\tInterested in learning Mandarin Chinese? You’re not alone. Mandarin is one of the most popular languages for business, travel, and pleasure.<\/p>\n
\tMany people think that learning Mandarin Chinese is difficult. There is no doubt that learning to write Mandarin Chinese characters presents a formidable challenge that can take years to master. Learning to speak Mandarin Chinese, however, is fairly simple because there are none of the verb conjugations that are found in many Western languages.<\/p>\n
\tMandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the pitch of a syllable can change its meaning. There are four tones in spoken Mandarin: high; rising; falling and rising; and falling.<\/p>\n
\tThese kinds of tones are also used in English for emphasis or inflection, but Mandarin tones are entirely different. The tones are the most challenging part of spoken Mandarin, but once the concept has been absorbed, Mandarin vocabulary and grammar is surprisingly easy.<\/p>\n
\tLEARNING MANDARIN TONES
\tWe have several articles and exercises to help you master the four Mandarin tones. You should practice your tones every day until you can pronounce them and recognize them easily.<\/p>\n
\tTake advantage of the sound files that are included in these tone lessons by repeating them until you can accurately produce the four tones.<\/p>\n
\tPracticing the Four Tones
\tThe next step is to combine the tones with each other. These exercises will help:<\/p>\n
\tStarting with the First Tone
\tStarting with the Second Tone
\tStarting with the Third Tone
\tStarting with the Fourth Tone
\tTest your ability to recognize Mandarin tones by taking this quiz:<\/p>\n
\tMandarin Tone Audio Quiz
\tPINYIN
\tMost people hold back learning Chinese characters until they have at least a basic understanding of the spoken langauge.<\/p>\n
\tFortunately, there is an alternative way of reading and writing Mandarin that is based on the Western (Roman) alphabet – Romanization.<\/p>\n
\tRomanization transposes the sounds of spoken Chinese into the Roman alphabet so that learners can read and write the language. There are several systems of Romanization, but the most popular is Pinyin.<\/p>\n
\tAll of the lessons on this website use Pinyin, and it is also used in the majority of textbooks and other learning materials. Being able to read and write Pinyin is essential for studying Mandarin Chinese.<\/p>\n
\tHere are some Pinyin resources:<\/p>\n
\tPinyin Pronunciation
\tPinyin Romanization to Learn Mandarin
\tWrite Chinese Characters Using Pinyin
\tWean Yourself From Pinyin
\tMANDARIN GRAMMAR
\tThere are a few stumbling blocks when it comes to Mandarin grammar. Sentence construction is often quite different from Western languages, so you must learn to think in Mandarin rather than trying to translate from one language to another.<\/p>\n
\tTake heart, though. In many ways, Mandarin grammar is very easy. There are no verb conjugations, and you never have to worry about subject \/ object agreements.<\/p>\n
\tHere are some articles and lessons on Mandarin grammar:<\/p>\n
\tMandarin Sentence Structure
\tMandarin Pronouns<\/p>\n
\tMeasure Words
\tMandarin Questions
\tMandarin Negative
\tEXPANDING YOUR VOCABULARY
\tOnce you’ve got the basics of tones and pronunciation, you can begin to concentrate on expanding your vocabulary. Here are some vocabulary-building resources:<\/p>\n
\tMandarin Greetings
\tMandarin Numbers
\tMandarin Colors
\tCity Names
\tCountry Names
\tAsking the Way
\tWhere Do You Live?
\tUsing the Phone
\tTEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
\tWe have several audio quizzes which can help you in your study of Mandarin by testing your listening comprehension.<\/p>\n
\tTone Quiz
\tNumbers from One to Ten
\tMandarin Dates
\tWhat time is it?<\/p>\n