How long have you been learning Mandarin Chinese (汉语, Hànyǔ, the official language of China)? What’s the most challenging aspect of learning the language, apart from the mysterious characters? Well, learning any language is a tedious and time-consuming process. However, the Chinese language system stands apart from the European languages that you might have known. Why? Partly because of the absence of a fixed alphabet. Obviously, mastering the language (on par with the native Chinese speakers) would require YEARS long dedicated effort, as we need to learn the characters, words and then phrases, apart from the numerous grammatical and contextual nuances. What’s the way to move fast forward with the Chinese words in particular, and the language in general?
Learn Chinese Language and Culture
Here are some of the related books/resources to learn Chinese language fast:
- Level 1: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese Short Story Series, 500+ characters)
- Level 1: Chinese Reading Books (Journey to the West Series, 600 characters)
- Level 2: Chinese Reading Books (Biographies of China’s Famous Personalities, 600 characters)
- Level 2: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese Reading Comprehension, 600+ characters)
- Level 2: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese History Series, 900 characters)
- Level 3: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese Culture Series, 1000 characters)
- Level 4 & 5: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese Geography and Economy Series, over 1000 characters)
- Level 6: Chinese Reading Books (Chinese Classical Literature Masterpieces, about 1300 characters)
Don’t worry, if more a billion people have already learnt Mandarin Chinese, you too can do it, with smart work and some patience, of course!
In my previous blog-post, I discussed some basic facts about learning Chinese characters fast. However, just learning the Chinese characters wouldn’t be enough; we’d need to learn the related words as well. So, in this post, I’d further extend the previous discussion and share some additional simple tips for learning the Chinese words fast! Also, some related useful books have been hyperlinked.
How to learn Mandarin Chinese Words fast?
Fortunately, zillions of Chinese words are formed only by two combining characters. Obviously, an interesting way to improve your vocabulary fast could be to extend the characters that you already know. This blog-post would provide you some of the examples for a quick reference. 🙂
Example 1
One of the most commonly used Chinese character is 高 (gāo), meaning tall, high, lofty, etc. Usually, when you see 高 in a word, it would mean something “high” or “tall” in nature. For example, look at the following words-
Example 2
As another example, let’s look at 大 (dà). Well, 大 usually means “big”. Now, carefully examine at the following words and try to see if you can sense 大 (dà):
Keep in mind that 大 has another sound: dài, such as in 大夫, meaning “doctor” or “physician”.
Similarly, you can pick any character and extend your vocabulary by adding more characters to it. When I was a beginner, I didn’t realize the very basic fact about learning Chinese words fast. It was only after quite a few months of learning, I started connecting the characters to extend my vocabulary.
No worries, if you sincerely wish to improve your Chinese vocabulary fast, you can find more than 1500 basic Chinese words, organized in word-sets of related themes (as in the previous examples), in a single volume book. The book is available on Amazon (both Kindle and Paperback)-
- Paperback: 1500 Basic Chinese Words
- Paperback: Barnes & Noble
- Paperback: Amazon
The volume brings up more than 1500 words organized in the tabular forms (with corresponding pinyin and meaning, of course). In this book, you’ll find-
- More than 1500 Chinese words organized in over 40 Chapters;
- Word-sets in tabular forms meticulously grouped by related common themes;
- Pinyin and associated meanings for each of the words;
- Common words and phrases for “dating and relationship” in Chinese context;
- Important WeChat dating phrases;
- Description of naming conventions of Chinese food.
Learning Mandarin Chinese requires a command over a vast amount of Chinese words. This book provides a variety of basic and elementary Chinese words in one single volume. In order to master Chinese “reading and comprehension” fast, the words have been meticulously organized into different word-sets. Apart from a strong emphasis on character grouping and usage, the examples are provided in simplified Chinese character forms with meaning and romanization (Pinyin). The book is useful for all types of Chinese learners, including the beginners, advanced, HSK (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6), etc.
Start learning Chinese with these 1500 words!
Of course, in order to start expanding your vocabulary, you’ll need to have a solid command over the Chinese characters. If you are still worried about learning the characters, here are a couple of books to TREMENDOUSLY help you out.
Book 1
- Paperback (Barnes & Noble): 4000 Simplified Mandarin Chinese Characters With Pinyin
- Paperback: Barnes & Noble
- Paperback: Amazon
Book 2
- Paperback: 2500 Mandarin Chinese Dictionary Characters (A-Z)
- Paperback: Barnes & Noble
- Paperback: Amazon
Mandarin Chinese Reading Practice Books
After you know the Chinese characters and words, you must learn reading Chinese textbooks. It’s suggested to start Chinese reading practices with beginner’s books (Level 1). However, finding suitable books for Level 1/2 is a bit tricky.
So, here are some of the recommended books to practice Mandarin Chinese reading. Each of the following books contains only about 600 characters and the corresponding pinyin is provided. That is to say, the English text is intentionally excluded and you’ll need to read the sentences and connect the meanings. Of course, these books are for the beginners (Level 1/2), so nothing to worry! Here is the list of books for Chinese reading practice:
Book 1
- Paperback: Monkey King 1, 600 characters
- Kindle: (eBook – Monkey King 1).
Book 2
- Paperback: Monkey King 2,
- Kindle: (eBook – Monkey King 2).
How is your experience of learning Chinese words so far, especially if you are a non-native learner? Do let me know in the comments！
That’s all in this post about How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Words Fast. If you have any question about learning Mandarin Chinese, traveling, living or working in China, do let me know in the comments! Feel free to post in our forum so that others could also contribute and learn. For regular updates like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter!
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Wish you a great time learning Mandarin Chinese!
Cheers!
Last updated: Friday, December 16, 2022