It doesn't haven't to be as daunting as it seems. The idea of learning Chinese likely strikes fear in your heart — or just completely mystifies you. And understandably so. It’s not an easy language to ...

To a non-Chinese speaker (like me), and especially to a Westerner (like me), Chinese is the most impenetrable family of languages on Earth. While there may be only an eighth as many syllables as in ...

According to the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute, Chinese is a Class III language—the most difficult to master—and requires 2,200 hours of rigorous study to gain general ...

Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learning a new language requires ...

Speak excellent Chinese with accurate pronunciation and tones, OK if in slightly lower than natural speed. Understand basic grammar rules. Be able to engage in communications on topics taught in the ...

“Yi, er, san . . .” A Chinese language student counts each stroke while writing the Chinese character for “big”, 大. This seems like a simple process, but new evidence suggests that studying Chinese ...

Recently, while revising for her end-of-year exams, my 15-year-old daughter came to me with a list of Chinese words, asking me to test her on them. It had been a while since she'd asked for help. Ever ...

An old Chinese proverb sums up the three months I spent studying Mandarin in Beijing: To suffer and learn, one pays a high price, but a fool can’t learn any other way. The famously difficult Chinese ...

When 20-year-old Suon Chiva was choosing a language to complement his native Khmer, it didn’t take him long to decide. He saw where the products in his local markets were made and where the new ...

Katharine Carruthers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations ...