Studying Chinese is extremely mentally taxing

Yes, absolutely. I studied hard back while I was still at university, but going into full time work and stretching daily study around that proved very difficult and mentally exhausting, and I eventually had to adjust. My case is (presumably) different from yours in that my work requires me to speak Chinese (Mandarin) daily, so I get my practice that way. However, studying Cantonese the max I can do is 3 hours of class time/dedicated study a week before things start to derail. However, less than 2 hours a week and I really enjoy the process, it's almost like there's actually some space in my brain to sit back and enjoy the acquisition process rather than forcing it in.

I kept a habit of studying/practicing at least 15min every day for nine years between 2015 and 2024, and most days much longer than that. It was never an issue while I was still motivated, but at some point (during Covid, obviously) I realized I'll probably never visit China again and my motivation also plummeted. The daily study soon started to feel like torture, so I obviously stopped and haven't looked back. Now I just casually watch some YT channels like Mandarin Corner or 小叔TV maybe once per week and it feels so much more enjoyable than before. I think my skills have deteriorated slightly but not as badly as I had imagined. I doubt I'll ever return to a serious study regime and I'm fine with that.

That's an interesting post, Jan. I remember your TCB marathon well and was already a life-time subscriber at the time. I decided that I'd try to do at least one article every day and started on May 31st 2023 - I haven't missed a day since and, no matter how busy I am, always find the time. I've mainly done the reading exercises as that's what has motivated me.

I had sold my business in 2022 and life was supposed to be getting easier but I've never been as busy in my life but really enjoy what I do. I reckon the stuff you do outside of language study significantly impacts your learning and motivation too (fairly obvious really) and I haven't found the TCB learning to be a chore. Once life quietens down a little in November onwards I do intend to expand (and incorporate more listening and speaking) - but I've been saying that for ages, so who knows.

This happened to me, but only in the beginning. When I started reading every day, during the first 2 years or so it was exhausting, and just like you I think it impacted my work. But at least in my case it went away, and now it's just a normal routine that I can do even when I'm tired. The same thing happened when I focused on vocabulary (flashcards) and listening, and I reckon the same will happen if I ever decide to focus on speaking.

But I definitely remember thinking that I wish someone had warned me against the mental load. When people talk about the difficulty of learning a new language (or anything new really) they speak of the amount of hours you need, but that never scared me, all you need is discipline and the hours pile on. The real challenge is mental fatigue, specially if you already a job or other hobbies that are mentally demanding.

Jan,

I wonder whether you were focused too much on studying rather than learning.  Or whether the material you chose was too hard for your mental resources at that time.  

Recently I went through several graded readers that I had read before and that are now a bit "too easy" for me.  This was rather enjoyable and effortless  I felt I was learning because I still had to look up some words or phrases, but the learning perhaps was at a slower rate than if I were tackling harder or newer material.

With Spanish I have reached a point where I feel I don't need to study it.  I watch Spanish programs on Netflix with Spanish subtitles, which helps me cope with accents from different countries (Spain and Mexico for me are harder than Colombia) and 95% of the time it is fine;  the other 5% I switch briefly to the English subtitles, mostly because of country-specific slang or complicated subjunctives.  I feel I am still learning in a relaxed way because new vocabulary and expressions always come up, and over time those new elements become familiar.

Learning vs. studying:  Is this a helpful distinction for you?

On 9/9/2025 at 4:51 PM, Moshen said:

Learning vs. studying:  Is this a helpful distinction

In my opinion at least, this is a helpful distinction. To expand, I feel like the more laid back 'learning' only takes place when you get past the intermediate plateau. Before then you have to grind through the textbooks, or you can't meet the minimum threshold to infer what the blanks mean, which is why I think you're probably right on both accounts: the grind to understand is mentally taxing, and even more so if you're trying to work with texts that belong beyond the intermediate plateau. My Cantonese studying is still almost entirely textbooks for the same reason, and it is only just starting to get fun and rewarding (bear in mind I've been at this for some years now)

Great topic — it hits close to home. I’m just recently taking a break from studying Mandarin after about seven years of fairly consistent study, as I’m feeling exhausted and lacking motivation.

Like you, I’ve maintained a routine of focused studying every morning for years, but suddenly, after a short career break and a change of rhythm, I’m finding it impossible to get back into the groove. I’ve always experienced cycles of highs and lows, but this one seems longer and more sustained than usual.

Since I still love languages, I’ve started using this “resting time” to do something I’ve always wanted to do: give Japanese a try. I wonder if I’m getting myself into another rabbit hole, but experiencing that feeling of novelty and rapid progress again is a breath of fresh air. Plus, it feels way easier and more efficient thanks to all the lessons learned the hard way (e.g., how to start, what materials do you need, will I be a slave to a deck or 1,000 random characters? Not this time).

In the meantime, I keep reading in Mandarin because I feel too guilty to let it go completely. I started 平凡的世界; it’s a good book and I am enjoying it, even if to be honest, if there were a wider choice of good media in Mandarin, I would probably be reading something different (high hopes for Japanese here).

We’ll see.

Thank you all for your replies.

On 9/8/2025 at 5:25 PM, Tomsima said:

it's almost like there's actually some space in my brain to sit back and enjoy the acquisition process rather than forcing it in.

Yes, I believe part of learning really happens in the "off" period. After studying for an hour or so, I sometimes notice Chinese words popping up my brain on autopilot when I am doing other tasks. It is probably mental rewiring. I looked into a bit of science on this and apparently the so called default mode network (DMN) in the brain helps connect new information with your existing knowledge. Further, it appears to be involved in "imaginative rehearsal"—daydreaming about using Chinese in conversation, or mentally “hearing” phrases. This happens during boredom/input-free rest, etc. So, I believe rest is really important for learning.

On 9/9/2025 at 9:04 AM, lordsuso said:

When people talk about the difficulty of learning a new language (or anything new really) they speak of the amount of hours you need, but that never scared me, all you need is discipline and the hours pile on. The real challenge is mental fatigue, specially if you already a job or other hobbies that are mentally demanding.

Same here. Never minded the time it would take.

On 9/9/2025 at 10:51 AM, Moshen said:

I wonder whether you were focused too much on studying rather than learning.  Or whether the material you chose was too hard for your mental resources at that time.

Yes, this is an important distinction. My listening sessions were super intense. Some native content YT videos (like on this channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wangzhian or https://www.youtube.com/@dwchinese) are definitely still above the level I could "comfortably" or passively listen to. So, I would often replay sentences 5-10 times with LanguageReactor. However, I am now at a level where graded readers or content dumbed down for learners just do not interest me any longer. However, I also believe that constant input per se is taxing. I used to be the person, who would always have an English podcast running in the background (often at 1.5-2x speed), no matter if I was in the shower, cooking, doing the dishes, driving to work, etc. I recently found lot of value in input-free time, being "bored" and meditation.

So, I will probably continue with the content I enjoy, but do it really only when rested and as Tomsima suggests maybe only 2-3 hours per week max.  

Interesting to see this thread and how many of us who've been around this place for a few years seem to be in a similar rut. 

I tried learning Japanese for a bit, and was liking it! But once I started to invest some major time in it, I started to feel guilty about how many Chinese goals have gone un-accomplished.