there is an netflix show i wanted to watch, and since i have started recently studying simplified chinese i thought about watching the dub in mandarim but they only have the dub in guoyu

If i listen to guoyu, will it hold me back somehow futher down the line with huayu? i have seen people saying they are similar

I'm at the point where I can kinda read webnovels with some pop up dictionaries, and have been struggling through technical content.

I was looking for tools and recommendations on how to get to the next level here, and I came across very different recommendations here, in threads like these:

https://old.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/1cdnt5z/best_tools_for_reading_a_whole_novel_in_chinese/ https://old.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/17oa5fd/learning_chinese_through_reading_webnovels/

Which made me wonder, less in recommendations and more what other people doing in practice.

Curious what you've tried that works, and what you've given up on?

My school is forcing me to use Rosetta Stone for language credits, and I’m not learning Chinese at all :// I can pick up on what words mean through pictures if they are colors or a sandwich, but is there anything I can use on the side to help?

Do anybody here know where to learn hokkien? I searched duolingo and other related learning apps and they just offer mandarin, even cantonese is rare. I am planning to learn hokkien as it is the most prevalent language in the Philippiness.

Can anyone guess the answer? This riddle was in a workbook. I understand everything but I have no idea what the answer is... Please help! 谢谢 🙏

一片二片三四片， 五片六片七八片， 九片十片上下飞， 飞入水中看不见

Hey r/ChineseLanguage community!

I'm working on a Chinese learning app and would love your input on a feature I'm considering - companion characters that grow with your learning journey. 

The Concept: 
Imagine having a customizable companion (inspired by Chinese culture and scholarly traditions) that: 

• Evolves as you progress through your studies 
• Celebrates your achievements 
• Provides gentle encouragement 
• Maintains cultural authenticity 
• Can be fully optional/toggleable 

If you like the idea, I'm considering two integration approaches: 

1. Sidebar Companion: 

• Fixed in a small side panel 
• Always visible but unobtrusive 
• Provides clear, focused feedback through subtle animations 
• Think of it as a study buddy sitting at the corner of your desk 
• Reacts to your progress with gentle nods or encouraging gestures 

2. Dynamic Wallpaper:

• Integrated into the background environment 
• Subtle, atmospheric presence (like a living Chinese painting) 
• Blurred/desaturated to avoid distraction 
• Becomes more prominent only during milestone moments 
• Creates an immersive cultural atmosphere 

Questions for you: 

1. Would you want a companion character in your language learning app at all? Why/why not? 
2. If yes, which integration style would you prefer and why?
3. What features would make or break this concept for you?

 I'd really appreciate your honest thoughts and experiences - both positive and negative perspectives are valuable!

For me the hardest thing about tones is not recognizing or producing them, but remembering them. I instantly forget them, they basically leave no trace in my memory. Have you faced the same problem and how did you solve it? Please share your techniques

Hey guys,

Just wanted to recommend a mobile game to you, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp Complete for Android and iOS.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Animal Crossing to some extent. It's a cute relaxing Nintendo game where you make friends with animals while collecting furniture and catching bugs, stuff like that.

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp was a mobile free-to-play game, but recently Nintendo released the "complete" version, which removes all the scummy monetization and replaces it was a one-time purchase.

Right now it's on discount for 50% off. I believe the discount ends tomorrow.

My Chinese level is not that high, but I've been really enjoying the relaxed pace. It's a lot of dialogue, but it comes slowly, a sentence at a time, and I've been lazily switching between this app and Pleco to look up the words I don't know. It's been a good time!

My version only has traditional Chinese available, but that might be due to the fact that I'm currently living in Taiwan.

Anyway, if this seems like something you'd be interested in, I recommend it for good, relaxed daily Chinese practice!

Take a look at Chinese new year at Vegas casino

https://youtube.com/shorts/UVAvBCW4DzQ?si=gq6wbXtBUi6IDKMd

For example, when given the setence "演員們正忙著表演，旁邊還坐著幾個樂師。" How can tell you the pinyin yan yuan men zheng mang zhe biao yan, pang bian hai zuo zhu ji ge yue si. But how do I know it is 1, 2, 3 or 4th tone? Besides memorizing them by heart?

Hello, I need to pass an HSK 5-equivalent reading test for a study opportunity, I took the ACTFL RPT recently but it’s not a high enough grade to submit and I’m still within 90 days, and they say they’ll invalidate my results if I test again. Does anyone know of an equivalent alternative that I can schedule and take online within the next week or so? Thank you!

What do you think about watching chinese content with subs. Is doing it w/o subs even remotely possible? Doesnt really seem so with most b站 videos even though for example dialogues in tv shows and real life conversations are perfectly understandable (maybe cause its easier to predict what will be said or something idk). I mean after all they always have subs for a reason but still would like to know if this is incomplete chinese or perfectly fine

I've learnt chinese most of my life on and off. I had to take it as a second language in school but never got conversational, that changed during Covid times as I had time to watch shows and my comprehension increased massively. I spent 9 months living in Beijing on a study abroad year and that helped me make the jump into speaking, that was 2022/23. In my time there I picked up the accent and adapted my speech so much so that I was told by a majority of the native speakers I spoke to that I sounded native. This became a double edged sword of sorts because I could get by with no problem because people generally thought I was more fluent than I was including teachers sometimes. The consequence of that is I had major knowledge gaps. I could never discuss anything in depth but could understand the topics no problem. I grew conscious of sounding like an idiot because others expected me to already know stuff so I spent more time maintaining my image than getting better. I know that's foolish but I was focused on having fun day to day back then. I had 3 hours of class per day and moved from intermediate to advanced class. The improvement in my language skills was natural from being there and I didn't do anything consciously outside of classes. For a number of reasons I found it hard to move from casual acquaintance to actual friend with the chinese friends I knew so I didn't get much practice with native speakers. My classmates were all international students so we communicated in a mix of chinese and English. If we didn't know something we would both be stumped. Before I left China in the summer of 2023, I could understand what was said around me without having to focus, I just understood. I didn't need eng subtitles for dramas apart from a couple technical words and watched with chinese subs mostly.

I live in the UK and haven't had any consistent exposure really apart from the one off show I watch in my spare time. I took my language skills for granted and didn't notice the decline as I focused on finishing my degree. I went to China for a month recently and realised how bad I had gotten. I struggled to speak in daily settings and wouldn't understand what was said unless I was listening. That was humbling in itself but made so much worse because my pronunciation is still fine so they just think I'm stupid.

I've graduated and am looking for jobs. I've seen job postings requiring fluent speakers which I'm obviously not right now. What's the best way to get there in the shortest time? Should I do a short language programme (in China/virtual)? I have a lot of time and limited money. Do I start studying using textbooks I have? I have no opportunity to use chinese in real life in the great ol British countryside. Should I make online chinese friends? What should I do?

Tldr: Studied in China for 9 months at a HSK5/6 level in 2023. Did not maintain my language skills and have since lost that fluency. How do I get back to that level of fluency quickly and eventually get to a professional working proficiency?

I’m looking for workbook recommendations that will help me relearn Chinese efficiently.

I learned Chinese through a bilingual school and spoke a little at home. It’s been years since, and I’m looking to mainly practice my reading and writing. I can speak and listen pretty well.

I write in traditional.

Any recommendations? I’m thinking intermediate since I’ve lost a ton of the basics but I think it will come back quickly.

Can anyone recommend places to take Chinese courses in Guiyang? I would consider Guangzhou too but Guiyang is my first chose since my partner will be there. I want to focus on reading and writing for 1-2 months for classes. Low cost is also important to me. Thanks!

For context I'm ABC so I know how to speak and some basic reading and writing but I want to get my Chinese to a professional level.

大家好！我7到12歲的時候在上海長大，學了一點中文。由於我爸爸是承包商，我們只是在那裡暫住，之後搬到了韓國，接著來到美國，並一直待在美國。因此，我的中文能力大幅退步了 😅 幾年前我去過新加坡，並愛上了那裡。我的計畫是將來去新加坡留學，然後搬去定居。我目前正在學習資訊技術（IT）和動物學，但打算將動物學改成建築學或經濟學。我盡量練習說和寫中文，但每次學了不久就忘記了。例如，這次能勉強寫出這些句子，只是因為我今天花了很多時間在 HelloChinese 上。這個方法對其他人似乎有效，但我很難記住資訊，所以我想找一些不是Duolingo風格的學習資源，比如應用程式、書籍、網站等來學習中文。謝謝！

I've been studying Chinese for almost a year, mostly self-study but also with a couple hours a week of iTalki tutoring. I'm about to start using Integrated Chinese 4, having worked through the first three books. That will keep me and my tutor busy for a few more months, but already I'm thinking about what (if any) textbooks to get next.

Thanks to advice from this subreddit, I have a growing list of fun graded readers keeping me busy. (Right now I'm working through the 32-volume Journey to the West adapation by Imagin8, and I've also got some from Beijing Language & Culture University Press. I've already read all the Mandarin Companion books and a number of other graded readers.) Honestly, I enjoy the graded readers more than the textbook, and part of me is tempted just to stick with those. But I do like the grammar discussions in a traditional text.

So, are there textbooks you might suggest after IC4? I searched this forum and found some suggestions, but I'm still unsure. I've already ordered Beyond the Basics because I couldn't help myself. Beyond that, the Princeton series gets good reviews, but I can't quite tell which ones are up-to-date and which aren't. (Eyes on China? All Things Considered?) I've got NCPR1, and I've read about half of it, but it didn't appeal to me as much as IC. I hear good things about other texts from BLCU, but I'm not sure which I'd want to try.

Any suggestions?

The translation I have for it is "Do you do your utmost to help others?" but I don't understand how you get that meaning from those characters. MBDG is being unusually useless for this.

Hi all! Looking to buy an add-on dictionary on Pleco (individually rather than the bundle, as I feel like there are many items in the bundles that I likely will not use). I'm mostly interested in the Chinese-English sided translations.

Wondering if folks here can offer their own experiences on the differences between the ABC C-E dictionary and the Oxford bidirectional dictionary? Which do you prefer using? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I am looking for someone who can tutor me Chinese on a cheaper price. I am currently enrolled for HSK 3 and I want to practice speaking and Listening more to native speakers or anyone who assist me improve. I want to use the content I learn in class to be more conversational. I am also looking for learning partners at HSK 2/3/ or higher who would like to practice with me. Please DM me if you are interested. Thanks

Hey everyone,

I've been studying for a year and am completing the HSK3 exam in a March. However, I'm still weak with my speaking so I'm looking to find a way to practice.

A Chinese friend of mine has an English chat room that they use to practice English. I'm wondering if anything similar exists for practicing Chinese?

Any links or pointers would be very helpful.

Appreciate the help!

Hello,

My point here is very simple. I have a very weak background in learning chinese. Actually, I only did like 10hrs of learning chinese. I am also new to this reddit and I have been reading some threads to get a glimpse of what it is to learn this language.

I am a native french and arabic speaker, but I am in love with Asian culture, specifically the chinese one. This hence raises many questions in my head, but the main one is : Is it too late in 2025 to start learning this language ? Namely, did I miss the train to get interested into this growing economy and missed my opportunity here ? Or, are the next decades going to be as thriving as it was and it is now for China, and therefore it is worth it.

I am the only one with this kind of (useless ?) worries? Are there any experienced chinese speakers or people who atleast try?

Thanks a lot !

Hello, so I have been learning a little bit of Mandarin from someone but I recently moved and would like to keep learning what is the best way to learn mandarin on line?

I'm trying to understand how the original meaning of 的 (bright/clear) became used as a possessive marker. It could potentially just be sound loan, but it would be interesting if there was a semantic connection as well.

的 also has the meaning of "target", as in to shoot an arrow at a target. I wonder how this is connected to the other meanings as well.

If you have any ideas, make sure to comment them, even if you cannot prove their accuracy.

Hey so i did a two month chinese learning course last to last year and never really practiced it , but now i want to learn it again but with someone to practice with daily or weekly, the words i learn everyday and sentences too once i’m done re learning the vocab. So anytime interested to practice with me?

Hello everyone, my current level is HSK 3, but I already know all the HSK 4 vocabulary. But my speaking writing still bad .My exam is on March 9. Do you have any advice for me?

I don't live in or close to any Chinese speaking communities, so I have to resort to recorded audio for my daily immersion. Years ago I listened to Mike Duncan's History of Rome series. Does anyone know of any similar podcasts in Mandarin, maybe even about the history of China?

While you're here, feel free to name drop any other interesting Mandarin podcasts. I'll try to give them a listen.

I've seen the final line of Poem About Bastards (全都混你吗的蛋) translated as "fuck your mothers" "I'll fuck all your mothers" along with other, less explicit translations. How does a fluent speaker understand the insult? Would it be taken as a literal insult to their mothers or is it like "motherfucker" in English, divorced from the literal meaning. I don't really understand how swearing works in Mandarin very well at all I think.

I've looked up the pronunciation on yt and such and I'm still struggling with the mouthfeel of the word. I understand it's not a true 'r' in the English sense, but I can't quite feel how to say it. Any help please!