Now that you have decided to learn a second language, you are on your way to being bilingual…and who knows, in the future, a polyglot. If you want to learn Chinese, you have to brace yourself with the many options that are available. As there are many ways to approach learning Chinese, ask yourself what aspect do you want to study first. Do you want to start with writing Chinese scripts? Would you like to learn simple words and practical conversational phrases? If you have a previous background in Mandarin, then you probably would like to take your learning to another level. Advanced classes may entail mastery of Chinese grammar, song or poem writing, and even business Mandarin.
In any case, if you are really serious about it, you have to invest a part of your time in this endeavor. It will be ideal if you enroll in a nearby language school that offers Mandarin classes, from beginner to advanced level. Being in a group of people may motivate you to learn as you may practice the day’s lessons with fellow classmates. This is especially useful if you are interested in spoken Chinese.
Writing on the other hand will need more effort on your part as Chinese script has varied stylized strokes, combination, and spacing. The Roman alphabet is very far from Chinese characters. In reality, the Chinese language doesn’t have any alphabet but instead uses symbols as characters. Pinyin is systematically used instead to translate Chinese characters to Roman alphabet.
While the mastery of Chinese writing may take some time, you may opt to fast-track your Chinese lessons with common, practical Chinese phrases and sentences. In a day, you can already say the following: “Shi de.” (Yes.); “Nihao ma?” (How are you?); “Ni jiao shen meh mingzi?” (What’s your name?); “Wo hen hao. Xiexie.” (I’m very good. Thank you.). But before you get ahead of yourself, remember that getting your tones right is just as important as familiarizing yourself with the word. The meaning of a word or a phrase may depend a great deal on how you pronounce it. The best thing to do is listen carefully how each word is enunciated.
