Mandarin Lessons

Learning Mandarin Chinese – Challenges & Rewards

by admin on 29/09/09 at 8:05 am

As we all know, Chinese is a tonal language, which basically means that tones are pre-assigned to different characters. There are five tones used in Chinese, and these tones really have nothing to do with the position of the character in the sentence nor do written characters reveal how the tones are supposed to be pronounced. This is why it is difficult for a lot of people to get at first try. How, then, will you know what tone to use? It can only be understood when you study Chinese.

It is very important to concentrate on trying to get the right tones for your characters. Why is that so? That’s simple. If you do not use the right tone, people will not understand what you are really trying to say. But, knowing your tones is not the only challenge here. Some Chinese terms have the same initial sounds, final sounds, and even the same tone – but the catch is, they have totally different meanings. That’s not the hardest of them all, though. The most challenging thing is, in fact, when you start formulating sentences since you will have to apply everything you learned here.

Are all these things overwhelming you? Don’t be scared! Learning Mandarin Chinese isn’t impossible as long as you choose the right materials for you and, more importantly, as long as you have the determination to learn. So long as you have this combination, learning won’t be very difficult. What materials can you refer to, then? There are a lot of choices in the internet to choose from. But, I prefer ChinesePod for all the resources needed to learn Mandarin Chinese. The program offers exceptional tutors to guide you through the lessons, interactive tools for fun learning, and a lot more. If you don’t have time to attend formal classes, ChinesePod is definitely your best option.