Learn to Speak Mandarin Chinese - Much Mandarin - Reciprocal Links

Why should I learn Chinese?
There are several reasons to learn Chinese, including for business.

Is learning Chinese difficult?
Mandarin Chinese can be quite difficult to learn for speakers of western lnanguages. The language is comprised of several completely different sounds and pronuciations as western tongues. And then there are the 4 tones which we will talk about later. On the flip-side, Chinese grammar is much simpler than English and other western languages.

What is Pinyin?
Pinyin is the most common standard for translating Chinese into the western alphabet.

Should I learn Chinese characters?
Leaarning Chinese characters is not necessary for learning to speak the language. However, learning to read and write some Chinese characters can be very helpful when learning the language. Is is not as hard as you may think as most characters are comprised of a set of basic characters called radicals. Once you learn the radicals, it is much easier to learn the characters.

Is Mandarin the same as Chinese?
There are several different Chinese dialects that you may hear being referred to as "Chinese." However, Mandarin Chinese is the offical language of China and is usually the language being referred to as "Chinese."

What's the best way to learn Chinese?
The best way to learn is complete immersion. However, if you can't live in China for a few months you should try to take a multi-pronged approach. Take a class, learn some characters, listen to CDs, and listen to podcasts.

Will learning Chinese help my career?
This depends on the career. If you work in fields such as finance or trade, knowing Mandarin Chinese can be a great resume builder and even get you a pay raise, not to mention more opportunities to travel to China. Regardless, of whether it helps your career, speaking Chinese is definitely an impressive skill for a Westerner.

What are tones?
Mandarin Chinese is pronounced with 4 different tones - high, even tone (the first tone), rising tone (the second tone), falling-risng tone (the third tone), and the falling tone (the fourth tone). Tones are generally considered to be one of the hardest aspects of learning to speak Mandarin Chinese.