Learning Chinese is frequently described as “challenging,” and some parts of the language certainly fit that description.
Sounds
Let’s face it- Mandarin Chinese has sounds English doesn’t. This doesn’t mean that native English speakers can’t pronounce Chinese sounds, just that it will be more difficult to differentiate between them. A good Chinese tutor or a friend who can help you hammer out the differences between sounds can make a big difference when you’re trying to say “shu” instead of “xue.”
Tones
Tones are the bane of most first-year Chinese language students. There are four different ways to inflect every word and each one changes the meaning. Again, personal one-on-one help is useful to get these right.
Characters
Even with the tones and strange sounds, the speaking part of Chinese may actually seem simple when you’re faced with memorizing thousands of Chinese characters. Flashcard programs and repetition are ideal for learning Mandarin characters.
Fortunately, not everything about learning Mandarin Chinese is hard. The basic beginners grammar is far easier than English or pretty much any of the European languages. If you’re having trouble with some aspect of Mandarin, just remember- in the end, being able to fluently read, write and converse will be worth all of the expended effort!
