Mandarin - Study material recommendations
Excuse me if this sort of post isn't allowed... I searched through the recent tags and didn't see anything like it.
I've just started taking Mandarin and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for supplementary study materials, like good grammar or character reference/study books. I'm thinking of the one I have for Japanese kanji that includes meaning, pronunciation, sample words, and (especially) an explanation of the character's development - is there anything like that for Chinese beginners?
We're learning traditional characters in class, but I'd like to learn simplified too, so recs for either is fine. Obviously I have my actual homework and textbook, but I'd like to do a little extra on the side, especially since I'm only taking the half (2 days a week + drill) rather than the full (4 days + drill) course.
I've just started taking Mandarin and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for supplementary study materials, like good grammar or character reference/study books. I'm thinking of the one I have for Japanese kanji that includes meaning, pronunciation, sample words, and (especially) an explanation of the character's development - is there anything like that for Chinese beginners?
We're learning traditional characters in class, but I'd like to learn simplified too, so recs for either is fine. Obviously I have my actual homework and textbook, but I'd like to do a little extra on the side, especially since I'm only taking the half (2 days a week + drill) rather than the full (4 days + drill) course.