The “I” In Zhi, Chi, Shi, Ri, Zi, Ci, Si Needs Special Attention In the “i” final section of the Pinyin chart (if you don’t know what a “final” is, check out our Pinyin Primer), there are 7 syllables that have an “i” final but don’t sound like the other “i” finals. Why? Well, the

Chinese learners inevitably face the dilemma of Mandarin vs. Dialects. Mandarin Chinese is what you might call the “common tongue” of China. However, dialects abound in the middle kingdom, so Mandarin is meant to be a unifying language. The closest native dialect to “standard” Mandarin is in Shijiazhuang (capital of Hebei Province), and it is

The “Shhhhh” Is Super Thick   The “sh-“ in Chinese naturally sounds much thicker than in English, because it is a “retroflex” pronunciation of Mandarin. That’s a complicated way of saying that you need to take your tongue and curl it back against the roof of your mouth. Some languages do this, but English does not.

Just Don’t Over-Do It!   Studying Chinese learning theory helps you notice vital aspects of the spoken language around you, and that is the key, the noticing. Noticing a principle is not the same as consciously trying to apply it. If you succeed in noticing a 1st tone, you have taken a step towards producing

Alright, everyone, the video below is IMPORTANT. Other foreigners we meet in China get these syllables wrong most frequently, so when it comes to priorities when practicing, well, you’ve found number one. “Zhi Chi Shi Ri” are called “retroflex consonants,” which some languages utilize, but English and many European languages do not. These are the first

Mistakes Are Good, They Give You A Chance To Learn Here is what you’re facing: You’re starting off learning Mandarin, you don’t know much about Chinese pronunciation yet, or perhaps you’ve just finished our Pronunciation Mastery course. Your voice sounds different in your own head than it does to other people, so how do you

Pinyin (more colloquially known as the “Chinese alphabet”) has 21 consonant sounds, sometimes called “initials.” The initials “J, Q & X” are very important to master, because they require a tongue position not natural for speakers of most western languages. How to say Chinese letter J? How about Q & X? This video is a

Know the Rules Before You Break the Rules   Standard Mandarin you learn in your studies (principle) are often different to what you later actually experience in the real world of Chinese (reality). We make our courses with this in mind. You may be asking “why would I learn something that doesn’t apply to the

OH! 哦！LETTERS “O” & “U” ARE GREAT TO LEARN TOGETHER Mandarin Chinese letter “o” is not that common when used by itself, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important to master. Sure, when used by itself, about the only usage of any consequence is saying 哦 or 噢, both ò. They are effectively just exclamations.

PEE? TEA? GLEE? OH, RIGHT, CHINESE LETTER YI! Ah, some relief from the rather challenging Chinese alphabet letter E. Chinese alphabet letter YI (“i”) is a LOT easier to say, but first a note on the spelling. What’s up with that “Y”? How do you pronounce it? Trick question, you don’t. “Y” is the letter the