How Mandarin is actually learned
Long pieces on method: what tones really are, why word counts mislead, how review scheduling works, and what an examination does and does not measure. Written by the editorial team, reviewed before publication, and revised rather than quietly deleted.
HSK 3 to HSK 4: The Wall
Everyone reports the same thing: the first levels came quickly and then progress slowed to a crawl. Nothing has gone wrong. The task changed underneath you, from recognising concrete words to choosing between abstract ones — and the methods that worked before stop working.
Yasmine Berrada · June 29, 2026 · 6 min read
Reading a Chinese Menu
Chinese dish names are compositional: ingredient plus cut plus method plus flavour. Learn about forty characters and most of a menu becomes readable — including the ones that lie, like the fish dish with no fish in it.
Rania Tazi · June 15, 2026 · 6 min read
Chinese for Work: A Starting Vocabulary for Meetings, Email and Introductions
Workplace Chinese is not advanced Chinese. It is a different set of very ordinary words that general courses skip: how you are addressed, what you say to hold the floor in a meeting, and the four lines that make up most internal email.
Omar Benjelloun · April 6, 2026 · 6 min read
The Measure Word Problem: Why 个 Is Not Always Safe
You cannot count a noun in Chinese without a measure word, and the general-purpose one covers less ground than beginners hope. The dozen that handle most of daily life, the traps inside them, and how to store a measure word so it arrives with the noun.
Nadia Haddad · January 26, 2026 · 5 min read
Studying in China: The Chinese You Actually Need
Your first month is not made of conversation about hobbies. It is made of counters, queues, forms, deposits and one very useful verb. The vocabulary of registration day, the dormitory, the bank, the hospital and the classroom, in the order you will need it.
Rania Tazi · December 15, 2025 · 11 min read
Spaced Repetition for Chinese: One Card Per Word Is Not Enough
How review scheduling actually works, why Chinese needs separate cards for reading, listening and production, and the discipline that keeps a review backlog from burying you.
Sofia Ouazzani · December 1, 2025 · 6 min read
How Many Words Do You Need for HSK? An Honest Answer
Vocabulary counts are the most quoted and least useful number in Chinese learning. Here is why raw totals mislead, what "knowing a word" actually means across recognition and production, and how to set targets you can act on.
Yasmine Berrada · November 17, 2025 · 6 min read
How these are written
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