You Can"t Learn Chinese in 5 Minutes
You might be able to put down a full meal in 5 minutes, but everyone knows that it still takes hours to digest.
The same goes for learning Chinese.
Anyone who thinks that learning it will be a walk in the park is seriously mistaken - you can't learn Chinese in 5 minutes! Why can't I learn Chinese in 5 minutes? Learning Chinese is like a fine dining experience.
You start with a light appetizer, working your way through to the main course and end with a sweet taste in your mouth.
Learning to listen is the appetizer.
Chinese has some unique sounds that are not made in other languages and while pronunciation is very important, it can be difficult if you are not used to making these sounds.
Chinese is also a tonal language which means tones affect the meaning of a words they are connected with.
It takes time and practice not only to hear the tones but to pronounce words correctly while using them.
The Main Course.
You must work your way through the main meal, (the grammar) and learn the subtle nuances of language which relate to culture.
Although some people are satisfied with just being able to speak Chinese, in my experience it is not nearly enough! Learning to speak without learning to read and write is like paying top dollar to eat a gourmet meal when you have a cold.
You can't even taste the flavor, so what good is it? Icing on the Cake.
Learning how to read and write characters is essential.
There is no question that Chinese characters look hip and writing Chinese characters has become an art form; but unless you learn to read and write characters, you will never really have a true understanding of China.
Many of the traditional characters tell the story of life in ancient China and carry with them the cultural history of the Chinese people.
Writing is difficult but systematic.
Small pieces of a character called radicals, are put together in different ways to make different characters.
Every character is formed by using specific strokes in a specific orders.
While some characters are simple and contain single radicals, some are exceedingly complex and contain several combinations of radicals and can have 15 different strokes! Do you now think you can learn Chinese in 5 minutes? There are no shortcuts in learning Chinese.
To learn Chinese in 5 minutes is an ideal that every opportunist tries to sell to those who are willing to buy it, but it is a fantasy.
The sweetness of the success can only come after the hard work of language learning is accomplished.
It's not easy, but it's so worth it.
The same goes for learning Chinese.
Anyone who thinks that learning it will be a walk in the park is seriously mistaken - you can't learn Chinese in 5 minutes! Why can't I learn Chinese in 5 minutes? Learning Chinese is like a fine dining experience.
You start with a light appetizer, working your way through to the main course and end with a sweet taste in your mouth.
Learning to listen is the appetizer.
Chinese has some unique sounds that are not made in other languages and while pronunciation is very important, it can be difficult if you are not used to making these sounds.
Chinese is also a tonal language which means tones affect the meaning of a words they are connected with.
It takes time and practice not only to hear the tones but to pronounce words correctly while using them.
The Main Course.
You must work your way through the main meal, (the grammar) and learn the subtle nuances of language which relate to culture.
Although some people are satisfied with just being able to speak Chinese, in my experience it is not nearly enough! Learning to speak without learning to read and write is like paying top dollar to eat a gourmet meal when you have a cold.
You can't even taste the flavor, so what good is it? Icing on the Cake.
Learning how to read and write characters is essential.
There is no question that Chinese characters look hip and writing Chinese characters has become an art form; but unless you learn to read and write characters, you will never really have a true understanding of China.
Many of the traditional characters tell the story of life in ancient China and carry with them the cultural history of the Chinese people.
Writing is difficult but systematic.
Small pieces of a character called radicals, are put together in different ways to make different characters.
Every character is formed by using specific strokes in a specific orders.
While some characters are simple and contain single radicals, some are exceedingly complex and contain several combinations of radicals and can have 15 different strokes! Do you now think you can learn Chinese in 5 minutes? There are no shortcuts in learning Chinese.
To learn Chinese in 5 minutes is an ideal that every opportunist tries to sell to those who are willing to buy it, but it is a fantasy.
The sweetness of the success can only come after the hard work of language learning is accomplished.
It's not easy, but it's so worth it.
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