Why Learn Mandarin Chinese?

Your Ticket to Chinese Culture

Dazhalan Jie walking street in Beijing, China
Dazhalan Jie, a popular walking street in Beijing. Maremagnum / Getty Images

Mandarin is “too hard” to learn, right? Despite this widely-held belief, millions of people are studying Mandarin Chinese as a second language.

But if it’s so hard, why bother to learn Mandarin?

Is Mandarin Difficult?

There is no doubt that written Chinese is difficult to learn – even for the Chinese! But the spoken language is a different kettle of fish.

In many ways, Mandarin Chinese is much easier to learn than European languages. Here are some features which make Mandarin easy:

  • no subject/verb agreement
  • no plurals
  • no conjugations
  • no tenses
  • simple numbering system which is applied to dates and time expressions
  • simple conditional sentences
  • simple prepositions

Why Learn Mandarin?

So Mandarin is easy, but why learn it? The number one reason is that Mandarin Chinese is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Learn to speak Mandarin and you can speak with millions of people around the world. More reasons:

  • Business - Business people who speak Mandarin have a huge advantage in tapping into the Chinese market. It is much easier to develop all-important relationships if you can speak Mandarin.
  • Travel - China and Taiwan offer exciting travel opportunities. Getting around is much easier if you can speak Mandarin.
  • Culture - With thousands of years of history, Chinese culture is endlessly fascinating. Whether your interests are in history, architecture, music, or cuisine, a knowledge of Mandarin will enrich your understanding of Chinese culture.

Chinese Characters

The Chinese writing system is quite a challenge, but this is another reason to learn it! Despite its difficulty, learning to read and write Chinese will give you a lifetime of intellectual stimulation. The real beauty of the language is revealed in the writing. There are thousands of Chinese characters, but they are not randomly constructed. There is a system to their design, and understanding that system makes it much easier to learn new characters.

So take the challenge and learn Mandarin Chinese! It is your ticket to a lifetime of reward.

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Su, Qiu Gui. "Why Learn Mandarin Chinese?" ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/why-learn-mandarin-2278445. Su, Qiu Gui. (2023, April 5). Why Learn Mandarin Chinese? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/why-learn-mandarin-2278445 Su, Qiu Gui. "Why Learn Mandarin Chinese?" ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-learn-mandarin-2278445 (accessed March 28, 2024).