I practiced Chinese once a week for two years, unfortunately never got a chance to use it since so it's been aging badly. The thing that many seem to have issue

I practiced Chinese once a week for two years, unfortunately never got a chance to use it since so it's been aging badly. The thing that many seem to have issues with when it comes to speaking/understanding Chinese is that the tone carries more meaning than in western languages. In Chinese; the same word has several, often completely unrelated, meanings; all depending on intonation. It's a new level of awareness, like learning a new programming paradigm.