Simple steps to learn Chinese for Beginners

Learning the Chinese language brings many benefits for not only academic and business development, but also enriches the learner’s life by allowing them to obtain new knowledge written and spoken in said language. Yet, many are still hesitant to start studying it, primarily because they are intimidated by the unfamiliar characters and complex vocabulary and structure. But worry not, for today we will provide accessible, basic steps to start learning Chinese for Beginners.

Step 1: Mastering the Basics of Chinese Language

The first step for everything is to know the fundamental parts of it, and learning Chinese is no different. In order to get a grasp of this language, you can start with the basic concepts stated below:

1. The four tones of Chinese

Mandarin Chinese, the standard dialect of the Chinese language, consists of four tones. These tones take a very important part in both speaking and writing the Chinese language for each of them has a distinctive pitch which is used to differentiate between similarly-sounded Chinese words.

The tones are a crucial part of the Chinese language

Now, let’s delve into the way to pronounce each tone, using the word “ma” to illustrate the effect of tones on the words’ meanings.

• The first tone is high and flat. While pronouncing words with this tone, the speaker’s voice stays even, with no rise or dip. Combining the word “ma” with this tone, we will have “mā”(妈) which means “mother”.
• The second tone is a rising tone. Your voice will gradually rise from low to middle pitch, similar to when you say “huh?” to express confusion. Using this tone on the word “ma” will result in “má” (麻) which means “hemp”.
• The third tone is a dipping tone, it goes from a middle pitch to low then rises to high. “Ma” with this tone will become “mǎ” (马) - the word for horse.
• The fourth tone is a lowering tone, the pitch goes from high to low quickly. Putting this tone on top of the word “ma” will make it transform into “mà” (骂), meaning “to scold”.

From the information given above, it can be assumed that the tones take an important role in the Chinese Language, hence, it is a must for any learner to become accustomed to them as soon as possible. 

2. Getting familiar with Pinyin

Pinyin, the Romanized spelling for Chinese characters, is a helpful tool for foreigners (especially those who are born in countries that use the Roman Alphabet system) to pronounce Chinese words and sentences. Consisting mostly of letters that are pronounced quite similarly to that of their English counterparts, once you get the hang of it, Pinyin is a good way to practice speaking Chinese for Beginners.

The Pinyin spelling, the Chinese characters and its English meaning

3. Memorizing simple vocabulary

Now that you have got a grasp on the foundational elements, put your knowledge to good use by learning simple Chinese words. “The more words you know, the sooner you will become fluent”, such phrases are applicable in any language, and Chinese is no different. Thus, the next thing to do is pick up some basic Chinese words like numbers, fruits, colors and memorize them well. 

Memorizing the numbers is good way to start learning Chinese words

4. Practice speaking basic phrases

Once you have known some basic words and their pronunciation, challenge yourself to memorize simple Chinese conversational phrases and practice them with your learning partners, friends or family members. It will act as a way to train your fluency and pronunciation while boosting confidence. 

Step 2: Develop your Chinese further

The next step in your journey to become fluent in the Chinese language is to learn its vocabulary and grammar. Even though the Chinese characters may seem challenging at the beginning, once you know the efficient methods to study them by heart, the process will eventually become easier. Here are some tips to develop your reading and writing skills in Chinese for Beginners:

1. Study basic grammar points

Chinese grammar is not similar to that of other languages. There aren't any intricate restrictions regarding tenses, gender, agreement, plural nouns, or conjugations. The majority of words only have one syllable, which is then joined together to form compound words. Because of this, sentence formation is comparatively simple. 

Some examples of Chinese compound words

Nevertheless, the Chinese language has its unique set of grammatical conventions that neither English nor other Indo-European languages possess. Chinese, for instance, makes use of classifiers, topic-prominence, and a predilection for aspects in its grammar. These qualities can make the process to learn Chinese for Beginners challenging for learners to understand because they are not used in English.

Despite these variations, Chinese grammar often has the same order as English, i.e., subject-verb-object, which makes word-for-word translation simpler. For example, “他喜欢猫” can be directly translated to "he likes cats".

2. Radicals - the heart of Chinese characters

With over 500,000 words and some consisting of more than 10 strokes for a Chinese character, it can be said that the idea of memorizing how to write an amount equivalent to 1/1000 of the number listed above can be viewed as impossible for the language’s newbies. The complexity of Chinese characters is also the reason why it is among the list of most difficult languages on Earth. Yet, mastering how to write these words is not as challenging as it first seems, for the Chinese writing system has a concept which is called radicals. A radical is a graphical component of a character that gives it its meaning and helps in the classification and indexing of said word. This means the words with the same radical often have related meanings. Take “子”(child) for example, this is both a common character and a radical. “孩子”(child, baby) and “孙”(grandson) are some of the words that contained the aforementioned radical and also have meanings associated with the descendants of a family or people. Thus, it can be concluded that learning the radicals by heart is proved useful for those who wish to learn Mandarin Chinese. 

3. Pinyin is a beginner’s best friend

To those who are still new to the Chinese language, especially to people who are from countries that use the Roman alphabet system, Chinese characters could be a bit tricky to get familiar with. That is where Pinyin comes in handy. Is put to use in many books and academic materials, this Romanized alphabet is a great tool to start learning Chinese for Beginners. But try not to become over-dependent on it, as this could make adapting to Chinese even more difficult and may possibly undo all of the learner's hard work.

Relying on Pinyin too much may lead to illiteracy

4. Constantly practice your reading and writing skills

Now that you have known all the fundamental parts of the Chinese language, put your knowledge to good use by reading and writing Chinese characters. This is also an efficient way to help memorize what you have learned better. At first, you can start small by writing and reading 5 short sentences a day, then gradually increase the amount and complexity of the sentences to develop your ability. But always keep in mind that there is no need to rush through your learning process, as there is no better way to become fluent other than memorization and continuous practice.

Step 3: Surround yourself with the Chinese language

Remember that consistency is the key to mastering any language. In order to remember the vocabulary and grammar that you have learned, the learners need to practice speaking and writing them as much as possible. And a good way to both advance your Chinese skills and keep yourself motivated is to immerse yourself in the language, gaining a lot of exposure to it by watching Chinese movies, cartoons, and videos or listening to songs, and podcasts in Chinese. By doing that, you will grow accustomed to the standard Chinese accent, and know the vocabulary and grammar that natives use in different situations, thus increasing your understanding of the language and boosting your language reflex. Overall, surrounding yourself with the language is a helpful technique to learn Mandarin Chinese.

The paragraphs above contain simple steps to learn Chinese for Beginners. These serve as the fundamental references for language starters. Each person’s learning journey can be different, thus, feel free to adjust the steps however you see fit. In the end, learning Mandarin Chinese is a gradual process that requires discipline, consistency, and motivation. That is the reason why trying to keep yourself persistent is the most crucial task for all learners, for winners are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.