The best book to learn Mandarin Chinese
eBook
284 pages : 100k words
So much more than an eBook :
✓ Welcome Video (30 mins) + Checklist PDF (6 pages)
✓ Step by step plan (use as follow-along or reference tool)
✓ Links to more than 100 online resources and tools
✓ How to Learn Chinese Characters
✓ A Short History of Chinese
Our Commitment
We contribute a % of each sale towards tree planting because reforestation efforts revive natural habitats, improve coral reef health, support local livelihoods and aid in the fight against climate change by extracting CO2 from the air..
Trees are planted by Eden Reforestation Projects in partnership with thegoodapi.com.
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People often ask me…
‘I want to learn a language, but don’t know where to start.
How should I learn Chinese?’
My reply is always the same. Follow the fundamental principles for learning languages, use Chinese resources you enjoy, and embrace the process as a journey.
With How to Learn Chinese, I teach you how to put all of this together to reach fluency in Chinese. What’s more, you’ll learn Chinese in a way you actually enjoy.
Everything you need to learn Chinese 🇨🇳
With How to Learn Chinese, I not only guide you through the process of learning Chinese, but also provide you with links to more than a hundred free, online resources you can use to achieve your goals.
You’ll be able to learn Chinese in a way that’s fast, convenient, affordable, and above all, enjoyable.
Wonderful
★★★★★
It's a wonderful tool for every self-learner
Katheyer
Why this is the best book to learn Mandarin Chinese
So much more than an eBook :
How to Learn Chinese also comes with :
Welcome Video : How to Use This Guide (30 mins) + Checklist PDF (6 pages)
Real guidance 🪴
None of my Guides and Courses are created with AI.
Just hard work and experience, distilled to help you learn Chinese in a way you’ll enjoy.
How to Learn Chinese is the best book to learn Mandarin Chinese because it provides everything you need in one place :
✓ Flexible : You can use it as a follow-along, reference tool, or both
✓ Fun : Learn with context, focusing on what you love
✓ Fast : No more sitting in classes. No more waiting years for progress
✓ Convenient : At home. On the go. Learn a language wherever you are
✓ Affordable : All you need is an internet connection to access free resources
✓ History : Deepen your understanding with A Short History of Chinese
Frequently Asked Questions
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Whether this is your first time learning a language or if you’ve felt disheartened during previous endeavours, How to Learn Chinese will make learning Mandarin Chinese possible for you.
If you’re not sure where to start, this guide is for you. If you’re not sure which resources to use or how to find them, this guide is for you. If you’ve tried learning Mandarin Chinese before but felt lost and overwhelmed, this guide is for you.
In short, this is the best book for learning Mandarin Chinese, as it provides everything you need in one place.
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Modern Standard Chinese.
For now, it’s worth knowing that Modern Standard Chinese was developed in the twentieth century as a common language to be used throughout China. Its pronunciation is based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, and most of the vocabulary comes from within the broader Mandarin dialect group. This is why it is often referred to as Mandarin Chinese - which is also a broad dialect group.
According to linguists, Chinese is a group of languages that make up the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Classifications vary according to criteria and definition, but there are generally considered to be between seven and thirteen significant regional language groups within Chinese - groups which began to diverge from Middle Chinese during the medieval period.
The most widely spoken of these is Mandarin, a group of dialects spoken by around 920 million people across much of northern and southwestern China. The next biggest groups are Yue, Wu, and Min. Yue is spoken by around 84 million people in southern China, whilst Min is spoken by around 75 million people in coastal provinces of southern and southeastern China, as well as on the island of Hainan. Wu is spoken by around 80 million people in Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. The remaining three of the seven groups are Gan, Xiang, and Hakka, but some consider Jin, Hui, and Ping to be distinct enough to bring the total to ten.
Modern Standard Chinese therefore provides a common language through which all Chinese speakers can communicate - regardless of their local dialect. Although older generations may not have been taught it, an increasingly significant proportion of the population have grown up learning Modern Standard Chinese alongside their own local dialect.
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Upon purchasing the guide, you will receive an ePub file of How to Learn Chinese.
In the ‘How to Use This Guide’ section of the ePub, you will find a link to a password-protected page to download your How to Learn Chinese Checklist and watch the Welcome Video about how to use this guide.
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Thanks to a partnership with Sprout, your purchase will lead to the planting of mangrove trees in Madagascar.
I contribute a % of each sale towards tree planting because reforestation efforts revive natural habitats, improve coral reef health, support local livelihoods and aid in the fight against climate change by extracting CO2 from the air.
Trees are planted by Eden Reforestation Projects in partnership with thegoodapi.com.
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All How to Learn Languages guides and courses are priced in Pound sterling (GBP). You can check the latest conversion rates at xe.com
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Due to the nature of digital products, it is not possible to offer refunds. However, if you have any questions about the guide or learning Chinese, please feel free to email me at contact@howtolearnlanguages.info, and I’ll get back to you promptly. I’d be more than happy to help.
The best book to learn Mandarin Chinese
A real gem
★★★★★
The history part has been a real gem... I had so many aha moments... I feel like I am now privy to a secret that is known to so few and cherished by even fewer
Shivani
Wonderful
★★★★★
It's a wonderful tool for every self-learner
Katheyer
Fantastic
★★★★★
How to Learn Italian has given me some fantastic new tools and reignited my enthusiasm for learning. As a result of reading How to Learn Italian, I finally feel like I am on the verge of a breakthrough
Nicola Rossi - Award-Winning Author, Consultant & Speaker
Great Resource
★★★★★
I found this to be a great resource for learning Spanish. I have been trying other methods but will definitely be following this
Heather
Wonderful
★★★★★
Wonderful book that not only explains the fundamentals of the language in a clear and orderly way but also helps to learn French with resources available to to everyone on the internet
Sindy Castellanos
The best book to learn Mandarin Chinese
About the Author
I learnt French in 2018 during a study abroad year at the Sorbonne, before completing a degree in History at the University of Leeds with First Class Honours in the summer of the following year. During my final year, I taught myself Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Catalan, as part of dissertation research into fascism in Europe during the 1930s. Although I say ‘learnt’ and ‘taught myself’ in the past tense, one of the joys of learning a language is that there’s always more to learn.
More recently, I’ve been teaching myself German, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian. Since moving to Vietnam to teach English in 2022, I’ve been enjoying learning Vietnamese. In less than one and a half years learning Vietnamese, I was able to achieve Level 5 (the highest being Level 6) of the official Vietnamese proficiency exam of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at the National University, Hanoi (Trường Đại học Khoa học Xã hội và Nhân văn - Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội).
Do you have any questions that were not answered on this page?
Send me a message, and I’ll be happy to answer them!
🪴 Learning Languages
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Enjoy learning Chinese
祝你好运!
Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn
(Good luck)
Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash
The Great Wall of China