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Using Google's new AI NotebookLM to study Chinese more effectively

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When words sound different in isolation vs. in a sentence, look up the pronunciation first in a dictionary, then use https://youglish.com/chinese

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Very useful app!

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Pleco Software – The #1 Chinese dictionary app for iOS and Android

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The #1 Chinese dictionary app for iOS and Android

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Chinese English Dictionary - Learn Chinese - 英汉字典 - 汉英字典 - 汉字- Arch Chinese

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Online Chinese-English dictionary with native speaker sound for each Chinese character, word and example sentences.

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Chinese English Dictionary with Pinyin, Strokes, & Audio - Yabla Chinese

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Chinese-English Dictionary. Includes Simplified Characters, Traditional Characters, Pinyin, Stroke-Order, and Audio. Search using English, Mandarin Chinese, or Pinyin.

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Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Chart with Audio

About Pinyin

Hanyu Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Mandarin Chinese sounds into a Latin alphabet. It was invented in 1950s, and adopted as a standard in mainland China in 1958. Pinyin is used for several purposes such as: teaching Chinese, transcribing names and places into words accessible to european language speakers, and used as an input method for typing Chinese characters.

Pinyin is not the only system devised to transcribe Chinese sounds into roman letters. An older system called Wade-Giles was used in the first half of the 20th century and it has left its mark on the English language. For instance, 功夫 is romanized as "kungfu" in Wade-Giles, but "gongfu" in Pinyin. Also, 北京 (the capital of China) was in the past romanized as "Peking", but is "Beijing" in Pinyin. It is a common misconception that the city changed names, but the sound never changed, only how we spell the sound with letters.

The j, q, x vs. zh, ch, sh sounds

Native English speakers often have trouble distinguishing between these sounds. For instance, 'x' and 'sh' sound similar to native English ears, but to native Chinese speakers, the sounds are completely different. The tongue and lip positions are very different. For 'sh', the tip of the tongue should be on the roof of the mouth, and 'x' the tip of the tongue should be behind the lower teeth.

Below are links to videos in the Yabla format that illustrate the difference. Watch these videos carefully and practice making the correct sounds

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Mandarin Chinese Pinyin Chart with Audio - Yabla Chinese

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This Pinyin table includes all Mandarin Chinese syllables. Click on any pinyin sound in the chart, and listen to the audio in all four tones.

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Chineasy method

Based on the idea of building blocks, Chineasy breaks down the most essential Chinese characters into their fundamental components, transforming each character into a colorful, intuitive illustration.

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Chineasy | Award-Winning Chinese Learning Methodology

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Based on the idea of building blocks, Chineasy breaks down the most essential Chinese characters into their fundamental components, transforming each character into a colorful, intuitive illustration.

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HelloChinese - #1 app for learning Mandarin Chinese!

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HelloChinese is the most fun and effective app for beginners to learn Mandarin Chinese. Designed like an engaging game, it helps learners of Chinese learn Chinese Mandarin quickly to a conversational level. It’s rated 4.8+ stars on both App Store and Google Play, and gets ranked #1 Chinese learning…

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Chinese Reading and Comprehension - HSKReading.com

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Free HSK-Graded Mandarin Chinese reading material with Pinyin, English translations, voice-overs, and comprehension questions. Written by Chinese natives.

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We create visual-based learning systems for reading and writing chinese characters.

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"stories in chinese" "stories in slow chinese" "slow chinese" "slow and clear chinese" "easy chinese" "chinese listening practice hsk 3" "chinese listening p...

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Welcome, Mandarin learners! In our channel you will find content to study Chinese in the format of stories. At the moment most of our videos are part of the Slow Chinese series (videos including pinyin, hanzi, pictures and optional translation in English and Spanish) but we also have some videos with on-screen translations (literal meanings) and others with Chinese spoken at different speeds.

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English to Chinese dictionary with Mandarin Pinyin & Handwriting Recognition - learn Chinese faster with MDBG!

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Translate by hovering mouse over the text

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Translate by hovering mouse over the text

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Easy to install
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/zhongwen-chinese-english/kkmlkkjojmombglmlpbpapmhcaljjkde

Yomichan. Hard to install, but is more customizable (and supports Japanese <- important for me!!!)
https://gist.github.com/shoui520/25460fd2e9fb194d3e5152fa2ce42ca2

I made a simplistic version of the CC-CEDICT dictionary for Yomichan. Use it if you like it.
https://github.com/anttipham/cc-cedict-for-yomichan

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With the internet's BEST Chinese lessons!
Sign up for Free

Why Yoyo Chinese?

Find out what makes the web's best Chinese courses so popular.

A clearly structured curriculum

Follow our guided study schedule and you'll always know what to do next. No more feeling lost!

Everything you need

1,000+ lessons in 6+ comprehensive courses means you can go from true newbie to speaking and reading Chinese all in one place.

See real results

With as little as 30 minutes a day, we guarantee you'll see real progress on Yoyo Chinese. It's that good!

A lifetime of learning

With many years worth of study materials - including 15K+ vocab flashcards, 10K+ quiz questions, and much more - you can easily review the Chinese you learn so you never lose it again!

How much you'll learn?

What you'll learn

I want to study 30 minutes a day for months

You will be able to...

Dramatically increase your learning efficiency

Stop wasting time on AI-built apps that don't work

Get real results with Yoyo Chinese in a matter of WEEKS, not years! We don't rely on AI-generated dialogue. Instead we've spent the last 10+ years designing Yoyo Chinese so that it solves the most common problems that Chinese language learners face. If it's results you're looking for, you're in the right place!

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! Although Yoyo Chinese wasn't made specifically for the HSK, our course material does intentionally overlap so well with HSK prep that students of ours have gone on to ace the test using ONLY their experience on Yoyo Chinese. To find out more check out this helpful guide here.

Subscription memberships to Yoyo Chinese are automatically recurring subscriptions just like other online services like Netflix or Spotify. But as per our Cancellation Policy, you may also cancel your subscription anytime - so no worries if you need to take a break! The lifetime membership gives you access to all the same content as a subscription, but with just one payment and no expiration date! Read more about our pricing plans here.

Our lessons use unique and highly effective insights into Chinese tones and pronunciation that are made specifically for non-native Chinese learners like you. They include clips of real-life, native Chinese speakers and a huge array of interactive audio and video tools to use as you practice - like our world-famous Interactive Pinyin Chart! We're proud to say that we've been able to help THOUSANDS of students from around the world finally start speaking Chinese confidently and without a funny accent! 😊

More

Join us and have fun learning Chinese!

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The Best Way to Learn Chinese Online | Yoyo Chinese

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Everything you need to learn Chinese: 1000+ video lessons, expert teacher, native conversations, pinyin chart, and tons of interactive activities.

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A collection of TV series of very varying production quality from Mainland China, Taiwan, HK, Japan, Korea and Thailand. About a third of the Mandarin-spoken series have learning mode enabled, which adds a hover-over dictionary to the subtitles and automatic pausing. Either advertisements or subscription.

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Watch shows online for free - Rakuten Viki

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Watch shows with subtitles in over 100 different languages

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Learn languages by playing a game. It's 100% free, fun, and scientifically proven to work.

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Learn how to pronounce Mandarin Chinese with audio demonstrations and video explanations for every possible sound combination in the language.

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Du Chinese is a powerful tool that makes learning Chinese simple and effective. Our built-in features let you practice your Chinese naturally, with assistance provided as you need it.

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Du Chinese is a powerful tool that makes learning Chinese simple and effective. Our built-in features let you practice your Chinese naturally, with assistance provided as you need it.

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Movies
The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon 周处除三害
https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81746263

A Sun 阳光普照

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81168282

Dear Ex 谁先爱上他的

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81045891

Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-qiang 天梯：蔡国强的艺术

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/80097472

Wish Dragon 许愿神龙

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81153694

Dramas

Light the Night 华灯初上

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81477952

The Untamed 陈情令

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81200228

Meteor Garden 流星花园

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81005504

The King’s Avatar 全职高手

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81175361

The Victim’s Game 谁是被害者

https://www.netflix.com/fi-en/title/81227121

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Songs

https://www.youtube.com/@tempestjun437/videos

小苹果

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY983LH9Zp8&list=PLX-rMco6lN-Ewsiwf8q3oS4atZOp9TzsB&index=3

老鼠爱大米

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdNYdg7tFoA&list=PLX-rMco6lN-Ewsiwf8q3oS4atZOp9TzsB&index=7

健康歌

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8VYN92Bz0&list=PLuFOUuiwu0aGKempmi99y2wSu5dH6ZeVc&index=26

有点甜

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP9K-7DCSkU&list=PLuFOUuiwu0aGKempmi99y2wSu5dH6ZeVc&index=32

我多喜欢你 你会知道

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhlmS7K3CuI&list=PLuFOUuiwu0aGKempmi99y2wSu5dH6ZeVc&index=33

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The best way to learn how to pronounce Mandarin Chinese tones.

Refresh for more

What are Tone Pairs?

"Tone pairs" is simply the way we refer to two tones pronounced back-to-back. For example, měiguó (美国) is a 3-2 tone pair because měi is 3rd tone and guó is 2nd tone.

An enormous number of Chinese verbs, nouns and most of all adjectives are two characters, and the natural patterns of speech in Mandarin often involves breaking up sentences into two-character pieces. What we realized is that mastering the way tones are pronounced in combination is a critical part of speaking Chinese fluently because these tone pairs reflect how the Chinese language is actually spoken.

When you're trying to string phrases and sentences together, your carefully-practiced individual tones can get jumbled together and sound awkward - it's a pain you likely know all too well. That's why for many years we've encouraged our students to practice tones in pairs instead of individually, and now we've built this Tone Pairs tool to make practicing them effortless!

How does this tool work?

When you try our Tone Pairs tool, you'll find a 4x5 chart. Each cell represents a certain tone pair, and includes a common Chinese vocabulary word with that tone pair (with Chinese pinyin & characters, English translation, and native speaker audio recording). You can click on a word to hear how it is pronounced and repeat it back, going through the chart however you like.

On the top right you'll also find a "Refresh for more" button, which will generate the next set of vocabulary words for each tone pair. The chart includes hundreds of common Chinese vocabulary words - plenty to practice with until you've mastered your tone pronunciation! We've also created a series of video lessons (below) with practice tools that enable you to record yourself and listen back to it to ensure your pronunciation matches the examples. Combined with our Interactive Pinyin Chart, you now have everything you need to master tones, pinyin and Chinese pronunciation.

Ready to MASTER Chinese tones?

Check out our video lessons with expert teachings on how to pronounce Chinese tones like a native.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tones refer to the different pitches and inflections used to pronounce words in the Chinese languages. We created this series of video lessons with clear explanations, helpful demonstrations, and useful practice exercises for each of the Mandarin Chinese tones, and we think it's the best way to learn and master them. But here's a brief intro:

There are five tones in Mandarin Chinese: the flat or level tone (e.g. mā), the rising tone (má), the falling then rising tone (mǎ), the falling tone (mà), and the neutral tone (ma). The tone of a word can change its meaning, so it is important to use the correct tone when speaking Mandarin Chinese. Pinyin uses accent marks to indicate the correct tone for each word. For example, the syllable "ma" can have four different meanings depending on the tone used: "mā" (妈) means "mother", "má" (麻) means "hemp", "mǎ" (马) means "horse", "mà" (骂) means "scold", and "ma" (吗) is a particle that turns a statement into a yes or no question.

"Tone pairs" is simply the way we refer to two tones pronounced back-to-back. For example, měiguó (美国) is a 3-2 tone pair because měi is 3rd tone and guó is 2nd tone.

An enormous number of Chinese verbs, nouns and most of all adjectives are two characters, and the natural patterns of speech in Mandarin often involves breaking up sentences into two-character pieces. What we realized is that mastering the way tones are pronounced in combination is a critical part of speaking Chinese fluently because these tone pairs reflect how the Chinese language is actually spoken.

When you're trying to string phrases and sentences together, your carefully-practiced individual tones can get jumbled together and sound awkward - it's a pain you likely know all too well. That's why for many years we've encouraged our students to practice tones in pairs instead of individually, and now we've built this Tone Pairs tool to make practicing them effortless!

There are five tones in Mandarin Chinese: the flat or level tone (e.g. mā), the rising tone (má), the falling then rising tone (mǎ), the falling tone (mà), and the neutral tone (ma). The meaning of a word in Chinese isn't just dependent on the syllabic pronunciation but also on the vocal pitch and inflection (a.k.a. the tone), so it is important to use the correct tone when speaking Mandarin Chinese. Pinyin uses accent marks to indicate the correct tone for each word. For example, the syllable "ma" can have four different meanings depending on the tone used: "mā" (妈) means "mother", "má" (麻) means "hemp", "mǎ" (马) means "horse", "mà" (骂) means "scold", and "ma" (吗) is a particle that turns a statement into a yes or no question.

The meaning of a word in Chinese isn't just dependent on the syllabic pronunciation but also on the vocal pitch and inflection (a.k.a. the tone), so it is important to use the correct tone when speaking Mandarin Chinese. Pinyin uses accent marks to indicate the correct tone for each word. For example, the syllable "ma" can have four different meanings depending on the tone used: "mā" (妈) means "mother", "má" (麻) means "hemp", "mǎ" (马) means "horse", "mà" (骂) means "scold", and "ma" (吗) is a particle that turns a statement into a yes or no question.

Good news: if you know English you should already know how to correctly pronounce over half of those sounds without any coaching! As for the rest, that's what we're here for. We've built this Interactive Pinyin Chart with demonstrations for how to correctly pronounce every possible sound in the Chinese language. We've also created this series of video lessons with practice tools that enable you to record yourself and listen back to it to ensure your pronunciation matches the examples. Combined with our Tone Pairs practice tool, you now have everything you need to master pinyin and Chinese pronunciation.

More

Join us and have fun learning Chinese!

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Learn how to pronounce Mandarin Chinese tones with audio demonstrations of common words for every possible tone pair combination.

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Some of my personal picks (also on spotify)

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Some of my personal picks (also on spotify)

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恭喜发财 (Gōngxǐ fācái) Andy Lau

https://youtu.be/ppsE1iI_X6s?feature=shared

真的好想你 (Zhēn de hǎo xiǎng nǐ) Fei Yu-qing 費玉清 -> Wonderful artist, check out his full portfolio

https://youtu.be/EUspcbBUa60?feature=shared

爱江山更爱美人 (Ài jiāngshān gèng ài měirén) -> Lily Lee <- (Better quality on spotify)

https://youtu.be/p3CBaikDft0?feature=shared

快樂崇拜 (Kuàilè chóngbài) Will Pan, Angela Chang - Hip Hop

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Learn to read and write Mandarin Chinese in context through real example sentences, images, songs, and videos.

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Applications to learn Chinese from trainchinese. Apps to listen, read, write and study your own selection of Chinese words or phrases.

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Master Chinese “j q x” and “zh ch sh” | Pronunciation Training

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Master Chinese “z c s” | Pronunciation Training