Chinese for beginners online. Tips for Learning Chinese

Chinese from scratch

I am very glad that my posts are useful to you and we are together. In this post, I want to not just tell something new about the Chinese language or how to learn it, but to answer the most FAQ, which are asked to me by newcomers-Sinologists. The answers to the questions below will be useful to those who are just thinking about plunging into the mysterious and fascinating world China. So, learn Chinese from scratch!

Although Chinese is one of the most complex languages world, but, in my opinion, quite real to study. Here at least compare it with the Russian language, with its cases, declensions, as well as our favorite “no, I don’t know.” How can it be easy, but, nevertheless, most of us are fluent in it.

I also want to dispel the myth that to learn Chinese you need to have perfect pitch and incredible graphic memory. No, it doesn `t need. Naturally, having these talents, you will need less time to learn the language, but everything will work out without them.

The difficulty of the Chinese language lies in the presence of hieroglyphs and keys. But it will only be difficult at first. With due diligence and a responsible attitude, you will soon cope with them.

How long does it take to learn Chinese?

It all depends on how and where we learn Chinese from scratch, as well as how often. The fact is that you can reach the average level of knowledge in a year or two, but only if you fully dedicate yourself to study. If you attend courses or a tutor only twice a week, then this period will increase to an indefinite size.

To make it more clear, let me give you an example. If we learn Chinese from scratch, without particularly straining, then in two years it is quite possible to learn one and a half thousand hieroglyphs. It is important that not words, but hieroglyphs, because you can make any word from them. This amount will be quite enough to communicate with the Chinese, discuss everyday topics and even capture some professional ones.

Is it possible to learn Chinese in two weeks, a month or three months?

There are many different tutorials that are full of titles “Chinese in two weeks”, “Learning Chinese from scratch in three months” and others. Is it possible to learn Chinese in such a time frame? Yes, but you will only be proficient in a few phrases. If you are satisfied with knowing only the words in order to say hello, get to know each other, tell at least about yourself or just explain where to go, then you are here. If your intentions are more serious, then be prepared to devote more than one year to study.

How many letters are in the Chinese alphabet?

When we learn Chinese from scratch, we draw parallels with our native language to find similarities. This is the only way I can explain the presence of such a question, because in Chinese there are no letters, only graphic elements. It is they who add up to a hieroglyph and together carry a semantic load. There are a little more than 200 such elements in Chinese. In order to learn how to read and compose hieroglyphs, you will need to learn the meaning of all graphic elements. All hieroglyphs are built according to a clear structure, this greatly facilitates the process of memorization.

Chinese linguists created a phonetic alphabet called pinyin. This alphabet is based on Latin, therefore it is understandable to a student in any country in the world. However, they should not get carried away, because it was created only for the entry level.

So, we decide where, by what method and with whom we learn Chinese from scratch and forward! After all, it is not as scary as it seems, and the result will not only benefit you, but also reinforce your self-esteem, because you will know one of the most difficult languages ​​in the world!

The best solution is, of course, to go to China to learn Chinese from scratch. The language environment, native speakers around, a well-thought-out and excellent learning program - all this will save you a lot of time and money. Paid courses in your country only at first glance seem cheaper than studying in China. I myself, having spent more than 50,000 rubles a year on a tutor, still do not understand why I did it. if I completed the same program at the University of China in less than a month.

As the saying goes: if you wish, you can learn Chinese overnight. Well, in 12 hours you, of course, are unlikely to master it, but in a month, with complete immersion in the environment, it is quite likely. Do you want to become a sinologist? We will gladly assist you. and we will select the best program for you.

When starting to learn the Chinese language, you should immediately accept the fact that you will have to form a completely new one that differs significantly from the usual system of thinking. However, due to sufficient motivation, properly selected learning materials, as well as diligence and hard work, it is quite possible to learn Chinese from scratch on your own.

Hieroglyphs

There are about 80,000 characters in Chinese. For a free understanding of the press, it is enough to master 4 thousand, and for reading fiction in the original, you will need at least 6-8 thousand.

There is a clear order of writing traits and keys. The key is a kind of simple hieroglyph that has a certain meaning. Some of them are used in their pure form, but in most cases the keys are part of the whole character. Starting to learn Chinese from scratch on your own, you need to memorize them. A good base will allow you to continue the successful development of this system.

According to certain rules writing hieroglyphs, each line is written from left to right and from top to bottom. In order for the study of Chinese from scratch (on your own) to be successful, it is important to memorize the correct order of writing from the very beginning. This will help you navigate in the dictionary, since Asian languages ​​do not have the usual alphabet for us, the words are arranged in a certain order of the appearance of hieroglyphic elements.

Of course, in order to memorize Chinese words, you need to devote a lot of time to writing hieroglyphs. But there are also original ways memorization. Chinese words are not just a code, they are an image. Many hieroglyphs depict the object or phenomenon, the meaning of which they hide in themselves.

The translation is as follows: the first line is fire, wood, sun, moon; second line - man, mouth, doors, mountain.

sound system

Learning Chinese from scratch (on your own) will require much more effort than when working with a Romano-Germanic group. One of the features that distinguishes the Chinese language from the rest is that intonation does not have an emotional function, but a semantic one. There are four tones plus one neutral:

• 1 tone is pronounced with a high even and lingering intonation;
• 2 tone resembles an interrogative intonation, pronounced from the bottom up;
• 3 tone is also called low: the intonation first decreases, then rises;
• 4 tone falls, starting from a high note;
• neutral is also called light and usually falls on unstressed vowels.

In some cases, the tones may change. For example, if two third tones are located side by side, then the first syllable acquires the intonation of the second tone. For example, in the word níhǎo (hello).

The same combination of sounds, pronounced with each of the above tones, carries a different meaning. To get used to such a system, it is important to listen to the speech of native speakers as much as possible and try to repeat it out loud. For this reason, learning Chinese from scratch on your own is quite difficult. The best option there would be immersion in the language environment combined with intensive training (many hours of daily classes with representatives of the PRC). Such a study would bring tangible results within two years.

Grammar

Anyone who starts learning Chinese from scratch on their own has to face a completely new system. There are no conjugations and declensions familiar to us in this language. And the line between times is not always perceptible. However, syntax plays a very important role. The same word can take on a role various parts speech depending on its location in the sentence.

Dialects

The Chinese language, like many others, has many dialects. Each of them has its own characteristics. And the differences are sometimes so significant that representatives of different regions of China can hardly understand each other's speech. If you do not set a goal to move to any particular city, then the best option there will be a study of a common literary language called putonghua (普通话).

Pinyin

Anyone wishing to learn Chinese from scratch on their own will encounter a system called pinyin (拼音). This is a transcription in Latin, which was created in order to facilitate the reading of hieroglyphs. In addition, each syllable has its corresponding tone. Over time, you will learn to read original texts without pinyin, but at the beginning of learning, transcription is essential.

Learn Chinese from scratch on your own

• One of the important principles of successful learning is willpower, diligence and regularity of classes. There are simply no secrets on how to learn Chinese on your own from scratch without much difficulty. This goal can be achieved only through sincere interest in the subject being studied and diligence.
• Another tip: knowledge is better fixed in memory with intensive training. A couple of lessons a week will not give good results. This also applies to other languages.
• To get used to speech, in addition to working with textbooks, you also need to watch TV shows and listen to audio books and songs in the original. Do not worry that some phrases remain incomprehensible. It's important to get used to the sound.
• Do not be afraid to ask for help from the Chinese. Many of them are happy to help foreigners learn the language.
• For self-examination, it is recommended to pass international exam for foreigners, called HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì). The exam is divided into six levels. For successful completion the first level requires knowledge of 150 words, and the sixth step implies the possession of 5 thousand words.

Anyone who decides to learn Chinese from scratch on their own will have to make a lot of effort. However, this is a great opportunity to plunge into an amazing world that is different from what we are used to.

Cheers to everyone! Many people would like to learn Chinese on their own. The reasons are obvious: not everyone has the opportunity to go to China, and perhaps there is no time or extra money to enroll in Chinese language courses. Everyone has their own situation. The easiest way out is to search for suitable resources on the Internet.

The only problem is that many are either paid or have meager material, which you yourself still need to put together in a common mosaic, which, you see, for a beginner, is not very easy. What then, quit all this business connected with independent study Chinese? Of course not, because retreat is not our way! And since you are reading this article, I will tell you a secret: you have already taken the first step towards your goal, and for some, dreams are possible.

When learning Chinese on your own, you need to show two qualities. Sometimes it seems to me that many economically developed Asian countries engraved them on their hearts.

It's simple: it's curiosity and perseverance. The first you have by nature, every person is interested in something. The second must be brought up by everyday activities! For a beginner, you need to spend 3-5 hours if you want to have real progress. Again, this is an estimate. Each person is unique by nature, you may need less time or more.

One thing I know for sure, no matter what language you learn, what matters is why you do it and how you do it. If there is no interest and you force yourself to do it, just because it’s necessary or because everyone does it, because it’s fashionable, then my sincere advice to you is to quit this activity, don’t waste your time, because the Chinese language will easily take away you the lion's share of the time.

Better do what really brings you pleasure. Well, if you are serious, and even better, like to enjoy the process itself - then welcome!

So, as we already know, there are four basic skills in the language on which all language learning is built. Chinese is no exception in this regard.

1. Speaking skills.
2. Listening skill.
3. Reading skill.
4. Writing skill.

There is also grammar, but in reality this is not a skill, but only a set of rules that you need to understand in order to competently build your speech orally or writing. Before studying, analyze what personality temperament you belong to. From my own experience I can say that if you are an extrovert, like to chat, then you will be given better than introverts.

Introverts, on the other hand, may need to change their habits a bit. To improve your speaking skills, reading books aloud every day will help you. Books are good, books help us to replenish vocabulary. But anyone who studies foreign language, will tell you that communication with a native speaker is an integral part of the process of learning a foreign language.

What you need to know before learning Chinese?

Before you start learning Chinese, you need to know a few key points, having learned about which you yourself decide whether it is difficult to teach chinese at home or not:

About hieroglyphs

There is no alphabet in Chinese, which means there are no letters. Instead of letters, there are hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs and letters are completely different things. Let's try to explain: in the alphabet, each letter has its own sound: the letter "a" - carries the sound [a], the letter "b" - the sound [b]. Separately, the letters do not carry meaning, but they acquire it when they are combined with others and a word is created.

From ancient times, hieroglyphs recorded meaning, not sounds. Very often, only one small hieroglyph, even alone, carries a certain meaning, and it is often pronounced already as a whole syllable: 马 - - horse.

So, due to the lack of an alphabet, in order to more or less freely read, speak and understand hieroglyphs, you will have to learn about 2000 of them (on the simplest everyday topics) and about 5000 in order to more or less freely understand TV shows and films.

You can easily find a lot of materials about hieroglyphs on the Internet, as well as in Chinese textbooks.

About phonetics

There is no alphabet, but there must be something instead of it! Naturally! Otherwise, how to speak it and how to listen to it? So, the Pinyin transcription system is responsible for pronunciation, which includes the Latin letters familiar to us or a combination of letters, but their pronunciation sometimes differs from the original. There are not so many of them, they learn and remember pretty quickly.

In addition to letters, there are well-known tones. There are four of them and the fifth is neutral. This means that you can pronounce one syllable in five different options, and each time it will have a different value.

You shouldn't be afraid of them. The main thing at the very beginning, when pronunciation is set, is to give this moment Special attention so that there are no further problems.

This part is perhaps the most problematic for those who are going to learn Chinese on their own. Of course, a teacher, and even better a native speaker teacher, would be extremely useful for setting pronunciation at the very beginning. But if you don’t have such an opportunity, then we use the “work on mistakes” method using a voice recorder (record yourself, and then listen and correct the pronunciation), or we look for media through special services - both paid and free.

About grammar

Grammar in Chinese is much easier than in Russian: there are no endings, prefixes, just a few suffixes, words do not change at all（breathe freely!）But there is a certain word order in a sentence and various particles and prepositions that compensate for tenses, gender , endings, etc.

There are currently many teaching aids, as well as a lot of information on the Internet about the grammar of the Chinese language.

About vocabulary

In my opinion, it is the vocabulary that becomes a big stumbling block when your vocabulary has long been filled with everyday words that carry some specific meanings. At this moment, the era of endless synonyms begins, which the Chinese have come up with in great numbers. And each has its own nuances in meaning and use. Not for nothing that at the levels of the state. of the HSK exam, an entire part is devoted to this section.

Vocabulary can be replenished independently with the help of certain services or simply by reading texts.

About logic

In my opinion, it is worth saying a few more words about Chinese logic. During the course of learning a language, it often happened that you seem to know all the words in a sentence, but you can’t understand its meaning. And all because our thinking is very different from the Chinese. Therefore, when studying Chinese, be prepared also for a partial restructuring of thinking.

You don't need a teacher to understand Chinese logic. Just show more interest in their culture and habits.

And now for the fun, learning hieroglyphs will increase the number of neural connections in your brain, which in turn will strengthen your memory and speed of thinking.

Technique setup

Before proceeding directly to learning the language, let's set up our little "helpers" - a phone and a computer to make learning Chinese more comfortable and efficient:

Installing a Chinese keyboard

Let's start with the computer. It is very easy to do this. We go to the start (in the lower left corner), then the control panel, select the clock, language and region. - change the keyboard layout or other input methods - change the keyboard - add - find "Chinese (simplified PRC!!!)" - in the drop-down list, select: input style Microsoft Pinyin ne. - press ok and see that it appeared in our list of installed keyboards - press ok again and exit the control panel.

Now try changing the language. We do this with alt+shift hotkeys, and you can simply click on the language icon and it will change to the next language installed on your computer. Select Chinese and try typing something in Notepad for example.

Now let's move on to our mobile assistant: install the keyboard on the phone. Go to the service with applications and download the Chinese keyboard. The Chinese themselves often use a keyboard called 搜购输入法 (sōugòu), but you can download another one, the main thing is to download simplified input or input of simplified characters.

Dealt with the keyboard. What other programs do we need?

Dictionaries

To begin with, we need to save several sites in our bookmarks - dictionaries, with the help of which in the future you will be able to view the translation of the necessary words, their pronunciation, as well as examples of use. From online dictionaries we use the well-known BCRS - big dictionary Chinese language (https://bkrs.info). Going to home page, you will see an input field where you can enter desired hieroglyph and thus translate from Chinese into Russian online.

Chinese characters with translation into Russian can also be found using the Jong dictionary. (http://www.zhonga.ru) You can also bookmark it, because sometimes there are controversial points and you have to look at the meaning of some words in different sources to better understand the meaning. But wait! There is one more good thing in Jong: it is a key table, without which a novice sinologist cannot do without. The link to the plate is http://www.zhonga.ru/radicals, save it for yourself.

You may not always have access to the Internet, so we recommend that you also download offline dictionaries to your phone. You can again download the dictionary from BKRS. How to do this is described in detail on the site itself.

We also use the Trainchineese dictionary. Its convenience lies in the fact that you can see how the hieroglyph is written, what part of speech it belongs to, and also the counting words corresponding to it. You can download it in the play store.

For those who are good at English language same way suitable option with Pleco dictionary.

Other services

Let's also bookmark Chinese YouTube in advance - youku.com - where a huge amount of video materials are collected that we will definitely need in the future, and there are also many films in Chinese.

It would not be superfluous to download the Anki program. There you can drive in the learned words and repeat them regularly, or use ready-made sets and learn words from them. How to do this in detail in our article about this program.

In addition to Anki, there is another very convenient service for replenishing vocabulary - https://quizlet.com/ru Save it to your bookmarks, or download the application to your phone. Here, again, you can create your own decks, or you can use those uploaded by other users using the search field. The advantage of the service is that there you can not only learn words, but also test yourself in every possible way, train, check - and sometimes even in a playful way.

Another program that you will have to download sooner or later is a Chinese messenger called 微信 or wechat in another way. Most Chinese people use this program to communicate, so it's easy to find someone to practice Chinese with. In general, the program is very versatile with many functions, and is especially indispensable for those who are going to learn Chinese on their own. You can download it in the same play store or on another third-party service.

The preparatory work has been done, which means it's time to go directly to the Chinese!

Step-by-step instructions for learning Chinese

1. We go through phonetics, and to be more precise, we learn the transcription system, master the rules of pronunciation and tone. We train more, listen to our own pronunciation or send your entry to a Chinese friend or Sinologist.
2. Did you learn pronunciation? So it's time to move on: get acquainted with the hieroglyphs. First, familiarize yourself with (did you think everything was that simple?) and writing them.
3. Read about or otherwise radicals that will help save time and effort when learning hieroglyphs. Explore the most common ones.
4. Do not forget to read the very useful article "", which can greatly facilitate the memorization of hieroglyphs.
5. Let's start adding vocabulary. Let's start with the most common words and phrases that will come in handy in Everyday life. Speak each phrase several times until it automatically pops out of your mouth without any hesitation. Another option for replenishing vocabulary is to open a list of words and learn the words given in it. When you learn words, do not forget to look at examples of their use, as well as make up your own. Drive new words into the anki program and daily, or you can repeat them according to the method.
6. When we have at least a few words in your vocabulary, you can slowly begin to study the corresponding level.
7. It will take time to master the grammar, so at the same time we replenish the vocabulary with the help of dialogues and It is advisable to find texts with voice acting for beginners. Listen to the speaker several times. Then look at what words you don't know. You can translate them using a dictionary. Pay attention to how this or that word is used in the text. After all unknown words are translated and learned, read the text several times. Record yourself again on the recorder and compare the sound.
8. When your vocabulary is about level 4 (this can be determined by opening 4 levels, run through them and figure out how many of them you know), start watching children's cartoons or simple series on everyday topics. Read more texts in Chinese, starting again with the simplest ones, listen to Chinese radio.

Methodology for learning Chinese on your own

Make a plan for learning Chinese. Set aside a time in your daily schedule when you will study Chinese, and do not forget about it very much. important element in study. As they say, repetition is the mother of learning!

I advise you to study the language in the morning, since it is at this time that information is best absorbed. Still, we are all different and not everyone wants to change habits overnight, so watch yourself at what hours you have the peak of brain activity, and it is at this time that you work hard.

If it’s really hard to memorize a huge flow of information, break it into several subtasks and complete each with a certain period of time.

Example: in the morning you can learn words, at lunchtime you can find time for and writing, in the evening listen to audio recordings and read. Repeat before going to bed. Experiment, see what works for you.

I want to wish you diligence in such a difficult task as learning Chinese.

Cheers to everyone! Many people would like to learn Chinese on their own. The reasons are obvious: not everyone has the opportunity to go to China, and perhaps there is no time or extra money to enroll in Chinese language courses. Everyone has their own situation. The easiest way out is to search for suitable resources on the Internet.

The only problem is that many are either paid or have meager material, which you yourself still need to put together in a common mosaic, which, you see, for a beginner, is not very easy. What then, give up all this business associated with independent study of the Chinese language? Of course not, because retreat is not our way! And since you are reading this article, I will tell you a secret: you have already taken the first step towards your goal, and for some, dreams are possible.

When learning Chinese on your own, you need to show two qualities. Sometimes it seems to me that many economically developed Asian countries engraved them on their hearts.

It's simple: it's curiosity and perseverance. The first you have by nature, every person is interested in something. The second must be brought up by everyday activities! For a beginner, you need to spend 3-5 hours if you want to have real progress. Again, this is an estimate. Each person is unique by nature, you may need less time or more.

One thing I know for sure, no matter what language you learn, what matters is why you do it and how you do it. If there is no interest and you force yourself to do it, just because it’s necessary or because everyone does it, because it’s fashionable, then my sincere advice to you is to quit this activity, don’t waste your time, because the Chinese language will easily take away you the lion's share of the time.

Better do what really brings you pleasure. Well, if you are serious, and even better, like to enjoy the process itself - then welcome!

So, as we already know, there are four basic skills in the language on which all language learning is built. Chinese is no exception in this regard.

1. Speaking skills.
2. Listening skill.
3. Reading skill.
4. Writing skill.

There is also grammar, but in reality this is not a skill, but only a set of rules that you need to understand in order to competently build your speech in oral or written speech. Before studying, analyze what personality temperament you belong to. From my own experience I can say that if you are an extrovert, like to chat, then you will be given better than introverts.

Introverts, on the other hand, may need to change their habits a bit. To improve your speaking skills, reading books aloud every day will help you. Books are good, books help us to replenish vocabulary. But anyone who learns a foreign language will tell you that speaking with a native speaker is an integral part of the process of learning a foreign language.

What you need to know before learning Chinese?

Before you start learning Chinese, you need to know a few key points, after learning about which you yourself decide whether it is difficult to learn Chinese at home or not:

About hieroglyphs

There is no alphabet in Chinese, which means there are no letters. Instead of letters, there are hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs and letters are completely different things. Let's try to explain: in the alphabet, each letter has its own sound: the letter "a" - carries the sound [a], the letter "b" - the sound [b]. Separately, the letters do not carry meaning, but they acquire it when they are combined with others and a word is created.

From ancient times, hieroglyphs recorded meaning, not sounds. Very often, only one small hieroglyph, even alone, carries a certain meaning, and it is often pronounced already as a whole syllable: 马 - - horse.

So, due to the lack of an alphabet, in order to more or less freely read, speak and understand hieroglyphs, you will have to learn about 2000 of them (on the simplest everyday topics) and about 5000 in order to more or less freely understand TV shows and films.

You can easily find a lot of materials about hieroglyphs on the Internet, as well as in Chinese textbooks.

About phonetics

There is no alphabet, but there must be something instead of it! Naturally! Otherwise, how to speak it and how to listen to it? So, the Pinyin transcription system is responsible for pronunciation, which includes the Latin letters familiar to us or a combination of letters, but their pronunciation sometimes differs from the original. There are not so many of them, they learn and remember pretty quickly.

In addition to letters, there are well-known tones. There are four of them and the fifth is neutral. This means that you can pronounce one syllable in five different ways, and each time it will have a different meaning.

You shouldn't be afraid of them. The main thing at the very beginning, when pronunciation is set, is to pay special attention to this moment so that there are no problems in the future.

This part is perhaps the most problematic for those who are going to learn Chinese on their own. Of course, a teacher, and even better a native speaker teacher, would be extremely useful for setting pronunciation at the very beginning. But if you don’t have such an opportunity, then we use the “work on mistakes” method using a voice recorder (record yourself, and then listen and correct the pronunciation), or we look for media through special services - both paid and free.

About grammar

Grammar in Chinese is much easier than in Russian: there are no endings, prefixes, just a few suffixes, words do not change at all（breathe freely!）But there is a certain word order in a sentence and various particles and prepositions that compensate for tenses, gender , endings, etc.

Currently, there are many tutorials, as well as a lot of information on the Internet about Chinese grammar.

About vocabulary

In my opinion, it is the vocabulary that becomes a big stumbling block when your vocabulary has long been overflowing with everyday words that carry some specific meanings. At this moment, the era of endless synonyms begins, which the Chinese have come up with in great numbers. And each has its own nuances in meaning and use. Not for nothing that at the levels of the state. of the HSK exam, an entire part is devoted to this section.

Vocabulary can be replenished independently with the help of certain services or simply by reading texts.

About logic

In my opinion, it is worth saying a few more words about Chinese logic. During the course of learning a language, it often happened that you seem to know all the words in a sentence, but you can’t understand its meaning. And all because our thinking is very different from the Chinese. Therefore, when studying Chinese, be prepared also for a partial restructuring of thinking.

You don't need a teacher to understand Chinese logic. Just show more interest in their culture and habits.

And now for the fun, learning hieroglyphs will increase the number of neural connections in your brain, which in turn will strengthen your memory and speed of thinking.

Technique setup

Before proceeding directly to learning the language, let's set up our little "helpers" - a phone and a computer to make learning Chinese more comfortable and efficient:

Installing a Chinese keyboard

Let's start with the computer. It is very easy to do this. We go to the start (in the lower left corner), then the control panel, select the clock, language and region. - change the keyboard layout or other input methods - change the keyboard - add - find "Chinese (simplified PRC!!!)" - in the drop-down list, select: input style Microsoft Pinyin ne. - press ok and see that it appeared in our list of installed keyboards - press ok again and exit the control panel.

Now try changing the language. We do this with alt+shift hotkeys, and you can simply click on the language icon and it will change to the next language installed on your computer. Select Chinese and try typing something in Notepad for example.

Now let's move on to our mobile assistant: install the keyboard on the phone. Go to the service with applications and download the Chinese keyboard. The Chinese themselves often use a keyboard called 搜购输入法 (sōugòu), but you can download another one, the main thing is to download simplified input or input of simplified characters.

Dealt with the keyboard. What other programs do we need?

Dictionaries

To begin with, we need to save several sites in our bookmarks - dictionaries, with the help of which in the future you will be able to view the translation of the necessary words, their pronunciation, as well as examples of use. From online dictionaries, we use the well-known BKRS - a large Chinese dictionary (https://bkrs.info). Going to the main page, you will see an input field where you can enter the desired character and thus translate from Chinese into Russian online.

Chinese characters with translation into Russian can also be found using the Jong dictionary. (http://www.zhonga.ru) You can also bookmark it, because sometimes controversial points arise and you have to look at the meaning of some words in different sources in order to better understand the meaning. But wait! There is one more good thing in Jong: it is a key table, without which a novice sinologist cannot do without. The link to the plate is http://www.zhonga.ru/radicals, save it for yourself.

You may not always have access to the Internet, so we recommend that you also download offline dictionaries to your phone. You can again download the dictionary from BKRS. How to do this is described in detail on the site itself.

We also use the Trainchineese dictionary. Its convenience lies in the fact that you can see how the hieroglyph is written, what part of speech it belongs to, and also the counting words corresponding to it. You can download it in the play store.

For those who are fluent in English, the option with the Pleco dictionary is also suitable.

Other services

Let's also bookmark Chinese YouTube in advance - youku.com - where a huge amount of video materials are collected that we will definitely need in the future, and there are also many films in Chinese.

It would not be superfluous to download the Anki program. There you can drive in the learned words and repeat them regularly, or use ready-made sets and learn words from them. How to do this in detail in our article about this program.

In addition to Anki, there is another very convenient service for replenishing vocabulary - https://quizlet.com/ru Save it to your bookmarks, or download the application to your phone. Here, again, you can create your own decks, or you can use those uploaded by other users using the search field. The advantage of the service is that there you can not only learn words, but also test yourself in every possible way, train, check - and sometimes even in a playful way.

Another program that you will have to download sooner or later is a Chinese messenger called 微信 or wechat in another way. Most Chinese people use this program to communicate, so it's easy to find someone to practice Chinese with. In general, the program is very versatile with many functions, and is especially indispensable for those who are going to learn Chinese on their own. You can download it in the same play store or on another third-party service.

The preparatory work has been done, which means it's time to go directly to the Chinese!

Step-by-step instructions for learning Chinese

1. We go through phonetics, and to be more precise, we learn the transcription system, master the rules of pronunciation and tone. We practice more, listen to our own pronunciation, or send our recording to a Chinese friend or Sinologist.
2. Did you learn pronunciation? So it's time to move on: get acquainted with the hieroglyphs. First, familiarize yourself with (did you think everything was that simple?) and writing them.
3. Read about or otherwise radicals that will help save time and effort when learning hieroglyphs. Explore the most common ones.
4. Do not forget to read the very useful article "", which can greatly facilitate the memorization of hieroglyphs.
5. Let's start adding vocabulary. We start with the most common words and phrases that will be useful to you in everyday life. Speak each phrase several times until it automatically pops out of your mouth without any hesitation. Another option for replenishing vocabulary is to open a list of words and learn the words given in it. When you learn words, do not forget to look at examples of their use, as well as make up your own. Drive new words into the anki program and daily, or you can repeat them according to the method.
6. When we have at least a few words in your vocabulary, you can slowly begin to study the corresponding level.
7. It will take time to master the grammar, so at the same time we replenish the vocabulary with the help of dialogues and It is advisable to find texts with voice acting for beginners. Listen to the speaker several times. Then look at what words you don't know. You can translate them using a dictionary. Pay attention to how this or that word is used in the text. After all unknown words are translated and learned, read the text several times. Record yourself again on the recorder and compare the sound.
8. When your vocabulary is about level 4 (this can be determined by opening 4 levels, run through them and figure out how many of them you know), start watching children's cartoons or simple series on everyday topics. Read more texts in Chinese, starting again with the simplest ones, listen to Chinese radio.

Methodology for learning Chinese on your own

Make a plan for learning Chinese. Set aside a time in your daily schedule when you will study Chinese, and do not forget about this very important element in learning. As they say, repetition is the mother of learning!

I advise you to study the language in the morning, since it is at this time that information is best absorbed. Still, we are all different and not everyone wants to change habits overnight, so watch yourself at what hours you have the peak of brain activity, and it is at this time that you work hard.

If it’s really hard to memorize a huge flow of information, break it into several subtasks and complete each with a certain period of time.

Example: in the morning you can learn words, at lunchtime you can find time for and writing, in the evening listen to audio recordings and read. Repeat before going to bed. Experiment, see what works for you.

I want to wish you diligence in such a difficult task as learning Chinese.

Welcome to Chinese video tutorials for beginners. This phonetics course for beginners will help you learn Chinese. Tatyana Glavkova, Zhong Wen online Chinese language school teacher, will help you learn the language.

When talking about learning Chinese, it is usually about learning Mandarin, and translated literally as the common language spoken throughout China. Many people have heard about different dialects of the Chinese language, but only putonghua brings the Chinese language to a common denominator. It is studied in schools, universities, every educated person in China can speak Putonghua. He is also official language in China.

The formation of the Putonghua language began in 1200 AD, when the capital of China was moved to Beijing. At that time, it was not an official oral form of communication based on the Beijing dialect, as well as other northern dialects of the Republic of China. Now the Mandarin language unites a large number of population of China, and also helps us to get acquainted with the Middle Kingdom.

Learning Chinese must be learned from phonetics. First of all, the Pinyin Chinese transcription system. The transcription of each character is written down with Latin letters, but they are not read as we are used to. Pinyin consists of letters called initials and finals.

• The initial is the first letter of the syllable.
• The finale is its end, the finale.

Initials and finals in Chinese form about 400 syllables. Each word in Chinese is one word of 400 syllables, spoken in one of the 4 tones, or a combination of these syllables.

Chinese inclined in 4 tones:

1 tone - even. We pronounce the syllable in a flat voice.

2 tone - ascending. This is when we ask something.

4 tone - low walking. Affirmative.

Tones in Chinese have a separating function. This means that the same word pronounced in different tones has different meaning. It is very important to remember in what tone to pronounce the word, this will not only help you more accurately express your thoughts in Chinese. It is also better to perceive Chinese speech by ear.

Writing in Chinese is hieroglyphic, all words are written in hieroglyphs. One hieroglyph consists of 24 lines, when you learn how to write all 24 lines, you will be able to write absolutely any complexity of a hieroglyph. To make it easier to memorize hieroglyphs, there are such keys to them, they are also called graphenes. There are 214 graphenes in the Chinese language.

The grammar of the Chinese language is the easiest, compared to other languages ​​in the world. For example, with languages ​​such as English or Russian. It does not have a huge number of temporary forms, there are no endings or cases. At a certain stage of studying the grammar of a language, it comes down to the study of vocabulary.

Due to the relatively simple structure of the language, Chinese allows you to build the simplest sentences already at the first stages of learning. The vocabulary of the Chinese language is very rich and simple, the number of words is very large, but you should learn the basic ones for communication that are in everyday life.

Video Chinese lessons for beginners will help you learn the basics of the language and their pronunciation in more detail.

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Answers to the fourth phonetics lesson

You will be able to find out correctly or you pronounce the sounds from the fourth video lesson on learning Chinese. This exercise is very helpful and helps you correct mistakes in your pronunciation of words. You should also do the same exercise with pronunciation tones in Chinese.

The answer to the fifth phonetics lesson

This video lesson is the answer of phonetics to the pronunciation of words. Try to write down your pronunciation and listen to yourself from the outside. So you can correct inaccuracies in your pronunciation or understand that your pronunciation is absolutely correct.