Learn Chinese

So what is it about Chinese that makes the language so difficult to learn? It's all about the Chinese symbols.

The Chinese language is actually a group of languages spoken by 95% of the population of China. The Chinese language is also spoken in other countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and in other areas of Southeast Asia. In total, there are 6 Chinese languages. Mandarin Chinese is the most popular Chinese language, spoken by about 65% of Chinese people, totaling more than 885 million. Mandarin Chinese dialects are most commonly spoken in the areas of China north of the Yangtze River. South of the Yangtze River in China, Cantonese is the most common dialect of the Chinese language, spoken by more than 50 million people.

So, how do these people communicate with each other? Well, all the Chinese languages share the same written Chinese symbols or characters. They don’t really have an alphabet of letters, but rather there are thousands of Chinese symbols and characters. Because they share the same written language, the spoken languages are all considered dialects of a single language that share the same Chinese symbols.

There are over 80,000 Chinese symbols or characters which, admittedly, sounds intimidating. In reality, however, most of the Chinese symbols are rarely, if ever, used. To speak and write the basic Chinese language, you will really only need to know a few thousands Chinese symbols or Chinese characters at most.

If you learn about 3,500 Chinese symbols or characters, you should be able to speak and write about 99% of the Chinese language.

So, is it possible for anyone to learn the Chinese language? There’s no reason you can’t learn the Chinese language fast. Learning the Chinese symbols fast is probably going to be the largest hurdle. You just need to make sure you find a competent Chinese language program. You can learn Chinese fast online or even learn Chinese fast through music. The best way to learn Chinese fast is to immerse yourself in the language. Speak the Chinese language every chance you get. View the Chinese symbols as much as you can to become familiar with them. Getting a Chinese newspaper or magazine is a great way to see Chinese symbols frequently. You will want to practice writing Chinese symbols and Chinese characters as well. When you write Chinese symbols, you are better able to remember what the Chinese symbols mean. This will also help you if you need to do Chinese translation.

If it’s really important to you to learn Chinese fast, then you should try to visit the country Ideally, you want to learn Chinese in China. Since it’s not always possible to visit China, try spending some time in the closest China town you can find. Many major cities, such as San Francisco and New York have China Town areas you can visit where everyone speaks Chinese. You will see Chinese symbols everywhere. Visit these areas often. Try chatting with the shop owners as you’re learning the Chinese language. Speaking Chinese with native Chinese is a great way to learn Chinese for free. Try reading the Chinese symbols. It’s only by practicing reading Chinese symbols and speaking the Chinese language at every opportunity that you’ll improve. Many people who live in China as missionaries or ex-pats learn basics of the Chinese language quickly, but mastering the Chinese language is another story. It takes great dedication to recognize and memorize the Chinese symbols. That requires complete immersion and years and years of continual practice to learn the Chinese symbols as well as the spoken Chinese language.