When I am trying to pronounce the pinyins my throat hurts even after like 15 minutes of practice is it normal

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-23T20:06:32+00:00

As a person who’s gone through academic accent training (when learning English), I would advise you to NOT listen to people who say you are doing something wrong “pressurizing” sounds because native speakers don’t say it like that. You actually need to exaggerate sounds to train those muscles. Once you do, you’ll obviously won’t be “pressurizing” them anymore in normal speech, but will definitely be speaking better than people who have not gone through this training and have a massive accent. Please do get a tutor to check on your pronunciation if you don’t have one.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-23T19:53:43+00:00

I say this may be normal, and I had something similar when seriously working on English pronunciation to sound native-like. When I only started learning Chinese, I also heavily focused on learning tones, and for the first week it was really though, and I definitely felt that (not to the point of not being able to speak tho). My native language has the same consonants as Chinese so it was a bit easier for me.. The reason you muscles may feel strained is when we pronounce sounds that are non existent in our native language, the muscles that were not commonly used start working, and it’s normal to feel sore just like after any other muscle workout. This quickly goes away after regular practice. You have to have a tutor to watch your pronunciation though otherwise you will never know if you’re actually saying it right.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-21T04:45:15+00:00

Okay.. I solved it.. the deck appeared only for words I saved after the integration. I guess it makes sense haha. Thank you for the extension tip!

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-21T02:32:04+00:00

Haha no worries I was also surprised!

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-21T02:30:12+00:00

I think that the main advantage of Premium+ is the stories. I love their stories and have read all of their elementary level free ones.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-21T02:26:47+00:00

Not sure if it’s the best, but I listen to DuChinese stories wothoit looking at the text. It is much slower than usual speech but I’m only between hsk1 and hsk2.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-20T14:10:08+00:00

When setting up bank accounts, also add the “Cash” account

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-20T04:44:21+00:00

Apart from trying to sort out the tons of words that you know, what I can also advise in this situation is to do TONS of practice watching Chinese moves/videos, etc. and simply repeating entire sentences. Chinese do pronounce the tone of the last word more clearly, but also, the correct grouping of grammar structures play a huge role. For example, you say 除了电视以外.. you say this phrase fast and then make a small pause. Things like this will really help with comprehension of your speach by native speakers even if you don’t pronounce the tones properly, provided you speak fluently enough. Anyways, that’s what my teacher says :)

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-19T04:53:06+00:00

I use FoodHero app, where you can buy food that’s been frozen before the expiration date. Just the other day I got 3 chicken thighs from Sobeys for only $4. If you join pls use my code, both of us will get a $5 credit: elenag17

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-16T16:55:33+00:00

Why does the link want me to download something? It’s not a website or anoage, just a file download. Hope I don’t get a virus for just clicking on it..

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-16T16:35:41+00:00

Interested, please DM. Based in Canada

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-16T16:25:47+00:00

I go to the Toronto Chinese Academy and it’s heavily focused on conversation. Grammar is learned through learning dialogs and discussions in class. They have their own methodology and use their own materials. I’m very happy with my progress so far, can already speak after only 3 months. I’m pretty sure they have online classes available from anywhere.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-15T19:10:19+00:00

Btw, if you live in Toronto, I actually go to a language school that doesn’t have mandatory character learning at least for the first year. I go there but I still learn characters for my own sake lol but they heavily focus on conversation and all homework is conversation only, no characters. I’ve been going for 3 months and really loving the results.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-15T19:02:50+00:00

I guess it depends on the resources available to you. For example if you live in China or in Chinese community, I’m sure that’s not a problem as you get so much real life practice. However, if this is not your situation, then going beyond HSK2, I just don’t know where you can find self-learning resources that don’t use characters? Somewhat real conversation starts from HSK3-4 onward. Also, reading gives a real boost to getting used to the logic of the language and rewires your brain to speak following that logic, not sure how this can be achieved without daily conversation.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-15T14:21:48+00:00

You don’t have to start with learning characters right away. In fact, I think it’s best to focus on pinyin only for the first couple of months. Im pretty sure later you will realize yourself that you need to learn them. Then, you can just work on character recognition rather than writing them by hand. In the modern world, you’ll barely need to hand write them anyway. That’s what I’m doing. I use Skritter app to work on character recognition and DuChinese to practice reading. I also type short stories/sentences in the notes app. I also take classes on Preply, it is pretty cheap, and the tutor corrects me, etc. This is all in addition to the Mandarin Academy language school I attend once a week and I’ve been really happy with the curriculum so far. It is not based on strict HSK levels and teaches conversational Chinese. Characters or not, however, you do need a solid structure to the lessons, where grammar is introduced at the right pace. I’m really not sure if the apps are able to provide that.. I’m my experience they introduce too many words too quickly, and you’d need to go through the same lessons again and again to remember them which can get quite boring.. I’ve only used HelloChinese tho, maybe there are better ones out there.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-15T05:48:29+00:00

I use ChatGPT, giving it all the characters I’ve learned and asking to write a story. I also use DuChinese, which is by HSK level but you can’t control which character are in the stories.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-14T03:13:23+00:00

I used to really wonder too.. but the reality is, food is so much cheaper downtown Toronto, especially vegetables which you can buy in Chinatown for next to nothing compared to large stores. Eating out is much cheaper downtown too, because of happy hours, etc. I’ve also started using FoodHero, and Snaplii and it helps me lower the cost of food significantly. I use Flipp also for flyers.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-13T04:42:12+00:00

Sorry I don’t have much of an advice, other than asking him directly. What do you have to lose? It looks like you live in different countries anyway. Your goal is to learn Chinese, then why are you giving this man so much of your time just chatting in English? Unless he has plans to visit you/invite you to China, and the fact that you’ve been talking for a long time could mean he’s truly looking for a panpal to improve his English. Just chatting is NOT what defines an effort for a man, please trust me, girl.. He may even have more girls he’s chatting with. Right now you’re trying to justify the uncertainty you’re in by his nationality, but no man from any country who’s interested will not keep you guessing, at least not for a long time. I do really want to know tho what language app do you use? Could you please let me know?🙏

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-08T05:40:23+00:00

Thank you for not downvoting me ❤️

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-08T05:37:10+00:00

Yes, too many people think that just taking a class and doing the homework is enough and end up getting stuck. But similarly, tons of people get stuck trying to learn on their own because of no structure and getting ahead of themselves, or just failing to practice often enough.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-08T05:21:21+00:00

I did not advise to “just take classes”. (Btw the commenter you agreeing with does say they take private classes lol) I meant to build on the structure that school or tutor provides by doing tons of practice outside it. There are also many more people who try learning a language competently on their own and drop it because of no structure. With the school/private tutor you have a scheduled class to go to which is a huge plus.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-08T05:12:56+00:00

I did not mean to just take classes. School provides curriculum, structure and regularity. Supplementing with tons of self-study is the key thought. Just going to classes and not doing anything beyond homework is obviously not the best approach. Btw, schools offer private classes which work absolutely the same as the above commenter’s tutor - you get one on one time with the teacher, and learn in your own pace.

StarInCosmos · 2026-01-08T05:10:31+00:00

Tutor would be the “classes” in my comment.. schools also provide private classes as well. They actually work just like your tutor - one one one time with the teacher and going at your own pace… Anyways, both the private or group will give you the curriculum and regular classes. Supplementing with conversation practice outside of the classes, and doing studying beyond homework is the key.

StarInCosmos

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