I think learning Chinese saved my brain from becoming AI slop

A year ago I graduated and got my first corporate job at a consulting firm. Every single day since all I've heard is AI, AI, AI, use more AI, AI, AI, etc... Like I was used to some AI talk since I did an IT related major but damn at least at uni the teachers were interested in us learning and understanding the material.

At work it feels like thinking using our brains is the absolute worst thing we could ever do.

This September I finally went back to learning Chinese after having abandoned it years ago.

It might just be a personal bias but I actually feel like my brain is more agile and I have less brain fog now.

Actually thinking and actively making an effort to learn something new is the best. It's regarding, it's good for your health and you get to be good at something new!

Plus! Since I choose to go to in-person classes I also get to meet new people with shared interests!

I've been looking for the one with the blue bird logo, but I couldn't find it 😭😭

I looked up 學 in Pleco after seeing it in the Integrated Chinese 1-1 workbook. I thought this workbook was simplified only, so was surprised to see multiple variants of this character.

So my very dumb question about Pleco is:

Does the top line of the screenshot show the simplified character, followed by the traditional in parentheses?

I am just not into learning hsk materials. Feels like I am learning words that I will never use on everyday speech. So I am kinda stuck.

Then this idea came to my mind. Would it be ok to learn this way and can I still be intermediate level with this method?

I am currently learning them and try to use them in a sentence. So I try to learn them in a context.

What do you guys think?

I'd love to see a monthly “Show & Tell” thread where members could share FREE resources they've created, whether it's learning tools, YouTube videos, flashcards, FREE websites, or anything else that might help fellow learners.

I'm sure there are some fantastic resources we're missing simply because people are afraid of being accused of self-promotion or having their posts removed. I have had posts removed and it is humiliating when your heart is in the right place.

I understand the need to prevent spam, but shouldn't we encourage people who genuinely want to contribute something useful?

A dedicated monthly thread, with clear guidelines and no sales pitches, seems like a great middle ground.

Would anyone else welcome something like this? Or is something like this already here and I missed it?

I am a 3rd year UG student from England studying the Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto (Liang Zhu), with a focus on the Westernisation of its existence through a decolonisation lens. In an attempt to be as accurate in my research as possible, I would like to use more Chinese language articles in my dissertation, but I don't know where to find them. Does anyone know any good places to start? Specifically of the nature of opinion pieces, finding people's actual opinions on both this concerto and Chinese traditional music and Western classical music, as opposed to an objective academic study.

I overheard a classmate calling me 老外 while taking to her mother and I told her that I knew she was calling me foreigner but as far as I know it's a bit different from 外国人... My teacher also taught us that some people use it but I'm afraid this person was lying and it actually had a pejorative meaning ...

Edit! Some people are asking for more context so: We were sitting together (2 中国人 and I), her mom video called her and she answered, I've been studying Chinese for a year so I'm not that good yet, she pointed to my friend and said something along the lines 她是 "her name", then pointed at me and said something like "他老外国朋友/同学 "my name". When I told her later that I knew 老外 was like "guiri" she said that it was just a colloquial/casual way to say 外国人...

We're kinda close but it's not the first time I've asked something like this and they've tried to "lie" to make it seem innocent + I was taught it's slightly xenophobic 🤨

Hope this helps!

The new HSK has a fixed date now, and there's a lot of conflicting info floating around, so here's what the official documents actually say.

Dates

• First official HSK 3.0 sitting: December 13, 2026. Registration closes Nov 16 (paper) and Dec 3 (computer), Beijing time.
• Last old-format (six-level) dates in the global calendar: Oct 17 and Nov 7. Computer registration for Nov 7 closes Oct 28. Some centres add their own last session, so ask yours.
• The notice doesn't say whether the old format continues after Dec 13. One UK centre says everything moves to HSK 3.0, and CTI's partner in Vietnam told the press the two won't run in parallel. Plan on the old format ending.

Why there are two sets of word counts

If you've read that HSK 1 needs 500 words or HSK 3 needs 2,245, those numbers are real. They're just from the 2021 Standards (GF0025-2021), not from the exam. The exam follows the syllabus published in November 2025:

When you pick a word list or textbook, check which of the two it uses.

What else changes

• Papers get shorter: HSK 4 drops from 100 items in 105 min to 70 items in 85 min.
• Writing starts at HSK 2 (10 items). Characters come in two lists: ones to recognise and ones to handwrite. The new HSK 4 expects 1,096 recognised but only 400 handwritten.
• HSK 3–6 each come with a speaking test, which you register for together with the written paper. HSK 1–2 have none. Every level starts with listen-and-repeat or listen-and-retell.
• HSK 7–9 is one shared paper (91 items, ~200 min, computer only). Your score places you at 7, 8 or 9.

Common wrong claims

• "It launches July 2026": July 2026 is the implementation date printed on the syllabus cover, not a test date.
• "Old certificates become invalid": no notice says so. A score is still valid for two years from the test date.
• "No handwriting until HSK 5": the sample HSK 2 paper has a 10-item writing section.

What to do

• Booked for Nov 7: sit it as planned.
• Sitting from December on: get the new word list for your level, practise the handwriting list, do the sample papers on chinesetest.cn, and speak out loud daily. From HSK 3 up, you'll be recorded.

Sources: CTI notice of Sept 8, 2026 (chinesetest.cn) · CLEC HSK syllabus, Nov 2025 · CLEC HSK 3.0 sample papers (levels 1–6, 7–9, speaking 3–6) · MoE GF0025-2021.

Disclosure: I work on a Chinese-learning app and wrote this up for our blog. No link here; everything above comes from the official documents. Corrections welcome.

Hi everyone,

I'm considering going to Shanghai for a language course at Shanghai International Studies University, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has done their Chinese language program.

I want to do the Spring Semster.

I have a couple of questions because I can barely find anything online about people's experiences.

1. For anybody who has done the course, how is it? How were the teachers and the classes?

2. How is the dorm? I'm planning to apply for it since its easier to make friendships this way. If anybody stayed there were the rooms okay? Is there a curfew?

1. What age are the people attending? I'm in my early twenties and I would hope I can find people to form a friend group.

4. Does SISU organise any activities, excursions or cultural experiences? Or is it mainly classes, with everyone doing their own thing afterwards?

5. How did you enjoy staying in Shanghai? Is it a good destination to travel to and stay for couple of months?

Thank you so much for reading and I'll be grateful for any advice you can give me. If anybody has a different university or language school they recommend, I'll also be grateful! :)

即将登陆 Steam，敬请期待！

I contacted mods a few days ago for permission to self-promote and haven't gotten a response so I'll just go for it. Apologies to anyone offended, but I think this is a great resource for Chinese learners.

I recently launched Yayu on iOS (Android launching in a couple weeks due to testing requirements) which is a low-key daily chinese vocab app.

You can choose your HSK level (1-9), see definitions in english, german, french, or japanese, study cantonese pronunciations (this update will be live in a day or two), and see the characters in a few beautiful faces (traditional, simplified, cursive, and seal!). It has widgets, and Duo/iPad support coming in a day or two as well.

Would appreciate any feedback or feature requests. I've wanted an app like this for many years so I figured I'd build it.

Hello! I am looking for something to work on my handwriting on real, actual paper. I think maybe I'd like to start with some characters to trace maybe? Is there anything like that?

In English we often use Timbuktu figuratively to mean a generic faraway place. Actually, China is also used for this. Is there something comparable for Chinese?

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Olá tudo bem, sou falante nativo do português Brasileiro e gostaria de saber como está minha pronúncia.

Have you ever felt like native mandarin speakers pronounce the 3^rd tone completely differently from what you learned in textbooks? 🤔

I put together a 4-part series explaining the '7 tones' concept to solve this exact problem. Here is Part 1.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Started learning chinese 10 years ago. Completed hsk 3 with a perfect score. Then studied for hsk 4 and coivd happened. Was teaching kids back then. Eventually stopped.

Want to get back. I started teaching a few kids to be connected with the language but want to take a deep dive. Character reading is what i am good at and speaking requires practice. Full time job and adhd. Whats a good approach here. Which level/resource should i start with

Hi, I was learning chinese at the start with busuu then with hellochinese. But now I can't go on because the free trial is over. Which app do you think is better if I am considering tk buy the premium version? They are almost the same price: 55 vs 65 euros. Which one is better for what? Help me thanks!!

大家好！我学习中文四天了。 （sorry if the grammar is wrong)

I've been including reading one text from this app (Chinese Short Dialogue) as part of studying, but I notice that whenever I try to read, my eyes automatically redirects to the pinyin even if I already know the character... Now, I'm wondering if this is okay as a pronunciation/reading practice since I'm still a beginner and don't really know that many characters (i only know about 50)? I also do shadowing when watching podcast, I'm currently listening to ChinesePod:> When I try to read or shadow, I speak quite slowly as my mind gets too focused on getting the right tone... I'm really interested in reading and writing 汉字, thought my overall/topmost goal is to hold daily conversations.

What do you think of this method? And do you have other recommendations to further improve my pronunciation?