Hacking Chinese Podcast

Flashcards are often viewed as a silver bullet, promising swift mastery of characters, words and more, but relying on flashcards too much has serious drawbacks, and if you’re not careful, they can hinder more than they help. #learnchinese #flashcards #drawbacks #vocabulary Link to article: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ Why flashcards are terrible for learning Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-flashcards-are-bad...

How many words is reasonable to learn in a day? Will focusing on radicals make this easier? And should you learn simplified or traditional characters, or maybe both? #learnchinese #vocabulary #hanzi #simplified #traditional #radicals Link to article: ⁠ Student Q&A, December 2023: How many words to learn, if it’s good to learn radicals, and whether to learn simplified or traditional characters:...

The humble flashcard: A key component in a successful strategy, or a distraction from what truly matters? Few things have sparked as much debate as the use of flashcards for learning a foreign language. #learnchinese #flashcards #vocabulary #srs Link to article: Why flashcards are great for learning Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-flashcards-are-great-for-learning-chinese/ Learning eff...

Learning to read Chinese is an achievement in itself, but how fast you can read also matters, regardless of your level. So how do you increase your reading speed in Chinese? #learnchinese #reading #speed Link to article: ⁠ Chinese reading speed revisited: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-speed-revisited/ Black Friday, 2023: https://www.hackingchinese.com/black-friday-discounts-for-ha...

Learning things by heart used to be a mainstay of language education but is now often frowned upon. Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese or just a waste of time? #learnchinese #byheart #memorize #recite Link to article: Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese? https://www.hackingchinese.com/is-learning-things-by-heart-good-for-improving-your-chinese/ How...

Reading is a great way to build vocabulary, learn grammar and expand your horizons. Here are the ten best free Chinese reading resources for beginners, intermediate and advanced students. #learnchinese #reading #resources #free Link to article: ⁠ The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners: https://www.hackingchinese.com/10-best-free-chinese-reading-...

How do you transition from reading Pinyin to reading characters? Are compelling texts better than comprehensible texts? And which tools should you use when reading Chinese? #learnchinese #pinyin #hanzi #comprehensibility #text #tools Link to article: Chinese reading challenge, November 2023: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/ Hacking Chinese Challenges: https://challenges.ha...

Most Chinese characters are well-behaved and easy to recognise in compound characters. Some components are sneaky, though; they change appearance depending on context! #learnchinese #characters #components #radicals Link to article: ⁠ Shapeshifting Chinese characters: https://www.hackingchinese.com/shapeshifting-chinese-characters/ 6 challenges students face when learning to read Chinese and how t...

A widespread myth about learning Chinese is that you will master the language simply by living in an immersion environment. However, how much you learn is determined by what you do, not where you live. #learnchinese #immersion #china #taiwan #expat Link to article: You won't learn Chinese simply by living abroad: https://www.hackingchinese.com/you-wont-learn-chinese-simply-by-living-abroad/ Im...

The more you listen, the more you learn. That's why I listened to one hundred hours of Chinese in just three weeks. Here's what I learnt and how you can apply that to your learning. #learnchinese #listening #input #immersion Link to article: ⁠ 100 hours of Chinese listening in 3 weeks: What I learnt and how to apply it: https://www.hackingchinese.com/100-hours-of-chinese-listening-in-3-wee...

How do you build a broad vocabulary in Chinese quickly? How do you best use video-sharing platforms to boost your learning? And how should you study to nail all your 听写 or dictation? #learnchinese #vocabulary #videolearning #dictation Link to article: Hacking Chinese podcast episode 165 Q&A: Expanding vocabulary quickly, learning by watching videos and nailing dictation tests: ⁠https://www.h...

Listening more than once is a simple yet overlooked trick for improving your listening ability. By replaying audio, you give your brain more time to process the language, and as a result, you will understand and learn more. #learnchinese #listening #repetition #comprehension Link to article: Listen more than once: How the replay button can help you learn more Chinese: http://www.hackingchinese.com...

The cheapest and most convenient way to improve your speaking ability in Chinese is… to talk to yourself! Beyond being both easy and free, speaking to yourself is more helpful than you might think. #learnchinese #speaking #fluency Link to article: The cheapest and most convenient way to improve your spoken Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-cheapest-and-most-convenient-way-to-improve-your...

The best way to improve your Chinese pronunciation is to mimic native speakers. But why, and how exactly should you go about it? #learnchinese #pronunciation #mimicking #guide Learn more about the course: https://pronunciation.hackingchinese.com Link to video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AMx6A_EMXwI Other excerpts and previews from the course: Welcome to the Hacking Chinese pronunciation c...

For some, the allure of Chinese lies in language, culture and society, but for many, practical utility is also important. So, how long do you have to study Chinese to make it useful? Tags: #learnchinese #listening #pronunciation #flashcards Chinese listening challenge, September 2023: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/ Hacking Chinese Challenges: https://challenges.hacking...

For some, the allure of Chinese lies in language, culture and society, but for many, practical utility is also important. So, how long do you have to study Chinese to make it useful? Link to article: How long do you have to study Chinese to make it useful? https://www.hackingchinese.com/long-study-chinese-make-useful/ Tags: #learnchinese #useful #time #study How long have you studied Chinese? 290...

Hacking Chinese can seen as a very long response to the question of what I would have done differently if I could go back in time and learn Chinese again from scratch. However, most people don't want to read 800,000 words to get the full picture, which is why I have distilled all that into a few courses. Getting the most out of your learning with Hacking Chinese: ⁠https://www.hackingchinese.co...

Many students rely on textbooks to learn Chinese, but is this a good idea? Some people say that to unleash your full potential, you should throw your textbook away. Link to article: Should you throw away your Chinese textbook? https://www.hackingchinese.com/should-you-throw-away-your-chinese-textbook/ #learnchinese #textbooks Should you learn Chinese vocabulary from lists? https://www.hackingchine...

Have you tried translating Chinese to your native language as learning method? You should; it has more benefits than you might realise! Link to article: ⁠⁠ How translation to another language can help you learn Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-translation-can-help-you-learn-chinese/ #learnchinese #translation #chineseenglish Chinese translation challenge: https://www.hackingchinese.com/...

Should you drop everything you’re doing to learn Chinese for one year? How should you approach reading at an intermediate level? And how do you choose the best resources for learning? Link to article: ⁠Hacking Chinese Podcast three-year anniversary Q&A⁠ :  ⁠https://www.hackingchinese.com/hacking-chinese-podcast-two-year-anniversary-qa/⁠ #learnchinese #immersion #goingabroad #learningstrategy #...

Is Chinese difficult to learn, even impossible? Or is it in fact quite easy? The answer is that learning Chinese is difficult, but not in the way most people think! Link to article: ⁠Is Chinese difficult to learn? https://www.hackingchinese.com/is-chinese-difficult-to-learn/ #learnchinese #difficult #easy Why is listening in Chinese so hard? https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-is-listening-in-chine...

If you don’t invest the necessary time into learning Chinese, it doesn’t matter how good your method is. Timeboxing is a wonderful way to get more done in less time. Link to article: Timeboxing Chinese: Get more done in less time: https://www.hackingchinese.com/timeboxing-chinese/ #learnchinese #timemanagement #timeboxing #gettingthingsdone Three factors that decide how much Chinese you learn: htt...

Are you curious about the new HSK? Do you want to know what it’s really like to take and pass the advanced level? And how should you prepare to ace your own exams? Link to article: Insights from the new HSK 7-9: Interview with Sara Jaaksola: https://www.hackingchinese.com/insights-from-the-new-hsk-7-9-interview-with-sara-jaaksola/ #learnchinese #hsk #advanced #proficiencytest #china Sara's web...

Reaching an advanced level in Chinese is the goal of many learners, but what do you do when you get there? And is there such a thing as being done with Chinese? Link to article: ⁠ How I learnt Chinese, part 7: Teaching, writing, learning: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-i-learnt-chinese-part-7-teaching-writing-learning/ #learnchinese #mystory #sweden #teaching #professionaldevelopment Chinese r...

Varying your diet of Chinese reading and listening practice is often considered good, indeed necessary, but this could be wrong. In some cases, variation makes things too difficult, and then narrow reading and listening is a better option! Link to article: ⁠How narrow reading and listening can help you bridge the gap to real Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/narrow-listening-reading-can-help...