How To Learn The Chinese Language For Business Use

Learning Chinese for business is pretty much the same as just learning Chinese. Grammar rules, pronunciation, and many other things don’t change as you move from everyday communication to business-related situations. What really changes is the vocabulary as every industry and business sector has its specific terminology.

Basically, to master Chinese for business use (above the common words and essentials of the language) you will need to learn some extra vocabulary for whatever specific terminology your business requires. But I wouldn’t recommend you to start learning business-specific vocabulary before you have a strong understanding of key concepts and are pretty proficient in speaking the language. Until then you can use regular Chinese learning materials:

• A good textbook like Integrated Chinese or an app like HelloChinese are some of the good resources for learning the basics.
• For reading practice, use a graded reader like HSK Reading, comics, stories, or whatever reading materials you prefer. Look up new words in a dictionary, try to remember the meanings and usages.
• To practice your speaking skills, it would be good to find someone willing to communicate with you. You can use a language exchange app to find a conversation partner. Or try Chinese learning communities on Reddit and Facebook.
• Watch Chinese TV shows and movies, listen to music and podcasts. This adds some fun and helps to brush up on the language.

You can follow the standard learning approach until you reach HSK 4 (or higher level). At this point it makes sense to start taking specialized business Chinese lessons or, if you stick to self-study, start using business-specific learning materials.

When you hit the point when you can learn Chinese for business, focus on learning materials that are most appropriate to your industry and interests. Learn specific vocabulary with high relevance to your business niche. Try to find reading resources, TV shows, or Chinese podcasts that can expose you to this language. An approach that works well for me is to pick a relevant industry-related article every few days, note down every word I don’t know, and then review those words on an ongoing basis.

While knowing Chinese gives international business people some advantages, there are a couple of things I would recommend you to keep in mind:

• Mastering Chinese is a huge task, meaning that it takes years to become truly fluent. I recommend you to carefully weigh the time and efforts needed to become proficient in Chinese against the business benefits you can gain from this. It really makes sense to learn Chinese if you want to do so for personal reasons, rather than strictly for business. Otherwise, it will be hard to keep yourself motivated through the years of study before you can start making use of your Chinese skills for business purposes.
• You will remain a foreigner. No matter how much Chinese you know, you will never be seen as Chinese and your business will not get benefits reserved for Chinese-owned companies.
• China is a big country with many regional dialects. Chinese language learners usually learn standard Mandarin, which is officially spoken in Beijing. But your standard Mandarin may not work in Shanghai, since the Shanghai dialect (Shanghainese) is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin Chinese. And the further you go from Beijing, the less likely your standard Mandarin will work.