Mandarin Fluency Calculator: How Long Does It Take to Learn Chinese?
The honest answer: about 2,200 hours to professional working proficiency. Here's where that number comes from, the four-tier ladder, and a calculator for your own pace.
How to Memorize Chinese Characters Using Radicals
How to memorize Chinese characters using radicals: the top 15 radicals, a four-step Hanzi decomposition workflow, and the cognitive science behind why rote copying fails.
HSK to CEFR: What's the Honest Mapping?
HSK levels don't map cleanly onto CEFR, no matter which chart you find. Here's why, what China's test board claims versus what European teachers found, and an honest range-based mapping.
World Cup Mandarin: 22 Football Words, Two Characters
Two characters, 球 and 门, unlock 15 of the 22 Mandarin words you need to follow a World Cup match. A grouped vocabulary primer for HSK 2-4 learners.
Traditional or Simplified? It's Not the Question You Think
Traditional or Simplified Chinese? The real answer isn't which is better, it's where you'll use it. A clear decision guide for new learners.
Welcome to the New Merry Mandarin Blog
The Merry Mandarin Blog is live today: original, carefully-researched articles on learning Chinese, sitting alongside the free tools suite and Grammar Lab.
Why Gamified Apps Stall You at Beginner Mandarin
Streak apps get you to HSK 2 then stall. Here's the input-review-production pipeline that actually breaks the Mandarin plateau.