, I try to stick with Beijingers🙄 “ beggars can’t be choosers “ most deviniyely🥺😩😎🤓

[@Ghhhs-ff3gn]

Sum / FOUNDATION : LEARN CHARACTERS (THE VIDEO) LEARN 1000 to 1500 MOST COMMON WORDS and (pronunciation + tones) Because reading is really important It's easier and faster to understand than listening IMMERSING / Spend as much time as you can with the language 10:17

[@victorjackson150]

I love these ideas. Did you do the same thing to learn English?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

No, just Chinese

[@rhondaverma6358]

Is there a video on how to make the flashcards? This seems to be my hang up.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Checkout Traverse.link

[@danielmarklund3555]

I've been looking for a translation of One piece into simplified Chinese but I haven't been able to find it but I saw that you had it in this video. Where can I find this?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Hi Daniel. The Chinese name for One Piece is actually literally the same Kanji Japanese characters that the author Oda uses: 海贼王 (lit. Pirate King) - Japanese pronunciation: Kaizoku-ou (also lit. means Pirate King). The author specifically gave a unique name for English instead of using the literal translation, "Pirate King".

[@leonardohamdany1123]

what is the podcast app that you use? please helpp, i need the app that provide subtitle

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Himalaya is great

[@DoodleTime-ed999]

As a complete beginner, I am starting with listening to children's stories passively without reading any characters. Is this ok to do it?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Sure, you can learn in many ways. In Mandarin Blueprint we recommend learning pronunciation first. And then starting with characters and diving into immersion!

[@deyday]

what are the graded readings and podcast he shows at 12:08?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Hey there, you can find our top recommendations here www.mandarinblueprint.com/blog/best-resources-for-learning-chinese/

[@VictorJonesJr]

Gotta stop trying to learn and start trying to use the language like a living, breathing language that people live their entire lives in.

[@rodericwalter2862]

As someone who has a language degree, I could not agree more. Most times, just being able to say the very basics - with excellent, respectful pronunciation - lets people know that you are indeed serious.

[@christophermctavish2518]

I will be 71 next month and I've never been successful at setting goals. I'll leave that to David Beckenham 😅

[@NewportSolar]

I have a question about the ethics related to language learning. I am a life long language learner. In school I studied German, then French, then Spanish, and now as an adult I am focusing on improving my Spanish and I have started Persian/Farsi because I have a lot of family in Iran. I have also dabbled in other languages online for fun. Mostly Mandarin and Japanese. As I am studying Persian, I find myself increasingly frustrated with the government in Iran, their actions, and the circumstances there. It makes it difficult for me to enjoy learning the language, even though I have wonderful family members there. I feel the same way about learning Mandarin. I have no family in China, but of course there are so many Mandarin speakers world wide, it can be very useful. However, I often feel the same way about China, their government, and their actions and wonder about the ethics of learning this language. I’m curious about your thoughts on this subject, or anyone else reading this. Thank you for any thoughts/feedback. 🙏

[@MandarinBlueprint]

There are different reasons why people want to learn Mandarin, some want to learn for business opportunities, others want to learn for family, and others just for fun. I would recommend that you find your why and that might help bring you the enjoyment!

[@alandeutsch9987]

Looks like your were missing some assets when you exported this in premiere lol

[@nickb7170]

Quick question since I didn't find it anywhere. What app do you use to read the comics? 😅

[@MandarinBlueprint]

腾讯漫画 is great

[@nickb7170]

@@MandarinBlueprint thank you for the quick answer :)

[@Ilana-wangji]

How do I not get overwhelmed with trying to learn anki or migaku tho. Also, question, I am 2 months into mandarin am I supposed to be learning Hanzi already?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

To avoid feeling overwhelmed while learning with Anki or Migaku, try breaking down your study sessions into smaller, manageable chunks. Set realistic goals for each session and take regular breaks to prevent burnout. Also, if you find yourself with too many reviews to do per day, dedicate a few days solely to reviews until you reach a manageable level before adding new materials. And yes, many language learners find it beneficial to begin incorporating Hanzi early on, as it can deepen your understanding of the language and improve your reading and writing skills over time. Just take it step by step and practice regularly to see progress!

[@user-cs1ft8fp5q]

Where is this matt vs japan interview video?? I can’t find it

[@MandarinBlueprint]

While we don’t have the Matt vs Japan interview on KZbin you can access that plus more here -> www.mandarinblueprint.com/courses/legends-of-language-learning/

[@jdeebz303]

I'm currently about to finish the Blueprint 30 day challenge, and I have been putting in a soldid 2-3 hours of focused study per day, adding in immersion for another 2-4 hours during my day while I can't even understand it, im just using english subtitles for movies. I am listening to podcasts and music in mandarin and I am just doing that while driving or walking etc so that is passive, but obviously I understang nothing still. I am at 205 characters currently, but 30-40 a day seems to be the max I am able to get in. I don't feel like it takes me long to do the movie method, but my reviews are starting to take like 2 hours some mornings. Any tips for keeping the reviews more short and to the point? I had 250 cards this morning and it took me 1 hour and 45 mins.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Hey there, send us an email and let's talk [e-mail]

[@rexnemo]

The biggest problem I found was that most of the Chinese people I've met speak Cantonese and I learnt Mandarin .🤔

[@owl6218]

xianxia dramas with same language subtitles.......nice

[@ryankattner9966]

No disassemble Johnny 5!

[@ericka.]

Spanish subtitles 😬🙏🏻🥺(? Me gustan mucho tus videos

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Maybe someday, but not a priority at the moment unless we could get a volunteer

[@graysoncroom]

no sé si es efectivo con respecto a lo que te costará, pero puedes generar subtítulos con un modelo llamado whisper de OpenAI. Yo como tú usaría youtube-dl para cargar un vídeo como mp3 (solo audio) y después se lo da a whisper para generar subtítulos.

[@ericka.]

@@graysoncroom muchas gracias por la idea :)

[@reddoren]

I've tried Ximalaya and I believe it is not avalaible anymore for anyone outside mainland China

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Thanks for this update. I believe there's a non-Chinese version with slightly different content. It may also be possible to log into a Chinese persons Icloud on your phone then download the chinese version perhaps?

[@djangodeveloper07]

in every second video you talked about 3000 words but i couldn't find it. do you have any link so we can come to know which 3000 words you are talking about ?

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Hey there, Great question, Those 3000 characters are taught throughout our course. If you are interested, you can find more information about our course curriculum here: www.mandarinblueprint.com/buy-the-blueprint/

[@FlameHashiraAries]

I hate when people say you need input but don't give you any damn resources to find it

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Hey Flame, Don't worry, we got you! Here's a link that give you access to free resources to get you started on your mandarin Learning Journey! www.mandarinblueprint.com/resources/ and this will give you resources for your input www.mandarinblueprint.com/blog/best-resources-for-learning-chinese/. Happy learning!

[@OppyOzzborz-sb8oz]

ONEPUNCHMAAAAAAAN!

[@sanjavukovic169]

Why you added that background noise that totally ruined the video? What a pity, you have superb voice and explanations.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

We'll make a note of that for future videos

[@NewportSolar]

At 30:20 - I think your inserted graphics didn’t work. This keeps coming up.

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Thank you for the note.

[@LouisMcK]

11:20 Don't think I didn't catch that one punch man chapter

[@MandarinBlueprint]

haha love that comic. Newest ones are nowhere near as good as they used to be, though

[@LouisMcK]

What do you mean the latest chapters ? Or different manga / comic ? Becuase the latest one punch man chapter with Geno's ARE SICCCCCCJKKKKK 🗿

[@krasmazov5748]

其实网络小说会是一个不错的可理解输入来源，因为要照顾大多数读者，它们用词不会特别难，掌握1500-2000个汉字应该能读懂？而且确实很容易上瘾，身边经常有每天花很长时间看网文的人

[@ethanaruse3654]

Why are you saying at least 3000 characters? you mean 3000 words

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Here’s an answer for that: www.loom.com/share/0642dde4118946a0bc6311ceb1e64179

[@HeyJD123]

@@MandarinBlueprint thanks for the video response!

[@NAILGUARDco]

Cannabis may or may not help me understand Chinese

[@matthewheath7839]

It does me

[@kokoyaro]

"How to Speak Fluent Mandarin..." by speaking English. This could have rather been something like "How to speak a language fluently..." With Chinese being an example

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Good point! That's an idea for a future video

[@kwangc6720]

Hmm, I have to somewhat disagree with you here. There is nothing wrong about learning Chinese from textbooks and attending classes with teachers. Isn't that how we learn most subjects in school? 😄 Actually, Chinese/Mandarin is indeed one of the toughest languages to learn, according to official rankings out there. As with any language, I highly encourage learning Chinese from textbooks and teachers. The main problem is, as a beginner, you don't know which textbook is appropriate or good for yourself. You may also not have access to such textbooks. Many foreign language learners also don't practise enough even after attending classes and that is their downfall. If you simply learn Chinese on your own, it will be very difficult for you to be proficient at it. You need to practise using it as often as possible. It would be best if you have a native Chinese teacher to guide and correct you. I have seen too many Caucasians learn Chinese on their own. They think they speak reasonable well but actually, their pronunciation of the Chinese words is inaccurate, which may sometimes be difficult to understand, if not hilarious. 😃 (No sarcasm intended!)

[@MandarinBlueprint]

Aha! A textbook defender! Excellent fodder for discussion, here are my thoughts on textbooks: www.loom.com/share/35518234dfb742c69124007da062d198

[@grammarhabitacademy6531]

@@MandarinBlueprint video was spot on.

[@alisah6915]

You can use teachers without using textbooks. Textbooks are great for reference but usually so boring for study. But some people like them

[@AngloSaks666]

You must have said 'passively' a hundred times in this video. But do you really mean 'passively'. What about the word modern teachers use (those who know these principles, which I at least half discovered 30 years ago), which is 'receptively'. Listening isn't 'passive'.

[@user-cp5ky2gt5s]

It's easy just start by learning 1500 characters and their pronunciation and meaning. Then watch TV.

[@astrolillo]

It's just a grift for his courses, dont hate the player, but dont buy it either lol