by Erica Cohen
Chinese is regarded as a very difficult language to learn, but in reality it is not as difficult as people think. We will tell you the most important things that will help you to learn Chinese more easily.
Before starting to learn Chinese language, one should decide which type of style he should learn. There are two types of Chinese characters: the traditional characters are more difficult and used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and the simplified characters are easier and used in China and Singapore. To improve the literacy rate of China, the simplified characters were introduced in 1950. Which type of characters you choose, depends on where you want to work or live.
There are over 80,000 Chinese characters listed in some dictionaries, however far fewer are commonly used. In 2013 the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China published a Table of General Standard Chinese Characters (通用规范汉字表 Tōngyòng Guīfàn Hànzì Biǎo), which includes 8,105 characters, 6,500 of which are designated as common. You can in fact read most texts if you know about 3,000 characters [source].
It is very important to know your reasons for learning Chinese. If you just want to have basic everyday conversions, knowing 1,000-2,000 words is enough. If you want to take part in more complex conversations, to understand the TV and radio, and to read newspapers, then you need to know about 5,000 words [source]. By knowing your reason, you can decide how many words you need to know.
It is very important to make friends with those who are learning Chinese and who do not speak your mother tongue, so that you can only talk with them in Chinese. This is the most effective way to improve your Chinese, as both of you are trying to learn Chinese, so you will not feel embarrassed when you make mistakes.
By watching Chinese TV shows and listening to Chinese music, you can improve your pronunciation and vocabulary. Start by just concentrating on one show, because when you concentrate on one show, you get more emotionally attached to it and try to watch it with more attention, and you are determined to understand everything the characters say in it. By watching one show at a time, you learn Chinese more quickly and effectively.
Erica Cohen is an expert writer at urgent essay help. she has been working as a writer for 3 years for this company. She provides essay writing service, editing and other writing.
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