Hacking Chinese Podcast

Mnemonics are clever memory techniques that help you remember everything from PIN codes to Chinese characters. Good mnemonics make learning easier, but bad ones can distract you or even hold you back. #learnchinese #characters #hanzi #mnemonics #memory #vocabulary Link to article on Hacking Chinese: How to not memorise Chinese characters: The anatomy of bad mnemonics: https://www.hackingchinese.co...

The best time to start learning Chinese might be behind you, but the second-best time is now. If you’ve been surrounded by Mandarin for years and keep putting off learning the language, this guide is for you! #learnchinese #expat #china #bubble #immersion Link to article on Hacking Chinese: The best time to start learning Chinese is now: A guide for expats: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-best-...

The obvious way to learn Mandarin is to listen to a person speaking the language. The less obvious way is to listen to the person who isn’t speaking in a conversation. What can you learn by listening to the listener? #learnchinese #listening #conversations #responses Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Improve your Chinese conversations by listening to the listener: https://www.hackingchinese.com/...

When learning a foreign language, some things might appear weird or even stupid. But does a negative attitude towards Chinese make it harder to learn? And if it does, how can you adopt a more positive approach? #learnchinese #attitude #motivation #stupid Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Chinese is fascinating and exciting, not weird and stupid: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-is-fascinat...

The answer to the question of which Chinese language course you should choose is that it depends. But what does it depend on, and how do you make the right decision about which course to take? #learnchinese #course #class #learning Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Which Chinese language course should you take? https://www.hackingchinese.com/which-chinese-language-course-should-you-take/ Take re...

Listening is the most important skill of all, because it accelerates all other learning and is crucial for social integration. What are the best free Chinese listening resources out there for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners? Link to article: ⁠⁠The 10 best free Chinese listening resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced learners⁠⁠ : ⁠⁠https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-10-best-...

Remembering is not a fixed, innate ability; it's a skill you can learn. In fact, there are many proven and easy ways to improve your memory! #learnchinese #memory #mnemonics #vocabulary Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Remembering is a skill you can learn: Mnemonics for Chinese learners: https://www.hackingchinese.com/remembering-is-a-skill-you-can-learn/ Feats of memory anyone can do (Josh...

Motivation is not a personality trait that you either have or lack. It is a system you can design. Picture your future Mandarin self, make study sustainable, and let steady action close the gap. #learnchinese #motivation #l2mss #dörnyei Link to article on Hacking Chinese: A practical guide to your ideal Mandarin self: Build motivation that lasts: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-practical-guide-to...

Mnemonics are clever memory devices designed to make it easier to remember things, but considering that they take time both to create and retrieve, are they really that useful for learning Chinese? #learnchinese #mnemonics #characters #memory #vocabulary Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Are mnemonics too slow for Chinese learners? https://www.hackingchinese.com/are-mnemonics-too-slow-for-chines...

Are you tired of learning Chinese characters and words only to forget them a day, a week or a month later? What if there were a simple method that would allow you to remember almost everything you learn, and that didn't take too much time and energy to use? There is: spaced repetition! #learnchinese #srs #vocabulary #flashcards #memory Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Spaced repetition: Wha...

I started Hacking Chinese to help people learn Mandarin, and your feedback is essential, so please fill out my listener survey. Also, to celebrate the Lunar New Year, I'm offering a hefty discount on three of my courses. #learnchinese #cny #discount #courses #survey Hacking Chinese reader and listener survey: https://forms.gle/FNKLcnDbxoBgULpK9 Chinese New Year and New Semester Course Discount...

I have published a book! It's called Hacking Chinese: the Dragon Collection and contains articles I wrote in 2024, the Year of the Dragon. The articles cover a wide variety of topics, but tones, listening comprehension and motivation are the most prominent. #learnchinese #anthology #hackingchinese #dragon Link to article on Hacking Chinese: New book: Hacking Chinese: the Dragon Collection: htt...

Feedback is important for learning, because it can show you how to not use the language and highlight things you hadn't noticed before. But getting honest feedback on your Chinese is harder than you might think. #learnchinese #feedback #correction #speaking #writing Link to article on Hacking Chinese: How to get honest feedback to boost your Chinese speaking and writing: https://www.hackingchinese...

The best way to learn to read Chinese is to read texts you can understand without constantly using a dictionary. As a beginner, those texts aren’t always easy to find, but let’s look at the best reading resources I know for beginners. #learnchinese #beginner #reading #resources Link to article on Hacking Chinese:  Chinese reading practice for beginners: 7 resources to improve your Mandarin: https:...

Subtitles and transcripts can help you understand spoken Chinese, but do they also help you become a better listener? Should you read along, read first, or save the text for after you’ve listened? #learnchinese #listening #reading #subtitles #transcripts Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Chinese subtitles and transcripts: Reading before, while or after listening: https://www.hackingchinese.com/c...

Spoken Mandarin can feel like an onslaught of similar sounds, half-recognised tones and unknown words. To add insult to injury, it's often too fast! Should you slow it down? If so, how? #learnchinese #listening #speed #rateofspeech #fast #slow Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Chinese listening, fast and slow: Three ways of slowing down Mandarin speech: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese...

2025 has come to an end. Which were the most popular articles on Hacking Chinese last year? The most popular podcast episodes? It's time to summarise the year that was and highlight the things you really shouldn’t miss! #learnchinese #2025 #bestof #hackingchinese Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Best of Hacking Chinese 2025: https://www.hackingchinese.com/best-of-hacking-chinese-2025/ All a...

How is it possible to spend 80 hours a week learning Chinese? And what can you learn from that, even if you're busy juggling work, family and other commitments? #learnchinese #immersion #busylife Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Diversify how you study Chinese to learn more: https://www.hackingchinese.com/diversified-learning-is-smart-learning/ Learning Chinese in the shower with me: https:...

You can build vocabulary in Chinese with flashcard apps and spaced repetition, but reading is more effective and more enjoyable. It helps you recognise words, understand how they work in context and build your sense of how the language works. #learnchinese #reading #vocabulary #srs #flashcards #wordswing Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Reading is a lot like spaced repetition, only better: http...

How long does it take to learn a Chinese character or word? It varies, but some vocabulary just refuses to stick, no matter what you do. These are called leeches, and if you don't deal with them, they'll suck you dry. #learnchinese #leeches #vocabulary #flashcards #srs Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Chinese characters and words that refuse to stick: Killing leeches: https://www.hackin...

Everybody knows that knowing many words is important, but how important is it? And how should you expand your vocabulary in Chinese? #learnchinese #vocabulary #words #characters Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Learning Chinese words: When quantity beats quality: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-importance-of-knowing-many-words/ Anki, the best of spaced repetition software: https://www.hackin...

Chinese characters are beautiful and fascinating, but learning to write them by hand is time-consuming. If you want to learn to write Chinese characters by hand with the least possible time investment, what's the best approach? #learnchinese #characters #hanzi #handwriting #strategy A minimum-effort approach to writing Chinese characters by hand: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-minimum-effort...

Flashcards are powerful, but what if your deck feels more like an overgrown thicket than a carefully cultivated garden? Do you clear away the weeds and bring it back under control, or burn it all down and start afresh? #learnchinese #vocabulary #flashcards #srs #characters #words Link to the article on Hacking Chinese: Cultivate your Chinese flashcard garden... or burn it down and start afresh: ht...

Do you want to speak Mandarin fluently, no matter what your level is? Use the 4/3/2 technique to build confidence and flow! #learnchinese #fluency #fluent #432 #speaking #paulnation Link to the article on Hacking Chinese: How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/talk-chinese-characters-chinese/ How to become fluent in Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/h...

How do native speakers talk about Chinese characters? The writing system is not phonetic, so you can't spell out words, but it is still possible to talk about Chinese characters. Let's explore how! #learnchinese #characters #hanzi #spoken Link to the article on Hacking Chinese: How to talk about Chinese characters in Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/talk-chinese-characters-chinese/...