SOURCES 源

This page contains brief introductions to places to find digital and print editions of Chinese texts, and podcast platforms with Chinese series. Also included is a selection of tools I've found useful for studying Mandarin over the years.

Your usual bookstore, website or podcast app may already have what you're looking for, but for many resources you'll need to look elsewhere.

The platforms introduced below are a good place to start, and generally have a wide selection of Chinese-language content available.

Disclaimer: this site has no affiliation with any of the platforms or tools introduced on this page.

CONTENTS 錄

Anki is flashcard software that uses spaced repetition to deliver a powerful memorisation tool. Much has been written on the benefits of this approach — see here for a brief introduction, and here for a more in-depth exploration of the technique.

Spaced repetition lends itself to all kinds of subjects — it's popular with medical students for learning clinical terms — and is especially useful for building vocabulary in a foreign language.

Use Anki either to download flashcard decks created by others, or build your own over time and add new terms as you come across them.

Anki is free on desktop systems and Android, but there is a one-off fee for the iPhone version.

Hacking Chinese is an excellent site and community built by Olle Linge that has been going strong for multiple decades now.

The site is full of information on different approaches to studying the language, and references many different tools and techniques available to help improve specific skills such as reading and writing.

iTalki is a platform for connecting language teachers and students for online lessons.

For popular languages there are many teachers available across different time zones and a range of budgets, and it's often possible to have a trial lesson with a teacher first before committing to more time with them.

The site used to offer a free language exchange option, where users could find partners to practice conversation in their native languages.

That seems to no longer be available, but would be worth seeking out on another platform — free conversation practice from anywhere in the world and the chance to make friends in your target language is an incredible thing.

Lang-8 is a platform for improving writing skills in foreign languages.

Users write entries in their target language, and native speakers then correct mistakes and provide feedback — the more entries you work on in your native language, the more likely your own entries will receive corrections.

Unfortunately Lang-8 no longer accepts new registrations, but the same company has an app called HiNative that appears to offer similar features.

Pleco is a Chinese dictionary app, available on major app stores. The free version is excellent, and the premium version is well worth the price.

You can easily view definitions from multiple dictionaries at once, including several with definitions in Chinese — useful for an immersive approach. The app has audio support, example sentences, and a flashcard function.

I began using Pleco over a decade ago for Mandarin, and still use it on a daily basis for that and more recently Cantonese as well.

It is without doubt the single most useful tool I have made use of, and has made the process of learning to read and expand vocabulary far more smooth and enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.