How to Learn Mandarin | Eps. Starter Kit

After reading Eps. Know Mandarin Well, I believe you already have some idea about Mandarin and ready to start the journey to be a Mandarin expert. Lets go!

If you are going to start for learning Mandarin, let's have some preparation before start and how to start from the right step.

Basic is the most important. 基礎最重要

Foundation is the most important before anything start, you need to have good and strong enough basic first. The first thing you need to learn in Mandarin is ㄅㄆㄇㄈ or b p m f . Kids with Mandarin as their mother language will start to learn this in kindergarten first, so just imagine know you will re-born as a child with Mandarin as your mother language.

Picture above is the list of ㄅㄆㄇㄈ or b p m f . This is how I learn and memorize it : Learn from the Simplified one how to spell it than if you already know how to spell it you learn Traditional one and learn how to write it. Level of equation between those 2 is 90%. The different is : Simplified have ong while Traditional don't have, and there is Ü which is u with two dots at the top as substitute symbol to spell ㄩ.

I read it over and over, write it again and again every day within 1 week, and I have some improvement and become friend with them. The key is practice and practice. 

So this is why you need to memorize that list above. 



For beginner or usually kids whose learn Mandarin as their mother language, this is how the character will look like as picture above. For Traditional Mandarin ㄅㄆㄇㄈ put in right side of the character and for Simplified Mandarin b p m f  will put below the character. 

Now even you still don't know how to read the character you already have one weapons to read, spell with ㄅㄆㄇㄈ or b p m f . So now you realize the importance to memorize that table right?

But, don't forget without tone everything back to zero cause you will getting lost to spell it and people won't understand what are you talking.



So, practice the tone every time you have free time. It is the most difficult part for beginner, especially to those who usually talk in their language without tone like Bahasa, English, etc, or even if you can some dialects that have tone, try to practice the original Mandarin tone. Some people just can't resist to mark off the different tone of those some language he can.

Just remember always when you start to study something, start it with the right way, learn it from the original one and you will know more deeply about it.

Let's try your spelling with number. Why number? Numbering is the basic one, simple and easy to learn. Did you realize each time tourist come to one country they will ask how to say 1, 2, 3. Well, let's start!

Don't be afraid, only 10 numbers  first, it should be okay :)

Try to spell it one by one, it's just a beginning, keep calm and practice more.