How to Become Fluent in Mandarin Chinese – In Only 6 months!

Mandarin Chinese is easier than you think! Here are some awesome tricks to put your learning on the fast track and reach fluency in just 6 months.

Why Learn Mandarin Chinese?

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As you might already know, one fifth of the global population speak Mandarin Chinese. It is the mother tongue of over 874 million people, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world.

China is currently the world’s second largest economy, and quickly on its way to become the largest. Forecasts by ‘The Economist’ indicate that China’s GDP will overtake the United States’ GDP as soon as 2019.

People involved in business have a higher chance of finding clientele if they speak Chinese. Adding Mandarin Chinese to your resume will make you highly demanded among international firms. China has great history and culture, and learning the language will help you become more familiar with it.

China is positioning itself to become the world new global superpower, but whether or not this will translate into linguistic dominance remains to be seen. However, one thing is for sure: learning Mandarin Chinese is a very rewarding skill, and you can become fluent in just 6 months.

Is Learning Mandarin as Difficult as it Seems?

Before getting into the main principles, I would like to dispel three common myths you might have heard.

  • I’m not talented. Talent is absolutely irrelevant. If anyone wants to learn Mandarin Chinese, following the steps below will lead to rapid fluency.
  • You must immerse yourself in a Chinese city to learn the language. I have many friends that have been living in Beijing for over 20 years, yet they can’t even express the simplest ideas in Mandarin Chinese. Use the right methods to put effort into your education and reap the benefits.
  • Chinese is too difficult. Speaking in four different tones may seem intimidating, nevertheless, principle 2 (below) will help you master that. As a matter of fact, Mandarin Chinese actually has one of the easiest grammar structures. There is no verb conjugation or noun declension. Someone learning English has to learn different verb forms such as “see/seen/saw,” all you need to remember in Chinese is one word: “kan.” Also, there is no such thing as subject/verb agreement in Chinese.

There are just 4 principles that will enable you to rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese. Each one of these principles will help you learn more effectively. Once you are able to use all these principles simultaneously, you’ll be fluent in Mandarin Chinese in less than 6 months.

Let’s say you are lost in a forest (hopefully you won’t end up in this situation). You will find yourself paying attention to all the small details in everything you see and hear, because any information that helps you survive has great relevance. These are details you are going to pay attention to, and as a result, you will remember these details.

Any information that could help achieve your own personal goals has relevance.

Here are my 4 principles to put your language learning on the fast track:

1. Focus on Language Content That Is Relevant to You

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I spent a couple of hours daily for a few months trying to improve my writing skills, with only minimal progress. I decided to put it to a side for a while and take a break. I started becoming more social and outgoing, and began frequently using Mandarin Chinese to chat with my new friends. As you can expect, my writing ability improved drastically.

I only learnt the skill effectively when I started to use it as a tool to communicate (via text messaging and apps like WeChat – a Chinese version of WhatsApp and Facebook combined).

2. Use Mandarin Chinese as a Tool to Communicate with Others

I distinctly remember the first Chinese conversation I had. Someone sitting next to me at the airport had taken a strange interest in me and wanted to socialize.

I obviously didn’t know what this Chinese person was saying, but because I made an effort to pay attention I could understand what he was trying to say.

His body language played a large role in my ability to understand the message he was trying to convey. In the end, I realized he was trying to tell me that our flight gate got changed.

Here’s what is fascinating. When I finally arrived in Beijing 8 hours later, I found myself already familiar with certain words.

3. When You Understand the Message, You Will Unconsciously Acquire the Language

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Learning Chinese is not about accumulating knowledge.

Many of the local Chinese students at university have been studying English for several years. They pass their courses with high grades and are able to write essays very well.

One of these students ended up going abroad as part of an exchange program, and was not able to understand any of the English she heard. This case is not unheard of, and it is commonly referred to as being ‘English Deaf’.

We have filters in our brains that filter in the sounds that we are familiar with, and filter out the sounds that are unfamiliar. If you can’t hear it, then there is no way you will understand it.

4. Have fun!

I’m not writing this because I’ve run out of points to say. Psycho-physiologial state plays a huge role with regard to our ability to acquire new information. You are not going to learn if you are upset, angry, distracted, or worried. When you are curious, happy, and relaxed, you will learn very quickly.

Learn to tolerate ambiguity. About 2 years ago, I met an old Chinese man who plays table tennis very well. We started seeing each other often at the gym, and now he’s pretty much like family.

When he first started talking to me, I could barely make sense of anything he said, but I focused on what I could understand and tried to give me some feedback when possible.

After a few months of seeing him a couple times every week, I was able to understand almost everything he was saying, and I became much more involved in the conversation.

If you feel the need to understand absolutely everything you are hearing, you will go crazy. Try to make yourself comfortable with getting bits and pieces here and there. Just pay attention to what you do understand, and you’ll be well on your way to fluency.

Those were the 4 principles to acquiring Mandarin Chinese fluency in 6 months. Below are 6 steps that encompass the 4 principles, and can be used as steps to get you on the right track.

6 Steps for Rapid Mandarin Chinese Fluency

1. Listen a lot! (Brain Soaking)

Put yourself in that context. Whether or not you understand what you hear is irrelevant. You are listening to rhythms, patterns that repeat, and sounds that stand out.

2. Start Mixing!

10 verbs, 10 nouns, and 10 adjective = 1000 different sentences.

Get creative! It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to work.

3. Focus on the Core

‘High Frequency Content’.

I highly doubt phrases you will ever need are phrases such as “rate of photosynthesis” in Chinese. Focus on the words and sentences that are relevant to you and your lifestyle. Focus on topics that you are exposed to in your daily life.

For example, the following will likely be very relevant in your first few weeks.

What is this?                    =   Zhe shi shen me?

How do you say … ?       =   Zen me shuo … ?

I don’t understand …       =  Wo ting bu dong …

You   =   Ni

Me   =   Wo

Him / Her  =   Ta

That   =   Na ge

Give   =   Gei

Hot   =   Re

Happy   =   Gao xing

4. Get a language partner

4 rules for having a good language partner:

  • Works to understand what you are saying
  • Does not correct mistakes
  • Confirms understanding by using correct language
  • Uses words the learner knows

5. Copy the face

Hear how it feels, and feel how it sounds. Look at native speakers, and look at how he or she moves their mouth. Imitate it!

6. Connect meanings to Mental Images

A common process to learn Chinese characters is by connecting the character to the English meaning and repeating it over and over again.

火- huo - Fire

火- huo - Fire

火- huo - Fire

火- huo - Fire

火- huo - Fire

However, this method is inefficient.

Connect meanings directly to a mental image in your brain. Here’s how:

火-   (smell the burning, feel the heat, hear the crackling, see the flames)

Over time, you will become naturally good at this process that it will become unconscious.

These 6 tricks are shortcuts to reaching fluency. Anyone can learn Mandarin Chinese if they put their mind to it and look for unconventional learning methods that are not just way more fun, but also way easier.

As someone that’s been living in China for years, I know exactly what would have made my learning journey easier and infinitely quicker.

Awesome Mandarin Resources

Here are some Awesome Resources that will definitely help you along the way and keep you motivated to reach fluency:

For Oral Speaking:

Melnyks provides great free podcasts available on the iTunes store. His website is www.melnyks.com

For Learning Basic Chinese Characters:

Memrise.com is a powerful resource that can help you master the foundation of Chinese characters.

For Learning to Read in Chinese:

Mandarin Chinese Reading Practice is an excellent e-book that will help you recognize and learn new characters easily, understand grammar structure, and improve your overall language skills in no time!

Follow these simple tricks and baby steps. Believe me, it’s easier than you think!

After all, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Let’s learn from babies – the best language learners! Babies are naturally good at following these exact steps, making them the quick language learners.

Let’s become more like babies! (don’t take this out of context)

Share this article with anyone you know that’s struggling to learn Mandarin, and feel free to share your own tricks and shortcuts with our other lovely readers!

Cover photo: www.tumblr.com

About the author

Jessica T.

Jessica is a parenting and lifestyle blogger with a love for all things crafty, homemade and unique. She's worked around the world in the fields of special needs and TEFL and is currently a freelance writer based in her cosy little cottage in Hampshire, UK.

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