Learn Chinese pinyin, which is the alphabetic version of the Chinese language. It is helpful to learn pinyin if you want to learn Chinese quickly because English speakers can easily decipher the sounds of words with pinyin; Chinese characters must be learned one-at-a-time and there is no shortcut. Pinyin makes pronunciation easy for foreign speakers. There are four accents used in Chinese pinyin; they are marked above the vowel or vowels on each word. Not all words have an accent, but most words have at least one of them.
Memorize Chinese characters. The only way to learn characters is to memorize them one by one. It is best to write each character on a flashcard and then write the English definition and pinyin version of the character on the opposite side. While there are many thousands of Chinese characters, you only need one or two thousand words to communicate in everyday language. Patrick Hassel Zein says you will understand 89 percent of the language with just 1,000 words and 97 percent understanding with 2,000 words. Practice a list of the most common characters to prioritize your character study.
Post stick-able vocabulary notes around your house. Whether you are learning pinyin or characters or both, the key to memorizing vocabulary is constantly encountering the words until you know them. Posted notes work great for integrating vocabulary-learning into your everyday life. Just write your Chinese words on stick-able notes and place them all over your house, car and anywhere else you go every day.
Watch Chinese movies with English subtitles because they will help you learn native pronunciation. If you feel comfortable with the basics of Chinese, try turning off the English subtitles and follow the speaking in real time, trying to follow the dialogues at real-time speed. Movies will give you the most current vocabulary and some useful expressions Chinese speakers use in the world today.