Here are 10 reasons why you should study Chinese Mandarin

Learning Chinese offers many benefits to personal and professional growth not least gaining a better understanding of one of the richest cultures in the world. Millions of people travel to China to see the shrines, walk The Great Wall of China and indulge in the wonderful food markets in cities such as Beijng. Here are 10 reasons to learn Mandarin.

1. Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world

Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world with approximately 1,197,000,000 people speaking Chinese, of which 873,000 million speak Mandarin, according to infoplease.com therefore 14% of the global population speaking Chinese.

2. More Countries are on the list that speak Mandarin

As well as China, Mandarin is spoken in countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Phillipines and Mongolia so if you do business in these countries then it would be beneficial to converse in their language.

3. Learn about the history and culture of China

Chinese history and culture are one the richest and certainly the oldest in the world. China is renowned for producing beautiful novels, short stories, poetry, and more recently excellence in film. Reading great Chinese biographies and watching short films about the history of China provides a greater understanding of the language.

4. Make friends with different cultures

China has the biggest population in the world with approximately 1.28 billion people so learning the language gives you access to communicate with many people and connect on a deeper level. Get a Chinese pen pal to improve your writing and understand family life in China.

5. It is good for your business and career

I’ve been tutoring international adult students from all over the world, and they are from the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, etc. Some of them learn Chinese for business purposes because they need to communicate with Chinese clients, vendors, or executives.

Mark Zuckerberg is wowing audiences across the world with his new Chinese Skills, especially those important business executives in China. In fact, there are many top CEO’s that speak Chinese as a second language.

So why would a man already highly successful learn to speak Mandarin and then deliver a 30-minute presentation in a language he is just getting to grips with? Well, he could just be learning the language to communicate with the in-laws as his wife is Chinese, or this is part of a business strategy to move Facebook into China then truly become Global.

6. Learning Mandarin is easier than you think

You do not have to worry about verbs! there are no verbs, no plurals, no tenses, no subject-verb agreement, and no conjugations. There are over 80,000 Chinese characters but generally, only 3,500 are used in conversation. In fact, it could be regarded as a more logical language.

For example, If you want to express January through December in Chinese, it’s very simple and logical. As long as you know how to say 1 through 12, then you just plus month behind the 12 numbers, which is so easy and logical! Here is how you say them:

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7. Improve your artistic skills

Chinese symbols and characters require a steady hand. The written words are actually iconographic characters rather than letters. These symbols and characters are created using ‘strokes’ rather like a painting.

Chinese calligraphy is also a kind of art! See my father who is 76 years old is wrting calligraphy:

This is my father’s calligraphy:

8. Improve your brain power

We know we need to keep our brains well oiled and studies have shown that Mandarin speakers use both sides of their brains! This will certainly keep the brain motoring.

Therefore, it can even prevent Alzheimer’s disease!

Here is a very interesting Chinese character example for you to improve your brain power:

Yǒuqù de hànzì
有 趣 的 汉 字
Interesting Chinese Character

wáng + kǒu + yuè + bèi + fán = yíng
亡 + 口 + 月 + 贝 + 凡 = 赢

亡: failure, death
口: mouth (one mouth of breath)
月: moon (hardworking under the moon)
贝: shell (money in ancient times)
凡: extraordinary

wáng + kǒu + yuè + bèi + fán = yíng
亡 + 口 + 月 + 贝 + 凡 = 赢

9. Travel to beautiful countries knowing you can communicate

If you can speak Mandarin “the world is your oyster” as you travel across Southeast Asia you will have the confidence to speak with the locals in Chinese, you might even be invited into their homes for home-cooked food experiencing real Chinese life. Travelling around the world is always more enriching when you make friends with local people.

10. Eat great delicious food

Sizzling food markets across China offer some unique dishes not found anywhere else. Chinese cuisine is a joy to behold so the language will acquaint you with the types of food not found in our local Chinese Take Away.

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Summary

As well as the 10 reasons to learn Mandarin, it can actually be a lot of fun.