Podcast Episodes

176 - How to best use flashcards to learn Chinese

Season 1 Episode 176

Flashcards; some people love them, some people hate them. The goal of Hacking Chinese is to go beyond the black and white and figure out how things work so we can get the most out of them.

#learnchin…

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

175 - Why flashcards are terrible for learning Chinese

Season 1 Episode 175

Flashcards are often viewed as a silver bullet, promising swift mastery of characters, words and more, but relying on flashcards too much has serious drawbacks, and if you’re not careful, they can hi…

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

174 - Student Q&A, December 2023: How many words to learn, if it's good to learn radicals, and whether to learn simplified or traditional characters

Season 1 Episode 174

How many words is reasonable to learn in a day? Will focusing on radicals make this easier? And should you learn simplified or traditional characters, or maybe both?

#learnchinese #vocabulary #hanzi …

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

173 - Why flashcards are great for learning Chinese

Season 1 Episode 173

The humble flashcard: A key component in a successful strategy, or a distraction from what truly matters? Few things have sparked as much debate as the use of flashcards for learning a foreign langua…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

172 - Chinese reading speed revisited

Season 1 Episode 172

Learning to read Chinese is an achievement in itself, but how fast you can read also matters, regardless of your level. So how do you increase your reading speed in Chinese?

#learnchinese #reading #s…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

171 - Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese?

Season 1 Episode 171

Learning things by heart used to be a mainstay of language education but is now often frowned upon. Is learning things by heart good for improving your Chinese or just a waste of time?

#learnchinese …

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

170 - The 10 best free Chinese reading resources for all levels (2023 edition)

Season 1 Episode 170

Reading is a great way to build vocabulary, learn grammar and expand your horizons. Here are the ten best free Chinese reading resources for beginners, intermediate and advanced students.

#learnchine…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

169 - Student Q&A: Reading Pinyin or characters, comprehensible vs. compelling content and reading tools

Season 1 Episode 169

How do you transition from reading Pinyin to reading characters? Are compelling texts better than comprehensible texts? And which tools should you use when reading Chinese?

#learnchinese #pinyin #han…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

168 - Shapeshifting Chinese characters

Season 1 Episode 168

Most Chinese characters are well-behaved and easy to recognise in compound characters. Some components are sneaky, though; they change appearance depending on context!

#learnchinese #characters #comp…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

167 - You won't learn Chinese simply by living abroad

Season 1 Episode 167

A widespread myth about learning Chinese is that you will master the language simply by living in an immersion environment. However, how much you learn is determined by what you do, not where you liv…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago