@ Tunichtgut: To be honest, reading is a lot easier than speaking although that might just be me. @Vlad: Start from the beginning, hehe. Get some good book like Colloquial Chinese by Kan Qian which has audio cassettes/cds as well. Then just keep improving your vocab by visiting Chinese sites and listening to Chinese tv/radio. http://www.cctv-4.com/2007/ (6th button is Learn Chinese) http://www.chinesepod.com (great site) Ah, and I strongly suggest you learn how to read because it will definitely help you when you try to watch shows on CCTV because they are usually subtitled in Simplified Chinese. And, when you're chatting it's way easier to use characters instead of pinyin. Pinyin just leads to confusion all the time because it takes too much time to add the tones all the time. And even when you add tones there are still several different characters to choose from. So just learn how to read and write, it will surely prevent a headache later on. (I remember I only used pinyin in the beginning and it truly sucked.) 祝你好运！

You really need to hear the tones and try to speak them. The tones are importend, as you migth know. On the Internet you can find a lot of side`s, offering free acount for limited time. I personally really like "chinesepod" ,... ( 30 days Acount for free ? ) On youtube search for "ActiveChinese" there are a few basic videos for no money at all. I´m sure you won´t have problems to find something for your needs, just google. B.t.w. reading is something i don´t think i will ever bee able too It´s so strange and confusing ,.. for me

hi,i want to recommend a cartoon series for you,学问猫教汉字，（a cat teacher teaching Chinese characters)it is for Chinese children who in primary school,but it is ideal for foreigners who want to learn Chinese!there are two little tiger students and a know -all cat teacher.very interesting,very system.and about 10Chinese words and characters will be taught in each section,how to write ,how to prounce it,its original(the character'history),the word combination,all the things help you learn Chinese,and a lot of fun,too.after you have learnt it ,you will have mastered the basic Chinese,and have a deeper understanding.also there is some introduction of Chinese legends,famous people,some basic cultural backgrouds.really ideal for a begginer.in fact,even Chinese can learn from it ,how this chacacter evented.maybe you can download it somewhere,i will tell you if i know.:-)

Hi,In my opinion ,learning mandarin the first things you should know the characters make up of the PINYIN,meanwhile remember the right prounce at each character then as time goes by you can read the new words by your own through the Chinese dictionary.And if you want to know the real meaning you should practice it as more as you can .In China even a same word the tone different then the meaning will change or opp.So working hard ~~

Ni hao! Although Mandarin is my mothertongue, I would like to suggest you to find a partner to do language exchange from time to time. It will help you to correct your tones. As you might be noticed, the most difficult part is to have the exact tones. In addition, you might choose some books with the topics you are interested in then you won't feel so tired after a long-time reading.