300 - Why learning Chinese pronunciation by using English words is a really bad idea

300 - Why learning Chinese pronunciation by using English words is a really bad idea

From Hacking Chinese Podcast by Olle Linge

May 4, 2026 · 17 min · Season 1 · Episode 300

About this episode

This episode discusses why using English words to learn Mandarin pronunciation is ineffective.

Learning Mandarin pronunciation is not easy, so some people try to use English words to learn or teach the sounds. This is a really bad idea. #learnchinese #pronunciation #english #sounds Link to article on Hacking Chinese: Why learning Chinese pronunciation by using English words is a really bad idea: https://www.hackingchinese.com/why-learning-chinese-pronunciation-by-using-english-words-is-a-really-bad-idea Hacking Chinese Pronunciation: Speaking with Confidence: https://www.hackingchinese.com/courses/mandarin-chinese-pronunciation-course/ Learning to hear the sounds and tones in Mandarin: https://www.hackingchinese.com/how-to-learn-to-hear-the-sounds-tones-in-mandarin Learning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuyin and IPA: Part 3: https://www.hackingchinese.com/learning-to-pronounce-mandarin-with-pinyin-zhuyin-and-ipa-part-3 A guide to Pinyin traps and pitfalls: Learning Mandarin pronunciation: https://www.hackingchinese.com/a-guide-to-pinyin-traps-and-pitfalls Improving your Chinese pronunciation by mimicking native speakers: https://www.hackingchinese.com/mimicking-native-speakers-way-learning-chinese How learning some basic theory can improve your Mandarin…

People in this episode

Host: Olle Linge

Topics covered

  • Chinese pronunciation
  • learning Mandarin
  • English words
  • language learning
  • phonetics

Keywords

  • Mandarin pronunciation
  • learning Chinese
  • English
  • sounds
  • Pinyin
  • Zhuyin
  • IPA

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hacking Chinese

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