How Long Does It Take To Learn Mandarin Chinese?

If you ask this question to a Chinese person, and he will give you a smile.

Well, many Chinese students major in Chinese. So, Chinese people are learning Chinese? Yep, there is simply no end of learning a language like Chinese with thousands of years of history. Numerous universities in China offer courses with a major in Chinese. I have friends who majored in Chinese.

Further, how long it takes to learn Chinese depends on so many factors, such as:

Why do you want to learn Chinese? If you have valid reasons, you will be more motivated.

How much you want to learn? Do you want to speak Chinese like the native does? Or just want to learn the basics?

How much time you are willing to spend? How much time you can dedicate to learn Chinese?

If you want to speak Chinese as the natives do, it will take you anywhere between 5 to 10 years.

However, if you are a foreigner over 30 years old, very likely you have your own set of well-defined priorities, such as a job, family, etc. If so, you are mostly likely not going to learn Chinese on a full time basis.

In this case, there is no need to worry about learning Chinese like the natives. Be realistic.

With this in background:

You can learn HSK 2-3 within 1 year.
You can learn HSK 6 in 2-3 years.

If you want to live in China for a few years, target HSK 6. This will be good enough for you to live in China and manage your daily life activities. Further, you can practically skip writing part. Just learn speaking and listening. Try to read more and more books. Reading practice will help you improve speaking and listening. You can find some suitable study materials on my Amazon homepage and on this site (Affiliate disclosure):

So, how long does it take to learn Mandarin Chinese?

2-3 years for HSK level 6.

Again, it depends on several factors, including your determination and efforts. However, choosing the correct study material is very important.

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