Learn to speak Chinese

1. 1

   Week 1: sounds and greetings

   Say hello (你好) and thank you (谢谢) until they feel natural. Learn the sounds that differ from English, and say ten short sentences about yourself. Chinese is tonal: the same syllable can mean different things depending on pitch. You cannot learn that silently. Hear each sentence, say it aloud, and check which words the recogniser heard.

2. 2

   Week 2: everyday requests

   Learn to order, ask the price, ask where things are and say you do not understand. Build each as a full sentence and say it three times.

3. 3

   Week 3: questions and answers

   Practise question words and the answers to them. Listen to each Chinese sentence first, then say it, then compare.

4. 4

   Week 4: short exchanges

   Chain sentences into a mini conversation: greet, introduce yourself, ask a question, answer one. Record yourself and listen back.

Chinese is written in Chinese characters. You learn to read it alongside speaking; you do not have to master it first.

It takes more hours than most European languages. Tones and characters are the main hurdles. Spoken grammar is simpler than people expect, with no verb conjugation or plurals to learn.

A good first target sentence: 我想喝茶。 (I would like to drink tea.).

• Ten to twenty minutes, same time every day.
• Say everything out loud, even when alone.
• Learn whole sentences, not isolated words.
• Repeat yesterday's sentences before learning new ones.
• After a couple of weeks, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you have practised. At 30 minutes a day, Chinese reaches working proficiency in roughly 12.1 years, and you will be speaking well before that.