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11 minute read
So! You want to study Chinese, but as soon as you see one of its hieroglyphs, you turn away and cry in a corner. You instead try to utter a word, but the smallest change in tone changes its meaning to something completely different.
I will try and comfort you and actually encourage you to keep going.
Learn Chinese
First, you are not alone. Millions of people want to learn Chinese: and it is only logical – China is an economic giant, a major political player and the country with the biggest population on the planet.
Symbols
Second, the symbols are scary only at first sight. Chinese symbols are actually not a random set of lines and shapes. They are a system of reoccurring symbols, each carrying a certain meaning. It is their combinations which make the hieroglyph meaningful. My advice here is: do not try to memorize the hieroglyph itself, but rather the combination of meaningful parts it contains. You will immediately notice how quickly you become in studying.
Chinese grammar
Third, Chinese grammar is not as difficult as you think. Let us look at an example, comparing it to English:
“China” in Chinese is: 中国 (zhong guo)
“Chinese person” is achieved by just adding the symbol for “person”- 人: 中国人.
Logical, right?
English
In English, you have to change the noun in order to form an adjective – “Chinese”, and in Chinese, you do not have to worry about that.
Practice
In fact, by memorizing just about 100-200 symbols, you will technically receive access to thousands of Chinese words.
The rest is just practice, just like any other language!
And when you learn your first Chinese words, learning any other European language seems like a walk in the park. Trust me! And enjoy!
