Why You Should Learn Chinese For Business

Learn Chinese for business? Smart move. 

With its wide range of industries, a rapidly growing market, and countless potential possibilities to explore, China is an obvious choice for any business hoping to go global. 

Choosing China as a business market or partnering with a Chinese company opens up millions of opportunities, welcoming you to the world’s largest consumer market. 

We’ve listed below five reasons you should learn Chinese for business & a guideline on how to start learning it right today!

How to learn Chinese for business? 

Below are three simple steps to start learning Chinese for your business needs :

1. Start with the basics

Yes, you always start with the basics first. You can’t just jump right into business Chinese without any foundational knowledge. When you just learn conversational sentences by heart, you don’t understand the reasons and logic behind the grammatical structure or word choices. This isn’t beneficial in the long run, so don’t take the easy option. 

It goes without saying that learning pinyin (romanized spelling) should be your first step. With pinyin, you will be able to pronounce every Chinese word and identify them when listening. Then, you should learn the tones and basic grammatical structures (which may not be as hard as you think!). 

You can always take a look at Pandanese’s learning tips for beginners: 

• Chinese For Beginners: Should I Learn Mandarin Or Cantonese?
• A Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Pronunciation
• Everything To Know About Learning Chinese Hanzi Characters

2. Focus on Chinese business vocabulary

Here is the difference between general Chinese and business Chinese. Basically, business Chinese uses more formal and technical vocabulary to show formality, politeness, and professionalism. The way you converse with your business partner or a potential customer plays a vital role in the outcome. So after you’re well-equipped with the basics, pay special attention to studying Chinese vocabulary for business. It would be best to start learning the basics of Chinese vocabulary first – that means the smaller elements making up a word: radicals, components, and characters. 

Pandanese can help you do just that. Pandanese is a web-based learning application using proven memory hacks to help learners study Chinese quicker and more effectively. You will learn the most basic elements first and see how they form a word which ensures you understand & memorize Chinese vocabulary better!

3. Practice! Practice! And more practice!

Practice makes perfect. Test your Chinese level every day on your own. You can find a Chinese news channel to watch, a business or finance blog to absorb and learn the language, or even a Youtube channel in Chinese about your specific industry. The most important thing is to watch/read/listen every single day! Immersing yourself in Business Chinese will definitely pay off in the long run. 

Also, speak as much as you can with native speakers. It helps you speak more naturally & improve your language skills and gives you the chance to know more about Chinese culture. 

In conclusion 

There’s a reason why many people consider Chinese the most difficult language in the world to learn. That being said, many students have mastered the language with nothing more than constant effort and the right learning method. 

We hope this article will help you build a strategic study plan for your Business Chinese!