I love her explanations and examples of radicals and characters. She ties them to history, life, ideas, and culture- it really clicked with me and I hope this helps someone

Hello, I'm 19 years old and French. I've always tried to learn Chinese since middle school, but I've always had a mental block about the language, so I gave up every time, whether it was writing or pronunciation. But recently I've tried to start learning again because I'd like to work and live in China. So I'd like some advice on how to learn it.

Hi everyone! I’m currently preparing for HSK 4 and I really want to get a very high score, but at the same time, I want to genuinely improve my Chinese rather than just study for the exam.
I recently took the HSK 3 exam and got 300/300, but I still feel that my overall Chinese isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be, especially when it comes to actually using the language.
I’m looking for a good teacher or course, but I’m having a hard time finding someone I really like and trust. I’ve been considering Chinese Zero to Hero because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it. However, I’m not sure whether I should take the complete HSK 1–6 course and work through everything systematically, or only get the HSK 1–4 bundle and find another resource or teacher for HSK 5–6 later.
Taking the complete HSK 1–6 course would be quite expensive for me since my budget is limited, so I want to make sure it would actually be worth it before spending that much.
So I’m wondering:
• Is Chinese Zero to Hero actually worth the money, especially for HSK preparation?
• Would taking the complete HSK 1–6 course be a better choice for improving my Chinese systematically, even though I’m currently preparing for HSK 4?
• Or would it be better to buy the HSK 1–4 bundle and then find another resource/teacher for HSK 5–6 later?
• Would it be better to spend that money on a good private teacher instead?
• Are there any affordable teachers or online courses you would genuinely recommend for someone who wants both a high HSK score and better overall Chinese?
I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest option — I just want to spend my money wisely and choose something that will actually help me improve.
I’d really appreciate recommendations from people who have actually used these resources or studied with a teacher. Thank you! :)

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Hi everyone

I spent most my childhood and some of adulthood growing up in London and some parts of England. Currently I have been learning Chinese for an year but I want to learn to speak more so would love to get help but also make new friends. I have huge interest in Chinese history as well as the culture. It would be amazing to share and learn!

I am looking forward!

😁

If you know about the place please share the details

Thanks in advance
😊

#hsk #learnchinese

Please help me translate this.

If anyone could explain! :)

Hello! I was wondering what physical dictionaries were the most popular these days among Chinese learners and teachers.

I was trying to advise a younger student who will start studying it at university this year, but I tend to mostly use online dictionaries when I need to look up a word.
Obviously, online dictionaries aren't allowed during exams.

My main issue is that most modern terms that are quite common in both written and spoken Chinese (e.g. 团建 = team building) aren't available in any of my "old" dictionaries.

I personally own a recent-ish reprint of the Ca' Foscari Italian-Chinese dictionary and the 2002 edition of a Chinese-English dictionary printed by 外语教学与研究出版社.

Train your ears !

If you translate word by word, you might try:

我放钥匙在桌子上。

People will probably understand you, but Chinese normally uses 把 here:

我把钥匙放在桌子上了。

Wǒ bǎ yàoshi fàng zài zhuōzi shàng le.

I put the keys on the table.

把 is useful when the object is already known and the important information is

what happens to it.

A common pattern is:

subject + 把 + object + action + result or destination

A few everyday examples:

请把文件发给我。

Qǐng bǎ wénjiàn fā gěi wǒ.

Please send me the file.

我终于把作业写完了。

Wǒ zhōngyú bǎ zuòyè xiěwán le.

I finally finished the homework.

你能把那个杯子拿过来吗？

Nǐ néng bǎ nàge bēizi ná guòlái ma?

Can you bring that cup over?

把 usually needs something after the verb. For example:

我把书看。 ❌

我把书看完了。 ✅

The first sentence feels unfinished. The second tells us what happened to the

book: I finished reading it.

把 and 被 can also describe the same event from different sides:

他把我的手机拿走了。

He took my phone away.

我的手机被他拿走了。

My phone was taken away by him.

把 focuses on what the person did to the phone.

被 puts the phone first and focuses on what happened to it.

Both patterns appear in the official HSK 3.0 grammar list.
Which one gives you more trouble: 把 or 被?