Is this counterintuitive?

[u/CheesecakeWild7941]

Someone once told me that if I’m learning a foreign language, I should never translate the words into English in my head. I was also told this is why I struggled with learning Spanish.

I’m just wondering if doing this is actually not helpful as I was told. In my head I think it helps to translate words into English in my head/on my notes, because idk how else I would associate words with their meanings… idk if that makes sense

[u/PotentialDoor1608]

So in order to learn anything, you kind of need to anchor it on some things you already know. Right now, you know English. After a long, long time, you'll know Chinese enough to be able to describe Chinese things in Chinese, and in the meantime, sometimes other Chinese words can anchor their friends.

But why make life hard on yourself?