Crutch or Catalyst? The Truth About Pinyin

You’re reading Chinese, and there it is, pinyin over every character. It feels helpful, even comforting. But is it actually holding you back? In this episode, Jared and John explore how pinyin can become a crutch that cripples your Chinese progress and keeps you from truly mastering characters.

They revisit Jared’s blog post from years ago, Pinyin Over Characters: The Crippling Crutch, and unpack how this issue is still alive and well, especially with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek. 

You’ll hear how pinyin over characters affects your eye movement, slows your reading speed, and hinders character recognition. Jared and John also break down the psychology behind why pinyin is so hard to ignore and offer practical strategies to reduce your reliance on it. From browser extensions to smarter AI prompts, they share ways to keep pinyin available only when you need it, not when it interferes.

If you’ve ever found yourself relying too heavily on pinyin, or wondering why your reading fluency isn’t improving, this episode will give you the clarity and tools you need to move forward.

What you’ll learn:

• Why native Chinese speakers learn characters before pinyin

• How pinyin affects your focus, memory, and reading speed

• The difference between helpful support and harmful overuse

• How to use AI tools more intentionally in your learning

• What extensive reading looks like without pinyin distractions

• The importance of finding level-appropriate reading materials

Links from the episode:

• Pinyin over Characters: The Crippling Crutch

• Mandarin Companion Graded Readers

• Learn Chinese Characters by Reading | Amazon

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