Chinese Courses in Hong Kong

Whether to study Cantonese, Mandarin or even both languages whilst living in Hong Kong is a common conundrum shared by Hong Kong expats and locals alike. The choice is certainly an individual one and will ultimately be determined by your personal motives and goals. With this in mind, here are a few pointers to help you decide.

Similarities and Differences Between Mandarin and Cantonese

Learning Chinese is often considered relatively easy when compared to learning other languages. This is especially the case once you’ve got to grips with the challenge of reading or even writing the numerous Chinese characters. That said, many of the characters used in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese are the same. As a result, you can learn one language (or dialect) and be able to read at a basic level of understanding information written in the other. It’s important to note, however, that some characters may have slightly differing meanings.

No Tricky Grammar Rules

Whether you are learning Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese you’ll be glad to know that, unlike other languages, there are no tricky verb forms or verb conjugations to contend with. Similarly, you’ll find almost no inflectional forms so, typically, words only have one grammatical form.

Whilst grammar between Cantonese and Mandarin is often quite similar, this is not always the case. There is quite a bit of difference, for example, in where verbs are placed. Pronunciation and vocabulary can be very different between the two as well.

Reading Differences Between Cantonese & Mandarin Chinese

As far as reading goes, Mandarin Chinese is pretty straightforward, with words being pronounced as they are written. However, this is not true for Cantonese, where words aren’t pronounced as they are written in many cases.

Do Mandarin & Cantonese Speakers Understand Each Other?

Cantonese is spoken by more than 60 million people in China. Generally, someone who speaks Cantonese, particularly as their mother-tongue, can understand some Mandarin Chinese.

Conversely, native Mandarin speakers are less likely to understand as much Cantonese. The degree to which a mainland Mandarin Chinese speaker understands Cantonese will often depend on how geographically close they live (or were raised) to a largely Cantonese speaking province. For example, people from Guangxi Province, which is close to Guandong where Cantonese is widely used, are more likely to understand Cantonese than those from Hubei Province where they mostly speak Mandarin dialects.

Why Learn Cantonese in Hong Kong?

If you’re planning to live and work here for some time, it definitely makes sense to learn Cantonese in Hong Kong. Your daily life will be much easier when you can speak fluently with locals in their language.

While English is an official language in Hong Kong, not everyone speaks it as well as they speak Cantonese. Building relationships with locals for work or business and simply living everyday life will be much easier when you learn Cantonese Chinese.

It’s also important to remember that Cantonese is spoken in vast areas outside of Hong Kong as well. So if you plan to do any traveling for business or pleasure to places like Macau, Guangzhou, or Guangdong province, or many other places in southern China, taking a Cantonese Chinese Course in Hong Kong will serve you well.

You might also want to learn Cantonese to get the most out of watching movies produced in Hong Kong. The language spoken in Hong Kong films is more often than not Cantonese and a lot of the meaning can be lost when there are English or even Mandarin Chinese subtitles. To fully appreciate these classic films, learning Cantonese is a must!

Why Learn Mandarin Chinese in Hong Kong?

Mandarin Chinese is much more widely used than Cantonese. It is the language of the media of much of mainland China. The education system of mainland China, including universities, uses Mandarin. So if you’re planning to work, live, or study more in mainland China, then taking a Mandarin Chinese Course in Hong Kong  makes a lot of sense!

If you learn Mandarin, you will be able to keep you up-to-date on all of the news and information coming out of China on a daily basis, and it can help you build business relationships if you plan to live in Hong Kong but travel to China often for work.

How Long Does it Take to Learn to Speak Chinese?

Before enrolling on one of our Chinese courses here in Hong Kong, students often ask how long it will take to become fluent in Chinese. The simple answer is it that it is entirely up to you. Like learning any language, it depends on how much time and effort you put in. The speed at which you pick up the language will also depend on your own abilities, the learning environment you choose and how often you get to practice using the language.

For example, you’re far more likely to master Cantonese in Hong Kong than you would studying it in your native country. Learning Cantonese in Hong Kong will allow you plenty of opportunities to practise the language with local native speakers outside the classroom. This is a great benefit that you simply cannot get by studying somewhere that Cantonese is not a widely spoken language.

Simple Conversations in Chinese Within 2 Months or Less

We cannot pretend that you can learn to speak Chinese fluently within one month. Obviously, it does take some time to get used to the sounds and the grammar of Chinese just like with any other foreign language. However, if you work with a good, well-qualified, native Chinese teacher like the teaching professionals here at Q language, and you put in extra work outside of the classroom (say, at least an hour a day) then it’s quite possible to start having simple conversations within two or three months - for some people, it can be even less.

Read our blog post How to Become Fluent in Chinese for some great tips on becoming fluent quickly!

Basic Fluency in Chinese Within a Year

You might be able to get to basic fluency in about one year where you are able to express yourself and make yourself understood easily in general conversation. And even if you are far from perfect with many words yet to learn after, say, two years, you can actually still be pretty fluent. Besides, at that stage it's more about getting to grips with the more advanced vocabulary that you wouldn't necessarily use on a day-to-day basis. Similarly, improving your listening ability to try and understand more of what people are saying, fine-tuning your pronunciation and increasing your vocabulary are all very important. It will become much more natural after this point if you continue to study proactively.

Chinese Locals Appreciate Foreigners Speaking Even a Little Chinese

Chinese is an incredibly rich language and there is always more to learn. Even if you’ve been studying for many years, you can still learn new things every day. However, don't let that put you off as you can always learn to speak enough of Chinese to travel and get by after just a few months. The most important thing is to keep up your studies. Chinese people really appreciate foreigners speaking even a little Chinese, so we encourage you to just make a start and stick at it!

Ultimately, the decision to learn either Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese depends on your future goals and priorities. Where you plan to live and who you plan to interact with on a daily basis will help you determine which is best for you to learn. If you have the time and resources, consider learning both if you’re torn between the two.