Let’s look at some people who’ve done it and how long it took them. It makes more sense to answer this question in terms of total hours spent learning Mandarin Chinese. But the number of months/years it takes each person to reach conversational fluency in Mandarin Chinese will vary significantly. Person A studies Mandarin for 10 hours a day.īoth approaches could work well, depending on your life situation.Imagine 2 people decide to learn Mandarin Chinese. But that’s an illogical way of looking at it, and here’s why: Most people think about this question in terms of months or years. How long does it take to become conversationally fluent in Mandarin Chinese? In short, conversations that feel comfortable, without much strain from the listener or the speaker. I could work or study in the language (though I’d need time to learn specialist vocabulary and probably couldn’t work in fields which require native-like proficiency, such as law).I still make mistakes, but they don’t often impede communication.I rarely need to stop and search for words.I can have conversations at a natural speed.I’m aiming to reach a kind of “conversational” fluency, which means: One thing I’d like to make clear is that I’m not talking about native-level fluency in this post. A proven system you can adapt for your life and Chinese goals.Ĭonversationally fluent in Mandarin Chinese: What does it look like?.Tips on how to choose the best resources.My step-by-step plan to reach conversational fluency in 2 years.How long it takes to learn Mandarin Chinese.It’s the same one I used to learn French and Spanish. In this post, I’ll share the formula I’m using to become conversationally fluent in Chinese in 2 years, without living in China. I thought about something more tantalising like: “Learn Chinese in 5 minutes a day” or “speak Chinese like a native in 8 weeks”.Īs I’m really planning on doing this and giving you advice on how to do the same, I thought it’d be wise to go for an achievable timeframe. I know, I know, it’s not a very sexy title.

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