Hanbridge Mandarin Chinese Online Learning

Learning Chinese can be quite a daunting task, especially due to the fast-paced life nowadays. We could make full use of fragment time. Downloading some handy Chinese learning apps on your phone would be extremely useful. Today we want to share our selection of the best apps we've found on the internet for learning Chinese using your Android devices! Let's get started! 1. Pleco Chinese Dictionary Pleco is a powerful Chinese-English translation software. Released by the American company Pleco Software , this app contains 130,000 characters and 20,000 examples marked with pinyin. Pleco supports an optical character reader (OCR) and uses a dozen of the world's best Chinese dictionaries in the software. It supports handwriting, even cursive, and is tolerant of input stroke-order mistakes, helpful for more advanced users. Pleco also has a special flashcards system. It pulls up a card from any dictionary entry with a single button tap, can import premade word lists, and us...

First of all, it’s worth celebrating that you’ve reached the intermediate level of Mandarin! Intermediate Chinese has different challenges compared to Beginner Chinese . One way to make sure the transition from beginner to intermediate goes smoothly is to follow previous learners’ wisdom and get some practical tips. 1. Suitable Textbooks Since every intermediate learner has a different understanding of the Chinese language and the ability of learners varies, I can’t make an accurate book suggestion for each individual learner; generally speaking, from my teaching experience, it is better to use more than one book. The best combination for you might be using a textbook for intermediate learners and another book for learning Chinese characters, since learning new characters is inevitable at the intermediate level. For the text book, I recommend the People’s Education Press’ My Chinese Classroom . This book series is designed for foreign readers who have already completed the beginner...

John is 25 years old American has no Mandarin basics, and he is planning to travel to China to learn Mandarin. He needs some suggestions for universities or programs to go through. I know John is not the only person who has such problem. Therefore, in this article I’ll tell you how to choose the best place to learn Mandarin in China . If you couldn't come to China, then check out the best place to learn Chinese online . Question 1: Study Chinese in Universities or Language Training Institution? Some Chinese universities indeed launch Chinese courses, including some famous language universities. Actually, some of our students also study Chinese in universities. It is little surprise, isn’t it? Andrew who studied Business Chinese in Shenzhen universities told me that Chinese language he had learnt in universities actually is limited and theoretical. Moreover, there are many students in a class that his teacher couldn’t focus on everyone. Language training institution is aim to...

John is 25 years old American has no Mandarin basics, and he is planning to travel to China to learn Mandarin. He needs some suggestions for universities or programs to go through. I know John is not the only person who has such problem. Therefore, in this article I’ll tell you how to choose the best place to learn Mandarin in China . If you couldn't come to China, then check out the best place to learn Chinese online . Question 1: Study Chinese in Universities or Language Training Institution? Some Chinese universities indeed launch Chinese courses, including some famous language universities. Actually, some of our students also study Chinese in universities. It is little surprise, isn’t it? Andrew who studied Business Chinese in Shenzhen universities told me that Chinese language he had learnt in universities actually is limited and theoretical. Moreover, there are many students in a class that his teacher couldn’t focus on everyone. Language training institution is aim to...

For more than five years, I have been studying Chinese both in China and abroad, and during this time, I have made many mistakes and have seen other students make them as well. In this article, I have tried to share my experience of studying Chinese and to summarize five of the most common mistakes that students tend to make. 1. I don't need to study characters and I only want to learn how to speak Mandarin Being anxious to be able to communicate quickly is the reason why many Mandarin students put studying characters aside. Focusing on learning vocabulary exclusively through a phonetic system (pinyin) is by far the most common error. There are even "revolutionary" courses that suggest you follow this option. However, if your goal is to learn Mandarin and not to learn four survival sentences, this decision can come at a great cost. As opposed to Western languages, in Chinese, words are relatively short, with normally 1 or 2 syllables, and the number of possible soun...

When it comes to learn Chinese, the most common reaction people get would be Chinese is incredibly difficult to learn. And it's really a tough work for many people. However, that could be wrong. Chinese writing system may look difficult, but here are the good news: Chinese has no cases, no tences, no gender and simplistic grammer structure. So, with commitment and daily practice it is certainly possible to successfully master Chinese language. In this article, we will introduce 4 steps to help you teach yourself Chinese. Step 1. Learn Pinyin: Chinese Phonetics Different from English, the Chinese is a hieroglyph. Many people are confused that how we can pronounce with hieroglyphs. In fact, the Chinese is composed of Pinyin (phonetic system) and character. Pinyin is the basic foundation of learning the Chinese language. Pinyin consists of 3 parts: initials, finals and tones. Same as English, initials and finals in Chinese are also composed of 26 latin alphabet (a-z), but the pro...

At present, the number of people learning Chinese nearly thirty million in the world. Chinese has attracted people of different skin color from all over the world into learning Chinese boom. These learners have a plenty of overseas students, business people, housewife and also some foreign kids who live in China. Can speak Chinese is more and more important in the present era. Every day there are lots of people just come to China for studying Chinese. Here are 3 tips for beginners to speak Chinese well . 1. You have to know the composition of Chinese Chinese is composed of two parts: Phoneticize (pīnyīn) and Character(hàn zì). Each part has a different function. We use pinyin to pronounce and listen. The character used in written and read. To this point maybe someone will ask “why?” Here is the answer: It is generally known that Chinese characters have five thousand years history. It is one of the three oldest character systems in the world. Its invention represents the wisdom of t...

Reading is one of the four basic skills (also including listening, speaking, and writing) that learners need to master if they want to thoroughly learn Chinese. The ability to read Chinese characters can improve perception, and that helps improve speaking and writing. Here are some ways to help you improve your reading skills. First, find some Chinese books on topics you are interested in and read daily. Select books with pinyin to help you understand the meaning. Secondly, try to learn more new words and phrases regularly. Think of words as bricks and that you want to build a tall building. Write the new words and phrases in a notebook and review them when you are free. Third, read newspapers if you have time. You may also browse some Chinese learning websites with news rewritten in pinyin. The fourth way is to do exercises to improve reading speed. When the passages are so long that you cannot read them carefully within a limited time, then try skimming and scanning. Y...

Classical Chinese is one of a written language in ancient China, mainly including the spoken language and written language which were formed on the basis of the pre-qin period. In the 1918 years ago, all the articles are written in classical Chinese. Now generally we will call "Classical Chinese" to " 文言文（wén yán wén） ". Today I would like to recommend a book of learning ancient Chinese for some students who are interested in Chinese classical language. The importance of the Classical Chinese This language is very broad and profound, it is belongs to our ancestor language, and now it become an very important courses for each of Chinese middle school students. It is a very good way for us to understand the way how our ancestor to speak and to think about things. Such as 孙子兵法 Sun Zi Bing Fa is a very popular book in foreign market, it is read by many foreigners. In fact, this is a book that related to the strategy of war, but there are many very classic strate...

Chinese, like any language over the world, has its own idiomatic expressions—成语(chénɡ yǔ), there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language according to the official definition. Most Chinese idioms consist of four Chinese characters , so it is also called "four-character idioms". It has a long history and still used in both writing language and spoken language. Now I would like to introduce top 5 popular Chinese idioms. 1. pò fǔ chén zhōu 破 釜 沉 舟 "破釜沉舟pò fǔ chén zhōu"，which means "break the woks, sink the boats". Here is a history story of the general Xiang Yu 项羽 . It is said that when Xiang Yu cross a river into his enemy's territory, he ordered the army to destroy all cauldrons and boats and at last, he won the battle. Example: miànduì kùnnɑn, wǒ mén yào yǒu pò fǔ chén zhōu de yǒnɡqì 面对困难，我们要有破釜沉舟的勇气。 2. qǐ rén yōu tiān 杞 人 忧 天 In case the sky should fall "杞人忧天qǐ rén yōu tiān", which refers to unnecessary or groundles...

To choose a Chinese name , you should choose both the first name and the last name. Most people tend to have a well-known Chinese family name, and this post will introduce the most popular Chinese family names for you. “百家姓 bǎijiāxìnɡ” (Hundred family names) is a very famous article about Chinese surnames. According to the literature, it was written in song dynasty. There are 411 surnames in beginning and then increased to 568 in the later stage. It includes 444 single surnames and 124 compound surnames. The order of 《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》is not based on the population actual arrangement, but for easy to read, study and remember.《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》with《三字经sānzìjīnɡ》,《千字文(qiānzìwén)》 are called “三百千(sānbǎiqiān)” in China. It is children's enlightenment books in ancient China. The origin of Chinese surnames: It was called “Hundred family names”, but it doesn’t mean there are only 100 names in 《百家姓bǎijiāxìnɡ》. According to the different provenance and characteristic, it can divide into 1...

Do you have trouble understanding your Chinese friends' speech? Does your Chinese reading ability outpace your ability to understand spoken Chinese? Improve Chinese listening seems like really urgent. Don't worry! Here are some effective methods to improve your Mandarin listening . 1. Expand your Chinese Vocabulary The lack of vocabulary will directly affect your listening, and accumulating abundant vocabulary is the foundation of listening as well as learning Chinese. You will understand most of meaning of conversations among you and your friends if you can comprehend more than half words in them. 2. Practice the Correct Chinese Pronunciation Having correct pronunciation is an excellent method to practice Mandarin listening. It is easy to understand a meaning when what you listen to is the same as what you say. For most Chinese learners, the most difficult part in Chinese pronunciation is the four tones. You can get some tips about how to practice four tones here: H...

Mandarin Chinese is quite a complex language to learn, especially for English speakers. However, with commitment and daily practice it is certainly possible to successfully master this language. With gains in technology online courses have become increasingly comparative to traditional in-person classes and are certainly more effective than self-study with a textbook. Learning to speak Mandarin online means that you take a class wherever and wheneveryou want. A Chinese tutor recommended for you by our professional student services representativewill suit your learning style and will help you improve your speaking skill. Our online learning platform includes a feature that will help you monitor your progress with instant feedback. Your learning process can be tracked over time. Online analytics make it easy for you to track progress, identify weaknesses and view lesson notes and feedback from your teacher. Experts agree that live conversation is the key to learning a for...

Language learners, without doubt, always wish to make conversations with and receive advice from native speakers of the target language. This is the same for learners who chose online learning. Those who searches "learn Chinese via Skype" are more willing to find a native teacher to spot every problem in the learner's language production, and give tailor-made advice to them face-to-face. The instantaneity of learning with a real human teacher is much better than learning after a video or audio program online. Studying Chinese on Skype can greatly involve both teacher and learner into conversation effectively, and the learner may receive correction and feedback right away. However, over the internet learners are still not faced with real-time communication. Detailed gestures are missing, and the pressure of speaking in turn is sometimes lowered. In some extreme cases, the student may lose the teacher when the difficulty is not expected by the student – and the student c...

Listening to Chinese songs can be a valuable and entertaining way to learn the Chinese language. Today we’d like to recommend a very famous female singer, Dèng Lì Jūn to you, she was one of the most popular and influential Chinese pop singer. It is often said, "Wherever there are Chinese people, the songs of Deng Lijun can be heard. "Deng’s voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout areas with large Asian populations. Besides China, her songs also received a welcome from huge popularity among east Asian, such as Korean, Japanese, Malaysian and Indonesian listeners. She was known for her folk songs and romantic ballads. Many of her songs became classics not only in her lifetime but remain the same nowadays. "The Moon Represents My Heart" is one of her representatives. Here are the beautiful lyrics. Enjoy the music. yuè liɑnɡ dài biǎo wǒ de xīn 月 亮 代 表 我 的 心 The moon represents my heart nǐ wèn wǒ ài nǐ yǒu duō shēn 你 问 我 爱 你 有 多 深 You ask me ...

Here are some reasons why watching movies in Chinese can help you learn the language. 1. You always get to pick the movie that interests you most. 2. Lively daily conversation instead of rigid textbook dialogue. 3. Fully immersed with cultural background and slang. 4. Watching a movie is quite fun itself, but it is important to know which ones are suitable for Chinese learning material and the right approach to be a smart learner. Movie recommendations The movies I recommend are both easy to pick up the lines in everyday life and rich in cultural and historical background to help you better understand the country. They are a great combination of learning language and culture. 1. Eat Drink, Man Woman 饮食男女(1994) : One among Ang Lee’s classic family trilogy, this is my all-time favorite. It’s a touching story about a dad and his three unmarried daughters, each of whom defies tradition in their own way. I also recommend the other two of the trilogy: Pushing Hand 推手 and The Wedding Ba...

Chinese characters are the main writing symbols of the Chinese language. Pinyin is the phonetic notation for Chinese characters. Each character has a specific syllable. Each syllable is composed of three parts: initial, final, and tone. The pinyin system has 21 initials, 36 finals, and 4 tones. It also has 2 semi-vowels and a neutral tone. Tones are very important. Many characters have the same spelling in pinyin but have different tones, and therefore have different meanings. This pinyin table is a complete listing of all Hanyu Pinyin （汉语拼音）syllables used in Standard Mandarin. Click on the cell for pronunciation. * An empty cell indicates that the corresponding syllable does not exist in Standard Mandarin. 此页面上的内容需要较新版本的 Adobe Flash Player。 Illustration of Tones The first tone, marked by -, is a high and flat sound, naturally prolonged. Example: tāng（soup）汤 The second tone, mar...

Grammar grammar grammar grammar. Probably everyone's least favorite word from grade school and no doubt the one thing most do not look forward to when learning a new language. Unless you're me, in which case you oddly love grammar. Something about how it makes the sentence flow together naturally and makes one much more competent and adept at speaking. I honestly couldn't tell you why. What I do know though is that grammar is one of the most essential things to know when it comes to learning Chinese. How do I know this? Let me give you my story. What It's Like Not Knowing Grammar So there I was, studying the same beginner's sentence for about the 100th time in a row and I knew every single word in the sentence. The only problem was: I had no idea what it was saying!!!!! Thoughts of "are you kidding me?!?" and "$200 dollars for lessons to know nothing?!?!" flashed through my mind. I was about 8 months into learning Chinese and I have no ...

Let’s face it: Chinese is hard to learn. Why is Chinese so hard to learn for foreigners? The reasons are as follows: 1. Tones. Tones are a vastly important and difficult aspect of Chinese that foreigners must study and master to truly learn Chinese. There are four tones and one neutral tone in Chinese. Many characters have the same spelling in pinyin but different tones – and therefore have different meanings. Because Western languages don’t have formal tones, this concept can be confusing. (See: The best way to learn Chinese tones ) 2. Characters. Characters are the most difficult hurdle for foreigners learning Chinese. With no alphabet, a student must learn at least 400-500 characters to read a newspaper. As we all know, some characters are composed of numerous strokes, and the way of their composition is also different this is completely strange for foreigners, thus is also very hard to remember and master. (See: how to learn Chinese character fast ) 3. Pronunciation. Th...

Has your house in China already been decorated? Is it well-content for you? Or do you plan to do some decorations? If you do so, it's a goood choice to know some Chinese expressions about interior decoration because good communications are really necessary when dealing with the interior decoration. If you couldn’t communicate well with the designers, your house may become the last place you want to stay. But please don’t worry. I’m right here preparing to help you. In this article, we will learn some expressions about interior decoration. And I will tell you something interesting about when Chinese decorate their house. First, let’s learn some basic words. 室内shìnèi : interior 装修zhuāngxiū : to decorate, decoration 平面图píngmiàn tú : ground plan 层céng : floor, storey Here we often use “第dì” , a word used before the numbers . “第dì+ number” is ordinal number. For exmaple, “第一dìyī” means “the first”. So“第一层dìyīcéng” means “ground floor”. 墙qiáng : wall 窗chuāng : window...