Podcast Episodes

71 - The building blocks of Chinese, part 5: Making sense of Chinese words

Season 1 Episode 71

How many characters do you need to know to be able to read Chinese? The truth is that characters only provide a foundation, so regardless of how many you know, you won't be able to read much unless y…

Published on 3 years, 2 months ago

70 - Why spaced repetition software is uniquely well suited to learning Chinese characters

Season 1 Episode 70

While spaced repetition software can be very useful, it also has some serious drawbacks. Fortunately, most of them don't apply to learning to write Chinese characters!

Link to article: Why spaced rep…

Published on 3 years, 3 months ago

69 - Should you learn the names of the strokes in Chinese characters?

Season 1 Episode 69

The best way to learn to read in Chinese is to read texts you can understand without constantly using a dictionary. As a beginner, such texts aren't easy to find, but let's have a look at the best re…

Published on 3 years, 3 months ago

68 - The 7 best Chinese reading resources for beginners

Season 1 Episode 68

The best way to learn to read in Chinese is to read texts you can understand without constantly using a dictionary. As a beginner, such texts aren't easy to find, but let's have a look at the best re…

Published on 3 years, 3 months ago

67 - 6 challenges students face when learning to read Chinese and how to overcome them

Season 1 Episode 67

When learning to read Chinese you will encounter several challenges, some of them unique to Chinese. What are these challenges, what do they mean for you as a student and how can you overcome them?

L…

Published on 3 years, 3 months ago

66 - Should you enrol in a Chinese course or are you better off learning on your own?

Season 1 Episode 66

Some people think enrolling in a course is the best way to learn Chinese, but others say that courses are useless, and swear by the effectiveness of self-studying. So should you enrol in a Chinese co…

Published on 3 years, 4 months ago

65 - Learning to read handwritten Chinese

Season 1 Episode 65

Everybody struggles with writing Chinese characters by hand, even if handwriting can often be avoided in a modern, digital society. But what about reading other people's handwriting? 

Link to article…

Published on 3 years, 4 months ago

64 - Why your Chinese isn't as good as you think it ought to be

Season 1 Episode 64

Sooner or later, most students realise that their Chinese isn't as good as they think it ought to be. Why is that and what can you do about it?

Link to article: Why your Chinese isn't as good as you …

Published on 3 years, 4 months ago

63 - The building blocks of Chinese, part 4: Learning and remembering compound characters

Season 1 Episode 63

The key to learning Chinese compound characters is to learn the building blocks and how they fit together, including both the function of each component and the structure of the compound. Add some cl…

Published on 3 years, 4 months ago

62 - The building blocks of Chinese, part 3: Compound characters

Season 1 Episode 62

A vast majority of Chinese characters are compounds, and understanding how the components fit together and which function they have, will make learning and remembering characters a lot easier. 

Link …

Published on 3 years, 5 months ago