Q&A for How to Learn Mandarin Chinese

It can be challenging for sure, but it's not impossible. A lot of non-native speakers struggle with the tones, but this is absolutely something that you can teach yourself with practice. If you practice consistently and you work hard, you can do it!

There are different versions of "Chinese," with Cantonese being the most popular after Mandarin. When people say they speak "Chinese," they're usually referring to Mandarin. There are two main reasons here. For one, Mandarin is the more widely-spoken version of the language. Second, Mandarin is the national language of China. For these reasons, "Chinese" and "Mandarin" can reasonably be used interchangeably.

Totally. Just like any other language, there are regional dialects and accents. When most people learn Mandarin, they're taught based on the Beijing accent. There are other versions though, including Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

You can say 我的名字是_______ (wo de ming zi shi_____), or you could also say, 我叫_______ (wo jiao_____).

It will usually take a few years depending on how well you can memorize words and phrases, and how well you can mimic words being spoken. However, if you are really good at learning new languages, it might take less time.

If you want to learn Mandarin Chinese, here are some good websites for you: Youku(优酷),Tudou（土豆), CNTV, and Slow Chinese. Some good apps are Duolingo, Memrise, ChineseSkill, and Hello Talk.

“你好”（nǐ hǎo)，or maybe you can say “Hey” directly, as this word is also used widely by Chinese native speakers.

A few tips and tricks for remembering Chinese characters would be using flash cards, posting labels of characters on household items, get a Chinese keyboard on your phone and lots of practice.

Go to Settings, then General and you should see Keyboard. Click that and then click on Add Keyboard/New. Click through and change the language to Chinese. To use it, click the globe/world on your keyboard until you reach your preferred language.

You can ask "用中文怎么说 ___?" (yong zhong wen zen me shuo ___ ?).

It is 吃饭了没？(chi fan le mei) in Chinese. Or you can 吃了没? (chi le mei) for short.

There is no one version that most people prefer. It depends on where you live, what your friends speak, etc.

"Zaoˇ an" is good morning in Mandarin . It's written "早安" in both Chinese and traditional Chinese.

"Nǐ huì shuō yīngwén ma." See the article above for how to pronounce the tones if you don't know them. You can always just ask in English, too. If they do know English, they'll understand. Even if they don't, they'll probably recognize the word "English" and make clear that they don't speak it.

Just try using the Pinyin system when it happens. Many words, like yin, yang and wonton, are all translated using Pinyin.

There is no fast way of writing them. There are fast ways to learn them, and the better you know the characters the quicker you can write them.

A language is going to be hard to learn, no matter your age. Just be smart about your attempt and find what works best for you.

Yes, it's a pretty good age to start. Since it's quite a hard language to learn, the earlier you start, the better.

"Wǒ ài nǐ " is "I love you" in Mandarin, and it's written "我爱你" (in simplified Chinese) or "我愛你" (in traditional Chinese).

The tone varies when you use different Chinese characters. As long as you know the characters by heart, you'll have no trouble with it.

You can try out Italki to see if anyone is one the same level as you. You could also try posting messages on the bulletin boards of any local colleges/universities that offer Chinese language classes.

Try putting definitions beside the Pinyin that has the same letter but a different tone, such as 妈 (ma, which means mom) and 马 (ma, which means horse).

If the Chinese speaker speaks English, then I would say yes. Otherwise I would Google the word or use a dictionary.

Continue to practice and study as much as you can.

Mandarin and Cantonese are two different types of Chinese. The two are mutually unintelligible through speech, but because both languages use the same characters, speakers of Cantonese can understand written Mandarin. Cantonese also has a different set of tones.

Not really, no. Learning any language is difficult and Mandarin is known for being especially hard, especially if your first language is English or one of the other Western languages.

Practice! You should be reviewing the characters every day, preferably a few times a day. Review when you get home from class, and review the days you do not have class. Review as much as possible!

China has many different regional accents, but the most standard or popular accents (such as the accents preferred for news readers or popular comedy acts) in mainland China are the Beijing and the Dongbei accents. If you're an introvert you can practice an accent at home by watching videos (Youku, Tudou, and Bilibili are good websites), pausing them and recording yourself saying the phrase in order to compare. Pretend you're an actor! Otherwise, there are tons of exchange students and tourists from China in Australia. If you hang out with people from the same area and speak to them in Mandarin, you'll pick up the accent. Living in China for a while is also an option.

Malaysian Mandarin is a dialect of its proper, Chinese, version.

You can say, "ke yi jiao ge peng you ma?". It's written "可以教个朋友吗？" in both Chinese and traditional Chinese.