Ninchanese Blog

Tips and tricks to help you learn Chinese

Time for Christmas wishes! But not this Chinese way

Ninchanese December 11, 2012

Have you prepared your Christmas wishes yet? Watch this for a tripped out Christmas in China!

Chinese culture Advertising, ancient china, christmas, Christmas in China, culture, Wishes

HSK test: check you’re ready to take the HSK

Ninchanese December 6, 2012

Think you’re ready to take the HSK? Here’s a great way to check: the official Chinese online mock HSK tests! And they’re free!

One thing though: they’re all in Chinese. Just like the real HSK test will be. Don’t worry though! This step by step walkthrough will get you started with this great HSK test practice in no time.

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese learning tips, Intermediate Chinese sites, HSK, HSK exam, HSK preparation, HSK test practice, hskmocktest, learn Chinese, mock test

HSK – 3 cases where you should be taking the HSK

Ninchanese November 29, 2012

To prove how good you are in English, you can take the TOEIC or the TOEFL. These standardized exams are used across the world to assess the English level of non-native English speakers. Want to assess your level in Chinese? You’re in luck, the Chinese Hanban (National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) created the HSK Chinese exams for that exact purpose a few years ago. Read on to learn more about the exam and why you should be taking it!

Advanced, Beginner, Chinese learning tips, Intermediate chinese, Chinese level, exam, HSK, learn Chinese, learning chinese, studying in China, working in China, working in Chinese

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

Cats make everything possible

Ninchanese November 15, 2012

If cats can fly, you can learn Chinese. Cats make everything possible. 🙂 Can’t see the video above? Check it out here.

Ninchanese cats, flying, skydiving

Voice recognition technology : Are dreams of a real babbel fish becoming true?

Ninchanese November 10, 2012

Microsoft has just announced a new voice recognition technology that not only translates what you’re saying into another language, rearranges the words into the other language’s correct order but also plays back the results using your own voice (see demo after the jump), making it that much more realistic. Is this going to enable us to speak Chinese without having to actually learn Chinese?

Ninchanese culture, future of language learning, language learning, microsoft, speak Chinese, speech recognition, technology

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

Why Confucius wanted you to learn by doing

Ninchanese October 22, 2012

Every truth has four corners: as a teacher I give you one corner, and it is for you to find the other three.

Confucius, quoted by Jesse Schell in his Game Design bible, The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses.

Chinese learning tips active, learn by doing, quote

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