Wanted: Chinese-Learning Blog List

2009 February 4 – 8:21 am | Categories: Computer| Leave a comment

[UPDATE: In addition to my iGoogle Page, I recommend Lingomi's Chinese Blog List.]

The Quest

I don’t think there are very many blogs about learning Chinese.

Now wait a minute! Before you start throwing your shoes at me, I mean blogs that are EXCLUSIVELY (or at least MOSTLY) about learning the language of the Middle Kingdom. There are a lot of great blogs about living in China that include dealings with the language. But those are not what I’m interested in at the moment.

According to this list by Lexiophiles, LaowaiChinese.net ranks 135 out of 250 in language blogs (I guess the lower 50% post even less often than once every two months). But that list includes ALL languages (with no capability to sort or filter). I contacted Lexiophiles and asked them if there is a way to display only Chinese-language-related blogs and they said no, but there are only four others anyway (only two of which currently count: Hanzi Smatter (#46) and Chinese Quest (#226) for the record).

I was a little surprised to see so few (I must confess, I didn’t read the whole list of 250 so there may be more).

What I want is an exhausting exhaustive list of the blogs that we learners of Chinese should be following, blogs that deal with the nuts and bolts of learning Mandarin. I’m loosely defining “blog” here to mean a website that has frequent updates. So daily/weekly lessons are ok. Even “word of the day” sites qualify. Static resources (like a dictionary or hanzi/pinyin converter) are being filed separately under “Helpful Resources.”

Does anyone know where such a list exists? If not, here’s how we shall make it:

If you know of a blog about learning Chinese

  • Please slap the URL into a comment to be added to the “Learn Chinese” blogroll.

If you’re the owner of a blog about learning Chinese

  • Please check the Learn Chinese blogroll (see sidebar to the right) to see if your blog is already there and to make sure I’ve got the name and link correct.
  • If I don’t have your blog listed (sorry about that), please put the URL and prefered RSS feed into a comment so I can mǎshàng add it to the blogroll.
  • HOT TIP: If you’ve got a blog and you don’t have a way of seeing stats about your RSS subscribers, I suggest you figure out how to do that (I use Feedburner).

I have a “secret plan” for all those RSS feeds once I’ve got them, bwah ha ha! (Don’t worry, it’s good.)

Blogroll (as of this post):

  1. Beijing Sounds 北京的声儿
  2. Chinese Hour
  3. Chinese Pod – Latest Lessons [update: only Newbie level podcasts available without an account]
  4. Chinese Study Book Reviews [update: appears he isn't updating this]
  5. ChineseQuest
  6. Hanzi Smatter 一知半解
  7. Howma [update: appears he isn't updating this either]
  8. Learning Chinese Blog
  9. Pinyin News

Similar Posts (computer generated):

  1. 51 Responses to “Wanted: Chinese-Learning Blog List”

  2. Tina CHINA said:

    Hi, I think it’s a great idea, though I have to say, I still think that Chinesepod does an outstanding job.

    We have a word of the day on our blog.

    I have found this site when I was studying at university and found it helped quite a bit.
    http://www.nciku.com/

    Good luck

    Comment date: Feb 4, 2009

  3. hsknotes CHINA said:

    HSK language notes, occasional forays into deep discussions of grammar.

    hsknotes.blogspot.com

    Comment date: Feb 4, 2009

  4. Mitch AUSTRALIA said:

    MDBG has feeds of words from the HSK list:

    http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=feeds

    Mitch.

    Comment date: Feb 4, 2009

  5. Andreas GERMANY said:

    Hi Albert,
    I would suggest the following website as well:
    http://www.melnyks.com/
    It’s more of a podcast but nonetheless very interesting. We covered it in our top 10 podcast list (http://www.lexiophiles.com/top-10-language-podcasts)

    Best,
    Andreas

    Comment date: Feb 4, 2009

  6. Albert CHINA said:

    @Mitch,

    Thanks for mentioning that. I’ve already included that in my “secret plan” but I don’t want you to think that I’m ignoring you just because that didn’t get added to the blogroll :)

    Comment date: Feb 4, 2009

  7. Nicki CHINA said:

    Hey, this isn’t a blog, but it’s a great learning tool for writing hanzi: http://www.skritter.com

    Did you know about this already?

    Comment date: Feb 5, 2009

  8. hsknotes CHINA said:

    You’ve got chinesepod on there, so you might as well mention popupchinese

    Comment date: Feb 5, 2009

  9. Carl CHINA said:

    Hold up, this isn’t the same thing you have linked. They just started their blog again on the 4th of Feb. Go here: http://blog.chinesepod.com

    Comment date: Feb 6, 2009

  10. sanbit CHINA said:

    Sanbit is built for learning any foreign language actually, but its focused on Chinese currently.

    http://sanbit.com/languages/Mandarin
    and
    http://sanbit.com/languages/Cantonese

    Comment date: Feb 6, 2009

  11. Rachel UNITED STATES said:

    chitchatchinese.wordpress.com

    Started just a few months ago. Last entry on how to say “and” in Chinese.

    Comment date: Feb 8, 2009

  12. Albert CHINA said:

    Rachel,

    Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, it’s blocked in China (I think all .wordpress.com blogs are). Not to worry though, my secret plan should work around that. Can you give us your RSS feed?

    Comment date: Feb 8, 2009

  13. Albert CHINA said:

    Carl,

    Thanks for the link. I didn’t know about the Chinese Pod blog. But, since it seems to be a blog about Chinese Pod rather than about learning the language specifically, I think I’ll leave it off the blogroll for now.

    We’re up to 13 now!

    Comment date: Feb 8, 2009

  14. chris(mandarin_student) UNITED KINGDOM said:

    I thought I submitted a comment a while ago but maybe I didn’t somehow. My Chinese learning blog is friedelcraft.blogspot.com.

    Comment date: Feb 8, 2009

  15. Albert CHINA said:

    Chris,

    Thanks for the link. Added!

    Comment date: Feb 8, 2009

  16. Carl CHINA said:

    Albert,

    Not sure if this posted the first time, but here is a blog you and other bloggers have inspired me to write. Its about my cross cultural relationship and learning Mandarin (I’m putting in lessons just as much as anything else). It should be a good read for beginners as that is my level of Mandarin. daheadxiaohead.blogspot.com

    Comment date: Feb 10, 2009

  17. Albert CHINA said:

    Carl,

    Thanks for the link. It’s been added to the blogroll and the “secret plan.”

    Comment date: Feb 10, 2009

  18. Ken Carroll CHINA said:

    FYI,

    The ChinesePod blog will definitely include general observations about learning Chinese, not just about ChinesePod itself!

    Ken

    Comment date: Feb 11, 2009

  19. Albert CHINA said:

    Ken,

    Nice to hear from you. I see now that you’ve got general Chinese-learning tips as well as ChinesePod news. Thanks for letting me know. John’s post about the FireFox extension was most helpful.

    You’ve been added to the blogroll and “secret plan” to be unveiled today (I hope).

    Comment date: Feb 12, 2009

  20. Carl CHINA said:

    Unveiled today? Ooh I’m so gitty now!

    Comment date: Feb 12, 2009

  21. Guan Yue UNITED STATES said:

    I listen to free podcasts from Chinese Learn Online (http://chineselearnonline.com/), which are added on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. There is a subscription required to use some of the features on the website, but the podcasts themselves are free as they are updated and are very helpful.

    Comment date: Feb 17, 2009

  22. Albert CHINA said:

    Guan Yue,

    That looks excellent. Thanks for the link! I’ve included their blog and their podcasts on the iGoogle page.

    Comment date: Feb 17, 2009

  23. Helen CHINA said:

    wish it will be a little helpful http://english.cri.cn/08chinese/

    Comment date: Feb 21, 2009

  24. Dan CANADA said:

    Am I too late to plug my own blog? I’m an avid Mandarin learner (I still have quite a way to go, but have made good progress so far). My blog will be exclusively devoted to the Mandarin learning experience, along with lessons learned, resources, tips, etc. I hope my efforts can contribute to the growing knowledge base.

    Cheers,
    Dan

    Comment date: Apr 8, 2009

  25. Naomi UNITED STATES said:

    This is a blog my friend just started this year. She does intend to update the blog at least once a week.

    I think some of the beginners might find it useful.

    Comment date: Feb 6, 2010

  26. Rachael CANADA said:

    I recommend something really amazing and cool, but not a blog. Did you know touch reading pen and audio books? Very convenient! Try it! http://www.bigreach.ca

    It says “best gift for kids”, actually it’s good for all chinese learners, kids and adults.

    Comment date: Feb 22, 2010

  27. Bonnie UNITED STATES said:

    Hey my blog is on wordpress, I saw you maybe could get around that. See what you think.
    mandarinkids.wordpress.com
    Thanks, and enjoying your posts!

    Comment date: Feb 26, 2010

  28. Dani Wang IRELAND said:

    We’ve recently lauched a new site (http://www.graspchinese.com) with 10 free lessons and many exercises. The multimedia lessons are online and each one deals with a real life daily scenario that you will encounter on a trip to China.

    Comment date: Feb 26, 2010

  29. kpcwriting PHILIPPINES said:

    Hi there!

    I’d just like to share with you the latest review we did for learning Chinese online. We have reviewed the top 11 learning sites and will be adding new ones every month. Do visit us at http://learn-chinese-review.ttr04.com/.

    Comment date: Mar 25, 2010

  30. Confused LaoWai said:

    Hey, I’ve a got Mandarin Learning Blog at http://confusedlaowai.com
    Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ConfusedLaowai

    I’ve encountered the exact same problem you had, when I started studying Mandarin. I’ve since gotten to a few blogs by link hopping on various blogs. However, I’ve taken that a step further and created a site ( http://socialmandarin.com ) where people can share Online Mandarin Resources with each other. I felt there needed to be a place where we can meet the same people, and share resources with each other.

    To some extent, I’ve found some people on Twitter, who sometimes tweet cool resources, but there’s much more potential. It needs to be easier to find all these awesome blogs, great people and great content.

    I really enjoy your blog (especially your tunes), so keep it up man. I hope you can join Social Mandarin.
    再见！

    Comment date: Mar 29, 2010

  31. samualji HONG KONG said:

    it’s true there’s no blogs that teach chinese to kids that well but i have found some videos and books at barnes & nobles.. one of the interesting ones that come with audio is this: http://www.mandyandpandy.com/

    It’s not too bad since there’s some discount this month only in their online shop.

    Comment date: Apr 11, 2010

  32. peggy CHINA said:

    hi there,if someone who wanna learn chinese face to face in bj,just mail me~(a 22-year old bj girl is waiting for u)hehe
    the best way to learn chinese is to say it loudly,right??
    peggy.tian0210@hotmail.com

    Comment date: May 1, 2010

  33. Carl AUSTRALIA said:

    You might find mine of interest – http://www.carlgene.com/blog

    It doesn’t have a name, as yet.

    I’m interested in hearing ideas though.

    Comment date: Jul 20, 2010

  34. Janice NETHERLANDS said:

    If you are looking for a place to learn the mandarin language you might want to take a look at http://www.learnmandarinnow.com. Let me know what you think about it.

    Comment date: Aug 4, 2010

  35. Steven Daniels CHINA said:

    I’ve been working on a blog about learning languages and Chinese specifically.

    it’s at http://blog.lingomi.com

    (Carl’s blog, two up from my comment, is pretty good.)

    Comment date: Aug 28, 2010

  36. Naomi UNITED STATES said:

    Thank you for the efforts of listing Chinese learning blogs here.

    Following is the rss to my Chinese learning blog:

    http://learnchinese-ny.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

    or

    http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/NYAMh

    I’d appreciate if you can include the link to my blog here.

    Xin Nian Kuai Le :D

    Comment date: Jan 1, 2011

  37. peter jiang-learn mandarin BANGLADESH said:

    Providing the list of Chinese learning blog list, you have done a very well job. People searching for this sort of blogs will be benefited greatly. Go on including as much as you can.

    Comment date: Feb 2, 2011

  38. 个修远 UNITED KINGDOM said:

    Hi there. Would it be possible to add my site? The URL is http://eastasiastudent.net
    I write a lot of posts on Mandarin grammar structures etc. so I think it should be useful to people here. 多谢！

    Comment date: Mar 3, 2011

  39. Steven Daniels UNITED STATES said:

    I love the idea of this list, unfortunately, it hasn’t been kept current. So I’ve created a Chinese Blog List of my own. It lists the blogs that have been active in the past month and a few of their most recent articles.

    What’s good about my Chinese learning blog?
    1) It stays current automatically and only shows blogs that have been active in the past month.
    2) It lists a few of the most recent articles from each active blog.

    I made it in a couple hours, so I’d appreciate comments or suggestions.

    Check it out here: http://lingomi.com/chinese-blog-list

    Comment date: Mar 4, 2011

  40. Albert UNITED STATES said:

    Steven Daniels,

    I love your Chinese Blog List! I wish there were a way to share that / embed it into an iGoogle page. Is there anyway to get an RSS feed for that one page?

    The real strength of that format is that it’s arranged by date rather than author. That way, if there’s no new posts, the blog doesn’t show up for that day.

    Although…eh hem…I couldn’t help but notice that my most recent post isn’t showing up yet…:)

    Comment date: Apr 5, 2011

  41. Steven Daniels said:

    Albert,

    It updates 4 times a day, so it takes a few hours to add recent posts. Whenever I encounter a new blog, I add it to the list.

    I actually just changed the format yesterday to arrange it by date, rather than author. I find it much more useful now. I’ll look into trying to get a feed going.

    What kind of information should a feed have? Post title, website? What else?

    Comment date: Apr 5, 2011

  42. sawang NEW ZEALAND said:

    I have been learning Chinese for 4 years now and suggest a software tool I　found recently http://www.cidianreader.com

    You have to download and install it but it translates Chinese words as you highlight them with the mouse. Very useful for chatting with Chinese

    Comment date: Aug 18, 2011

  43. Albert CHINA said:

    @sawang,

    I downloaded and installed that but it never started. It gave me that “blah blah encountered an error and needs to close” message before I could even use it. Too bad. I was looking forward to trying it out.

    Comment date: Aug 18, 2011

  44. Rachel UNITED STATES said:

    I downloaded it successfully but can’t figure how to use it. I’m highlighting words and right clicking but not seeing anything while the software is on. Any advice?

    Comment date: Aug 19, 2011

  45. Lydia Lin UNITED STATES said:

    I looked at your blog roll for Chinese language learning sites and did not see “Learn Chinese Weekly”. I’d appreciate it very much if you could add the link to the following blog site:
    http://teachmechinese.wordpress.com

    RSS feed:

    http://teachmechinese.wordpress.com/feed/

    Thanks much!

    Comment date: Sep 20, 2011

  46. Aaron Tang HONG KONG said:

    http://projectlearnmandarin.wordpress.com/

    My blog of how I got my Chinese to near native-level fluency.

    Comment date: Dec 15, 2011

  47. Grace CANADA said:

    Mine (justlearnchinese.com) is a dedicated “Learn Chinese online FREE” educational blog. I started it last month. My update frequency is 1 to 2 lessons per week. There are audios in every lesson. I’ll work on to create more learning resouces moving along.

    I’m still working on how to add feed to my site at this moment.

    Please add my blog to your blogroll.

    Thank you!

    Grace

    Comment date: Dec 16, 2011

  48. Layinka FRANCE said:

    I am learning Chinese from scratch and singing Chinese songs using the internet. I just started the blog you can find it here: http://diylanguage.wordpress.com/ Thank you Laowai!

    RSS
    http://diylanguage.wordpress.com/feed/

    Comment date: Dec 21, 2011

  49. 翻譯菜單 AUSTRALIA said:

    我是說，關於這個主題的東西。但現在我可以看到，關於這一主題的一切是非常驚人的，令人興奮的，所以我這裡沒什麼可說的。我剛剛經歷的所有主題和讚賞。感謝分享。

    Comment date: Mar 8, 2012

  50. ZYMCI UNITED KINGDOM said:

    Great list of Chinese learning blogs here! Going to have a look at a few of them later. Not sure if our blog can be added to the Chinese learning blogs section?

    Comment date: Oct 17, 2012

  51. robin MALAYSIA said:

    Can you spot what is wrong with this Mandarin advertisement? See
    http://manglerin.blogspot.com/2012/11/chinese-cheongsam.html

    Comment date: Nov 28, 2012

  52. Chinese Language CHINA said:

    As was suggested to add Chinese language learning blogs in the comment section, here is one:
    http://www.livethelanguage.cn/blog

    Comment date: Jan 2, 2013

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