Learning Mandarin is difficult. After 90 hours worth of classes and nearly 2000 flashcards, I’m still struggling to even understand everyday real-life conversations.
According to the Defense Language Institute (DLI), Mandarin ranks as a Level 4 foreign language, which means that it’s one of the most maddeningly frustrating languages to acquire for English speakers. This isn’t exactly a surprise. Beyond the complex writing system, you can tell right away because Mandarin sounds worlds away from English.