Beginner Archives - Page 8 of 8

Mime your way to spot-on tones!

Ninchanese November 21, 2012

Our last article talked about tones, and how important they are in Chinese language. Especially if you’re planning on being understood in China! Now, on to another important point: How to get your tones right when speaking Chinese.

First off, for those of us that come from non-tonal languages, trying to think about making a sound and modulating the tone of your voice to go up and down is a process that we are utterly unused to. It doesn’t come naturally. But, fret not. You can learn tones. And here’s how.

Beginner, Chinese learning tips Chinese pronunciation, learn Chinese, lesson, newbie, tones

Chinese tones: Oops, that’s the wrong tone!

Ninchanese November 7, 2012

Think tones don’t matter when speaking Chinese? Wait til you get to China and try to say something. Odds are you’ll draw blank stares and shrugs because no one can understand what you’re saying. Or worse, you might suddenly get insulted, for a seemingly unknown reason! The culprit? Your Chinese tones!

Those five little accents are key to being understood in China and maintaining peaceful interactions with people. This is a lesson I learned the hard way when I first moved to China…

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese learning tips, Intermediate chinese tones, learn Chinese, lesson, pronunciation, speak Chinese, tones

Spaced repetition: Use it and learn Chinese for good

Ninchanese November 2, 2012

Turning information into lasting knowledge is a science. Really remembering something is a science. And like any science, it requires great tools. One of the most effective memorization methods and tools? Spaced repetition. So much in fact that spaced repetition will absolutely be part of the Ninchanese learning experience. Here’s why we love it.

“People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.”

Samuel Johnson, an 18th century English essayist, pinpointed this important fact early on: a key to long term memory retention is being reminded.

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese learning tips, Intermediate, Vocabulary active learning, active recall, learn Chinese, learning fundamentals, long-term retention, memory, spaced repetition

Practice: Refresh your Chinese and don’t forget!

Ninchanese October 17, 2012

Chinese is a great language to learn. It’s fun; it’s fascinating; it’s a challenge. It can also easily be forgotten. Because that’s how our memory works. It forget things. The way to prevent this? You practice. Better yet, you make it your daily routine to practice Chinese. The idea: To hit refresh on your knowledge, on all that new Chinese vocab, regularly so you don’t forget it. Here are a few tips to help you optimize practicing and efficiently learn.

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese learning tips, Intermediate chinese, learn Chinese, learning fundamentals, practice, practice Chinese, refresh, space repetition, spaced repetition, SRS

Learning Chinese is not hard

Ninchanese October 8, 2012

So, you’re thinking of learning Chinese… You may have heard learning Chinese is hard. All squiggly lines and unpronounceable sounds. You may even have heard worse things than that: Like learning Chinese is a monumental challenge. A blow to the ego. Incredibly frustrating due to the unbearable ratio of effort to effect. Don’t let that stop you. With the right approach, learning Chinese is absolutely doable. Even better than at, it’s also a lot of fun. Forget what you’ve heard about Chinese. Read on and we’ll tell you what you need to know about learning Chinese…

Beginner, Chinese learning tips chinese, hard, learn Chinese, learning fundamentals

Welcome to Ninchanese blog

Ninchanese September 25, 2012

Hi There! We’re building Ninchanese, a web and mobile app to help you learn Chinese in a way we hope you’ll find engaging, fun and rewarding! To know more about Ninchanese and to be part of the beta, head over to Ninchanese.com

Because we believe there’s more to learning a language than just learning vocabulary and grammatical rules – although those parts are important too and we’re actively working on creating great features to help you learn those aspects in an intuitive way -, we’re also launching this blog.

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese culture, Intermediate learning fundamentals, mobile app, nincha, ninchanese, web app