When you are able to, would you please share all the resources you used to learn Cantonese and Mandarin? 𖹭
I used similar resources and methods to those I’ve already explained in my other language-learning posts, but I’ll list the specific resources I’ve used here. There are more resources under ‘Mandarin’ than ‘Cantonese’, but most of them are relatively useful for both dialects and applicable in both cases.
Mandarin 🇨🇳
Foundational Grammar & Vocabulary
New Practical Chinese Readers: these are a series of graded story-based readers based on the older Practical Chinese Reader series, and I found them very helpful for learning vocabulary and consolidating grammar alongside a structured textbook-style curriculum in the early stages of my Chinese study.
HSK Standard Course Textbooks: I always like to have the ‘official’ textbooks for the exams I’m planning on taking, even if I don’t rely on them wholly, just because it’s helpful to have a resource entirely structured around specific exam format and expectations.
Integrated Chinese Textbooks: this series of textbooks was recommended to me and used by my instructor in the earlier stages of learning Mandarin, and whilst I don’t think they work miracles, they’re pretty solid and gave me a good foundation alongside other resources.
Tuttle Essential Chinese Grammar: this is a nice and basic Chinese grammar intended for English natives, which covers everything that you really need to know up until an intermediate level, in a way that I think is accessible and explained in a way that doesn’t require philologist-level expertise in morphology and syntax.
Routledge Frequency Dictionary of Mandarin Chinese: I really love a frequency dictionary for early-stage vocabulary loading, and Routledge is the first publisher I go to, because they’re easily found in the UK, affordable, and simple to use. There are more comprehensive Chinese frequency dictionaries, which I’ll go over later, but for a foundation, I used Routledge and would definitely recommend it to others.
《现代汉语语法教程》: this is a basic grammar book, published by Peking University Press and intended for international students in China. I found it helpful and interesting to read a book from ‘the other side’, so to speak (published in China for international students rather than published in the West for natives).
Reading
Mandarin Companion Graded Reader Series: this is another graded reader series not extremely dissimilar from the New Practical Chinese series, except that it’s less of a ‘textbook’ system with one singular narrative thread running through, and more of a library of different stories that gradually become more complex. It covers a lot of well-known stories in the Western canon, like the works of Dickens or Conan-Doyle, only heavily abridged and translated into Mandarin, and I found that the familiar stories made reading much easier and more rewarding, especially in the early stages.
Serious publications: once I was looking at an upper-intermediate level, I started pushing myself to read serious newspapers and other publications with a high level of intellectual expectation and good prose, such as People’s Daily, Southern Weekly, and the literary magazine Dushu.
Modern intellectual writers: I’ve started trying to read more modern essayists, novelists, and poets, such as Zhu Ziqing, Lu Xun, Qian Zhongshu, Lin Yutang, and Eileen Chang, both as models for writing emulation and to push my reading abilities and capacity for understanding in modern Chinese contexts.
Listening
News outlets: I both watch and listen to CCTV News, BBC China, China National Radio, and China Radio International. I’m not a huge fan of listening to the news, but news channels offer basically 24/7 coverage and opportunity for listening practice, and keep me up to speed with current events and party lines so as to improve my conversational abilities, too. The Voice of China (CNR-1) is particularly good for this, because it is broadcast 24 hours every single day. I also really like Caixin’s video library, for a different perspective and broader topics.
Ximalaya (喜马拉雅FM): this is China’s main audio-sharing platform, and the best way I’ve found to listen to all sorts of lectures, podcasts, opinion pieces, interviews, and even things like audiobooks/audiodramas, poetry reading, or Chinese opera.
MOOC platforms: a really fun and interesting way to improve my Chinese listening skills is to use one of the many MOOC platforms, and just listen to lectures on topics that catch my eye. The platforms I use are XuetangX, Tencent Classroom, NetEase Open Class, Initium Media, and the open courses from National Taiwan University.
Specific programmes I enjoy: Lecture Room (for clear, narrative-style lectures on academic topics), Xinwen Lianbo (most-watched daily news broadcast in China), 《锵锵三人行》 (a panel-style talk show on current affairs, something like a slightly more serious Have I Got News For You?), 《圆桌派》 (a panel-style talk show on cultural matters, perhaps equivalent to QI), and 《十三邀》 (an interview series with different cultural figures and thinkers). I try not to watch too many ‘scripted’ shows, I prefer programmes that expose me to natural speech and spontaneous conversation, but sometimes I enjoy watching period costume dramas, too.
Speaking & Pronunciation
Pimsleur: Pimsleur remains one of my favourite tools for mastering pronunciation in any language, and although pronunciation in total languages like Mandarin is much more of a challenge (at least, for native speakers of non-tonal languages), I think that Pimsleur still gave me a good base, and it was helpful to return to a familiar system and solid foundation that I know has always given me results.
Italki/Tandem/HelloTalk: any real opportunity to speak at length with natives is going to be helpful, and I’m lucky in that I’ve had really ample opportunity to speak with friends and colleagues right from my very first day learning Chinese, but if you don’t have that sort of access to native speakers, then language-exchange sites like these are invaluable.
Tongue twisters: extremely helpful for mastering tone and rhythm! I use tongue twisters and 对联 as daily drills for improving my speech and intonation.
The Phonology of Standard Chinese (Sam Duanmu): this is a dry academic book, which probably won’t be helpful for anyone unless they’re particularly interested in linguistics, but as a philology student, I found it helpful to read a more scholarly monograph on Mandarin phonology, to understand the pronunciation from a more theoretical standpoint and explore points of finer subtleties.
Writing
Composition books for Chinese junior school children: these usually contain advice for writing in different genres, sample essays with critique, and topic suggestions. I found them helpful in the intermediate stages of learning, when I wanted to learn how to write, but didn’t possess a great enough command of the language to just improvise on my own. The books I had were 《中国小学生作文大全·体裁篇》 and 《作文就这样写》.
Composition books for international students: in a similar vein to those for schoolchildren, except intended for international students at Chinese universities, so the topics and guidance are tailored to more adult language learners. I like the 《留学生中高级汉语写作教程》 series, and 《实用汉语语法与修辞》, which I think is aimed at both local schoolchildren and international students.
Reference Books
Xinhua Dictionary: this is the iconic modern Chinese dictionary, and I reach for it most often to look up characters and etymology whilst I’m reading.
ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (John DeFrancis): the best Chinese-English dictionary for advanced learners, in my opinion. I really recommend it to everyone learning Chinese from an English base.
Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage: this is very much the best reference work I know of for difficult translation, especially when it comes to neologisms and words that don’t translate well between Sinophone and Anglophone cultures.
《汉语成语大词典》: this is a very extensive reference work for Chinese idioms. I’ve only recently started using it, since moving up beyond the B2 level into the C-levels, but it’s been extremely helpful, especially for improving my conversation and comprehension skills.
A Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Idioms (Pan Weigui): I’ve reached for this idiom dictionary more frequently, not least because it’s bilingual and intended for language learners, but also because it helps a great deal with translation exercises and understanding how idioms correspond between English and Chinese. It’s dense and not something you’d ever actually sit down and read cover-to-cover, but it’s really useful.
《现代汉语八百词》: this is a practical sort of book that explains the function and usage of 800 common Mandarin words. It’s especially helpful for figuring out nuance in word choices, I think.
Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (Li & Thompson): this is my favourite big reference grammar for second-language learners of Mandarin, because it’s clearly formatted, well-written and explained, and doesn’t really leave any stone unturned in its description of Chinese grammar. I like to have a dense reference grammar on my shelf when learning any language, and I think that Li and Thompson analyse syntax and semantics here with just enough depth without becoming dry or confusing at any point.
《现代汉语搭配词典》: extremely useful! Collocations are something that language learners often overlook, but they’re really the key for achieving native-like fluency and confidence in your target language. This book is very comprehensive and well-formatted, and I find it helpful both for dipping in and out, and for using as a framework for making flashcards and learning by rote.
《现代汉语句法论》: this is a dense Chinese syntax book, intended for native Chinese linguistics graduates, that I’ve only really dared touch once or twice, but that I have no doubt will be absolutely invaluable once I’m nearing C2+ level in my abilities, and need something much more rigorous to explain and perfect my understanding of Chinese grammar.
《英汉翻译教程》: this is a textbook for Chinese students focusing on English translation studies, so it can be a bit too technical at times, but for those who are interested in this sort of thing, it’s actually really helpful for difficulties in register, cultural equivalencies, and translating nuance in longer-form texts.
Apps, Websites & Software
DangDai: this app has been released by NTNU as the app-based form of their Chinese-language textbook, A Course In Contemporary Chinese. I never actually used the textbook, but I found the app helpful as a bridging aid in learning traditional characters after first studying simplified.
Skritter: this app teaches you how to write Chinese characters with correct stroke order. I think it’s well-made and well thought-out, and I actually really enjoyed using the free trial as a way to keep practising whilst out and about, but I’m fundamentally a cheapskate at heart and I absolutely won’t sign up to a subscription-based service when I can do the same thing by myself with a pen and paper. Still, if you’ve money to burn and you like the look of the app, I can recommend it!
Pleco: this is an honestly excellent dictionary app that also functions as an OCR scanner, screen/document reader, and speech synthesiser. I’m not a big app user, especially when it comes to language learning, but I really, really like Pleco, and I wish there were similar dictionary apps for other languages, because it really is that good.
Baidu Tieba: this is one of the main Chinese forum networks, with conversations about practically everything under the sun. There are some useful ‘bars’ (i.e. threads) about grammar and vocabulary nuance that have helped my language acquisition directly, but most of the time, I’ve found that just reading posts on subjects that interest me, writing my own little responses, and (sometimes) getting into heated debates with other uses has worked miracles on my comprehension and usage of contemporary casual Mandarin.
Xiaohongshu: the iconic Chinese social media app, and the best place for beauty tips, book recommendations, and insight into the culture of China’s youth today. There has been an influx of Anglophone users in recent months, which has diluted the linguistic immersion aspect of the app, but this isn’t hard to sidestep, I don’t think, and the app is entertaining and interesting enough that I don’t consider this a big enough drawback not to still recommend it.
Wenlin: this is an old-school downloadable software, but really excellent for learning Chinese characters via etymology.
Zhongwen Chrome Extension: a helpful little tool that allows you to hover over characters for instant translation whilst using the internet.
Cantonese 🇭🇰
Foundational Grammar & Vocabulary
Sidney Lau’s Textbooks: very old-school, but I like the drill-style approach and functionality of the phrases that you learn, and the gradual progression between each stage. The ‘advanced’ books aren’t really advanced, they’re closer to intermediate, but there aren’t a great deal of specifically Cantonese textbooks out there, and I think these are some of the best currently available.
Routledge Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar: This is, I think, really the closest thing you’ll get to a decent foundational grammar book specifically for English speakers learning Cantonese as it’s spoken in Hong Kong, and again, Routledge has published a high-quality and useful overview. It’s much more academic and thorough than the foundational grammar options out there for Mandarin, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion, although it’s definitely a bigger jump for beginners.
Reading
Serious publications: Ming Pao is excellent exposure to written Cantonese in a formal yet contemporary register. I also like reading Kung Kao Pao, the biggest Catholic newspaper in Hong Kong and one of the oldest. The Oriental News does a secondary editorial called 《功夫茶》 that I like to read, too, because it’s written in a more vernacular Cantonese and is aimed at a slightly older audience, so it gives me exposure to a completely different register.
Modern intellectual writers: I try to read as much in the Hong Kong literary tradition as I can, and I especially like the works of Liu Yichang, Xi Xi, Leung Ping-Kwan, and Wong Bik-Wan.
Listening
News outlets: RTHK, TVB News, and the Hong Kong branch of Phoenix TV. I also sometimes listen to old recordings of Citizens’ Radio broadcasts, for exposure to a wider array of viewpoints, accents, and registers.
Think HK video page: this has a wide array of interesting videos on all sorts of different topics, all in Cantonese.
Specific programmes I enjoy: Hong Kong Connection (for politics and local affairs), Headliner (a more satirical news programme, now suspended), 雷霆881 (the most-listened-to radio channel in Hong Kong), Sunday Report (weekly local affairs roundup), 《舊日的足跡》 (a radio programme about cultural heritage), 《自由風自由Phone》 (a call-in radio show, helpful for hearing speakers of different ages and registers).
Speaking & Pronunciation
Most of my tips here would be the same as in Mandarin: Pimsleur, speaking with natives, practising with tongue-twister drills, mimicking native speakers on TV and radio, etc. The book I would recommend here, for another in-depth academic monograph on Cantonese phonology, is Modern Cantonese Phonology by Benedict and Bauer.
Reference Books
Cantonese Colloquial Expressions (Lo Tam Fee-yin): this was an incredibly helpful book when I first visited HK and started working with and speaking with Cantonese speakers. It’s a really comprehensive overview of expressions in casual and everyday Cantonese usage, especially more figurative language.
《香港粤语词典》: it’s a little outdated and doesn’t contain the latest neologisms or slang, but this is the best foundational Cantonese dictionary for modern usage in Hong Kong that I’ve found.
ABC Cantonese-English Comprehensive Dictionary: this was published to match the ABC Chinese dictionary I’ve already mentioned above, but it focused exclusively on words limited to Cantonese usage, and omits entries that have the same meaning and usage in Mandarin
《广州话俗语词典》: this is another colloquial dictionary, but more focused on Cantonese-specific slang terms, with examples of usage and application. Books like these are always going to go out of date very quickly, because slang is always changing, but it’s helpful for the basics.
