1. For food
2. For fruit and seasoning
3. For people
4. For relationships
5. For feelings and characteristics

For food

• 猪肉 /zhūròu/ pork
• 牛肉 /niúròu/ beef
• 鸡肉 /jīròu/ chicken
• 羊肉 /yángròu/ lamb
• 肉食动物 /ròushí dòngwù/ carnivorous animal

Note that when you say “肉” without specifying the type of meat, most people will assume you mean “猪肉” (pork) because it’s the most commonly consumed meat in China. But what about other types of meat? If you want to order beef, chicken, lamb, or other meats in a restaurant, simply use the appropriate attribute words like “牛” (niú) for beef, “鸡” (jī) for chicken, and “羊” (yáng) for lamb before the character “肉” to form “牛肉” (niúròu), “鸡肉” (jīròu), “羊肉” (yángròu), and so on.

When discussing a specific dish, you may be familiar with the famous food “烤鸭” (kǎo yā) roasted duck, but you won’t hear “duck meat” in Chinese as often. Instead, people usually refer to the meat as “鸭” (yā) alone, without adding “肉” after it. This practice is not unique to duck meat. People also use “鱼” (yú) to refer to fish meat without adding “肉”. Furthermore, for carnivorous animals, you can simply say “肉食动物” (ròushí dòngwù) to describe them.

For example:

早点儿去菜市场，早上的猪肉会新鲜点儿。(Zǎo diǎn’r qù càishìchǎnɡ, zǎoshɑnɡ de zhūròu huì xīnxiān diǎn’r.) Go to the market early because the pork in the morning is fresher.

吃火锅的时候，他特别喜欢吃牛肉。(Chī huǒɡuō de shíhou, tā tèbié xǐhuɑn chī niúròu.) He likes eating beef while eating hotpot.

这碗米线的浇头是鸡肉做的。(Zhè wǎn mǐxiàn de jiāotóu shì jīròu zuò de.) The topping of this rice noodle dish is made of chicken.

For fruit and seasoning

• 果肉 /guǒròu/ pulp
• 肉桂 /ròuguì/ cinnamon

As its name suggests, “果肉” (guǒròu) literally refers to the “meat” of a fruit, which is actually the pulp. When discussing “肉桂” (ròuguì), it’s important to first mention its counterpart “桂皮” (guìpí). In China, “桂皮” is not only a popular seasoning in cooking, but also a commonly used Chinese herbal medicine. “肉桂” is a species in the Lauraceous family, and it’s named so because it’s thicker than “桂皮”.

e.g.

这个饮料里真的有果肉吗？(Zhèɡe yǐnliàolǐ zhēnde yǒu ɡuǒròu mɑ?) Does this drink really have pulp in it?

他喝咖啡的时候喜欢加肉桂。(Tā hē kāfēi de shíhou xǐhuɑn jiā ròuɡuì.) He likes to add cinnamon when drinking coffee.

For people

• 肌肉 /jīròu/ muscle
• 肉眼 /ròu yǎn/ unaided eye
• 肉身 /ròu shēn/ mortal body
• 血肉 /xuè ròu/ blood and flesh
• 有血有肉 /yǒuxuè yǒuròu/ true to life
• 行尸走肉 /xíng shī zǒu ròu/ an utterly useless person
• 肉票 /ròu piào/ hostages

People often use “肉” to describe human attributes. For muscles, we use “肌肉” (jīròu), which sounds similar to “鸡肉” (jīròu) but uses a different character. “肉眼” (ròuyǎn) and “肉身” (ròushēn) emphasize the use of our eyes and body alone, without any external help. “血肉” (xiěròu) emphasizes our blood and flesh. The phrase “有血有肉” (yǒu xiě yǒu ròu) means to be “real” or “true to life,” and is often used in literary works.

There are two interesting expressions to describe people: “行尸走肉” (xíngshīzǒuròu) and “肉票” (ròupiào). “行尸走肉” literally means “walking corpse and running flesh,” but it’s a metaphor for a person who doesn’t use their brain, doesn’t work, and lives a confused life. “肉票” means “meat tickets” literally, but it usually refers to hostages who are taken for ransom.

e.g.

刚运动完要拉伸一下肌肉。(Gānɡ yùndònɡ wán yào lāshēn yí xià jīròu.) You need to stretch your muscles after exercising.

这里太脏了，桌子上的灰都肉眼可见。(Zhèlǐ tài zānɡ le, zhuōzishànɡ de huī dōu ròu yǎn kě jiàn.) It’s so dirty here that the ashes on the table are visible to my naked eye.

我太喜欢这本小说里的主角了，有血有肉很生动。(Wǒ tài xǐhuɑn zhè běn xiǎoshuōlǐ de zhǔjué le, yǒu xuè yǒu ròu hěn shēnɡdònɡ.) I like the protagonists in this novel so much because he is true to life and very vivid.

能不能多思考一下，别像个行尸走肉一样。(Nénɡ bu nénɡ duō sīkǎo yí xià, bié xiànɡ ɡè xínɡ shī zǒu ròu yíyànɡ.) Can you think about it a little more? Don’t act like an utterly useless person.

他被绑了，会被当作肉票向他家里要赎金。(Tā bèi bǎnɡ le, huì bèi dànɡzuò ròupiào xiànɡ tā jiālǐ yào shújīn.) He was kidnapped and would be used as a hostage to ask his family for ransom.

For relationships

• 眼中钉，肉中刺 /yǎn zhōng dīng, ròu zhōng cì/ (of someone) to be hated very much
• 手心手背都是肉 /shǒuxīn shuǒbèi dōu shì ròu/ to value both equally
• 骨肉 /gǔròu/ blood relation

The word “骨肉” is used to express blood relation and means bones and flesh literally. The saying “眼中钉，肉中刺” literally translates to “a sting in the eye and a thorn in one’s flesh” and means a person is extremely hated in the heart of another. “手心手背都是肉”, literally meaning “the palms and backs of the hands are meat,” means all things involved are relative, so they should be treated equally, and you can’t choose to abandon anyone.

e.g.

她就是我的“眼中钉，肉中刺”，我永远都不会原谅她的。(Tā jiù shì wǒde “yǎn zhōnɡ dìnɡ, ròu zhōnɡ cì“, wǒ yónɡyuǎn dōu bú huì yuánliànɡ tā de.) She is a thorn in my eye, and I will never forgive her.

你们都是她的女儿，手心手背都是肉，你让她帮谁？(Nǐmen dōu shì tā de nǚ’r, shǒuxīn shǒubèi dōu shì ròu, nǐ rànɡ tā bānɡ shuí?) You are all her daughters, so she should be equal to you all, and she will help nobody.

因为一场意外，王先生一家骨肉离散，直到五年后大家才相聚。(Yīnwèi yì chǎnɡ yìwài,Wánɡ xiānshenɡ yì jiā ɡǔròu lísàn, zhídào wǔ nián hòu dàjiā cái xiānɡjù.) Because of an accident, Mr. Wang’s family was separated and did not get together until five years later.

For feelings and characteristics

• 肉麻 /ròu má/ cheesy
• 性格很肉 /xìnggé hěn ròu/ introversion and reticence

“肉麻,” literally meaning numb flesh, means someone is excessively romantic to the point of making others feel uncomfortable and creeped out. “性格很肉” originates from a dialect and means someone is unresponsive and slow, causing others to feel anxious

e.g.

看他们俩在那里互相喂东西就觉得肉麻。(Kàn tāmenliǎnɡ zài nàlǐ hùxiānɡ wèi dōnɡxi jiù juéde ròu má.) Watching the two of them feed each other there gave me goosebumps.

她性格很肉，你跟她说十句话，她才会回你一句。(Tā xìnɡɡé hěn ròu, nǐ ɡēn tā shuō shí jù huà, tā cái huì huí nǐ yí jù.) She is reticent, and if you say ten words to her, she will just reply with one.

The word “肉” forms many words and expressions, which are practical and useful in daily life. They can improve your spoken language and help you understand Chinese dramas and literature, so don’t underestimate their utility.

The post Meat is not always meat – The most common expressions with “肉” in Chinese appeared first on .

1. The Appearance – Written Words

The most apparent difference is, no surprise, the written appearance of the language. → Chinese uses characters, which cannot be sounded out, while English words use the alphabet, which allows the speaker to sound out the word because it is a phonetic language. Luckily, for language learners, Pinyin helps by providing a phonetic representation of Chinese characters. Pinyin uses romanized letters, but the sound associated with each is unique to Pinyin. While that may seem like a huge disadvantage, there is another aspect that must be considered. Chinese characters are, in some ways, like a picture. There are elements, called radicals, that hold meaning. So while you can’t sound the character out, you can pull meaning from the character.

If you know that 目(mù) means eye， 水(shuǐ) means water and that 氵is another form of 水 (shuǐ), then it’s easy to figure out that 泪(lèi) indicates the water of the eyes or tears.

Please note that some character components do have sound attached to them. After getting really comfortable with Chinese, you may be able to guess the sound of a character based on the components – but this isn’t a fool-proof way of reading Chinese.

2. Tones

You have probably seen Pinyin before and noticed some lines above a few of the letters. Those are the tones. There are 4 basic tones in Chinese.

Tones are a very unique concept for most of the English speakers. We need to pay attention to them when both listening and speaking!

If you pronounce the same syllable in different tones, the corresponding meanings vary vastly. In English, the intonation indicates emotion, but in Chinese, intonation indicates meaning. Here are some examples of tones and definitions.

/shui jiao/
睡觉 / shuì jiào/ sleep
水饺 / shuǐjiǎo/ dumplings

我可以问(wèn)你吗？vs 我可以吻(wěn)你吗？
May I ask you? vs May I kiss you?

3. Sentence Length

English emphasizes the structure of sentences, while Chinese focuses on the meaning.

In English, it is very common to see one long sentence with long modifiers including pronouns like “we”, “she”, “they” in addition to “that” and “which”, to avoid recurrences. The sentence may be long and complicated, but it is still clear enough to understand. In Chinese, the situation is very different, where a long sentence in Chinese would be very complicated and extremely difficult to understand. Therefore, in Chinese, we can only find short sentences or long sentences divided into short phrases separated by commas.

To conclude, we can say: English sentences are usually long, and Chinese sentences are usually short. When learning Chinese, you should “Get the meaning, forget the words”. Let’s look at some examples here:

The sights of Beijing are so numerous that you can spend several weeks here and leave without having seen all of the important ones.

1. 北京的名胜很多，一个人就是在这儿呆上几个星期，离开时也没能把主要的景点看完。
   (Běi jīng de míng shèng hěn duō ，yī gè rén jiù shì zài zhè ér dāi shàng jǐ gè xīng qī ，lí kāi shí yě méi néng bǎ zhǔ yào de jǐng diǎn kàn wán.)
2. The Great Wall traverses plains and mountains, being 1,300 meters above sea level at some points. The wall averages 7.8 meters in height and 5.8 meters in width at the top.
   长城跨越平原高山，在某些地方海拔1,300米，平均高7.8米，顶宽5.8米。
   (Cháng chéng kuà yuè píng yuán gāo shān，zài mǒu xiē dì fāng hǎi bá 1,300mǐ，píng jūn gāo 7.8mǐ，dǐng kuān 5.8mǐ.)
3. The computer program is completely in computing mode and will only do computing tasks.
   现在，程序的显示区完全处于这种工具的模态中。
   (xiàn zài，chéng xù de xiǎn shì qū wán quán chù yú zhè zhǒng gōng jù de mó tài zhōng.)

4. Passive & Active Voice

In English, the passive voice is very commonly used. Unlike English, Chinese usually uses the active voice.

There are ways to show the passive tense in Chinese, and there are more specific words you would use to show that. So let’s take a look at some examples of the active voice in Chinese that translates to the English passive voice:

1. Tea is drunk widely all over the world.
   世界各地人们都喝茶。
   (Shì jiè gè dì rén men dōu hē chá.)
2. But sometimes the tables were laid outside in the gardens of stately homes.
   但有时也把餐桌摆到豪门大宅的花园里。
   (Dàn yǒu shí yě bǎ cān zhuō bǎi dào háo mén dà zhái de huā yuán lǐ.)
3. Parties are held when the weather is nice.
   天公作美时可以看到寻常百姓家的野餐。
   (Tiān gōng zuó měi shí kě yǐ kàn dào xún cháng bǎi xìng jiā de yě cān.)
4. Bananas are widely believed to grow on trees.
   普遍认为香蕉是结在树上的果实。
   (Pǔ biàn rèn wéi xiāng jiāo shì jié zài shù shàng de guǒ shí.)
   • It must be pointed out that… 必须指出……（bì xū zhǐ chū）
   • It must be admitted that… 必须承认……（bì xū chéng rèn）
   • It is imagined that… 人们认为……（rén men rèn wéi）
   • It can not be denied that… 不可否认……（bú kě fǒu rèn）

5. The use of Idioms

In Chinese, idioms and short four-character expressions are very widely used to make the language more vivid, live and concise.

English is not so rich in this kind of short idioms and expressions. In English, idioms are used scarcely because it tends to be more specific and direct. Here are some to read and compare:

1. Sincere Buddhists take vows of celibacy and abstinence from meat and wine, wearing no fur or woollen garments and shave their heads.
   虔诚的僧人立誓禁欲，不沾酒肉，不着皮毛，削发修行。
   (Qián chéng de sēng rén lì shì jìn yù，bú zhān jiǔ ròu，bú zhuó pí máo，xuē fà xiū xíng.)
2. China is a vast country.
   中国地域辽阔。
   (Zhōng guó dì yù liáo kuò.)
3. He always looks very funny.
   他的样子总是滑稽可笑。
   (Tā de yàng zi zǒng shì huá jī kě xiào.)
4. In retrospect, the past 100 years of human existence have been extremely fantastic, and extremely frightening as well.
   回首过去一百年,人类世界可说精彩绝伦,但也惊心动魄。
   (huí shǒu guò qù yī bǎi nián ,rén lèi shì jiè kě shuō jīng cǎi jué lún ,dàn yě jīng xīn dòng pò.)

6. Abstract vs Concrete

English widely uses abstract nouns while Chinese usually uses concrete nouns.

This comes from the Chinese philosophy which interprets the human being and his life as a microcosm within the natural macrocosm. Therefore, many abstract terms are expressed in Chinese with concrete objects from the natural world. Here are numerous examples of how this looks and what the Chinese literally means in English:

• Disintegration 土崩瓦解 （tǔ bēng wǎ jiě）
Lit. Landslides and tiles disintegrate
• Total exhaustion 筋疲力尽 （jīn pí lì jìn）
Lit. The muscles are weary and the strength has been used up
• Careful consideration 深思熟虑（shēn sī shú lǜ）
Lit. Deep thinking and careful thought
• Perfect harmony 水乳交融（shuǐ rǔ jiāo róng）
Lit. Mix well like milk and water
• Feed on fancies 画饼充饥（huà bǐng chōng jī）
Lit. To allay one’s hunger using a picture of a cake
• With great eagerness 如饥似渴（rú jī sì kě）
Lit. Like hunger as thirst
• Lack of perseverance 三天打鱼，两天晒网（sān tiān dǎ yú ，liǎng tiān shài wǎng）
Lit. Spent three days fishing and two days drying nets
• Make a little contribution 添砖加瓦（tiān zhuān jiā wǎ）
Lit. Contribute bricks and tiles for a building
• On the verge of destruction 危在旦夕（wēi zài dàn xī）
Lit. The crisis is in the coming daybreak or in the coming dusk.

7. Emphasis

English puts more emphasis on the first part of the sentence while Chinese put the emphasis on the last part of the sentence.

This characteristic is especially apparent in sentences which include logic with drawing conclusions or expression of results. In English, the conclusion is described first, and the facts are described at the end of the sentence. In Chinese, it is the opposite. First, the facts will be described and then the results, conclusions, etc. For example:

1. I was most delighted when it proved possible to reinstate the visit so quickly as a result of the initiative of your Government.
   由于贵国政府的提议，才得以这样快地重新实现访问。这使我感到特别高兴。
   (Yóu yú guì guó zhèng fǔ de tí yì ，cái dé yǐ zhè yàng kuài de chóng xīn shí xiàn fǎng wèn. zhè shǐ wǒ gǎn dào tè bié gāo xìng.)
2. His assertion that “it was difficult, if not impossible, for a people to enjoy its basic rights unless it was able to determine freely its political status and to ensure freely its economic, social and cultural development” was now scarcely contested.
   如果一个民族不能自由地决定其政治地位，不能自由地保证其经济、社会和文化的发展，要享受其基本权利，即使不是不可能，也是不容易的。这一论断几乎是无可置辩的了。
   (Rú guǒ yī gè mín zú bù néng zì yóu de jué dìng qí zhèng zhì dì wèi ，bù néng zì yóu de bǎo zhèng qí jīng jì 、shè huì hé wén huà de fā zhǎn ，yào xiǎng shòu qí jī běn quán lì ，jí shǐ bú shì bù kě néng ，yě shì bù róng yì de. zhè yī lùn duàn jī hū shì wú kě zhì biàn de le.)

Conclusion

From the above points, we can clearly see an interesting point that Chinese emphasizes short and clear expressions so that the listener (or reader) will easily get the accurate meaning of the idea expressed. For this aim, Chinese “gives up” long and complicated sentences which are based on grammar and prefer to use simple and short sentences. English sentences tend to be longer because they need to be specific. In addition, Chinese also doesn’t omit repeated words in order to make sure that the listener or reader will not misunderstand the meaning of the sentence.

In my eyes, this is an example of how culture and philosophy may influence a language since the Chinese philosophy and thinking is very pragmatic. English, on the other hand, has a variety of cultures and philosophies where it becomes necessary to elongate the way things are expressed. The other method the Chinese language uses to make expressions the most accurate is using idioms. Idioms are an integral part of Chinese culture and wisdom since almost each of them is a conclusion of a traditional Chinese legend and expresses a sort of insight. I hope you learned a lot about the differences between the two languages and understand how to start comprehending the Chinese language.

The post 7 Major Differences between English and Chinese appeared first on .

More and more learners realize that they need more reading practice. They search for newspapers, magazines, and the news to get more reading materials. Except for some advanced learners, very few people can learn productively this way. There are many obstacles, such as too many new words and grammar concepts above their current level. This quickly leads to frustration.

So, their problem is lacking suitable Chinese reading materials, especially content that covers various topics. That’s why we recommend Chinese graded readers (中文分级阅读). They can help build Chinese language skills while providing personalized content. These more suitable reading materials can promote self-teaching to improve language abilities.

Chinese teachers and students alike can all use graded reading materials as a scaffold to help with their Chinese learning. Learners should spend 10-40 minutes per day reading the corresponding level reading materials. It can be skimming or intensive reading, which is an excellent way for learners to cultivate good habits while expanding their target language knowledge.

General Chinese Graded Readers

The concept of graded readers is not only for kids, but for learners of all ages and levels. However, unlike reading materials for kids, adults need more valuable and helpful content to keep them involved and make it feel worth spending the time. Well, these textbooks are well organized and categorized. Whether you’re learning business Chinese, travel Chinese, test-oriented Chinese, or general daily conversation, you can always find the related reading materials classified by language levels.

Books：

• Developing Chinese: Reading Course

The Developing Chinese series is a complete set of Chinese language books. The reading course is divided into two levels (intermediate and advanced). Its writing respects the reading habits of learners in their actual reading. It balances the difficulty very well. This textbook fully considers the learner’s language ability and reading level and reduces reading difficulty by controlling the word level, sentence length, and content complexity. After studying this course, learners will improve their reading ability quickly, and it will enable them to experience and understand contemporary China. This reading course is the perfect match to the Developing Chinese textbook series.

• LEDU

Ledu（乐读）is a set of very new reading textbooks. They’re designed to cultivate the reading ability of Chinese learners. The lessons follow a specific sequence (strokes – characters – words – sentences – paragraphs) to comprehensively improve reading skills. There are six volumes in total. Whether you are a beginner or advanced learner, there is a volume for you. This textbook series emphasizes diversification in the choice of subject matter. In the “Live Reading” section, students are also provided with signs, posters, enlightenments, online posts, and other text materials that can be seen everywhere in their daily lives.

Digital materials：

Textbook dialogues and texts are excellent for acquiring basic language knowledge. But alongside that learning, you might feel unsatisfied because some materials in your textbooks are too basic and sometimes outdated. Especially when you get beyond the beginner level and need to communicate with others in daily life or in a work setting, the vocabulary and topics covered in textbooks are pretty limited. Here are some recommendations for supplemental Chinese graded reading materials.

• Mandarin Bean

With Mandarin Bean, you can easily find your ideal reading content by searching by HSK levels or various tags. The level of each piece is determined by if a learner at that level can understand 70% or more of the text. You can acquire new words and expressions while reading the topics that interest you—news, business, lifestyle, travel, culture, etc. Mandarin Bean rewrites many trending stories with words to match your level so that you can practice reading while learning something new. It’s perfect for independent reading since they provide the Pinyin, translation, and even new vocabulary practice exercises. Since it’s not entirely written based on the HSK vocabulary list, you can also learn the latest buzzwords and concepts, which are excellent for daily communication with Chinese people.

• Du Chinese

If you are looking for a reading app, Du Chinese is quite an excellent choice. There are six levels from Newbie to Master. Each increasing level makes the sentences and vocabulary more and more challenging. There are also many conversations to read as well. If you are stuck on a new word, a simple tap gives you the word’s meaning and pronunciation, and you can save it as a flashcard for later.

Chinese Graded Reading for kids

There are many similar concepts seen in all the Chinese graded readers for kids. As the level increases, the reading materials gradually become more and more challenging, and the sentence structures will be more complex. Many high-frequency words are used in the books to help kids memorize them. Also, there are many repeated sentences and phrases at the beginning that correspond with kids’ learning patterns.

Online Graded Readers:

• Little Fox Chinese

Little Fox Chinese is quite popular among Chinese teachers and kids. This site releases a number of Chinese stories, songs, and games for kids. There are five content levels, from basic vocabulary and sentence forming practice to simple sentences about thoughts and feelings. All the topics are pretty common, which makes them suitable for lessons and after-class independent reading. The stories are presented in videos, which draw kids’ attention. The transcription, pinyin, and translation are also provided in text format. This after-class reading comprehension and vocabulary practice can be checked by taking quizzes and playing games.

• eChineseWorld

There is a specific category for reading at eChineseWorld. It’s designed for K-12 Chinese learners according to ACTFL’s proficiency guidance, AP, and IB themes. It also satisfies the Common Core State Standards. There are three levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Each levels has three grades. Its reading collection includes elementary level eBooks, eFunland, Animated/Comic Reading, Secondary Social Studies Reading, and Secondary Leveled Readings. Chinese culture is integrated into the entire collection. Students can do independent reading and listen to it. But the post-lesson exercises and activities need to be assigned by the teacher.

Printed Graded Readers

• Rainbow Dragon 七色龙

The whole Rainbow Dragon series is about theme-based Chinese learning, including 15 common themes, such as family, body, food, time, etc. The stories are diverse and interesting, with lovely illustrations. For better learning, the content is scientifically graded by three levels of difficulty, targeting Chinese learners at overseas mainstream primary and junior high schools and international K-6 schools. After studying this series, kids will master around 2000 common Chinese words and be ready for daily communication. Besides the books, there are also mobile gaming apps and evaluation tools as a supplementary resource.

• Smart Cat 轻松猫

Smart Cat has two series: one for youth (10-18 years old) and one for kids (under ten years old). There are three grades at the youth stage and four grades at the kid stage. Reading is the critical skill it focuses on while listening, speaking, writing, and presenting are expanded skills. The books cover most HSK & YCT level 1-4 vocabulary, grammar, and topics. Books are constructed based on two related 10~12 sentence stories. It builds Chinese language and culture skills in a spiral-up approach. There are also supplementary audio resources and flashcards on its website. 

Graded Reader Apps:

• WaWaYaYa Joy Reader

Apple App Store and Google Play Store

There are 12 levels in the WaWaYaYa Joy Reader app, which cater to K-6 Chinese learners. This app is more like a digital library where you can find many familiar book series, such as Cool Panda, Rainbow Dragon, and I Read & I Learn. The full display of the books and friendly interface is quite neat and organized. The narration function is also authentic and pleasing. The variety of topics also adapts to the features of each age. They won’t be bored easily. And the price is also very reasonable for such a significant number of books. 

With so many websites, apps, and books to choose from, there’s no shortage of excellent graded readers to take your Chinese to the next level. These resources can be beneficial for learners of all levels and ages. Consistent reading practice not only helps with passive understanding of Chinese, it also strengthens your vocabulary and understanding of grammar concepts.

If you’re looking to try out graded readers for the first time, pick one or two resources to check out, and see which best suits your needs. You may quickly discover your new favorite Chinese learning resources and revolutionize your study routine!

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For those learning Chinese, reading can speed up progress by teaching grammar, vocabulary, and culture. But how do you choose Chinese books for your kids?

First, consider your child’s language level:

1. Beginner Stage: Just started learning Chinese, can recognize Pinyin and understand simple words or phrases.
2. Intermediate Stage: Can recognize Pinyin and basic Chinese characters and express themselves with simple sentences.
3. Advanced Stage: Can read independently and understand advanced grammar and syntax.

For beginner level children, Pinyin books with pictures are a great option. Intermediate level children can benefit from books with both characters and Pinyin. Advanced level children need books with higher-level words and complex sentences.

Every child has different needs, so here are some fantastic Chinese children’s books that cater to a range of levels.

1. Chineasy for Children: Learn 100 Words

Difficulty level: Beginner and intermediate

Author ShaoLan wrote this book to help inspire her children to learn Chinese. She developed a groundbreaking visual method for teaching Chinese characters in a way that is both easy and fun for kids.

Chineasy uses Shaolan’s novel method to transform Chinese characters into captivating and engaging pictograms. These colorful symbols provide the meaning and origin of Chinese characters. Children find it simpler to remember Chinese characters using this book because they view them as diverse, meaningful pictures. The book is organized by theme, such as numbers, family, animals, and food.

Please note that this book mainly focuses on learning Chinese characters. Some of the characters used in this book are in “traditional” forms.

This book is for those who would like to:

• Introduce or reinforce Chinese characters
• Build vocabulary
• Understand Chinese culture

Other Chineasy books to  consider:

• Chineasy: The New Way to Read Chinese
• Chineasy Everyday: Learning Chinese Through Its Culture

2. Easy Peasy Chinese: Mandarin Chinese for Beginners – 走向中文

Difficulty level: Beginner and intermediate

The author of “Easy Peasy Chinese,” Elinor Greenwood, is a writer and editor of children’s books. She has a Chinese degree from Leeds University and is enthusiastic about Mandarin Chinese education. She likes to motivate Chinese learners with fun activities and teaching aids, such as stickers and pictures.

If your child is just beginning to learn Chinese and wants to learn to introduce themselves, express numbers and dates, tell time, discuss food and interests, and discover Chinese culture, try this book! “Easy Peasy Chinese” is a fun and visually appealing book. It covers the basics for beginners and uses Pinyin. Your child will learn the most common words and phrases and then form simple Chinese sentences.

The book includes a CD to help your child learn how to pronounce Chinese phrases correctly.

This book is for those who would like to:

• Reinforce Chinese characters
• Build vocabulary
• Understand Chinese culture
• Improve pronunciation
• Have simple conversations

Accompanying Workbook:

Easy Peasy Chinese Workbook: Mandarin Chinese Practice for Beginners

3. Mina’s First Day of School – 米娜上学的第一天

(Simplified version; Traditional Version)

Difficulty level: Intermediate

Katrina Liu, an American-born Chinese author, wanted to raise her daughter to become bilingual. So, she created the Chinese picture book series “Mina Learns Chinese,” based on her daughter’s life. All her books are specifically designed for young audiences.

“Mina’s First Day of School” is a helpful picture book with an adorable story and engaging illustrations. Your child will follow Mina on her first day of school, reading easy-to-grasp dialogues and learning common phrases in Chinese.

The book includes Pinyin, Chinese characters, and English. Even if you are unable to read the book to your child, the audio book is available. Plus, Mina’s story helps mentally prepare your child for school. How great is that?

This book is for those who would like to:

• Build vocabulary
• Learn daily conversations
• Reinforce pronunciation
• Improve listening skills

More stories about Mina

• Mina’s Scavenger Hunt: Simplified Version; Traditional Version
• I love my grandpa: Simplified Version; Traditional Version

4. Father and Son – 父与子

Difficulty level: Intermediate

German cartoonist E.O. Plauen created the well-known comic “Father and Son” in 1934. The colorful comic artfully portrays the affection between a father and son. This version includes both Chinese characters and Pinyin.

Unlike the other recommendations listed here, “Father and Son” is a comic book series. While some parents may disapprove of comics as a medium, they can be used strategically to help children improve their reading and language skills. The images help children understand the language easier and students are often eager to read them, even in an unfamiliar language.

If you enjoyed “Father and Son” as a child, your kids will love it too, and they will try their best to understand the language to follow the compelling stories.

This book is for those who would like to:

• Build vocabulary
• Learn daily conversations

Another comic book recommendation with Pinyin:

• Big Head Son and Small Head Dad （大头儿子和小头爸爸）

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – 小屁孩日记

Difficulty level: Advanced

The author of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, Jeff Kinney, came up with the idea for this book series in 1998. It’s a collection of the unique diaries of a middle-school boy. The series was posted online in 2004 and published in 2007. Since then, it has sold over 200 million copies in 65 languages. Bilingual versions are also available, which can help non-native speakers understand the text by comparing the Chinese and English versions. The side-by-side formatting helps readers recognize new terms and untangle more complex sentences.

More importantly: It’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid! This series is so popular because children love it, and they want to keep reading it.”

This book is for those who would like to

• Build vocabulary
• Improve reading comprehension

Other Diary of a Wimpy Kid books

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series

Introducing your child to Chinese literature at an early age can have many benefits, such as improving their language skills, increasing their cultural knowledge, and promoting a love of reading. With a wide range of books available, from picture books to comic books to bilingual editions, there is something for every young reader. As a parent, you have the power to ignite your child’s curiosity and create a lifelong love of learning. So why not choose a Chinese book and start enjoying some family reading time today?

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Of course, this idea isn’t completely unheard of and is actually a relatively common practice amongst many language learners. Coming from someone who enjoyed watching Chinese TV shows in her free time, it isn’t as simple as just watching TV. There is a bit of planning and work that must happen for it to actually improve your Chinese.

It is best to choose the right TV show – one that uses vocabulary that is appropriate for your level – and to use the right method, depending on what you want to achieve. Chinese TV shows can help improve your Chinese listening, speaking, reading and vocabulary if used appropriately.

In this article, we introduce how you can use Chinese TV shows to improve different areas of your Chinese learning.

Listening

Practicing listening can be quite difficult, especially considering the many dialects and accents that you can encounter when talking to native Chinese speaker. When practicing listening with strictly audio-based content, speed, accent, and lack of vocabulary all become obstacles to understanding and render the whole process inefficient and boring. The added visual aspect of TV shows helps to solve this problem.

To practice listening while watching TV shows, there are just a few things that you need to do.

First, I would recommend using a TV show that you have already seen and understood, or at the very least, one that you are familiar with. When you already understand what is happening, it makes it easier to concentrate on what you are hearing and infer what the characters are saying.

Second, I recommend excluding any kind of subtitles from the show when you are watching it. While Chinese subtitles may seem helpful, they become a crutch for practicing your listening. It is important for you to get used to only relying on your ears.

Last, make sure to stay focused. When re-watching a TV show, it can become easy to lose focus and stop paying full attention to the audio. So, make sure to pay consistent attention, even when the characters may be saying things you don’t understand.

The fact that TV shows are an audio-visual resource makes them more conducive to building your auditory capabilities. As humans, we have a natural ability to gain meaning from body movements and facial expressions, so having those added hints while practicing makes for a more natural and enjoyable process.

Speaking and Pronunciation

The optimal way to improve one’s Chinese speaking ability is to speak to a native Chinese speaker, but that does not mean there’s no way for you to practice by yourself. Using TV shows, you can practice your speaking and pronunciation without any added pressure.

To practice speaking, it is very important to use a TV show that contains vocabulary that is at your level. I would also recommend watching with Chinese subtitles on since that would make it easier to be sure of what is being said. 

Practicing speaking and pronunciation with TV shows is very easy. You simply watch the show and when you hear a sentence you understand, repeat that sentence out loud. Be sure to mimic the character’s speech and intonation as best as you can. It may feel silly to do this at first, but as you keep doing it, you will become more familiar with Chinese speech patterns and tones, and they will come out more naturally the next time you actually speak. It goes without saying that this practice should be done in a place where you will not disturb others and will feel comfortable.

Keep in mind that this is not a replacement for your conversation practice, it is simply a way for you to improve your pronunciation and get more familiar with speaking in Chinese.

Reading

Similar to speaking, reading is better practiced with more appropriate resources like books, articles and other such materials. The language that can be read from Chinese TV shows is generally colloquial spoken language, which differs from that used in written resources. However, using TV shows to practice reading can help you get better at recognizing Chinese characters at a faster rate.

To practice reading with Chinese TV shows, you must simply watch a show with Chinese subtitles which shouldn’t be too difficult since practically all Chinese audio-visual media include subtitles. As you are watching, be sure to read the subtitles while paying attention to the audio. This will train your brain to associate the sound and meaning of the characters with their appearance.

Practicing reading with simpler more stimulating material like TV shows allows the transition into reading longer written texts to be much smoother.

Vocabulary

Acting as the building blocks of language, vocabulary can be acquired via practically every language resource. Of course, this also includes TV programs, but I would argue that TV media is one of the best resources to acquire vocabulary from. The audio-visual properties of the medium allow learners to receive visual, auditory and contextual references for every word they encounter.

When watching a TV show in Chinese, you are likely to come across many unknown words. There are a variety of practical ways to deal with such an abundance of vocabulary. I would like to offer a disclaimer that the method written below is one that I personally use and is not the only way to learn vocabulary from Chinese shows.

First, have a pen/pencil and notepad with you as you watch the show. Make sure that you have chosen a show that is appropriate for your level and only contains Chinese subtitles that you have already seen. This allows for maximum clarity with minimal distraction.

Then, enjoy the show while looking out for sentences where you understand all but one or two words. When you encounter such a sentence, write it down and look up the words you don’t understand. Doing it this way ensures that you understand the meaning of the context in and the usage of the new words, and increases the likelihood that you’ll remember them. It also allows you to enjoy the experience more rather than pausing the video at every second to write down words that you don’t know.

By the end of an episode, you’ll surely have a whole list of new words and example sentences noted down. Whether you choose to further study those words is completely up to you, but the process alone is already a good way to expand your vocabulary.

Now, having taken all of this in, I’m sure that your approach to watching Chinese audio-visual media will be at least a little bit different. While Chinese TV shows may be a versatile and practical tool for your Chinese learning journey, it’s important to keep in mind that the key point of using them for language learning is to have fun in the process. The methods listed above should be taken as informative guidelines of how a Chinese show can help you to improve your Chinese skills rather than strict rules to follow whenever you sit down to enjoy your favourite show. Just remember to have fun as you explore Chinese language and culture through television!

For a list of suggestions of Chinese TV shows (click here)

For many other Chinese learning resources (click here)

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1. 一心一意 (yì xīn yí yì)

to do something whole-heartedly

This literally means “one heart, one idea.” It is used to express a state of doing something intently，and can also be translated as “to do something whole-heartedly”.

For example:

         做事情应该要一心一意。(Zuò shìqing yīnggāi yào yì xīn yí yì.)

          We should do things whole-heartedly.

         他一心一意想见你，你就见他一面吧。 (Tā yì xīn yí yì xiǎng jiàn nǐ, nǐ jiù jiàn tā yí miàn ba.)

          He wants to see you intently, just give him a few minutes.

Since “一心一意” expresses doing something whole-heartedly,  what about the opposite? HOW TO EXPRESS DOING SOMETHING “UN WHOLE-HEARTEDLY?”  Here we point to the second idiom “三心二意” which is the opposite of “一心一意”.

2. 三心二意 (sān xīn’ èr yì)

to be of two minds

This literally means “three hearts, two ideas”. It is used to indicate the state of wanting to do several things at the same time, but ending up with nothing done well usually, and can also be translated as “be of two minds” or “half-heartedly”.

For example:
写作业就不要玩游戏，不要三心二意！(Xiě zuòyè jiù bú yào wán yóuxì, bú yào sān xīn’èr yì.)
When you’re doing your homework, you can’t be of two minds with playing games at the same time.

他又想准备考研，又想出去旅游，整天三心二意的。(Tā yòu xiǎng zhǔnbèi kǎoyán, yòu xiǎng chūqù lǚyóu, zhěngtiān sān xīn’ èr yì de.)
He wants to travel while preparing for the entrance exams for postgraduate schools, which results in doing things half-heartedly all day.

Let’s have a look at an idiom with the number “two” below, namely “两全其美”.

3. 两全其美 (liǎng quán qí měi)

to be perfect in both respects；to satisfy both sides

This literally means “two sides are both good”. It implies a state of satisfying both related sides with the same matter, and can plainly be translated as “be perfect in both respects” or “to satisfy both sides.”

For example:

       这个房子又大又离我的公司很近，真的是两全其美。

        (Zhè gè fángzi yòu dà yòu lí wǒ de gōngsī hěn jìn, zhēnde shì liǎng quán qí měi.)

        The house is perfect because it’s big and near my company.

       既要工作又要照顾孩子，我得想个两全其美的办法才行。

       (Jìyào gōngzuò yòu yào zhàogù háizi, wǒ dě xiǎng gè liǎng quán qí měi de bànfǎ cái xíng.)

       I need to think of a way to balance working and taking care of children.

4. 四通八达 (sì tōng bā dá)

to be accessible from all directions

This is usually used to describe a communication network which is accessible from all directions.

For example:

        铁路网四通八达。 (Tiělù wǎng sì tōng bā dá.)

        Railways radiate in all directions.

        四通八达的交通为这个地方带来了很多好处。

     （Sì tōng bā dá de jiāotōng wèi zhè gè dìfang dàilái le hěn duō hǎochù.）

       Good rail connections bring great advantages to this place.

5. 五体投地 (wǔ tǐ tóu dì)

extremely admire；admire somebody completely

This literally means “five body parts are thrown down.” It evolved from an ancient religious ritual involving groveling with your two feet, two hands, and your head down, to show your respect and worship. Now, it can loosely be translated as “extremely admire” or “admire somebody completely.”

For example:

       你真的太厉害了，这么难的题你都会，我对你佩服的五体投地。

     （Nǐ zhēn de tài lìhài le, zhème nán de tí nǐ dōu huì, wǒ duì nǐ pèifú de wǔ tǐ tóu dì.）

        You’re awesome for solving such a difficult question, and I extremely admire you.

       那几个女生对他的外貌和才华崇拜得五体投地。

      （Nà jǐ gè nǚshēng duì tā de wàimào hé cáihuá chóngbài de wǔ tǐ tóu dì.）

         Those girls really admire his appearance and talent.

6. 六神无主 (liù shén wú zhǔ)

to be in a state of stupefaction (from emotional shock)

• This idiom actually has something to do with Taoism. In Taoism, our heart, lung, liver, kidneys, spleen, and gallbladder are controlled by six separate gods. As a result, “六神无主” literally means “six gods lost their mind.” Actually, in daily life, it’s used to describe someone who is “in a state of stupefaction (from emotional shock).”
• You could use it when something scares you. For instance:

        我被这件事吓得六神无主。

        (Wǒ bèi zhè jiàn shì xià de liù shén wú zhǔ.)

        I was scared and felt shocked because of this thing.

Another one：

       接到被开除的电话，他顿时觉得六神无主。

        (Jiēdào bèi kāichú de diànhuà, tā dùnshí juéde liù shén wú zhǔ.)

        Getting the news of being dismissed through the phone, he suddenly felt stupefied.

7. 七嘴八舌 (qī zuǐ bā shé)

all talk at the same time

this literally means “seven mouths, eight tongues”. It’s used to indicate that everyone is trying to say what they want to say in a discussion (a clash of opinions). Thus, it can plainly be translated as “all talk at the same time.”

For example:

        会上大家针对这个计划七嘴八舌地讨论了起来。

       (Huì shàng dàjiā zhēnduì zhè gè jìhuà qī zuǐ bā shé de tǎolùn le qǐlái.)

         Everyone talks at the same time on this project in the meeting.

         一听到他被开除的消息，所有人都七嘴八舌地讨论了起来。

       （Yī tīngdào tā bèi kāichú de xiāoxī, suǒyǒu rén dōu qī zuǐ bā shé de tǎolùn le qǐlái.）

            Once hearing that he was fired, all start talking in confusion.

8. 八面玲珑 (bā miàn líng long)

all things to all people

This originally means “the window is spacious and well-lighted.” Now, it’s used to describe a person who is smooth and slick in establishing social relations, capable of pleasing all people. Hence, it can appropriately be translated as “all things to all people”.

For example:

        玛丽和所有人都很好，是个八面玲珑的人。

        (Mǎlì hé suǒyǒu rén dōu hěn hǎo, shì gè bā miàn líng lóng de rén.)

        Mary gets well along with all people. She is slick in establishing social relations.

       八面玲珑固然有好处，但是我更愿意做自己。

       (Bā miàn líng lóng gùrán yǒu hǎochù, dànshì wǒ gèng yuànyì zuò zìjǐ.)

       It’s advisable to be all things to all people, but I’d like to be myself.

9. 九牛一毛 (jiǔ niú yì máo)

to be comparatively small

This literally means “a single hair out of nine ox hides.” It can be translated to mean that something is “comparatively small” in comparison to something else.

For example:

       这点儿损失对他来说是九牛一毛。

       (Zhè diǎn’r sǔnshī duì tā lái shuō shì jiǔ niú yì máo.)

       The loss is comparatively small for him.

        比起他付出的，我这些事都是九牛一毛。

       (Bǐ qǐ tā fùchū de, wǒ zhèxiē shì dōushì jiǔ niú yī máo.)

       Compared to what he paid, what I’ve done is small.

10. 十全十美 (shí quán shí měi)

to be perfect in every way

How do we express “A PERFECT 10” in Chinese? Well, that’s the No. 10 idiom we are going to talk about here – “十全十美”, and it is used in a real conversation to describe something as perfect in every way.

For example:

这部电影有一个十全十美的结局。

      (Zhè bù diànyǐng yǒu yī gè shí quán shí měi de jiéjú.)

      The movie has a perfect ending.

      所有制度在刚推出的时候都不是十全十美的。

      (Suǒyǒu zhìdù zài gāng tuīchū de shíhou dōu búshì shí quán shí měi de.)

      Not all rules were perfect when they were first carried out.

11. 百发百中 (bǎi fā bǎi zhòng)

every shot hits the target; about a person who does things with full confidence

This literally means “a hundred shots, a hundred hits. Plainly speaking, it’s used to express “every shot hits the target,” and its extended meaning is describing a person who does things confidently.

Take playing basketball as an example:

        他投篮百发百中。(Tā tóulán bǎi fā bǎi zhòng.)

        He always makes a basket without a single miss.

One more:

        这次考试的所有问题，我肯定会百发百中。

       （Zhècì kǎoshì de suǒyǒu wèntí, wǒ kěndìng huì bǎi fā bǎi zhòng.）

         I’m sure that I can handle all the questions in the test.

12. 千钧一发 (qiān jūn yí fà)

to describe a situation that is in imminent peril

“钧” is an ancient measure classifier for weight, thus literally the idiom means “a thousand jun hangs by a single hair,” Usually in real life, it’s applied to describe “a situation that is in imminent peril.”

For example:

        在这千钧一发的时刻，他毫不犹豫地跳下去救人。

         (Zài zhè qiān jūn yí fà de shíkè, tā háo bù yóuyù de tiào xiàqù jiù ré.)

         At the imminent moment, he dived into the river to save the drowned man without hesitation.

        不到千钧一发之际，英雄绝不会出现。

        (Bú dào qiān jūn yí fà zhī jì, yīngxióng jué bú huì chūxiàn.)

          (Heroes never appear until the moment of extreme peril.)

13. 万众一心 (wàn zhòng yì xīn)

all the people of one mind

This literally means “ten thousand people, one heart.” The extended meaning of this idiom is describing unity, equivalent to “all the people of one mind” in English.

For example:

       万众一心，抵抗敌人。(Wàn zhòng yì xīn, dǐkàng dírén.)

        To unite as one group to defend against the enemy.

        在环保这件事上，全世界人民万众一心。

        (Zài huánbǎo zhè jiàn shì shàng, quán shìjiè rénmín wàn zhòng yì xīn.)

        All the people are of one mind on the environmental protection of the world.

The use of idioms in any language shows that you are able to express yourself better because it means that you understand more about the culture behind that language. This holds true also for Chinese. By understanding and using these 13 idioms with numbers, you can not only express yourself more clearly to other Chinese speakers, but you can show that you know the culture behind these idioms also. Practice using them, and for sure, people will be impressed with your deeper knowledge of Chinese.

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To master your Chinese reading skills, we have a few tips and suggestions for our beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners.

BEGINNER

Aim: Bridge the gap between Pinyin and characters

As beginners, learners are likely to have learned some vocabulary and be able to read short sentences with the help of pinyin, an official system used in Standard Chinese; pinyin helps you to pronounce a Chinese character correctly. However, to progress to a higher level, being able to read Chinese characters is essential, and that’s because the more words you learn, the more you will realize that words with same pinyin can mean different characters, and hence have different meanings. If this point is neglected, you may easily mix up words and struggle to understand what you read. To address this, we have two tips for you.

Tip 1: Start with radical recognition

A Chinese radical is a graphical component of a Chinese character that makes up characters. Usually, it gives you an idea of the meaning of words. For example, ‘亻’, the human radical, forms words related to people, including ‘他tā = he’ and ‘们mén = the character that makes subjects plural’. A further example: ’氵’, the water radical, implies the character to be water-related, including ‘游yóu = swim’, and ‘河hé = river’.

Tip 2: Study with flashcards

Your journey of learning Chinese characters will be much easier if you manage to find a fun and engaging way to do so. Therefore, using flashcards is recommended, and you can always conveniently bring the set out and practice a little whenever you’re free. If you’re more of a digital person, there’re many apps out there providing this function; for example, Quizlet, which not only can help you create your own flashcards, but these sets of words can turn into games and tests, which consolidate your learning even further.

INTERMEDIATE

Aim: Understand long sentences & short passages

When you reach this stage, it’s the time when you start to read longer sentences and short passages. However, what can you do to thoroughly understand them more smoothly and easily?

Tip 1: Audio-Assisted Reading

Listen to someone actually speak the sentence a few times when reading a sentence or short passage. In addition to being able to practice pronunciation and fluency, it’s a good way to strengthen your word recognition with the combination of sound and sight. By hearing a native speaker speak with natural intonation, you’ ll it easier to understand the content and phrasing.

There’re many resources that offer you this function, including audio supported textbooks, or even apps such as DuChinese, MandarinBean, and Decipher. All these sites offer various articles for reading tailored for different levels, and you could choose to read with or without pinyin. While they are supported by audio, DuChinese and MandarinBean also allows you to choose the audio speed to ensure your ability to follow.

Tip 2: Read out loud

Along with audio, it is recommended to also read it out yourself while you read. That’s because this will enhance your word-sight recognition, while reinforcing your memory of the words at the same time.

ADVANCED

Aim: Comprehend long articles

If you’re an advanced Chinese learner, you are probably getting ready to read long and relatively complicated articles independently. Yet, some students struggle to comprehend the essays thoroughly, so what should you be aware of to efficiently read long articles?

Tip 1: Pick key words

Imagine you’re reading a novel or a newspaper, and you spend time to read the words one by one? It’d take ages, right? Therefore, for Chinese, similar to other languages, requires you to learn the skill of identifying key words from each sentence, which you can make sense of and form meaningful main topics. This would also speed up the pace of reading.

Tip 2: Summarize each paragraph

To hone your reading comprehensive skills, this process cannot be neglected. First, instead of reading the long article in one go, read by paragraphs. This allows you to have less information to digest, enabling you to grasp the main idea of each passage. Second, summarize the paragraphs in your own words. This provides you a real opportunity to think deeply and test yourself on your understanding of the content. Moreover, it’s a very effective method to train your ability to convey messages accurately and express yourself in Chinese.

All of the above is a general guide on how to do Chinese reading practice for each level of learner. The Chinese reading practice is a stage you cannot ignore because it will not only help you with grammar and vocabulary, but it will also help you reach a deeper level of understanding more complex contexts and situations. It might be a little bit hard at the beginning, but after some practice, you will surely improve, and the benefits will be more than you can imagine.

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MandarinBean is a new English language website that attempts to “provide Mandarin Chinese learners with easy access to study materials that are high-quality, contextual …and definitely not boring!” At a glance the website is aesthetically pleasing, clearly labeling everything and sporting bright pictures on a clean white background.

The content, all of which is accessible for free, is grouped into three levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. The website conveniently labels each entry with a corresponding HSK level. Beginner is made up of content from HSK Levels 1 and 2, Intermediate from HSK Levels 3 and 4 content, and Advanced from HSK Levels 5 and 6 content. As expected, each higher level brings with it more advanced vocabulary, typically longer entries, and more complex subject matters.

In addition to categorizing by HSK level, MandarinBean also employs a tag system to further group the entries. The tags used include Business & Economics, Culture, Fun, History, Lifestyle, News, Story, and Travel. These tags allow you to sort by entry topic and help you to easily find and learn about the content you’re most interested in.

With a free membership, all entries can be viewed in either simplified or traditional characters (a single click allows you to easily switch between the two). A membership also provides you access to the site’s notes, translations, and Download Center which makes all entries downloadable as PDFs in both simplified and traditional characters. The notes typically come in the form of important vocabulary from the entry and also include a link to Quizlet, allowing you to practice these new words with digital flashcards.

An additional perk from a current membership is the ability to bookmark your favorite entries, making them easily accessible from your free profile.

To this point, this website probably sounds pretty standard but there is one characteristic that makes it stand out.

Every entry includes pinyin which can be hidden from view, an audiotrack recorded by a native speaker, and a popup dictionary for each word’s english meaning. The popup dictionary is reminiscent of Perapera and really serves to expedite the learning process. It is here where MandarinBean sets itself apart from many other similar sites. The convenience and thoroughness really impressed me and definitely warrants further use.

The site still appears to be in the preliminary stage of development so between the lack of options and the clear “free” label next to my profile, I would imagine there is more to come and the creators will eventually introduce buyable add-ons.

It is here where my largest critique of the site arises: it’s just too new. With it only being a few months old, there is not a huge amount of entries in total. The amount is impressive given the brevity of MandarinBean’s existence but I was able to read through all of the Advanced content (22 entries at the time of writing) in a few hours. Especially with the assistance of the popup dictionary making up for any of my vocabulary limitations.

While not a lot in aggregate, I was very pleased with the quality of the content – some of the more advanced entries being made up by news articles, blurbs, or even accounts originally in English translated into Chinese (one example being Elon Musk’s “Five Secrets of Success for the Young.”) Overall I quite enjoyed my time using MandarinBean and look forward to them amassing more content. In my opinion this is a great supplementary source to your Mandarin learning endeavors. With practical content, a simple layout, and thorough entries, this site is an abundance of convenient that, at least for the time being, is accessible in its entirety for free.

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Through the app, you just feel like you are listening in on conversations that indeed happen in China, with the added benefit of seeing the words—both characters and pinyin alike—like subtitles, as if you were watching a movie. The only thing lacking from the whole movie-like experience is seeing the people on the screen. So, maybe the better comparison is that the whole learning experience is more like listening to the radio, but with the added benefit of visible Chinese characters and pinyin.

The Learning Experience

The Du Chinese mobile app is designed for simplicity of navigation. Everything is labeled clearly for a student to understand what he is tapping on, and the labels are kept to a minimum so as to lessen confusion.

At the top of the main page are the three main areas of learning: “Lessons”, “My Page”, and “Words”. Simply put:

• “Lessons” are the actual conversations or articles where one can listen to and read what is taking place.
• “My Page” is where one can record favorite, completed, and latest lessons
• “Words” is where one can save specific vocabulary that one wishes to go back to and review for future study.

The lessons are marked by difficulty ranging from newbie to master, and the most popular ones are listed on the main page. I found they constantly add new lessons at a pace of 6 lessons per week. The lesson topics are interesting covering daily conversations,  Chinese culture, current events，the latest trends, funny stories, and life in China, and etc.

How it works

Once you tap a lesson, you are taken to a page which shows the lesson text. The Chinese characters one sees can be in either Simplified or Traditional form (changeable through the Settings) with the pinyin guide on top of the character. It has the option to turn off the pinyin so that you can learn to read the characters without them. Additionally, the words will be underlined with different colors based on their HSK level.

Clicking the “Play” button on the bottom starts the audio of the article, which comes with a voice recorded by a native speaker. The text will be highlighted during playback so that you can easily follow along, not just with your ears, but also with your eyes. At the same time, an English translation of what is being said will appear at the top of the screen. You can pause the audio at any time to suit your learning speed, and even tap on a completed sentence if you wish to hear it again. If you get stuck on a word, a simple tap gives you the word’s meaning and pinyin in the context of that sentence. It also allows you saving the words and review them later with their flashcards, pretty cool!

Searching for “Lessons”

Just as when you follow a lesson text and see the color-coordinated HSK underlined Chinese characters, “Lessons” are also labeled with the same colors. Thus, you can choose “Lessons” suited to your current mastery of Chinese, that is, whether your level is that of “Newbie”, “Elementary”, “Intermediate”, “Upper Intermediate”, “Advanced”, or “Master”. Of course, each increasing level makes the conversation and vocabulary more and more challenging. You need only tap on the desired level, and you will be taken to the “Lessons” that are categorized under that level.

Another easy way to search for “Lessons” is via the “Tags” listed at the very bottom of the main page. Here, you only need to tap the desired “Tag” and you will be taken to the “Lessons” that have been so tagged.

Verdict

Du Chinese is an excellent mobile app for learning Chinese. The app developers believe that, through this immersive method, the learner will absorb the vocabulary, sentence construction, and general way of speaking the language.

What you may not get from the app is the formal understanding and reasons behind the grammar of the language. This is one advantage of other learning methods, such as via schools, books, or one-on-one with a human teacher. Explanations of the reasons behind why a sentence is constructed the way it is are easier to find using these other methods.

But make no mistake, the Du Chinese app is worth it. If one can master all the “Lessons”, one is guaranteed to have advanced one`s Chinese language ability by a huge leap.

You can find the app in the App Store / Google Play or visit their website.

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In other words, it could be argued that Mandarin is one of the most expressively visual languages in human history, and fluency depends on recalling the association of characters to meaning as well as pronunciation.

Tongue placement, mouth shape, and the origin of the sound make up proper pronunciation, and pinyin is the necessary tool to learn this.  For example, the English “J” sound as used in Mandarin  has a similar sound represented by “ZH” in Pinyin, which has both a different mouth shape and tongue placement, and can completely change the meaning of a word.  For example: when buying food, if you ask for jiāng (姜), you are asking for ginger; if you ask for zhāng (鱆), you are asking for an octopus.

Pinyin is also a necessary aid in knowing the correct tones of characters. Remember that variations in tones for the same sound can alter the meaning of a word.  Here’s a funny example: if you introduce your qīzi  (妻子), you are introducing your wife; if you introduce your qǐzi (起子), you are introducing your bottle opener.

Pinyin is an important part of learning Chinese pronunciation, but it is the equivalent of training wheels on a bike. Remember that Chinese publications are always written in characters, rarely with pinyin.  Thus, studying characters and recognizing them will help with reading. To help your learning, buy children’s books from bookstores and study those characters, then write them down on flash cards, shuffle them, and read each character out loud. If they are translations of stories you remember from childhood, even better. You can also watch movies with subtitles so that you can hear the spoken language while trying to identify the characters. You won’t be able to identify many at the start, but with time, you’ll recognize words, phrases, and eventually entire sentences, and you’re sure to feel elated with your steady progress.

Just like when you learned to read in your mother tongue, learning to read Chinese will take lots of practice and time. Dedication is important. Here’s another learning tip: wherever and whenever you see something written in characters – a business name, a newspaper headline, a restaurant menu –  try to read it. When you come across a character you don’t recognize, say “什么” (shénme), which means “something” in the context of reading and not recognizing a character, and then keep reading the rest. Remember those characters you couldn’t identify (take a quick photo of them if you have to), then look them up when you have time. Eventually your 什么count will go down and you’ll be reading more and more fluently.

Learning Chinese in China provides you a great opportunity to learn characters quickly as   they can be found everywhere  in China: on street signs, on menus, printed on posters or magazine covers, everywhere. Take pictures of store and street signs that you see often and learn what they say. Advertisements in elevators and on bus stops typically change on a monthly basis, so learn the characters accompanying an image and review them each time you see them until you reach the point that you can read, understand, and dismiss them quickly, just as you would in your first language. If you’re brave enough, change the language setting on your phone or tablet to Mandarin Chinese so you see characters every time you use your device. The more you practice, the faster you will learn.

Keep in mind that your goal is to continually improve. Improvement should always be the goal. Fluency comes through growth and everyday commitment.  You should not restrict your learning to a set time period or a limited number of characters known. Always strive to learn more, because that is how you become good at something.

“Practice makes perfect” holds true when learning to read Mandarin, so any opportunity you get, write new characters and read them loud, then look for them either online or in other day-to-day life experiences. The more you do this, the sooner you’ll be reading Mandarin  as if it was your first language.

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