I tried to learn Mandarin a year ago because I started a relationship with a Chinese girl. The words made no sense (felt just a completely random sounds), got a

I tried to learn Mandarin a year ago because I started a relationship with a Chinese girl. The words made no sense (felt just a completely random sounds), got angry and gave up after a couple of days. A year later, after hearing a lot of Mandarin (she speaks quite a lot of Mandarin over the phone and I spent a month in China), I gave another shot. It feels much easier, more familiar and less random. Of course, it's a totally anecdotal 'evidence'... But getting familiar with the sound of the language before actually studying might help.