Dieselfit Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 I haven't even started learning Chinese though I've looked at a few words that are common like greetings and such. I'm wondering where do most people start when learning Chinese as I do not want to waste time and get nothing out of it. Where do you start when you learn Chinese? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguaholic Posted December 15, 2013 Report Share Posted December 15, 2013 You would have to tell us a little bit more about your motivation to learn Chinese. Please also tell us more about your ambitions in learning Chinese. Without that kind of information, It's almost impossible to give you an adequate answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miya Posted December 21, 2013 Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 Agree with what linguaholic said. Tell us a bit more about why you want to learn Chinese For me, I think the most basic 'requirement' is you must be interested in Chinese / Chinese culture. If you're not, then no matter how hard you study, you just won't remember (or you'll remember and forget easily). So start with seeing if you're actually interested in learning the language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedonologist Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 I would say the first 214 characters you should learn (apart from maybe some basic vocab) are the radicals. You will find recognition of characters much easier after you have learned the radicals. Which themselves are individual characters meaning you will already have an arsenal of 214 once you learn them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguaholic Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 I would say the first 214 characters you should learn (apart from maybe some basic vocab) are the radicals. You will find recognition of characters much easier after you have learned the radicals. Which themselves are individual characters meaning you will already have an arsenal of 214 once you learn them all.This is mostly true but not all of the radicals are proper characters when "standing alone". Still, I would agree that it makes sense to start with the radicals and then proceed with different characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted January 22, 2014 Report Share Posted January 22, 2014 You can start with it http://www.chinesesphere.com/.. This website provide really good training on Chinese Language..They have their tailor made courses which help students of all ages. Online learning is very effective and efficient way to learn. They do have interactive session with people as well to solve their query and it's quite flexible too as you can fix your schedule at your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaKay Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 This is a great question. I would love to be able to learn Chinese but would have absolutely no idea of how to get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myepicdemise Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 First you learn the radicals and the common words that are used. Then you learn how to form sentences using those basic words. Finally, you learn advanced vocabularies. Unlike English, the problem with Chinese isn't with syntax but with vocabularies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguaholic Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 First you learn the radicals and the common words that are used. Then you learn how to form sentences using those basic words. Finally, you learn advanced vocabularies. Unlike English, the problem with Chinese isn't with syntax but with vocabularies.I completely agree myepicdemise. By the way, welcome to linguaholic.com! I really really like your avatar (animated gif). Definitely one of the best avatars I have ever seen. :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daimashin Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 First you learn the radicals and the common words that are used. Then you learn how to form sentences using those basic words. Finally, you learn advanced vocabularies. Unlike English, the problem with Chinese isn't with syntax but with vocabularies.Very insightful and accurate explanation. I might also like to add that everyone that wants to learn Chinese has to learn to write his/her own name in Chinese first. The number one rule if we want to learn Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myepicdemise Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 I completely agree myepicdemise. By the way, welcome to linguaholic.com! I really really like your avatar (animated gif). Definitely one of the best avatars I have ever seen. :grin:Thanks. I like the concept of this forum. I hope to be able to learn more languages than just English and Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguaholic Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Thanks. I like the concept of this forum. I hope to be able to learn more languages than just English and Chinese.Sure, I understand. What languages would you like to learn then? I can help you with German and French. If you need some help, please let me know and I will be glad to help you out :=) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrhumphrey Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I started by buying a book from the bookstore. I realized it was going to be a lot harder to learn by merely reading a book. After I realized that I went on Google and found a local teacher that offers private lessons. I called her up and met with her the following week. I spent a little over a year learning from her before I started grad school. Not only did I learn to pronounce things properly, I learned a lot about the language in general. Perhaps the best thing is that my teacher and I remain in contact. Good luck with whatever path you decide! It can be fun to just go on Youtube and learn to say some words. Its a start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanehardy94 Posted March 13, 2015 Report Share Posted March 13, 2015 "I use an app called Social Language. They've got tons of native Chinese speakers that can chat & practice with you for free. I also had a friend in China said that they all use an app called "Social Language". It's like a langauge exchange and social platform for Chinese & English speakers. Anyone using it as well? http://goo.gl/4x2QqF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjowens Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 I know that as a Chinese kid, they learn the pinyin firstly in school ,but at that time ,they can say a lot of phrases and sentences.So I think pinyin gives people a system to learn pronunciation but phrases to make a sentence are much more important to learn Chinese. When I started to learn Chinese , I was in hurry to gain the basic skills. I took an online 1-on-1 lesson on www.echineselearning.com. I started with also pinyin,phrases and grammars. They are the basics of learning Chinese. You can ignore none of them but to learn in different order.As my point of view, pinyin is really hard to understand cause it have the same look as English letters , but by pinyin you can read every word you learn.wish you good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[email protected] Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 As a Chinese teacher, I think the best place to start with your Chinese learning journey is definitely start from hanbridge mandarin. It is located in shenzhen, as well as providing Chinese online courses, where you could learn Chinese any time and anywhere. No matter what Chinese levels are you in now, you could start your Chinese learning. Because you will take a free Chinese test, and the teacher will make you a detailed and suitable Chinese learning plans for you. So if you are going to learn Chinese, go with Hanbridge Mandarin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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