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!

Chapter 5 of Deltarune came out this year and it was so awesome gameplay and storywise ! Thanks to Deltarune's progressive release schedule, the fandom around the game has gotten big and full of life in the span of 8 years. But western and japanese gamers are not the only people who deeply love the game... Last year, a group named 好人汉化组 ("Good people chinese localization team") undertook the project of translating first chapter 1-4 in 2025, and this year, chapter 5 in mandarin chinese (mainly simplified chinese).

If you want to watch chinese people play Deltarune, the best place is none other than 哔哩哔哩(bilibili.com, and not bilibili.tv !) The key words you need to search a chinese Deltarune walkthrough are:

三角符文=Deltarune

实况/攻略=walkthrough

解说=commentary (recommended! especially if you want to hear the gamer dub the dialogues!)

好人汉化组=it's a fan translation, so if you want everything to be fully translated (I am especially thinking about the names of all the characters, you would prefer to add the name of the translator group for this specific patch)

You can do your own research, but if you are interested, here is a good channel that played through all chapters since the chinese patch released：水川籽岸 . I like her because she sounds very friendly and chill but also she doesn't deliberately try to speak in a kawaii childlike voice unlike many female chinese content creators nowadays :/

chapter 1: 【Deltarune/三角符文】 第一章实况向游戏流程（好人汉化版）_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

chapter 2：【Deltarune/三角符文】 第二章实况向游戏流程（好人汉化版）_游戏热门视频

chapter 3: 【Deltarune/三角符文】 第三章实况向游戏流程（好人汉化版）_哔哩哔哩bilibili_剧情

chapter 4: 【Deltarune/三角符文】 第四章实况向游戏流程（好人汉化版）_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

chapter 5: 【Deltarune/三角符文】 第五章实况向游戏流程（好人汉化版）_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

(注意 : genuinely sorry, I can't put URLs since my post could get automatically deleted for detected pr0m0t°_ 🙏😖 just copy-paste video titles or name creator in the search bar and you will be ok 😊)

I recommend you to have at least a strong HSK3 level to watch. To give you an idea, I passed the HSK5 exam January of this year, and I still don't understand every detail in the videos. It's great, the translation is pretty faithful I think :)

If perchance you have a more high-intermediate/advanced level, and that you l o v e game theories🧐❤ ; try search up “Deltarune/三角符文 理论” on Bilibili. Most of people there translate theory videos from Youtube, but some also do share their own thoughts like: 是贼皮吖.

________________________________________________________________________

Ok, you waited for it, let's finally talk about Zelda BOTW!🥳🎉🎉🎉

Yes, in 2018, one year after the release of the game, Nintendo released an official chinese localization both in traditional and simplified chinese! Because it's an official translation, all the important terms of the story are fully translated and are consistent throughout the game.

You know the drill, here are the key words you need to search a walkthrough on Bilibili for BOTW:

塞尔达传说：旷野之息=The Legend of Zelda : Breath of the Wild

攻略/实况=walkthrough

解说=commentary

I found this guy who's name is 王薯条_, he made a complete walkthrough commented that has at least 30+ hours：

《塞尔达传说：旷野之息》新手必看攻略流程解说（完结）_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

Uhh something you should know is that, while playing he explains many things about the stuff in the game and how to clear each step, but he does not seem very fond of dubbing dialogues (? yeah idk? tell me if he ever does, I didn't watch everything yet hehe)

I know some people might be studying traditional chinese (Taiwan&Hongkong), and I've got something for you too. 🤗 This dude: 魯蛋的頻道 has covered many popular and loved games including Zelda BOTW. Here is the link to his walkthrough: 【魯蛋】NS 薩爾達傳說 曠野之息 4/7 (part1) (playlist)

He has a aah particular style of presentation, he is fun but with him you will most particularly learn...

T a i w a n e s e s l a n g~ ✨ (& light vulgar slang, like "badass" level of slang 😀)

Final words :

I truly wish someone recommended me those media years ago when I was beginning to learn chinese. At that time, I wasn't very familiar with Bilibili's platform (mostly because everything is in mandarin), so I didn't know where to look for listening and reading materials about gaming. If this was also the case for you, it can change today! If you are discovering China and Taiwan's gaming world later in your language learning journey like me, don't be discouraged! You have the advantage that you already have a decent foundation for searching things on your own. The more knowledge your already have, the more capable you are to seek for more knowledge efficiently!

I wish you a fun study, and have a great day :D

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'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 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 saw this app that's relatively new called Merry Mandarin, and I've been using it for a few days and it seems to work. However I am concerned because a lot of the english in the apps seems to be ai-generated. They don't tell you what is ai and what isn't and I'm afraid that if they generate chinese w/ai then I could be learning wrong and building bad habits. Does anybody know of this app and if it's trustworthy or not?

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

For me it is 一杯珍珠奶茶 🧋HAHHA

Asking for recs ^.^

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! :)

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?

即将登陆 Steam，敬请期待！

In my opinion, this is the kind of thing AI should be used for. There's a few variants of 《过来人》 now, with various people from history rapping in Chinese about their lives.

这些事
我也一件一件经历过
我是过来人
一千年前揣着跟你一样的心
你熬的夜 你咽的话
你没赢的仗
我都有份
我不是来教你
我是来陪你走这一程
你不是一个人
前面有我留了灯

Oh, the full lyrics are here.

There's quite a few articles about it in the news, e.g.:

“我是过来人，一千年前揣着跟你一样的心……”近日，AI说唱歌曲《过来人》在社交平台刷屏。杜甫、苏轼、刘邦等十位古人轮番开麦，以普通人的口吻唱出各自人生里的困顿，引发众多网友共鸣。截至发稿前，该作品抖音播放量已超过7500万，视频号播放量超过4500万。

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?

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.

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!