10 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid While Learning Chinese

By Kip Owens

When you try something new, you are bound to make mistakes. What I have found is that many people make the same predictable mistakes over and over again. By reading through this list, you will be better prepared to both recognize and overcome these mistakes when they eventually happen to you.

Knowing isn't the same thing as doing.

Think back when you were learning how to ride a bike. Did you learn by reading a bunch of books and articles on how to ride a bike? Did you learn by watching videos or see other people do it? Of course not. The fastest way to learn is by getting on a bike, and finding a bunch of different ways to fall before you figure out how to stay on.

The same is true for learning a foreign language. You might be able to learn some things from reading books, and watching videos. But the best way by far is getting out there, practicing and applying that knowledge. Don't expect to be perfect on the first try, but do try and get engaged.

Get Chinese friends to practice with you, look for online Chinese radio stations, rent Chinese movies.

Believing the advertisements.

The commercials for programs that claim you can "Learn Chinese in 15 days" are outright lies. Many eager students fall into these traps, wasting both time and money. Learning a new language takes hard work and dedication. Placing your expectations so high is just setting yourself up for failure.

Chinese is absolutely one of the hardest languages to learn, but the benefits you reap will last you a lifetime. Keep yourself focused on the end goal, and make daily progress to get you there. Don't fool yourself; it's going to be hard, but you will eventually get there.

Tones? WTF are these tone things?

Chinese is a tonal language, with 4 different tones. The tones are easily the most challenging part about Chinese for English speakers. There are 4 tones, and if you pronounce a character with the wrong tone, it could completely change the meaning of what you're trying to say.

The tone problem is why I believe beginners should avoid learning from books. There is no way you can learn how to pronounce words correctly without being able to listen first hand what the words sound like. The best benefit about having an in person tutor or software or learning online is that you can hear and learn the correct pronunciation.

These are the first 3 of 10 mistakes that all beginner Chinese students make that slow them down and are very frustrating. Read on to learn how to recognize and avoid the 10 common makes people make learning Mandarin Chinese. A great source of articles for learning beginner chinese is the chinese crunch blog. One other pain in the butt beginners face is trying to read through and pick a good program or course. Read on for a thorough review of different chinese language programs.