Sentence Mining
How to find and collect sentences that actually matter
Once you accept that phrases and chunks are key, the next question is: Where do good sentences come from?
The answer is sentence mining.
What Is Sentence Mining?
Sentence mining is the habit of collecting real sentences that:
- You understand mostly (~80–95%)
- Contain something useful
- Come from real Mandarin contexts
Instead of memorizing random examples, you build a personal database of meaningful language.
What Makes a Good Sentence?
Bad Sentence
熊猫每天吃三十公斤竹子
"Pandas eat 30kg of bamboo every day."
(Interesting, but not reusable)
Good Sentence
我最近越来越忙了
"I've been getting busier lately."
(Reusable structure: 越来越 + adjective)
Where to Find Sentences
Excellent sources include:
- Graded readers
- YouTube videos with Chinese subtitles
- Podcasts for learners
- WeChat articles
- TV dramas (with transcripts)
The key is context you enjoy.
How to Mine a Sentence (Step-by-Step)
- Encounter a sentence.
- Understand the overall meaning.
- Identify the useful chunk.
- Save it with: Chinese, Pinyin (optional), Meaning, and Audio if possible.
Example Mine
我本来以为他不会来
I originally thought he wouldn't come.
Chunk: 我本来以为…… (I originally thought...)
How Many Sentences Do You Need?
Not thousands per week. Even 5–10 good sentences a day compounds fast:
- 1 month = ~300 patterns
- 1 year = real fluency foundations
Quality beats quantity.