The Language of Millions: How to Learn Chinese

Learning Chinese can be challenging for people who have never learned Asian languages. But you will succeed if you are motivated and structure your learning process correctly. This guide will help you to begin your study journey right! 

Why Study Chinese Language

Chinese is the most spoken language worldwide, with over a billion native speakers. Learning Chinese can make it easier to pick up other East Asian languages, like Japanese and Korean, which share cultural and linguistic influences. 

 Learning Chinese will benefit your future career, especially considering that China has one of the largest economies and is a key player in global business. Proficiency in Chinese can give you an edge in industries like international trade, technology, and finance, as companies seek professionals who can bridge language and cultural gaps. So Chinese language skills will create a real career boost for you!

Learning Chinese will allow you not only to understand ancient Chinese culture but also dive deeper into modern one: Chinese pop music (C-pop) is hugely popular in China and is gaining international fans, especially through genres like Mandopop (Mandarin pop) and Cantopop (Cantonese pop). 

Artists like Kris Wu, Lay Zhang, and the girl group SNH48 have become youth icons, and the industry is booming with concerts, fan meetups, and streaming platforms. Have you heard it? 

How Long Does It Take to Learn Chinese?

Fluency in a new language isn’t measured in months or years — it’s all about the hours you put in. If you’re learning Mandarin for five hours a day, you’ll progress much faster than someone squeezing in 30 minutes on a language app during their commute. But still, be mindful about rest and using spaced repetition! 

The USA Foreign Service Institute (FSI) ranks Mandarin Chinese as one of the hardest languages for native English speakers. According to their research, reaching fluency takes about 2,200 hours of focused study, which is significantly more than most languages. In comparison, languages like Spanish or Italian only require around 600 hours.

Why it takes so long? The Chinese writing system. Learning characters by rote, as is traditional in many schools, demands an enormous amount of time. If you’ve ever been to China, you might have seen kids practicing characters outside, filling grid after grid with repetition. While this method might work for Chinese people, it’s not ideal for foreign learners.

Should You Learn Mandarin Chinese? 

When someone speaks about learning Chinese, they usually mean “Mandarin Chinese”. 

Mandarin (Standard Chinese) is the most practical choice for broad communication across China and internationally. It’s the official language of China, Taiwan, and Singapore and is widely spoken among Chinese communities worldwide. So it is the most popular and practical choice. 

We advise you to only learn other types of Chinese if you want to live in a particular region. Taiwanese Mandarin is nearly the same as Standard Mandarin but has some unique vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural expressions.

Cantonese is widely spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, and among Chinese communities overseas, particularly in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. Cantonese offers access to Hong Kong’s rich media and entertainment industry, including movies, music, and TV. 

So, How Do You Learn Chinese? 

Note, that there are a lot of different techniques on how to learn Chinese. Here we offer just one option, your way might be different and you can choose other tips that work for you better. 

Friendly advice to consider attending some Mandarin classes or hiring native Chinese teachers. A teacher will create a structured curriculum, which can be especially helpful for beginners who might feel overwhelmed by the complexity of Chinese characters and tones. It is not impossible to self-study but learning Mandarin Chinese with the help of a teacher will be faster. And in any case, you will have plenty of homework or studies alone, so guidance will only make your life easier. 

Start With Learning Pinin 

For many beginners, Mandarin’s thousands of characters can seem as daunting as the Great Wall itself. Before diving into vocabulary, you’ll need a way to learn and understand sounds — and that’s where pinyin comes in.

Pinyin is the official phonetic system in mainland China for transcribing characters into the Roman alphabet. It’s your essential first step to getting a handle on Mandarin Chinese and serves as a bridge between English and Chinese.

Some traditionalists might argue that pinyin isn’t “real” Chinese writing, but it actually wasn’t designed for foreigners. Pinyin was created to help boost literacy across China, and today, Chinese children learn pinyin before tackling characters. While older generations might still use radicals or stroke order to input characters, most younger people use pinyin to type on laptops and smartphones.

Unlike English, where letters can have wildly different pronunciations (like the ough in “though,” “through,” “rough,” etc.), pinyin is consistent—every sound has one spelling. With around 400 basic syllables, learning pinyin isn’t overwhelming and gives you a powerful foundation for mastering Mandarin pronunciation.

Learn Chinese Pronunciation and Tones 

If you’re serious about learning Mandarin language, you’ve got to nail the basics of pronunciation. And let’s be clear — learning pinyin syllables is just the start. Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language, which means tones are mandatory if you want to sound even remotely understandable.

Now, here’s the trap: after you’ve memorized the pinyin chart, you might feel ready to dive headfirst into “real” Chinese. The bad news is tones are more important than the pinyin syllables themselves. Different tones, different meanings; mess up the tone, and you might just call someone’s mother (妈, mā) a horse (马, mǎ). You don’t want to get into this situation? 

The tones are, thankfully, consistent across China, even as accents vary. 

What Kind of Tones Exist in the Chinese Language? 

1. First Tone: High and flat, like the top of your vocal range. It doesn’t dip or rise, just floats along.
2. Second Tone: Rising, starting low and lifting to a higher pitch, much like the intonation we use in English for a question.
3. Third Tone: This one’s tricky—a dip down to your lowest range with a slight upward lilt. Many new learners trip up on this one, confusing it with the second.
4. Fourth Tone: Sharp and descending, like a command. Picture the voice you use to tell your dog to “sit,” and you’re close.
5. Neutral Tone: The fifth tone isn’t really a tone at all. Say it naturally, without stress or emphasis, and you’re golden.

Sure, it’s tedious work, and distinguishing the tones might feel like an uphill battle, but it’s foundational. Shadow native Chinese speakers, listen to standard Mandarin, and repeat. And a word of advice—stay humble. If you think the tones are easy, chances are you’re missing something. So listen closely, practice diligently, and let the tones fall into place.

Listen to Mandarin as Much as Possible

For the first month or two, dive into Mandarin listening. Just let yourself get comfortable with the sounds. Pair your listening with learning pinyin to help you connect sounds with their written form — characters can wait. 

Jumping into characters right away, without knowing how words sound or fit together, can make the language feel like an overwhelming blur. So instead, tune in to Mandarin’s rhythm. Let individual sounds and words start to pop out from what once seemed like endless noise. Soon, you’ll have familiar words and phrases echoing in your mind.

Here’s a pro tip: start with intermediate-level texts that repeat core vocabulary rather than overly simplistic beginner texts. Podcasts, audiobooks, and stories like LingQ’s Mandarin mini-stories (full of repeated high-frequency verbs) work wonders. Watching Chinese TV shows and movies also gives you tons of listening practice, and with the LingQ Netflix shelf or LingQ Importer, you can import anything you find online.

Learn Chinese Characters

Now it is time to learn characters. While you can read and write using pinyin alone, you’ll soon hit limitations. Here is how it works:

✔️ Pinyin helps learners pronounce Chinese accurately, making it easier to start speaking and understanding tones.

✔️ Characters are necessary for reading and writing. Chinese characters, or 汉字 (hànzì), are the written symbols of the Chinese language. Each character typically represents a word, concept, or syllable, and they are often used in combination to form new words.

For example, in the character 休 (xiū), meaning “rest,” the radical on the left, 亻, means “person,” while the component on the right, 木, means “tree,” suggesting a person resting by a tree.

Together, pinyin and characters create a complete language system, enabling learners to pronounce, recognize, and understand Mandarin.

Chinese characters are vital for distinguishing between homophones (two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings), which are common in Mandarin. For example, “he,” “she,” and “it” all share the same pronunciation (tā) but are written as 他, 她, and 它, respectively. Without characters, these distinctions are impossible to make, even if your pronunciation is perfect.

Types of Characters

Chinese characters come in two forms: simplified and traditional. Simplified characters are used in China, while traditional characters are predominant in regions like Hong Kong and Taiwan. Choosing which version to learn depends on where you plan to use the language. 

Building a foundation in characters not only helps you to move to fluency but also helps you to learn Chinese culture. The structure and history within each character are integral to truly mastering the language.

Each Chinese character is made up of radicals and, often, a phonetic component:

• Radicals are key components that hint at the character’s meaning.
• Phonetic components give clues about pronunciation.

Take the character “休” (xiū), meaning “rest.” Here, the radical “亻” on the left represents “person,” and the phonetic component “木” (mù), meaning “tree,” hints at a connection to nature. Together, they paint a picture of a person leaning against a tree, symbolizing “rest.”

Practice Stroke Order

Learning the correct stroke order is crucial for writing characters accurately. Stroke order guides you through the proper way to construct each character, building muscle memory and reinforcing recognition. Practicing stroke order frequently will make writing feel natural over time.

Learn Vocabulary 

When you are more or less finished with pinin and tones, it’s time to start building a solid vocabulary. You can study characters and words simultaneously, as characters form the building blocks of words. This dual approach will help you intuitively grasp the underlying structure of Chinese, making vocabulary and character learning feel more connected and natural.

For example take the character 火 (huǒ), which means “fire.” This character appears in various Chinese words related to heat or flames:

• 火车 (huǒchē) — “fire vehicle” (train)
• 火山 (huǒshān) — “fire mountain” (volcano)
• 火锅 (huǒguō) — “fire pot” (hot pot)
• 火星 (huǒxīng) — “fire star” (Mars)
• 火灾 (huǒzāi) — “fire disaster” (fire accident)

Learning words that share the character 火 allows you to understand their role in conveying the idea of heat, fire, or energy across different contexts

Here are some more tips to study vocabulary effectively:

✔️ Common Word Lists

Start with essential everyday phrases and vocabulary. Organize your word lists into categories (like greetings, food, transportation, etc.). This categorization makes learning easier, as you can focus on one theme at a time, which helps reinforce connections between related words.

✔️ Flashcards

Flashcards are a powerful tool for memorizing vocabulary. Take your word lists and turn them into flashcards (physical or digital). Label objects around your home or workspace with these flashcards for an immersive environment. Seeing these words daily will reinforce your memory and make vocabulary recall feel natural.

✔️ Learn with Anki Pro
Apps are a great way to expand your vocabulary on the go. Anki Pro has built-in flashcard systems and offers spaced repetition to help you retain vocabulary over time. 

Building your vocabulary library with these methods will create a strong foundation for fluency, making each Chinese learning journey more manageable and interactive.

Learn Grammar (yes, only now!) 

​​Here’s some good news: Chinese grammar is far simpler than in most languages. There are no plural forms, gendered nouns, or verb conjugations for tenses. While there are basic grammar rules, Mandarin is much more flexible than many other languages.

The best way to learn Chinese grammar is through exposure, not just textbooks. Sentence mining is a highly effective method — gather sentences from sources like newspapers, novels, subtitles, or dictionaries and use them to create flashcards. Ensure each sentence is understandable; you won’t gain anything from it if you don’t understand it. The more sentences you’re exposed to, the faster you’ll start picking up grammar patterns naturally.

When studying Chinese grammar, focus on word order and common sentence structures. Chinese usually follows a subject-verb-object structure, just like English. However, modifiers like adjectives and adverbs always come before the words they describe. 

For example, the sentence “I carefully read the book” or “I read the book carefully.” in Chinese will look like: “我认真地读书” (wǒ rèn zhēn de dú shū)

Where “认真地” rèn zhēn de, (meaning “carefully”) is placed before the verb “读书” (dú shū, meaning “read”).

While exposure is essential, textbooks can provide a helpful foundation. 

Textbooks to Learn Chinese Grammar:

• Chinese Grammar Wiki BOOK: Elementary
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar (Modern Grammars)
• Learn Chinese: A Comprehensive Guide to Learning Chinese for Beginners

Using a mix of sentence mining and structured learning will give you a strong grasp of Chinese grammar, helping you construct sentences and convey meaning effectively.

Read a Lot 

Reading is a powerful tool for building vocabulary and fluency in any language, and Mandarin is no exception. The more you read, the more exposure you get to natural Chinese language structures and expressions, transforming passive input into active output. If you want to speak Chinese confidently, a solid foundation in reading is essential.

Even as a beginner, you can find resources for your level, which will help you ease into the language gradually. Don’t try to read Chinese sci-fi like Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem in your first months of learning, but starting with beginner-friendly material is key.

For newcomers, Mandarin Companion offers graded readers using just 150, 300, or 450 characters, making it manageable and encouraging early reading success. As you advance, Chinese Breeze provides more complex readers ideal for intermediate learners. Both of these are crafted specifically for non-native learners, helping you build confidence as you progress.

The Mandarin Blueprint Method also emphasizes graded reading, offering curated content that introduces you to Chinese characters and sentence structures in an accessible way. Reading regularly in Chinese will reinforce your character recognition and deepen your understanding of vocabulary in context.

Here are some great beginner books to kick off your reading practice:

• Chinese Short Stories For Beginners
• Chinese Conversations for Beginners
• Chinese Stories for Language Learners

Online Resources for Reading 

• DuChinese — an app offering graded Chinese reading materials 
• Mandarin Bean — a website with similar content. 

Surround Yourself With Chinese

Of course, the fastest way to learn is moving to China, but even if it is not an option for now, you can add a lot Chinese content to your life as possible. Read, listen, and speak in Chiese whenever you can! 

When you’re just starting, using content adapted to non-native speakers is helpful. Try podcasts like Slow Chinese to gradually build your listening skills. The well-known ChinesePod offers over 4,000 lessons, covering levels from beginner to advanced. Once you’re comfortable with basic listening, you can move on to Chinese TV shows and movies.

Watching Chinese films and series is enjoyable and a great way to improve listening comprehension and learn more about Chinese culture. Most Chinese films and shows feature Mandarin subtitles, so you can work on reading as you listen. Even if you rely on English subtitles at first, you’ll still benefit from passive listening practice.

Movies to Watch as a Beginner 

✔️ The Road Home (我的父亲母亲, wǒ de fùqīn mǔqīn) — A beautiful love story set in rural China, featuring simple dialogue and emotional storytelling. 

✔️ Not One Less (一个都不能少, yī gè dōu bù néng shǎo) — Directed by Zhang Yimou, this film follows a young substitute teacher’s journey to find a missing student. 

✔️ Eat Drink Man Woman (饮食男女, yǐn shí nán nǚ) — This classic film directed by Ang Lee focuses on family dynamics and traditional Chinese cuisine. 

✔️ Monster Hunt (捉妖记, zhuō yāo jì) — A lighthearted fantasy film with a straightforward plot. 

✔️ A Beautiful Life (不再让你孤单, bù zài ràng nǐ gū dān) — This romantic drama has a modern setting and tells a heartfelt story with straightforward language. 

Also take a look at simple series. For example, a good beginner-friendly series is Home with Children (家有儿女 jiā yǒu ér nǚ), a sitcom focused on Chinese family life, reminiscent of Friends. The dialogue is slower and simpler, making it perfect for elementary-level learners.

For more content, check out video platforms like Qiyi, Youku, and Netflix for a range of Chinese media. Additionally, Chinese learning platforms such as Chinese Language Institute, Mandarin Blueprint, Lingopie, and FluentU offer English-language movies and shows dubbed or subtitled in Chinese, making it easier to transition to native content.

Speak When You Are Ready 

Some people say to start speaking Mandarin from day one, but that’s not always the most natural way to learn. Before diving into full conversations, make sure you’ve had plenty of listening and reading practice. This input will build your foundation, making it much easier when you start speaking. So, get comfortable with the sounds and flow of Mandarin first, and the speaking part will come naturally.

The ideal way to start speaking is with a language partner — preferably a native Chinese speaker. If you have a friend in China who’s up for it, that’s fantastic! Practicing with a friend is comfortable and allows you to naturally cover topics you might not get to in formal Chinese classes setting (like gossiping about common friends and discussing relationship problems).

If you’re not in China and don’t have Chinese friends — also find language exchange groups online or in your city. 

So now you know the basic information about how to learn Chinese. We can’t tell how long does it take in your case, but the way of learning this language is very interesting. Try to enjoy this completely new journey and may it bring you a lot of inspiration.