Where Can You Get the Best Chinese Lessons Online? The motivations for learning Chinese are as diverse and compelling as the language itself. Perhaps you're fascinated by the rich history and culture of China, eager to read its classical poetry or modern literature in its original form. Maybe you're looking to expand your business skills and communicate directly with the vast Chinese market. Or, you might dream of traveling through China, exploring everything from bustling cities to serene landscapes, all while engaging with locals in their native tongue.
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In 2009, a professor Luis von Ahn from Carnegie Mellon University and his student, Severin Hacker, came up with the idea for Duolingo. After selling his second company, reCAPTCHA, to Google, Von Ahn wanted to do something related to education. He grew up in Guatemala, where it was costly for people to learn English. Hacker, who is now the CTO of Duolingo, wanted to offer free education to change the world. For his work in language learning and tech, Von Ahn is honored in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Today, everyone knows the platform affectionately referred to as "the Bird App," and memes about it abound.
Over 2,500 word exercises
Duolingo promises that you can learn to speak confidently with their 2,500+ fun exercises. It also says it can give you a vocabulary of 1,900+ useful words and phrases. It uses reminders and challenges to help you develop good habits. You can start learning from the beginning or answer some questions to skip ahead if you know some basics. But is Duolingo the most effective way to learn Chinese? Let's find out.
Get to know Duolingo characters
One of the defining features of Duolingo is its fun and engaging characters. As you progress through stories and lessons, you get to know these characters, each with a unique personality, voice, and cartoon depiction. Take Lily, for example; she's a main character known for her introverted, unenthused, and deadpan goth teen demeanor, yet she secretly cares a lot. An official bio on Duolingo's wiki page describes Lily's emotional level (a -4) and an unamused expression that seems to tell people to stay away. Her bio even hints at her music taste, possibly featuring Girl in Red on her playlist, alongside a quip about hair dye being her chosen alternative to therapy. Unfortunately, there are no Duolingo Stories for Chinese yet, so you won't see as much of these characters as learners of other languages might.
Use the Guidebook to get your bearings
Duolingo's home screen is set up as a step-by-step path. Each circle on the path represents a level. When you click on a level, you start a lesson. Each level consists of about five lessons, and a ring around the circle shows your lesson progress. Your learning journey is divided into units that introduce new concepts. At the beginning of each unit, there's a Guidebook filled with grammar tips and useful phrases that can be accessed anytime. For example, the Guidebook for the first lesson includes an explanation of how "ne" is used to form questions.
Addictive gamified language learning
Duolingo falls into the gamified language learning app category, and it's addictive - some of its most committed users have built up a streak of hundreds or even thousands of days. As you go through your lessons, you earn XP for every activity you complete. You start off with five hearts, and every time you make a mistake in a lesson, you lose one. But don't worry, if you get something wrong, you'll have a chance to try again at the end of your session. This way, you learn from your mistakes and get better as you go.
Fight your way to the top
The leaderboard is where the competition heats up. You earn XP to climb up ranks in your league, from Bronze all the way to Diamond. Every week, the leaderboard resets, and if you're one of the top performers, you'll move up to a higher league. If you're at the bottom, you might move down. Keeping up with your lessons every day increases your streak - shown by a little flame icon. The longer your streak, the more you'll want to keep it going.
Silly sentences won't help you in real life
But will maintaining a really long streak on Duolingo translate to fluency in Chinese? Duolingo's critics say no. They acknowledge that Duolingo makes learning fun and can help you build a daily study habit, but argue that the phrases it teaches are often silly and not very useful for real-life conversations. Duolingo defends these quirky sentences as being intentionally memorable, serving as "grammatical anchors" to help you remember grammar rules. However, critics counter that immersing yourself in meaningful content and engaging in regular conversations are far more effective ways to grasp those grammar patterns than repeating odd, out-of-context sentences. For instance, imagine you're meeting a native speaker and need to ask for directions to the nearest subway station. But all you have memorized is something like "The duck enjoys reading detective novels." In that moment, you're not going to be thankful for memorizing that grammar pattern. Instead, you'll be wishing you had learned something practical, such as "Qingwen, zuijin de ditiezhan zai nali?" (Excuse me, where is the nearest subway station?).
A free springboard for good study habits
Even with its drawbacks, Duolingo can be a great starting point for your Chinese learning journey. It's fun, game-like features can grab your attention and keep you coming back, which is especially good if you're not usually into learning languages or if you find it hard to stay focused. We think it's a great way to start building the habit of daily study and acquiring a basic vocabulary, which you can then use as a springboard into more rigorous Chinese study methods. One of the best things about Duolingo is that it's free. You can learn Chinese, and even jump between this and other languages, without spending a dime. It's super easy to switch from learning Chinese to picking up another language or using your second language as a base to learn a third.
Learn Pinyin and tone differentiation
Duolingo recently added exercises for learning Pinyin and Chinese characters. The Pinyin section is laid out similar to a glossary, with sections for Tones, Initials (sounds at the beginnings of syllables), and Finals (sounds at the ends of syllables). You can come back to reference these at any time, and you can also run through Pinyin practice lessons. For example, the first lesson will teach you how to differentiate between the first tone, mā, and the second tone, ma, by playing two clips, then asking you if they're the same sound or different. You'll be able to see your progress on each tone, initial, and final on that glossary page.
Learn stroke order of Hanzi
It's pretty much the same deal for Hanzi practice, except that characters are divided up into sections and units like "Shop for clothes, discuss birthday plans". Clicking a character on the glossary shows its animation in proper stroke order, and Hanzi practice includes tracing exercises. Nice!
AI speech doesn't perfectly replicate native speaker pronunciation
Before you get started with Duolingo for Chinese, there are just a few more bugs you should be aware of. A minor issue some learners encounter is the choppiness of the AI voices, particularly when characters (like Lily) are speaking. An AI voice model trained on the speech sounds of a speaker of a language other than Chinese won't be able to replicate a native Chinese speaker's pronunciation, which may be a bit of a setback when you're trying to grasp the nuanced tones of Chinese.
Some accuracy issues
One user of Duolingo to learn Chinese has reported frustrating mistakes in pronunciation, saying that the app sometimes matches Chinese characters with the wrong sounds. For example, the Chinese word pronounced like "le", is voiced as "liao" instead. The Chinese word typically said as "mei", is pronounced "mo". These mistakes can make learning harder, especially when you're translating or building sentences.
We're not jumping on the hate-train
So, to sum up, we think Duolingo is a decent option for learners new to Chinese. While the criticisms from those who love to hate the Bird App are valid, we think there are still benefits to using it - especially since it's totally free. Our recommendation would be to use Duolingo to establish a daily study habit, build up a basic Chinese vocabulary and get familiar with tones and stroke order, and then switch to one of our higher-rated Chinese learning websites or apps for more advanced study - might we recommend one-on-one lessons with a tutor?
Continued from above...
The motivations for learning Chinese are as diverse and compelling as the language itself. Perhaps you're fascinated by the rich history and culture of China, eager to read its classical poetry or modern literature in its original form. Maybe you're looking to expand your business skills and communicate directly with the vast Chinese market. Or, you might dream of traveling through China, exploring everything from bustling cities to serene landscapes, all while engaging with locals in their native tongue.
Learning Chinese, however, presents a unique set of challenges unlike those found in learning languages like Spanish or French. For one, there's the intricate system of Chinese characters, each carrying its own meaning and pronunciation, which can seem daunting at first glance. Then, there's the tonal nature of Mandarin Chinese, where the meaning of a word can change dramatically with the pitch of your voice.
But don't let these hurdles deter you. With commitment and the right resources, you're on your way to fluency. Mastering Chinese opens up a universe of cultural, professional, and social opportunities, allowing you to connect with over a billion speakers worldwide.
Online Chinese lessons offer a variety of approaches to suit different learning preferences. For auditory learners, there are programs focused on immersive listening practices, helping you attune your ear to the nuances of the language. If you're game for a challenge, gamified learning platforms make acquiring new vocabulary and grammar points engaging, rewarding your progress with points and badges.
For those who prefer a more structured learning path, comprehensive courses provide a blend of video lessons, interactive quizzes, and writing exercises, ensuring you develop a well-rounded skill set, from character recognition and writing to speaking and listening.
And if personal interaction is what drives your learning, tutoring services connect you with native Chinese speakers for real-time conversation and cultural exchange, enriching your study with authentic experiences.
Feeling overwhelmed by the options? Here's what to consider as you begin your journey to learn Chinese:
To guide you to the best Chinese lessons for your goals and preferred learning style, our team at Top Consumer Reviews has tested today's leading options and provided honest feedback on what each one offers. So, what are you waiting for? Embark on your Chinese learning adventure today!
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Why Should You Learn Chinese?
In this day and age there are lots of reasons to invest in learning different languages. But what are the reasons to learn Chinese specifically? You might be questioning which language you want to learn next, and if so Chinese would make an excellent choice. There are many reasons to learn the language of such an illustrious culture, and this list will only be an abbreviated version, but it's something to strongly consider if you are up to the challenge.
One reason to learn Chinese is probably the easiest to understand - do it for the culture! China is a country with a beautiful and fascinating history, and learning the language is one more way to learn about the culture. If you ever visit China, you'll be glad you took the time to learn the language, and it'll help you understand more while you're there. And even if you never visit China, it can be a fun experience for yourself that also gives you a peek into a whole different part of the world.
Another, more specific reason for learning Chinese is for the future. Right now, China has connections with almost every country across the globe, and learning the language to communicate could be very helpful. From being a translator, to hoping to work in business, a smart language to learn would be Chinese. China works with a lot of countries, and is a massive producer of various items, so learning how to negotiate and talk to people in their own language would go a long way towards making a good impression.
Chinese is a very difficult language to learn, and there are many different ways you can communicate with it. That being said, learning Chinese could open several new doors for you. You could impress people with your knowledge, and even expose yourself to Chinese pop culture. You would see a whole different side of the world through Chinese movies and literature; things so easily get lost in translation, but by cutting out the middleman and doing it yourself, you make sure you are hearing everything correctly. You must look at the challenge of learning the language as an invitation instead of an obstacle. You are bringing yourself to new heights, and perhaps you will inspire more people to join you, by learning Chinese as a second language.
For these reasons and many more, learning Chinese is a great decision. Use your time and money to learn a new skill that could be invaluable to you for a variety of reasons. As long as you remember to respect the culture it comes from, learning Chinese can be a very healthy and exciting goal to work towards achieving. Join millions today in learning a whole new world through the language of China.
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