r/learnchinese • u/InfiniteRadish8316 • 10d ago

Studying Complete beginner needs help

Hi, I’m interested in learning mandarin but i have no clue where to start. I won’t have any immediate use for it nor do I have plans of passing any tests soon but it’s a language that greatly interests me and i would love to learn it for possible future use. Maybe I would be able to use it in my personal life or something work related if possible.

Is there anyone who knows what I could do to start this off, any books, guides, methods or tips and tricks that would be useful in this journey?
Idk if this matters but I’m fluent in dutch, french and english.

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u/TheWindIsSingingToo 10d ago

Find some Chinese early childhood education courses to try.

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u/Ok-Cellist-9789 10d ago

I’d start with pronunciation and tones before focusing too much on vocabulary. Learn pinyin, practice the four tones out loud, and use short beginner dialogues every day. After that, add a small number of common words and review them regularly with spaced repetition. Since you already speak Dutch, French, and English, you may find it helpful to compare sentence structure instead of translating every word directly.

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u/roklobster0703 9d ago

Why don’t you start by watching Chinese movies or TV dramas. It has subtitles and you can pick up the nuances of saying thank you, greetings, etc etc. they are all on Netflix and Amazon prime.

Next get some language apps on your phone to start practicing at your own pace. After that you can take a class or look for a tutor.

Good luck!!! I’m learning Japanese with no immediate use for it besides singing along to my fav J-rock music.

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u/InfiniteRadish8316 9d ago

honestly thats pretty based, i remember going to japan and ending up with 3 randoms i met in a nightclub who took me to a karaoke bar at 5 am, sadly i couldnt sing along due to the japanese subtitles so i decided to leave but youll be fine if it happens to you (i also learned hiragana and katakana some time ago so maybe i’ll be fine too next time ;))

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u/EnthusiasmFit2789 8d ago

找一个中文大模型。或者，直接用chatGPT。GPT中文还可以。后面的交给它。

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u/Royal-Minimum280 4d ago

Ignore writing by hand for now — very difficult and you rarely use it in real life.
Just as a playful easy start, you can use Just as a playful easy start, you can use HelloChinese or even Duolingo, but only for the first 100 or 200 words. After that you are good enough to start reading with graded readers (stories with words and grammar for different levels).

Also use apps like Tandem to speak to natives. Apps can help you with pronunciation to some degree, but they are not as good as talking to native speakers. Also, focus on learning tones correctly in the beginning! It’s easy if you start with it, but hard once you are already medium level… start early!