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It’s been a month of overwhelming Chinese learning. To take the HSK1 test, you have to know 150 Chinese words. I can now recognize 60% of those words. However, I’m still a total beginner and ‘tone’ deaf. 哈哈哈
Writing the lessons in a notebook allows me to review all the materials instead of having it saved on a word file. I’m kind of old school. This method works for me.
Here are my notes. I have a notebook for each learning source. They are ZerotoHero, Yoyo Chinese, Duolingo app, HelloChinese app and one for my Online Tutor. You may ask how I manage my time. I spend 30 minutes for each. That’s a total of 2 hours a day. My online tutor is 3x a week where we practice speaking and focusing on tones, listening and discussing my homework (sentences I made with new words from previous lesson.)
Here is a diy flashcard I created. I write down a new word and practice reading it everyday so I don’t forget.
Here’s another notebook where I log all the new words. If I don’t want to use my diy flash cards, I use this by just folding and covering the words. It’s a trick I learned from LissLearns (Youtube)
I bought a Tián zì gé notebook from Amazon. Here I practice writing the characters. HSK 1 does not include writing yet but I decided to start now rather than later. I follow the strokes from this website: https://dictionary.hantrainerpro.com
I also make it a habit to listen to Chinese music and watch Chinese dramas to immerse myself and get used to the tones and environment.
So, there you have it. My one month update. I’m looking forward to the day I will take my HSK1 exam.
再见!Zàijiàn
What is HSK?
Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK; Chinese: 汉语水平考试; pinyin: Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì), translated as the Chinese Proficiency Test, is the standardized test of Standard Chinese (a type of Mandarin Chinese) language proficiency of China for non-native speakers such as foreign students and overseas Chinese. The test is administered by the Hanban, an agency of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
家 Jiā – family 有 Yǒu – to have/there is/are 口 Kǒu – measure word for counting people in a household 奴儿 Nú er – daughter 几 Jǐ – how many 岁 Suì – year old 了 Le – particle to indicate change 今年 Jīnnián – this year 多大 Duō Dà – how much age
Example:
你今年几岁了 Nǐ jīnnián jǐ suì le? How old are you this year?
我三十岁了 Wǒ èrshí suì le。 I’m 30 years old.
你儿子几岁了 Nǐ érzi jǐ suì le? How old is your son?
她今年七岁了 Tā jīnnián qī suì le。 He is seven years old.
坤医生多大了 Kūn yīshēng duō dà le? How old is Doctor Kun?
她今年四十岁了 Tā jīnnián sìshí suì le。 She is forty years old.
我妈妈的名字是Minda. 我弟弟的名字是 Mark, Neal, Oliver, Patrick 和 Jan Michael. 我妹妹的名字是 Katrina 和 Naomi. 他们在非鲁宾。他们有一只狗。他叫 Pencil.
There are 10 members in my family. What about you? I have five brothers and 2 sisters.
My mom’s name is Minda. My brother’s names are Mark, Neal, Oliver, Patrick and Jan Michael. My sister’s names are Katrina and Naomi. They live in the Philippines. They have a dog. His name is Pencil.
我是中文学生。他们是我的老师。Jon 和 Ken 是 ZerotoHero 的老师。Irene 是澳大利亚人。她是中文老师。她有一个猫。他叫 Billy.
I am a Chinese language student. They are my teachers. Jon and Ken are teachers from ZerotoHero. Irene is from Australia. She has a cat. His name is Billy.
I learned how to pronounced the letters on the pinyin chart. It’s tricky with some of the letters sounding the same if you’re an English speaker. A lot of tongue twisting, lip rounding and jaw dropping haha. It’s suprising how one can learn that much with consistent practice and if you really give time and effort in studying.