Hacking Chinese Podcast

Being able to have a conversation is a goal for most students of Chinese, be it with loved ones, for professional purposes or for travel, but what if you think conversations are too scary, too difficult or just impractical? Link to article: Using voice messaging as a stepping stone to Chinese conversations https://www.hackingchinese.com/using-voice-messaging-practise-speaking-listening/ Tags: #lea...

Speech recognition has improved immensely in recent years and talking to one's phone has become more common. Some apps also rely on this technology to check your pronunciation, but how good is speech recognition as a learning tool? Link to article: Using speech recognition to improve Chinese pronunciation, part 1 https://www.hackingchinese.com/using-speech-recognition-to-improve-chinese-pronunciat...

It's often hard to assess one's own pronunciation when learning Mandarin. People around you might understand what you are saying, but that doesn't necessarily mean your tones are good. Simply asking people if your pronunciation is good won't work either, because they will often tell you that your pronunciation is good even if it's not. So how can you find out how good your pronunciation really is?...

Understanding spoken Chinese can be hard, but the solution is simple: listen more. That is not always easy to do, though, because it's hard to both find the time to listen and to actually get started. Here are seven ideas for smooth and effortless Chinese listening practice. Link to article: 7 ideas for smooth and effortless Chinese listening practice https://www.hackingchinese.com/make-sure-that-...

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.com/back...

Most Chinese characters are compounds consisting of two or more components, but some components are in themselves compounds that can be further broken down. But how do you know where to stop? And how do you learn and remember the most basic building blocks? Basic characters, components and radicals: The building blocks of Chinese, part 2 https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-building-blocks-of-chines...

Learning to read and write Chinese is a daunting task, but the challenge becomes more manageable if you focus on learning the building blocks, learning how components form characters and how characters form words. The building blocks of Chinese, part 1: Chinese characters  and words in a nutshell https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-building-blocks-of-chinese-part-1-chinese-characters-and-words...

Skritter is a modern tool for learning ancient characters. It combines active recall and spaced repetition with Chinese-specific tools and content. While it's not a free resources, it has enough edges over other solutions to be worth considering. Link to article: Skritter review: Boosting your Chinese character learning (2021 edition) https://www.hackingchinese.com/skritter-chinese-review-boosting...

How do you study Chinese when you're busy with other things? How do you cope with a Chinese course that is too hard for you? And are translated texts okay to use for reading practice?  Hacking Chinese Podcast one-year anniversary Q&A : https://www.hackingchinese.com/hacking-chinese-podcast-one-year-anniversary-qa/ Tags: #learnchinese #podcast #faq #questions Listen to this and other episo...

Logging you language  learning can be very useful, and there are many tools and resources out there to help you, but which are the best and how do you use them?  Link to article: Chinese language logging, part 3: Tools and resources for keeping track of your learning https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-language-logging-part-3-tools-and-resources-for-keeping-track-of-your-learning &nbs...

Digital resources have made learning Chinese considerably easier than it used to be, but another problem has appeared: How can we make sense of and navigate the vast number of resources and find what's best for us?  Link to article: Chinese language learning in the twenty-first century: Towards a digital ecosystem? https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-language-learning-in-the-twenty-first-c...

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a dictionary, but did you know that it can be better than a dictionary for looking up words when learning Chinese? Link to article: The benefits of using Wikipedia to look up words when learning Chinese https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-benefits-of-using-wikipedia-to-look-up-words-when-learning-chinese/ Tags: #learnchinese #wikipedia #dictionary #wiktionary Liste...

When you start learning Chinese, your ability to communicate increases with every word you learn, but as your level improves, this feeling goes away and you it might feel  like you're no longer making progress. Welcome to the intermediate plateau! How to get past the intermediate Chinese learning plateau https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-get-past-the-intermediate-chinese-learning-plateau...

On July 1st, 2021, a new Chinese proficiency standard took effect. This will have big consequences for the HSK, the most widely used proficiency test for non-native speakers. What are these changes and what do they mean for you as a student? Link: The new HSK 3.0: What you need to know https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-new-hsk-3-0-what-you-need-to-know Tags: #learnchinese #hsk #2021 #test Listen...

As soon as you leave the classroom, you will notice that people don't speak Chinese the way your teacher and textbook do. Why is that, and what can you do to learn to understand regionally accented Mandarin? Link to article: Learning to understand regionally accented Mandarin https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-to-understand-regionally-accented-mandarin/ Tags: #learnchinese #accent #dialect #r...

Tones in Mandarin carry roughly as much information as vowels do, but still some people insist that tones are not very important, or even that native speakers don't really use tones. Why is that and what can we learn from digging deeper into this misconception? Link to article: The importance of tones is inversely proportional to the predictability of what you say https://www.hackingchinese.com/th...

Do you know the world's best footballer, Saylaw? What about Yàlǐshìduōdé? You probably do know them , even though you might not realise it. Link: Lost in transcription: Saylaw, Ice Island and Aristotle : https://www.hackingchinese.com/lost-in-transcription-saylaw-ice-island-and-aristotle/ Tags: #learnchinese #transcription #names Listen to this and other episodes on your favourite podcasting platf...

Many students who take Chinese proficiency exams say that they understand the text, but can't read fast enough. Is that a valid complaint? And how fast do you have to read to pass the hSK or TOCFL? Link: How important is reading speed on tests like HSK and TOCFL? https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-important-is-reading-speed-on-tests-like-hsk-and-tocfl/ Tags: #learnchinese #readingspeed #tocfl #hsk...

How do you balance your learning to make sure you get a healthy diet of Mandarin? Logging how much you listen, speak, read and write is easy, but are there better ways of doing it? Link: Chinese language logging, part 2: A healthy, balanced diet of Mandarin : https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-language-logging-part-2-a-healthy-balanced-diet-of-mandarin #learnchinese #progress #logging #balance...

How much time are you investing into learning Chinese? Most people don't actually know the answer to this question! Why is it a good idea to log your Chinese learning and how should you go about it? Link: Chinese language logging, part 1: Why and how to track your progress : https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-language-logging-part-1-why-and-how-to-track-your-progress #learnchinese #logging #pr...

Clear pronunciation makes communicating in Chinese much easier; the time to level up your pronunciation is now Link to announcement: It's time to level up your Chinese pronunciation : https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-hacking-chinese-pronunciation-course-is-finally-here/ Link to course front page: Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence : https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/man...

There are many ways of looking up Chinese characters you don't know, but which is the best for students? Link: How to look up Chinese characters you don’t know More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found over at Hacking Chinese ( www.hackingchinese.com ) Music: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis, 2020 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)

It's not uncommon for both students and teachers to treat Chinese pronunciation and Pinyin as the same thing, but they are not, and thinking that they are can lead to certain problems. Link: What's the difference between Chinese pronunciation and Pinyin? Does it matter? More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found over at Hacking Chinese ( www.hackingchinese.co...

There are many different kinds of input methods available for Chinese, such as typing, handwriting, and speech to text, but which is the best for language learners, and why? Link: Learning the second tone in Mandarin Chinese More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found over at Hacking Chinese ( www.hackingchinese.com ) Music: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benjamin" by Traxis,...

There are many different kinds of input methods available for Chinese, such as typing, handwriting, and speech to text, but which is the best for language learners, and why? Link: Chinese input methods: A guide for second language learners More information and inspiration about learning and teaching Chinese can be found over at Hacking Chinese ( www.hackingchinese.com ) Music: "Traxis 1 ~ F. Benja...