You sound fluent. But are you thinking in Chinese?

[00:00:00]You sound fluent in Chinese, but I bet you're still thinking in English first.

[00:00:03]This mental translation is the bottleneck keeping you from true fluency and most learners never break through it. So, here's how to finally think in Chinese instead of translating. First, start with tiny thought swaps by acting like it's the first time you've ever learned it. 3:30 p.m., what's that?

[00:00:19]Never heard of it. It's xia wu san dian ban. Hunger, what's that? That feeling is wo wo e le. Next, narrate your actions in real time. Walking? Wo zai zou. Walking where? Wo wang na li zou.

[00:00:34]Walking towards the kitchen. Wo wang chu fang zou. I found this technique super helpful because [music] you can do it at literally any time. Bi ru, wo zheng zai wei han yu lan tu de guan zhong lu shi pin. I'm currently recording a video for the Mandarin Blueprint audience. Now, that helps you improve talking about the present. How about the past and future?

[00:00:53]Easy. Journal every night about what you did that day and what your plan is for tomorrow. Write your daily thoughts directly in Chinese, even if it's just jin tian hen lei. Today was tiring. Your brain will stop reaching for English translations. Most people think fluency means speaking fast with perfect grammar. Wrong. True fluency is when Chinese thoughts arrive in your brain with no need for English to come first and then, because you practice speaking enough, your mouth is not the constraint.