Featured articles
A 20-minute daily Chinese study routine
A 20-minute session: 8 of SRS, 5 listening, 5 speaking or writing, 2 tones. What to cut at 10 minutes, and why 30 days is not enough.
A streak is not progress
A streak and XP are not Chinese progress. Track active words, first-pass listening, and three recorded lines. Sign in and use a paper checklist.
Anki for Chinese: when it stalls
Anki for Chinese works if you like building the system. It stalls on listening, tones, output, and what to study today. Keep the deck.
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Cantonese vs Mandarin: not an accent
Cantonese and Mandarin cannot understand each other in speech. Six tones versus four, Jyutping versus pinyin, 食 versus 吃. HSK does not measure Yue. Pick one in month one.
Chinese dialects: which one to study first
Chinese is not one accent. Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Min, Hakka, Xiang, and Gan often cannot understand each other in speech. HSK is Putonghua. Start Mandarin unless you can name family or a city.
Chinese Trainer on Android: the commute habit
The Android app is on Google Play: same account as the web, today’s SRS deck on the commute, and HSK 1–2 free. What the phone does — and does not cut.
Chinese with a full-time job
Learn Chinese with a full-time job: 20 minutes, a 10-minute floor, shifts, parents, commute audio. Saturday repairs. HSK 1 fits; fluency does not.
Chino trabajo 12 dialogos
Chino trabajo 12 dialogos.
Does Duolingo work for the HSK?
Duolingo builds habit and recognition. It does not match the six-level HSK paper or mock the exam. When to stay, when to leave, and a bridge to HSK 1.
Does HelloChinese cover the HSK?
HelloChinese teaches tones and characters. It is not the six-level HSK paper or a mock. When to stay, when to add a syllabus, and a bridge to HSK 1.
Flashcards or reading: when to use SRS and when to use a graded text
Decision rule: SRS when the word is gone; a graded text when the card cannot parse the line. Seven-day plan and a weekly split in minutes.
Free vs paid Chinese apps
What a free Chinese app should include (HSK 1–2, daily caps) versus what AI and €5/month actually buy, without cancellation tricks.
How beginners should read Chinese
Read Chinese at HSK 1 with graded readers, not a newspaper. First pass without a dictionary binge, three unknowns max, then listen to the same text.
How to memorize Chinese characters
Five hanzi a day, radicals, stroke order, and a sentence. HSK 1 already uses characters in reading. Heisig is not the exam. No calligraphy.
How to practice Mandarin with an AI tutor (without treating it as the examiner)
A 10-minute method for an AI tutor that knows your HSK level: what helps, tones it invents, message caps, and when to close the chat.
How to practice writing Chinese characters: the exam versus muscle memory
When to handwrite: paper HSK 3+, muscle memory, 5 hanzi a day. Classic HSK 1–2 skip handwriting. Skritter or this app’s writing block.
How to register for the HSK in Spain
HSK registration in Spain: chinesetest.cn plus the institute’s local step. Valencia, Granada, and Madrid as examples; the center page wins.
How to speak Chinese alone
Speak Chinese without a partner: useful shadowing, a 30-second Monday/Friday recording, and tone 2 vs 3. Why exchange fails in month one.
HSK 1 in 8 weeks: a real plan
How long does HSK 1 take? An 8-week study plan: ~150 words, listening, two mocks. Not fluency. 20 minutes a day, not a crash course.
HSK 2 vocabulary in 12 weeks
How much HSK 2 vocabulary fits in 12 weeks: about 150 new words on top of HSK 1, 2 to 3 a day across 60 sessions, plus listening. Not a guaranteed pass.
HSK 3.0 vs the classic six-level HSK: what changes for 2026–2027
HSK 3.0 vs 2.0: which paper you sit in 2026–2027. Six levels, nine bands, and HSK 7-9 are not one map. Confirm on chinesetest.cn.
HSK 4 study plan: from the HSK 3 jump to a timed mock
HSK 4 in 16 weeks: ~600 new words, weekly blocks, timed listening, writing without panic. Not a pass promise.
HSK listening practice from week one
Train HSK listening from day one: why vocab-only fails, what HSK 1–3 listening papers look like, and a 10-sentence three-pass method in five minutes.
HSK vs HSKK: do you need the speaking test?
HSK vs HSKK: the written score is not speech. Three oral bands, 2026 pairing rules, and what changes if your center already uses an HSK 3.0 form.