Hacking Chinese Podcast

Are perfect tones necessary to communicate in Chinese? Or can you ignore tones and still be understood? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between? #learnchinese #tones #mandarin #pronunciation Link to article: ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠The Hacking Chinese guide to Mandarin tones: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-hacking-chinese-guide-to-mandarin-tones/⁠ Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confide...

Learning tones is a unique challenge for most learners of Chinese. What are tones? How important is it to learn tones? And how do you learn to both hear and pronounce them? #learnchinese #tones #mandarin #pronunciation Link to article: ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠ The Hacking Chinese guide to Mandarin tones: https://www.hackingchinese.com/the-hacking-chinese-guide-to-mandarin-tones/ Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Sp...

Is it better to practise writing Chinese on a computer or by hand? How do you find the right words when writing? And how can you leverage AI to improve your writing ability? #learnchinese #typing #handrwriting #vocabulary #ai Link to article: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Student Q&A, February 2024: Typing or handwriting, using new words in texts, and how to use AI to improve your writing: https://www.hackingchines...

The more you listen, the more you learn, but listening more is not as easy as it sounds. By building a personal Chinese audio library, you ensure that you always have something suitable to listen to, no matter what situation you're in. #learnchinese #listening #resources #immersion Link to article: ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ Listen more and learn more by building a personal Chinese audio library: https://www.hacki...

Listening and reading in Chinese can be a challenge, especially when your level is not high enough. To understand more and thereby also learn more, use scaffolding! #learnchinese# listening #reading #comprehension Link to article: ⁠ ⁠ 8 great ways to scaffold your Chinese listening and reading: https://www.hackingchinese.com/8-great-ways-scaffold-chinese-learning/ Text adventure games and how to u...

In 2023, I published one article and one podcast episode every week. Which was the best article? The most popular podcast episode? Let’s summarise the year that was and highlight the things you really shouldn’t miss! #learnchinese #bestof #hacknigchinese Link to article: ⁠ Best of Hacking Chinese 2023: https://www.hackingchinese.com/best-of-hacking-chinese-2023/ Best articles on Hacking Chinese 20...

Is listening to music a good way to learn Chinese? How can you learn to understand Mandarin spoken in noisy environments? And what if your teacher speaks only Chinese, but you don’t understand what she says? #learnchinese #music #tones #noise #teacher #immersion Link to article: Student Q&A, January 2024: Chinese music, too much Mandarin in the classroom, and listening in noisy environments: h...

Chatting online is seldom considered a method for learning Chinese, but it has several unique benefits. While generally regarded as a frivolous waste of time, text-based chatting has a place in even the most serious learning strategy. #learnchinese #chat #text #writing Link to article: 12 ways chatting online will improve your Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/chat-your-way-to-better-chinese...

Flashcards; some people love them, some people hate them. The goal of Hacking Chinese is to go beyond the black and white and figure out how things work so we can get the most out of them. #learnchinese #flashcards #srs #reading #strategy Link to article: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ How to best use flashcards to learn Chinese: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-best-use-flashcards-to-learn-chinese/ Why flashcards...

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...