Big changes are coming to the HSK, the most widely used proficiency test for Mandarin Chinese for non-native speakers. The new standard takes effect on July 1st, 2021, and in this post we take a deep dive into what changes are coming, what they mean for you as a student. We also present vocabulary lists for HSK 1-9, including lists specifically for handwriting.
How to Write Chinese Characters: The Beginner’s Guide
In this blog, Jake gives you 5 top tips on how to approach character learning for Chinese (or Japanese). This method will ensure the ultimate long term retention of characters and boost your vocabulary long-term.
Board Game words and phrases in Chinese
In this video post, we’ll teach you some common words and phrases to help you get playing board games in Chinese with your friends. Playing board games is excellent for Chinese learning for the following …
The Chairman’s Bao Integration is Live
Learn how to sync your Skritter and TCB accounts. The Chairman’s Bao Integration is Live: We are thrilled to announce our new integration with TCB, a comprehensive news-based graded reader that provides authentic news content …
Beta Feature Alert: Introducing Dark Mode
Studying at night just got better for you. Learn how to enable Dark Mode on your Skritter Account. š„Beta-Feature Alertš„ Dark Mode Now Available on Skritter! Are you someone who spends long hours using …
Learning Japanese for Chinese Learners
So you’ve spent some time learning Chinese and decided you want to try your hand at Japanese. Maybe you like anime, enjoy challenges, or have just run out of new Chinese characters to learn. Luckily, …
Lantern Festival Riddles
Lantern Festival (YuĆ”nxiÄo jiĆ© (å 宵č) ) is the first significant holiday after the Lunar New Year break. It coincides with the first full moon of the month, and is synonymous with beautiful and intricate lanterns, eating …
Learning a lot of Chinese characters in Skritter
How many Chinese characters do you need to learn to be able to understand normal texts written for native speakers? 2,000? 3,500? 5,000? 7,000? This question is hard to answer for two reasons. First, in …
Mid-Autumn Festival: The Chinese Moon Festival Explained!
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people and other East Asian cultures. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, which usually corresponds to late …
Mandarin Blueprint: Video Courses to Study Chinese
For those of you in search of an online Chinese course, Mandarin Blueprint may be for you. First, let’s lookĀ at a video where Jake and Phil discuss MB, Skritter, language learning and so much more: …
Learn Chinese with Cartoons: 5 Movies
Intro: Getting Comprehensive Input with Chinese Cartoons Comprehensive input is a useful method for language learners.Ā According to Krashen’s I+1 theory, students should be exposed to language that is slightly above their current level. So in …
Chinese Radicals: The Beginnerās Guide
Itās common for beginners and sometimes even more advanced students to lack an understanding of how Chinese characters are structured. This includes misconceptions about components and radicals. In this article, Iām going to address some …
Mandarin Chinese Polyphones
This is a guest post from That’s Mandarin. Find out more at the end of this article. Having trouble distinguishing between when to use a certain pronunciation for the same character?Ā Ever not understood a sentence …