How to Speak Chinese Like a Native?

Have you ever felt that you lack the natural flow of the Chinese language? Have you studied Chinese a lot, but feel unnatural when you speak as if you are just translating from your native language word for word? With just a few modifications to your spoken Chinese, you can sound a lot more natural and fluent in no time.

1. Use more filler words.
One of the most common filler words that Chinese people like to use is “nèige” (那个), which means “that one”.  You can place it just about anywhere in a sentence, similar to an “um” or “uh” in English. The other one is “ránhòu”(然后) which is widely used to express “then” in sentence.

2. Try your best to learn the four tones well at the beginning of your Chinese study.
The main reason is Chinese is a tonal language. Think about English, there is one way to pronounce the word "a". Like a cat, or a dog. But in Chinese, the tone (flat, escalating, dip, etc..) when speaking the word "a" will mean a different word. This is a concept that is hard to grasp and even harder to practice. You can practice the tones of Pinyin by following the standard demonstration.

3. Immerse yourself into a Chinese environment
Practice Chinese sentences more but not just remember the single Chinese characters or words. You can find Chinese people to talk with you, or sign up for a Chinese immersion program, or simply watch Chinese TV programs to immerse yourself into a Chinese language environment.