--- product_id: 13845600 title: "Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 2nd Edition" brand: "vivienne zhang" price: "€ 33.57" currency: EUR in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.gr/products/13845600-modern-chinese-book-1-learn-chinese-in-a-simple-successful store_origin: GR region: Greece --- # Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 2nd Edition **Brand:** vivienne zhang **Price:** € 33.57 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 2nd Edition by vivienne zhang - **How much does it cost?** € 33.57 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.gr](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/13845600-modern-chinese-book-1-learn-chinese-in-a-simple-successful) ## Best For - vivienne zhang enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted vivienne zhang brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![Modern Chinese (BOOK 1) - Learn Chinese in a Simple and Successful Way - Series BOOK 1, 2, 3, 4 2nd Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51S6yYJsieL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beginning Mandarin *by G***R on Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2016* 1. When I found Vivienne Zhang's books on Mandarin Chinese, it was the result of looking for a particular type of reference that I find useful. I was looking for a good general overview of the grammar of the language with lots of examples. I especially wanted the audio for the examples, given the special difficulties with the tones. The first two volumes of her set looked like they covered what I wanted.2. The second two volumes give a set of sample sentences with vocab that cover a wide variety of typical situations, also with audio.3. Such a textbook works well as a supplement to my approach to learning languages. At this point, I want to learn enough to be able to read and listen to simple Mandarin with understanding. The basic programs I use are LingQ, Nemo, and MEMrise.LingQ gives me texts with instant (almost) access to dictionaries and some grammatical explanation. The texts are in simplified Chinese with pinyin.Nemo gives me basic vocab, phrases, and sentences for speaking.And, despite the arguments against the value of memorizing list of words and meanings, I find it helpful - if accompanied by regular reading. MEMrise gives me those lists, often with audio, as a first acquaintance with words that I will learn in context over time.Zhang's book ties it all together at a basic (beginners) level. I have successfully acquired Russian, ancient (Homeric, Attic, and Koine) Greek, and Biblical Hebrew in a similar manner. I think I am acquiring Korean in like manner.4. It may be helpful to know what you are not going to get.This is not a textbook that will bring the user to fluency, either in reading or in conversation. It is for beginners.Nor is it to be used in isolation. I have several programs that I use for pronunciation practice, and when I feel especially daring, I have several more for acquiring the writing system.The value of this work lies in bringing together a good overview of the language - something that is lacking for a great many languages - with lots of examples.This is worth emphasizing. One problem that I have faced in learning languages - and I have learned a number - is that common and necessary expressions are said differently in each language.Russian, for example, has three tenses (as opposed to the thirty+ in English) and the verbs in the past are marked for gender and number of the subject, but not person. They are also marked for aspect, which is in English, but marked. I spent a long time - living in first, the Soviet Union, and then in the Russian Federation - absorbing that system. In the end, I was fortunate to find several works of the sort that Zhang has given for Russian.Zhang's books gives an overview of every construction that I could think of at a beginning level. A person who needs to get around in a Mandarin speaking environment will find pretty much everything necessary for making oneself understood.What you will not be able to do is to teach in Mandarin, or to follow lectures. You will not be able to work in a Mandarin speaking job. You will not be able to read at will. You will be able to make your way through a newspaper - if you learn the necessary Hanji - though not with full understanding of all the nuances.You will not be able to understand everything you hear. At the basic level - understanding spoken words - you will need to listen to a lot of spoken Mandarin. What you can do with a newspaper (if you know the Hanji) you will not be able to do with a news program. And it may be a while before you can watch a Mandarin language film with full understanding.This is not saying that beginning Mandarin can be acquired without tears. One has to put in the time, lots of it. I think that Zhang's books go a long way to making that time more productive.5. The author has a good voice for the audio. Generally, I have found that, in the beginning, women's voices are the best for hearing pronunciation. Her voice is one of the best that I have encountered. She reads slowly, so as to hear the specifics of sound and tone. It would be good, at some time, to add the audio for the same material spoken at a more normal speed. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Effective Language Book *by R***N on Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2014* For the number of language learning books and apps I've purchased in the last couple years, I should be a multilingual scholar by now. I am not. And I have made an honest effort to use each method I've tried. The reality is not every method is suited to every one's learning style or goals. I've been going through Modern Chinese (Book 1) for a couple weeks now and am very excited about it as a tool for self study. I only wish I could find a class that utilizes this book so I could get real time feedback on pronunciation and cadence.The Modern Chinese series is unique in the way it organizes useful and interesting words and phrase, stuff you'd actually want to say, in a way that seamlessly introduces the learner to the building blocks of the language, in a sensible order. That may sound like a "no-brainer" recipe for a language learning book but in fact it's very difficult to find something that effectively uses this kind of formula.Another thing that is surprisingly uncommon are this book's side by side comparisons of grammatical English translations with "literal" translations, in the Chinese word order. This is extremely helpful for students like me struggling to internalize the grammar of another language.Another thing that should not be taken for granted is the readability of the Chinese character fonts in the ebook version. Some kindle versions are barely readable but Modern Chinese is crystal clear.One suggestion I would make to other learners is to combine use of this book with an app, or book if necessary, that teaches how to write Chinese characters in correct stroke order. The book is very good at matching sentences with the English translation and English-speaker friendly pinyin but, in my opinion, the brain is much better at recognizing characters when the hand has learned to write them or at least to get a handle on how the most common characters are formed. ### ⭐⭐ Books are not what reviews make it out to be *by J***. on Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2015* The Modern Chinese series books are decent at best. You can tell that some work has been put into them by the author and they can teach you a thing or two about the Chinese language but they are most CERTAINLY NOT all you need to master the language and it can't be done so by just these books alone. Don't be fooled by the pricing or reviews.They do not provide a structured, interesting, or thoughtful manner in which you learn the material; material is presented in a randomized order. There are better sources out there to learn the language and I would not recommend using these books solely alone to learn the language. I would recommend either taking a legitimate course or purchasing the Living Language Complete edition of Mandarin on Amazon (I am not an employee of Living Language but merely a student who has researched various study materials).The reason I rate these books a 2 instead of a 3 is because of the underhanded placebo comments and ratings this book obtained. If you click closely into each user's profile who rated this series. You will see that the comments are exactly the same by the same user for all four books and there reviews and comments were made ONLY, on these four books (no other items on the amazon website - and 20 out of 20 peoples reviews being exactly like that, coincidence? don't think so.I myself do not usually ever bother to review books, or items for that matter but felt obliged to my fellow consumers to warn them of these fake reviews. Especially those who are new to the language and want their moneys worth for a most efficient product. Again I would not go as far to say these books are completely useless. But they are definitely not "5 star" quality and should only be brought if using to supplement with knowledge already learn't.I feel somewhat sympathetic for leaving a bad review for a potentially raising author. But not enough that I'll allow people to be misled on the quality of material they're purchasing. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.gr/products/13845600-modern-chinese-book-1-learn-chinese-in-a-simple-successful](https://www.desertcart.gr/products/13845600-modern-chinese-book-1-learn-chinese-in-a-simple-successful) --- *Product available on Desertcart Greece* *Store origin: GR* *Last updated: 2026-06-05*