Learn Mandarin Chinese

Learn Mandarin Chinese - Discover Why NO ONE CAN LEARN ALL CHINESE CHARACTERS and Why, if You Want to Learn Mandarin Chinese, You DON'T NEED TO!

Let me tell you, please, one big truth: NO ONE CAN LEARN ALL CHINESE CHARACTERS! They are simply too many (more than 50,000!)

But I've got good news!

Only 152 characters make up 50% of all Chinese Mandarin language and only 1,000 characters make up 89%!

So, if you want to learn Mandarin Chinese fast, the secret is to start from the most commonly used characters.

For example, consider the following Chinese text (the characters belonging to the list of 1,000 most commonly used Chinese characters are highlighted in yellow -
for the list of the most frequently used Chinese characters click here):

现代的科技本该提高人的工作效率，使生活更轻松愉快，可是却增加了人的工作压力。例如，由于电脑、传真机和互联网的普及，员工下班后还要把手头的活带回家做。结果，家庭生活和上班工作的界线模糊了，下班回到家里依然像在上班一样。一个员工觉得，公司的传呼机、手提电话就像无形的链子套在他的身上，链子的另一端操纵在老板手里。当今世界，经济形势和工作环境都急剧变化，许多年纪稍大一点的人越来越担心受到淘汰。关于这点，前人权专员克里斯•斯多提指出：“社会似乎对年过四十的人抱有成见，认为他们不可能懂得电脑和新科技。”结果，有许多勤勉的员工虽然正值盛年，却被视为年老而不中用。这是多么悲哀！难怪，过去那种敬业乐业、忠心耿耿的精神，现在大受冲击。法国杂志《解放》说：“如果股票市场有点风吹草动，公司就叫员工卷铺盖走人，那么自然没有人会像过去那样对公司忠心不二。活当然还得干，不过不再是为了公司，而是为了自己。” 尽管问题很多，人依然是要工作的。在这个瞬息万变的时代，我们可以怎样平衡地看待工作呢？我们怎样保持工作的安全感和满足感呢？

The text above is composed by a total of 405 characters. 377 of them (93%), highlighted in yellow, belong to the list of 1,000 most commonly used Chinese characters -
for the list of the most frequently used Chinese characters click here.

English translation:

Modern technology, which is supposed to make life easier and work more efficient, may have added to the pressures in the workplace. For example, computers, fax machines, and the Internet allow people the option of taking their work home at day’s end, thus blurring the line between home and office. One worker felt that his company pager and cell phone were like an invisible leash, with his boss at the other end. A growing fear that many older people have in our rapidly changing economic and work environment is that of being viewed as obsolete before their time. In this regard, former Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti stated: "There seem to be stereotypes that unless you are under 40, you’re not going to cope with computers and new technology." Hence, many good workers who would previously have been viewed as being in the prime of life are nowadays deemed too old to be useful. What a tragedy! Understandably, the work ethic and loyalty to the company have taken a battering in recent years. "When corporations throw people overboard at the slightest blip of the stock market, corporate loyalty becomes a thing of the past," says the French magazine Libération. "You have to work, of course, but for yourself, not for the company." In spite of these mounting problems, the basic human need to work continues. So in our rapidly changing times, how can one cultivate a balanced view of secular work and, at the same time, maintain a sense of security and job satisfaction?

List of different Chinese characters contained in the text above:

现代的科技本该提高人工作效率使生活更轻松愉快可是却增加了压力例如由于电脑传真机和互联网普及员下班后还要把手头带回家做结果庭上界线模糊到里依然像在一样个觉得公司呼话就无形链子套他身另端操纵老板当今世经济势环境都急剧变化许多年纪稍大点越来担心受淘汰关这前权专克斯指出社会似乎对过四十抱有成见认为们不能懂新勤勉虽正值盛被视而中用么悲哀难怪去那种敬业乐忠耿精神冲击法国杂志解放说股票市场风吹草动叫卷铺盖走自没二干再己尽管问题很瞬息万时我以怎平衡地看待呢保持安全感满足

If you want to learn Mandarin Chinese, go now to the following page containing the most frequently used characters - click here.