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从一个频率pínlǜ的角度dù来看, 你现在认识汉语的百分之八十了 - 
From the perspective of frequency, you now know 80% of Chinese.
频率 pínlǜ - frequency
角度 jiǎodù - perspective
之 zhī - same as ‘的.’
百分之 + # = # percent (more on this below)

It was a happy accident that the above sentence contains 24 characters, 4 of which you don’t know (aka 83.3% known). How about that!

You Have a Solid Skeleton, Let’s Get Some Meat on Them Bones!

Now that you’ve completed Level 36, you know approximately 80% of Chinese by frequency. That’s a super solid foundation, much like how your skeleton provides your body with structure.

The remaining 20% of Chinese is indeed, technically speaking, something that even Chinese people never fully complete. Nobody in the world knows 100% of any language, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get to something awesome like 99.8%. It will likely take you years to reach such a level, but achieving that level was never the point. It truly is the journey that matters.

Let's take some time to consider the difference between when you started and now:

Your State as a Learner with Zero or Little Foundation (non-exhaustive):

• Everything is fog.
• Your understanding of pronunciation isn't strong enough to be able to pick out recognizable sounds in your listening material
• You don't know what characters are, how you might figure out the pronunciation, or even simple components. 
• You don't have a systematic methodology for acquiring a new character
• You don't know what a Chinese word is, much less how the characters within the word relate to each other
• You can't read anything, so there's no chance of determining a word through context.
• Naturally, without characters or words, you have no sense of sentence structure
• You can derive virtually no pleasure that from reading
• There aren't any situations where you can successfully communicate without relying entirely on body language
• You've not built up healthy study habits, and thus all momentum must be self-derived
• Unless you used it before, you are unfamiliar with how to use SRS (most people).

Your State as a Learning After you Build your 80% Foundation:

• There's a lot of light breaking through the fog.
• You understand the principles of how to pronounce every Mandarin sound, thus increasing the likelihood of recognizing more of the sounds produced in the listening material. You can even start to associate purely auditory input with characters.
• You know hundreds of components and understand how they can have semantic or phonetic functions, therefore providing a layer of context for most unknown characters. You haven't learned every component, but you've mastered the ones you are most likely to see in a new character (Pareto principle again).
• You have a methodology for quickly committing a new character to memory. You know how to make an SRS flashcard out of it.
• The characters learned to construct the top 1000 words are the component characters in another 4000 lower frequency words. Because you have a strong sense of how the characters in compound words related to each other, there's a high probability of being able to understand those 4000 words, especially in context.
• There is a lot of content you can read, and the resources available for graded material are continually expanding (including the tailored content from MB). As a result, you increase the likelihood of understanding an unknown word through your keen sense of sentence structure combined with your knowledge of components and how words related to each other.
• Not only can you derive pleasure from reading, but you start to feel how Chinese can change how you think.
• There are loads of situations where you can successfully communicate. If you don't know how to say something, you have the vocabulary necessary to explain what you mean. "Hey, do you guys sell those big boxes you put in the kitchen to keep things cold?" You can't communicate well in every situation, but getting by in China is far more accessible.
• You've already built up enough Myelin Sheaths around your neurons associated with the habit of daily study that it's not difficult to continue. The momentum is already gained, just keep going.

之

之 zhī derives from ancient Chinese, and it is most often found in the *written* language. However, while many of 之’s usages are purely literary, modern Chinese inherited many words & idioms that include 之. Those modern words tend to have one of two usages:

Usage 1 - A possessive, just like 的

百分之 + Number = Percentage

If you saw 百分*的*八十, can you see how that already makes things clear? ‘Hundred Divisions 的 80,’ aka 80%. To be clear, you DO NOT say 百分的, you say 百分之, but the former helps conceptualize how 之 works.

80%? 百分之八十 
66%？百分之六十六
43.5%？百分之四十三点五 (note that . is pronounced 点 in decimals)

之间 - We know that 间 means ‘interval,’ and if we think of 之 as 的, we can understand why 之间 means “between; among; inter-“:

这两个同事之间的差别很大。
There’s a big difference between the colleagues.

他们之间的关系非常特别。
The relationship between them is exceptional.

之后 - 之前

These two are very similar to 以后 after/future & 以前 before/past. While it is not correct to say “的后“ or “的前,” if you think of 之前 & 之后 that way the sentences make sense:

吃完饭之后我就要去上班了。
After I finish eating, I’ll go to work.

It’s as if the idea of finishing the meal *possesses* the ‘后’ or ‘after’ in the context of the sentence.

在他们睡觉之前，中国人经常会洗澡 xízǎo - ‘to shower.’
Chinese people often shower before going to bed.

Other common words that use this 之=的 usage:

之中 - among; in the midst of
之外 - outside; excluding
之内 - within; inside; among
之下 - under; beneath; less than
之上 - above
之所以 - the reason why. If you start with 我之所以..., it’s as if you are saying ‘我的所以’ or “My ’so’ is…” 
之一 - one of (something).

之 Usage 2 - A catch-all pronoun, much like 他她它

This usage will come up more often in idioms, so no need to give it too much attention at the moment, but here are some examples:

一笑置之yíxiàozhìzhī
Literally: One Laugh Set It
Translation: dismiss with a laugh (or smile), laugh off. 
Like most idioms, it’s so refreshing to see how the language conceptualizes something like “laughing off” something like a mean comment. “I set this as a laugh!”

不了了之 bùliǎoliǎozhī
Literally: Not Concluded Conclude It
Translation: leave a matter unsettled; end up with nothing definite; loose ends
When it isn’t in the -得/不- construction (e.g., 受不了), 了 liǎo means “to finish; conclude; settle; dispose of.” That makes this idiom so cool! The truth is that ‘loose ends’ are not concluded (不了), but sometimes we never finish them (了之). Frikkin’ gosh darn it Chinese is incredible.

刻意为之 kèyìwéizhī
Literally: Take pains (刻意) for it.
Translation: to make a conscious effort, to do something deliberately.
We haven’t learned 刻 kè yet, but its primary definition is “to cut, carve or engrave.” That makes 刻意 a dang cool word, eh? “Take pains” = “Engrave meaning.” Wicked.

纸 & Context

As we’ve continuously emphasized, Chinese is incredible at improving your categorical thinking. For example, there are many different types of 纸. Here are several (spoiler alert: Chinese is easy):

报纸
‘report’ + ‘paper’ = newspaper
白纸
‘white/clear’ + ‘paper’ = blank sheet of paper
废纸 fèi 
‘waste’ + ‘paper’ = waste paper
信纸 
‘letter’ + ‘paper’ = letter writing paper
蜡纸 là 
‘wax’ + ‘paper’ = wax paper
墙纸 qiáng 
‘wall’ + ‘paper’ = wallpaper
贴纸 tiē 
‘to stick’ + ‘paper’ = sticker
卡纸 
‘card’ + ‘paper’ = cardboard, card stock
卫生纸 wèi 
‘hygiene 卫生’ + ‘paper’ = toilet paper
抽纸 chōu 
‘pull out’ + ‘paper’ = tissues (from a tissue box)

So why do we bring up all these words as an example of why context is important?

Storytime!

One day, Phil was out running on a summer day to warm-up before a gym workout. He was quite sweaty from the run upon arrival at the gym, and after starting to stretch, he realized he was sweating too much and needed to wipe down the floor.

Phil went out to find one of the gym employees and asked, “你们这儿有纸吗?” The gym employee barely looking up from his phone, walked to another room, and came back with a piece of printer paper. Phil laughed and clarified that what he needed was “几张纸巾 - a few paper towels.”

Why The Context Matters

Phil asking “你们这儿有纸吗?” wasn’t precisely incorrect, but it relied on the gym employee stepping out of the smartphone world & recognizing that the person talking to him was dripping with sweat. This is the context he missed.

Had the gym guy recognized the sweaty mess in front of him then he would have given Phil what he needed just as our friend Scott Draper talked about in this podcast.

Alas, the young gym employee never let his mind detach from his digital addiction, but it did teach Phil a lesson. If there is little to no context, saying 纸 by itself defaults to “paper to write on.”

Yeah, So What?

You are ready to start using the real world as your guide for answers to questions like: “What’s the simplest way to say paper towel? Can I get away with just saying 纸 or do I need to be more specific? How much does the context matter? What happens if there is little to no context?”

There are many more words you’ll learn & precision in expression will be a lifelong project, but you have a wickedly solid foundation to start experimenting in the world.

高低 - 高矮

A quick note here: In English, we say “high & low” or “tall & short,” but in Chinese even though 高 means both “high” and “tall,” the antonyms aren’t the same. Weird, eh?

It’s not hard to understand, though. If you are talking about something that is “low” like “his white blood cell count is low” or “the stock market hit a new low,” then use 低. If you are talking about distance off the ground, use 矮.

睡 - 睡觉 - 睡着

Something that confused us (Phil, anyway) when we were beginning Chinese learners was what the heck is going on with 睡觉. We’d hear people say “睡个觉” or even “睡个好觉.” Huh?

This way of thinking about it will make it clear:

睡 shuì - VERB ‘to sleep.’
觉 jiào - NOUN “sleep” (e.g., how has your sleep been lately?) 
着 zháo - [as a complement to another verb] hit the mark; succeed in

睡觉 is the Verb-What structure just like 吃饭 chīfàn. What do you 吃？饭！What do you 睡? 觉！(We know, it’s weird to say you ‘sleep sleep,’ but the verb and noun are genuinely different concepts.)

You’ll recall that the vast majority of actions that fall into the “Verb-What” category can be separated.

吃饭
吃-个-饭
吃-我妈妈做的-饭

睡觉
睡-个-觉
睡-一会儿-觉

Sick! But wait, people also frequently say “睡着.” WTF?

Unlike 睡觉, 睡着 is a Verb-How structure just like 吃好. How did you 吃？好！(or 完，饱 bǎo, 掉 diào, etc.). How did you 睡？Successfully 着！AKA - to fall asleep.

We hope this helps you avoid confusion. It’s almost like Chinese had it out for foreigners on this one. After all, 觉 jiào & 着 zháo share the “-ao” final sound, and to the untrained ear, the “j” in jiào sounds similar to the “zh” in zháo. Luckily, you aren’t untrained!

并且 - AND!!!

Gosh, the word “and” is an area where English is simpler than Chinese. Heck, we guess it has to happen sometimes! Here’s a quick review:

Noun + 和 + Noun
他和我 
He *and* I.

又 + Adjective + 又 + Adjective
又好看又便宜 
Good looking *and* cheap.

Verb Phrase + 并且 + Verb Phrase - 
妈妈说明了情况并且告诉我她快要走了
Mom explained the situation *and* told me she was about to leave.

NOTE: 并且 connects verbs that are equal. Neither 说明 nor 告诉 is the more crucial verb.

We find it fascinating these types of inter-language differences. After all, it’s not at all strange that Chinese makes a distinction between combining nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Why shouldn’t they? Yet, English uses “and” to combine all of them.

More 并且 Examples:

他走了，并且还带走了猫
He left and took the cat with him.

我们讨论并且同意这个想法
We discussed and agreed on this opinion.

他身体很好是因为每天运动并且早睡早起
He’s got a good body because he works out every day and follows an early to bed and early to rise routine.

Click Here to Navigate Phase 5 Level Review Lessons

Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

Ramona

I could't help myself and had to CONGRATULATE you (again!!) and also to congratulate myself!
WE made it, I may say. :)

I'm usually starting something and give up pretty soon, but your course kept me busy and taught me self - discipline and a BIG THANKS to you guys for that!

I'm very grateful I found you at the beginning of this year and decided to learn Mandarin using your amzing course!

Now I'll also give myself some time to review all the content and then I'll move to Level 37.

Strong hug,
Ramona

Mandarin Blueprint

Woohoo! 恭喜恭喜🎉！Discipline leads to skills, skills lead to freedom ;).

Ramona

Here's to freedom!
干杯 ！Raising my imaginary glas! :)

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TJ823JyK0g&t=208s

James Braun

Hi guys, just want to echo so many of the comments and tell you how much I am enjoying the course. You guys seem to have hit on a perfect combination of elements that make up your course: the well-laid-out and clearly defined path to learning characters, the Hanzi Movie Method, all of the videos, podcasts, flash card decks, links and recommendations to online resources, the list goes on and on. It's like you guys have hiked to the top of the mountain and have paved the way behind you. All we have to do is follow and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I also really appreciate the encouraging videos and emails. I know I have to put in the work, but it's great to have you guys as my "coach." I'm happy to report that I have taken Phil's advice and have had no zero days since I started the course 5 months ago! Keep up the great work and I look forward to the next phase in the journey. 谢谢你们！

Mandarin Blueprint

Congratulations, James! Glad to see you've built the habit #zerodaysoff. Keep that energy going into the intermediate course!

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4SpMqeD0bw&t=1356s

---

Richard Krause

I probably have come in at the rear of the "race."Starting from near-zero Mandarin knowledge (albeit surrounded by 汉子 in SE Asia for 24 years), I have averaged fewer than 2 characters a day.I took up Mandarin Blueprint on a whim (thanks to a recommendation) with very little confidence in making it this far.Thanks to Luke and Phil and your team for your endless content (will I ever catch up?), well-organized platform and virtual coaching.I have been motivated to study every single day and MB was especially wonderful to have during the COVID-19 lockdown period.After ashort "rest" (with 250 flashcards a day to whittle down), I will be pleased to soldier on.

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGOkHhpBYxQ&t=3245s

---

Rebecca Wheble

So I must be the tortoise...

Funnily a year ago today, I made the decision to learn Chinese and I downloaded the Duolingo app (that's how I know it was exactly a year ago). I messed around with free apps for a few weeks and then realised I needed to plonk down some money to actually get somewhere. After a bit of research I decided to try MB and here I am today.

The year milestone is great. I didn't quit and I honestly can't see myself doing so now. I'll just keep with my goal of three characters a day and keep plodding (as others speed past me).

Onwards to the Intermediate course tomorrow and onto my flashcard reviews right now.

Mandarin Blueprint

Fantastic! Are you finding yourself able to follow those Chinese TV shows a bit easier these days?

Rebecca Wheble

I'm rocking 小猪佩奇, ;-)

Mandarin Blueprint

haha, nice!

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7mTzGAiVGk&t=5407s

---

Beth Perazzo

I just finished the last lesson this morning. It took me just over 2 months to do the Pronunciation Course and the Foundation Course.

I can't tell you how much finding this course has meant to me. I have learned more in the past 2 months than I think I did in the previous 2 1/2 years that I was studying Chinese on my own (using Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, etc). I don't just recognize words now--now I can write them and read stories and it's marvelous.

In all fairness, though, I need to admit that due to COVID, I've had a lot more time for my studies than I did previously. However, I realize that even if I had had the same amount of available study time before I found your course, my old system was so boring and tedious that there was no way that I would have studied for hours every day. This course really is fun as well as effective.

I told my husband this morning that I am so excited for each new day because I really love my Chinese studies (and my morning bike ride-- where I study my new words before practicing them in the flashcards). Progress really is a motivator!

I still struggle with remembering some unlocked words (some just don't seem as logical as others and finding connections can be hard), but I will continue to study them until I have them down. I will also be spending more time shadowing, so I may not be tackling as many new words a day as I have been. But that's okay. I'm loving it all (well, maybe not loving learning grammar--I so appreciate your low-key approach in how you teach it).

I look forward to continuing on with the Intermediate course. Thanks Luke and Phil for such an engaging and effective learning method! Your course is the amazing!

MB Team

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7JCfYXBUuE&t=1206s

---

Christine

Whoohoo! Just about 6 months to get here. Interesting to see the variations in speed and approach from different people. I am very happy with my progress, and also just want to add my voice to the others to say how awesome this course is. Thanks so much for your hard work on this, you guys rock.

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO4Cfg71stc&t=800s

---

Christian Solem 

What a ride! It took me exactly 100 days to finish the Foundation Course, with no "zero days" (but a few days of only doing Anki reviews with no new characters added when I was particularly busy at work). Thank you to Luke and Phil for a fantastic course! And congratulations to all my fellow students for reaching this milestone. See you all at the end of the Intermediate Course!

Mandarin Blueprint

Wow! 100 days is quite the feat, well done Christian.

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO4Cfg71stc&t=890s

---

Ric Santos 

Thank you Luke and Phil for a well thought-out course - the Foundation Course. You are both very good educators at heart and in practice. Both of you were able to extract from us the best that we could give and the most that we could reach. Like doctors, you also give gradual dosage and warn us of possible counter-indications so as not to get "sick of Mandarin". You know when to let us fall, commit some mistakes; you treat each of us differently when the circumstance call for it, and you answer most of our questions; you encourage and praise when needed and recognize quiet efforts. Like developers, you keep the door ajar to attract us to the next level. Like trainers you constantly challenge us to do just a little more +1. About the intermediate course you have forewarned us of the vast plateau (and flat-too) that lies ahead. But even if the rugged mountains are behind I hope there will still be gentle streams and plenty of breeze to go with during this inter-mediate course, before we barrel through again to the tunnel of hard rocks ! Thanks for preparing us in the foundation course ! I enjoyed it so much.

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHP0_2FWaQ&t=80s

---

Ann Bihari

I'm super excited to have reached the end of the Foundation Course. So stinking cool!! Thank you for creating such a wonderful course!

I'm 56, working full-time remotely, living in Texas, and a little over a year ago I decided to try Mandarin for fun. I started with Pimsleur and Paul Noble on Audible for my commute supplemented with an assortment of apps. At some point, I stumbled upon your podcast which eventually led me to the online course. I started the free trial with the Pronunciation Mastery course on June 1, 2020 and I was instantly hooked.

One of my favorite things --- the triggered emails when a course level has been completed. I know it seems like such a small thing, but I really looked forward to them and they would often push me that little extra bit to go ahead and learn 3 or 4 more characters that night just to get the email.

About 3/4 of the way through, the sentences started to overwhelm me in Anki, so I took your suggestion to only unsuspend the red tagged ones. That helped, but I still have a couple of hundred review sentences that are backlogged, so I'll take this week to get those cleared out before moving on.

I've loved reading other's comments, questions, prop suggestions, movies, etc. Thanks y'all!

I need to summon the courage to find a tutor so that I may practice conversation skills, but I'm a shy introvert with ADHD, so all the things... Does anyone have someone they'd like to recommend?

Looking forward to starting the intermediate course in about a week!

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHP0_2FWaQ&t=886s