How to Begin Learning Mandarin Chinese

Have you ever wanted to learn a unique language that you are unfamiliar to or haven't heard much about? Well now you can show off in front of your friends, or kick off the beginning of learning a new language with these simple tips to help you learn Mandarin Chinese!

Steps

1. Know your best way to learn. Do you learn best by rewriting phrases? Rereading? Saying them out aloud? Hearing them said aloud? If you are not sure, practice differently with new unique ways to help you remember.
2. Rewrite every phase or word on the page. This will help - as you can always refer to it if you have trouble.
3. Learn the tones. There are four tones. One type of tone is usually over each Chinese word. Each tone type is drawn over the word 'ma' to show the different ways of pronouncing it.
   • The first tone is a high, flat tone. Your voice stays flat, with no rise or dip in the way it sounds.
   • The Second tone is a rising tone. Your voice rises when you say this, sort of as if you were asking someone to repeat something by saying "huh?" or "what?"
   • The third tone is a dipping tone. The way you say the word goes down then up.
   • The fourth tone is a lowering tone. Just say the whole word as if your voice is becoming more manly, or as if you're reading a book and have come across something new and interesting and are saying "huh". Easy enough? If not, don't fret. It's definitely recommended to hear the tones demonstrated from a native speaker, since it's hard to get an idea of what they sound like purely through text.
4. Say hello. The Chinese say 'Hello' as "Ni Hao". This is pronounced: Nee How. The tones above each are both 3's. Ni-(nee) means you, literally, in Chinese, and Hao (how) means good. So they are basically asking You good? The Chinese tend to say things more than once, it sounds very westernized if you only say it once.

Tips

• You will learn more phrases if you try.
• Get a 'How to learn Mandarin' Book to learn more.
• Try to get a hold of a CD that you can play in your car or while doing homework or while just relaxing. It really will help if you just practice.
• If you can, taking at least an introductory course on Mandarin at your school or local college can be an excellent way to be confident and accurate in your pronunciation and tones. Getting the basics down can help you have a good springboard for further studies on your own.
• While there is much disagreement about Romanization of Chinese and the use of such systems, learning the Pinyin system can prove invaluable if you intend to type in Chinese on a Western keyboard.
• Flashcards are very useful for learning new vocabulary, but it is equally important to practice using new words in sentences.
• If you intend to learn how to read Chinese characters, seek out a good reference book or character workbook at your local bookstore or library.
• PERSISTENCE is key! If you think you know a lot, then just stop studying or repeating it, you will forget what you have learned. How frustrating will it be to have to relearn things over and over because you don't study at least 4 times a week.
• One good skill to learn is how to downplay compliments that native speakers give you.