{"id":255,"date":"2026-10-12T10:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/?p=255"},"modified":"2026-10-12T10:35:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:35:17","slug":"how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Actually Learn Mandarin: Your Questions Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How do I actually learn Mandarin? You&#8217;ve been asking, so this post answers your questions directly. Flashcards have been a huge part of my journey, so most of the questions are about them, but we&#8217;ll also cover listening, speaking, native-speed reductions and how long it all took. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the way, feel free to watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qk9-DD_xQVg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video version here<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Cloze_deletion_or_English-to-Mandarin_flashcards\" >Cloze deletion or English-to-Mandarin flashcards?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Cloze_deletion_great_for_thinking_in_Mandarin\" >Cloze deletion: great for thinking in Mandarin<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#English-to-Mandarin_great_for_building_sentences\" >English-to-Mandarin: great for building sentences<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#How_to_make_good_cloze_deletions\" >How to make good cloze deletions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Should_you_make_several_cards_for_each_chunk\" >Should you make several cards for each chunk?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#20000_flashcards_dont_the_reviews_run_away\" >20,000+ flashcards: don&#8217;t the reviews run away?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Do_I_still_use_Anki\" >Do I still use Anki?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Should_you_delete_old_cards\" >Should you delete old cards?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Can_I_buy_your_Anki_decks\" >Can I buy your Anki decks?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Do_Mandarin_subtitles_hurt_your_listening\" >Do Mandarin subtitles hurt your listening?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Imitation_and_self-talk_%E8%87%AA%E8%A8%80%E8%87%AA%E8%AF%AD\" >Imitation and self-talk (\u81ea\u8a00\u81ea\u8bed)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#How_do_you_get_things_out_of_Anki_and_into_conversation\" >How do you get things out of Anki and into conversation?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Why_cant_I_keep_up_with_native-speed_speech\" >Why can&#8217;t I keep up with native-speed speech?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Why_Mandarin_sentences_can_feel_ambiguous\" >Why Mandarin sentences can feel ambiguous<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Podcast_recommendations_for_HSK_4%E2%80%935\" >Podcast recommendations for HSK 4\u20135<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#How_long_did_it_take_me\" >How long did it take me?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/how-i-actually-learn-mandarin-your-questions-answered\/#Got_more_questions\" >Got more questions?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cloze_deletion_or_English-to-Mandarin_flashcards\"><\/span>Cloze deletion or English-to-Mandarin flashcards?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both work very well, and I used both. They just have different strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cloze deletion<\/strong> blanks out part of a Mandarin sentence and you fill the gap.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>English-to-Mandarin<\/strong> shows you an English sentence and you recall the whole Mandarin sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cloze_deletion_great_for_thinking_in_Mandarin\"><\/span>Cloze deletion: great for thinking in Mandarin<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the whole card is in Mandarin, cloze cards train you not to translate into English. They also sharpen your sense of context: where a word naturally goes in a sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The downside is that you start recognising the <em>shape<\/em> of the card. After enough reviews, you see where the gap is and the answer pops out automatically. You haven&#8217;t really done the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fix is what I call <strong>sentence transformation<\/strong>: take the original sentence and make new versions by swapping parts in and out. It&#8217;s harder at lower levels, but it beats the recognition problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"English-to-Mandarin_great_for_building_sentences\"><\/span>English-to-Mandarin: great for building sentences<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The obvious worry here is translation. But translation only causes two real problems for learners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Translating while listening.<\/strong> If you have to convert everything to English to understand it, you&#8217;ll fall behind. The cure is listening so much that you simply don&#8217;t have time to translate, and consciously telling yourself to just understand and enjoy it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Translating word for word when speaking.<\/strong> Learners who don&#8217;t know how a Mandarin sentence is built go English word, Mandarin word, English word, Mandarin word.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That second one breaks what I call <strong>the conversation rule<\/strong>: in a real conversation you don&#8217;t have time to translate, because the conversation will have moved on before your sentence is ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The way around both is to learn in <strong>chunks<\/strong>. With chunks, you aren&#8217;t translating word by word; you&#8217;re slotting ready-made pieces together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The big advantage of English-to-Mandarin cards is that you build whole sentences rather than filling gaps. That mimics what you actually do in conversation. It&#8217;s why, when I built <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/app\/\">my fluency trainer<\/a>, I moved to whole English-to-Mandarin sentences: for many learners, it can work better (as long as you don&#8217;t translate word-for-word). That said, try a mix of both in Anki and see what works for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_make_good_cloze_deletions\"><\/span>How to make good cloze deletions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Should you hide the whole chunk?<\/strong> Most of the time, yes. If that chunk is what you&#8217;re trying to learn, hide all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Should you add English?<\/strong> It depends on how clear the gap is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the context makes the missing piece obvious, keep the card entirely in Mandarin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you&#8217;re hiding a whole chunk, you&#8217;ll usually need English to make it specific. That&#8217;s fine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A big weakness of cloze cards is that without English they can be so vague that almost anything fits the gap. At that point you&#8217;re guessing, not learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s also a middle option: split the chunk into <strong>two cloze deletions<\/strong>, one per part. Then you can usually work it out from context without any English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_you_make_several_cards_for_each_chunk\"><\/span>Should you make several cards for each chunk?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My view here has changed over time. To use a chunk flexibly in conversation, you need to see it in several contexts. So I&#8217;d add <strong>two or three cards<\/strong> for important chunks, especially with English-to-Mandarin cards (multiple cloze cards for one chunk tend to look the same anyway).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Balance that against how fast your vocabulary is growing. Go big on the chunks that really matter, not on everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A feature I&#8217;m excited about in my<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/app\/\"> Fluency Trainer<\/a> is this: attach several very similar sentences to one chunk, each with small changes, and show a random one at each review. You see a new context every time, so you <strong>internalise the chunk<\/strong> instead of memorising a sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&#8217;s the real skill behind speaking confidently. It isn&#8217;t reciting memorised sentences like a script; it&#8217;s building sentences on the spot to say what you mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"20000_flashcards_dont_the_reviews_run_away\"><\/span>20,000+ flashcards: don&#8217;t the reviews run away?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not if the cards are good. When I was adding 10 to 15 new cards a day and getting over 90% right with long-term retention, I had around 100 reviews a day. If you&#8217;re quick, that&#8217;s 15 to 20 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The catch: go back and delete or fix the cards you keep failing. Most of the time, forgetting something isn&#8217;t about your memory. It&#8217;s a poorly designed card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_I_still_use_Anki\"><\/span>Do I still use Anki?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, every day, because all my reviews live there. But I now put <strong>new<\/strong> material into my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/app\/\">fluency trainer<\/a> instead. Abandoning Anki for new cards was a tough call after using it for so long. The main reason is that I can speak into the trainer, and I simply prefer it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I actually think flashcards matter <em>more<\/em> as you advance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Beginner:<\/strong> somewhat less important.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intermediate:<\/strong> very important.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Advanced:<\/strong> still very important, because new words and chunks are rarer and more technical. You may not hear them again for a long time, so a flashcard is your snapshot of it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So even at a high level, keep treating new material as seriously as you did early on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Should_you_delete_old_cards\"><\/span>Should you delete old cards?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes and no. Mature cards end up with review intervals of years, so they barely cost you anything. I can&#8217;t be bothered to delete them, so I leave them. Badly designed cards, though, I delete or fix straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_buy_your_Anki_decks\"><\/span>Can I buy your Anki decks?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I get this question constantly, and the answer is no. I don&#8217;t sell them or even give them away, because flashcards should be personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond the core chunks everyone needs to build sentences, your vocabulary depends on your job, family, where you live and your background. What you talk about will be different from what I talk about. My cards make sense to me, but they&#8217;d be a rocky road for anyone trying to go from beginner to fluent with them. Personalised cards will serve you far better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is why, although I think my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/app\/\">Fluency Trainer<\/a> curriculum works very well, I encourage my students to add their own sentences they come across into the system to personalise their learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Mandarin_subtitles_hurt_your_listening\"><\/span>Do Mandarin subtitles hurt your listening?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Mandarin they&#8217;re unavoidable: almost every video comes with subtitles. The key is not becoming over-reliant on them, and the easiest way is to listen to lots of podcasts, which have none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mix subtitled video with plenty of podcasts and real conversations and you&#8217;ll be fine. Subtitles are even a plus, because they make looking up new words and sentence mining much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Imitation_and_self-talk_%E8%87%AA%E8%A8%80%E8%87%AA%E8%AF%AD\"><\/span>Imitation and self-talk (\u81ea\u8a00\u81ea\u8bed)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Listening and repeating<\/strong> is one of the best things you can do. I did a lot of shadowing and sentence-by-sentence imitation, because pronunciation, and especially rhythm, is a big issue for non-native speakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need a native accent. You do need a solid one that anyone can understand clearly and easily. Five to ten minutes a day repeating native speakers will get you there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Self-talk<\/strong> is something I&#8217;m a big believer in. Most of us listen, read and study characters a lot, but don&#8217;t speak nearly enough. Speaking is a skill that needs training, and talking to yourself lets you practice anywhere, any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The risk is that you might be making mistakes. Don&#8217;t worry too much, as long as they don&#8217;t get in the way of communicating and you get corrections when you need them. To lower the risk, stick to things you&#8217;re confident about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, when I was studying medicine at university, I&#8217;d sit in my room between study sessions naming objects in Mandarin until I hit one I couldn&#8217;t name. It grew my vocabulary and my confidence speaking out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_you_get_things_out_of_Anki_and_into_conversation\"><\/span>How do you get things out of Anki and into conversation?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot of learners find words get stuck in their flashcards. Anki gets something into your head so you <em>can<\/em> say it. Using it repeatedly is what makes it stick for life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>in real conversations, ideally<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>out loud, on your own<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>in your own practice sentences<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>in practice with AI<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>through sentence transformation (see above)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its simplest: make a list of the things you struggle to say, and make your own sentences with them until they come out naturally in conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_cant_I_keep_up_with_native-speed_speech\"><\/span>Why can&#8217;t I keep up with native-speed speech?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One Mandarin learner commented on a YouTube video of mine saying they know all the official tongue positions but get lost in the reductions native speakers use. Are they hearing it wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mostly, it&#8217;s just speed. Native speech feels impossibly fast at first, but once you&#8217;ve heard enough of it, it almost starts to sound slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are some real reductions, though, especially in northern China. In fast speech, <strong>sh<\/strong> and <strong>zh<\/strong> initials often soften into something close to an <strong>r<\/strong> sound. For example: [add example word or phrase]. This is probably the most common reduction that trips learners up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The solution is lots and lots of listening. You&#8217;ll gradually start to notice these and pick them up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Mandarin_sentences_can_feel_ambiguous\"><\/span>Why Mandarin sentences can feel ambiguous<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another learner asked how to use context quickly to follow what someone is saying. I think the real issue is that Mandarin can be quite vague. Unlike English, it often drops the subject, and a sentence can carry more than one meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here&#8217;s an example I came across while designing some learning materials: \u4f60\u5e94\u8be5\u65e9\u70b9\u6765\u627e\u6211. Depending on context, it can mean either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Past:<\/strong> &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t you come and find me earlier?&#8221; (you should have)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Future:<\/strong> &#8220;You should come and find me early.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This comes up a lot in Mandarin. To handle it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>get plenty of exposure and have lots of conversations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>be aware that this ambiguity exists<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>practice at the sentence level so you really understand how Mandarin sentences are built<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s one of the harder, often-overlooked nuances of the language, and it simply takes practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Podcast_recommendations_for_HSK_4%E2%80%935\"><\/span>Podcast recommendations for HSK 4\u20135<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, some news: I&#8217;m going back to making Mandarin podcasts myself, aiming for one a week with my girlfriend and other guests. Expect stories about my life, some crazy things that have happened, Mandarin learning and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beyond that, my two top picks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/teatimechinese.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tea Time Chinese<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; slightly easier, and one I recommend a lot.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfsNycNoClXZA1FuUJSGT0w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u5927\u53d4\u4e2d\u6587 Dashu Mandarin<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; slightly harder. I&#8217;ve been on their channel many times and it&#8217;s one of my favourites. Nearly every learner I speak to loves it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_long_did_it_take_me\"><\/span>How long did it take me?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ve been learning Mandarin consistently for nearly seven years, and I&#8217;ve almost never missed a day. After about two years I was pretty happy with my level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The five years since have mostly gone into expanding my vocabulary, especially the technical side: language for my PhD, medicine and similar topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Got_more_questions\"><\/span>Got more questions?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;d love to do more relaxed Q&amp;As like this, talking through the problems you&#8217;re having with Mandarin. If anything here raised a follow-up, or I misread your question, drop it in the comments either here or over on my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@willhartmandarin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube channel<\/a>, and I&#8217;ll answer it next time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do I actually learn Mandarin? You&#8217;ve been asking, so this post answers your questions directly. Flashcards have been a huge part of my journey, so most of the questions are about them, but we&#8217;ll also cover listening, speaking, native-speed reductions and how long it all took. By the way, feel free to watch the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250414639,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"order-bump-settings":[],"_wpfnl_thankyou_order_overview":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_order_details":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_billing_details":"on","_wpfnl_thankyou_shipping_details":"on","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[785168485,785168478],"tags":[785168447,48387857,785168248,785168448,785164030],"class_list":["post-255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anki-for-mandarin-learning","category-mandarin-routine","tag-chunking-chinese-2","tag-fluent-mandarin","tag-get-fluent-in-mandarin","tag-speak-mandarin-confidently","tag-will-hart-chinese"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgWzLf-47","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250414639"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chunkingchinese.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}