Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ de xuéxí jìhuà shì xiān tígāo zhōngwén shuǐpíng, ránhòu zài xué biéde dōngxi. - My study plan is to first improve my Chinese level, then learn other things.

There are cases where you drop 的 (e.g. 我妈妈, 我朋友) when the relationship is very close or the phrase is very common. But with a longer noun like 学习计划, you almost always need 的:

✅ 我的学习计划
❌ 我学习计划 (feels ungrammatical or very unnatural)

What is the role of 是 in …计划是先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西? Is it necessary?

Here 是 is the verb “to be”, linking 我的学习计划 (my study plan) with what the plan actually is:

我的学习计划是…… = My study plan is (to) …

This is a typical A 是 B structure:

A: 我的学习计划
是: linking verb
B: 先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西

Could you drop 是? In casual or written styles you might see:

我的学习计划：先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西。

using a colon or just starting directly with 先…. But in a normal spoken sentence with this word order, 是 is natural and standard. Without 是, 我的学习计划先提高… feels awkward.

What exactly does 先 mean here, and where does it go in the sentence?

先 (xiān) means “first / first of all / before (doing something else)”.

In verb phrases, it usually comes before the verb:

先提高中文水平 = first improve (my) Chinese level
先吃饭，再工作。 = Eat first, then work.

Its job here is to show the sequence of actions: improve Chinese before learning other things. The normal pattern is:

先 + Verb Phrase A，然后(再) + Verb Phrase B
first do A, then do B

Why are both 然后 and 再 used? Aren’t they both kind of “then”?

Good observation. Both relate to sequence, but they behave a bit differently:

然后 (ránhòu) = then / after that / and then
- Connects events in time, often between clauses.
再 (zài) = then / and then / again / further
- Often sits right before the verb and emphasizes the next step in a sequence, or “do X and then do Y”.

In this sentence:

然后 links the first and second clause:
先提高中文水平，然后… = first improve Chinese, and then…
再 directly modifies 学:
再学别的东西 = then learn other things (as the next step)

You could say:

先提高中文水平，然后学别的东西。
先提高中文水平，再学别的东西。

Both are acceptable. Using 然后再 together is very common and sounds quite natural; it adds a soft, step-by-step feel: first do this, and then (after that) go on to do that.

What’s the nuance difference between 学习 and 学 in this sentence?

Both relate to learning/studying, but:

学习 (xuéxí)
- A bit more formal/complete; often used as a noun (“study / studies”) or verb.
- In 学习计划, it’s a noun: study plan.
学 (xué)
- A general verb meaning to learn / to study.
- Often appears as Verb + Object, e.g. 学中文, 学开车.

So here:

学习计划 = a plan of study (fixed phrase; you wouldn’t say 学计划).
再学别的东西 = (then) learn other things — here 学 is just the normal everyday verb “learn”.

You could also say 再学习别的东西; that’s grammatically okay and a bit more formal, but 再学 is simpler and more colloquial.

What is the difference between 中文, 汉语, and 普通话? Why use 中文 here?

All three are related but not identical:

中文 (Zhōngwén)
- Literally “Chinese language (in general)”.
- Can refer to spoken + written Chinese, or just Chinese as a school subject.
- Very common in everyday speech.
汉语 (Hànyǔ)
- Literally “the language of the Han (people)”.
- More technical/academic; often used in course names, linguistics, textbooks.
普通话 (Pǔtōnghuà)
- Standard Mandarin, the official standard spoken language in Mainland China.

In this sentence, 提高中文水平 is natural and broad: improve my Chinese. If you want to be more precise about spoken Mandarin, you might also see:

提高汉语水平 (common in learner contexts)
提高普通话水平 (specifically: improve your standard Mandarin pronunciation/usage)

But 中文水平 is perfectly normal, especially in everyday conversation.

What exactly does 水平 mean in 中文水平? Why not just say 提高中文?

水平 (shuǐpíng) literally means “level (of skill, development, or quality)”.

中文水平 = Chinese level / level of Chinese (ability)
提高中文水平 = improve (one’s) level of Chinese

Saying 提高中文 is understandable, but sounds incomplete and less natural because 中文 by itself is just “Chinese (language)”, not explicitly “ability in Chinese”.

Chinese tends to express ability like this:

汉语水平很高。 = His/her level of Chinese is very high.
英语水平一般。 = My English level is average.

So 提高 + X + 水平 is a very common pattern.

What does 别的 mean, and how is it different from 其他的?

Both 别的 and 其他(的) can mean “other / another / the rest”, but there’s a slight nuance:

别的 (biéde)
- Very common in spoken Mandarin.
- Often means “other (kinds of) …” in a more casual way.
- In 别的东西, it just means “other things (not the ones we talked about)”.
其他(的) (qítā (de))
- Sounds a bit more formal or “standard”, and is extremely common in both speech and writing.
- Used similarly: 其他东西, 其他人, 其他问题, etc.

In this sentence, 学别的东西 could be replaced with 学其他东西, but 别的东西 sounds a bit more colloquial and natural in everyday speech.

Why do we need 东西 after 别的? Can 别的 stand alone?

东西 (dōngxi) literally means “things / stuff”.

别的东西 = other things / other stuff

Chinese often likes an explicit object noun, so instead of just saying “learn other (ones)” (like English might), it usually says learn other THINGS:

学别的东西 = learn other things (other subjects, skills, etc.)

Can 别的 stand alone? Yes, if the noun is clear from context:

A: 你还想买什么？(What else do you want to buy?)
B: 不要别的了。(I don’t want anything else.)

But in a self-contained sentence like yours, 别的东西 sounds more natural and explicit than just 别的.

How do we know this sentence is talking about the future, when there is no future tense marker?

Mandarin usually does not mark tense (past/present/future) with verb endings like English does.

Instead, time is shown by:

Time words: 明天, 以后, 现在, etc.
Context words like 计划 (plan), 打算 (intend), 想 (want to).
The logical order of actions: 先…然后…再….

In this sentence:

学习计划 (study plan)
先…然后再… (first…, then…)

These clearly show a planned sequence in the future, even though the verbs themselves don’t change form. Native speakers automatically interpret it as about future actions.

Does 再 here mean “again”? I learned that 再 can mean “again”.

再 (zài) has two common meanings:

“Again” (do something one more time)
- 再说一遍。= Say it again.
- 明天再来。= Come again tomorrow.
“Then / and then / further” (do something as the next step, after something else)
- 想清楚再说。= Think it through, then speak.
- 先吃饭，再工作。= Eat first, then work.

In your sentence 然后再学别的东西:

再 is used in the second sense: do it after the previous action as the next step, not “learn other things again”.

Could this be two separate sentences instead of using a comma? How do commas work here?

Yes, you could write it as two sentences:

我的学习计划是先提高中文水平。然后再学别的东西。

But the standard, more natural written form is with a comma:

我的学习计划是先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西。

In Chinese, commas often join closely connected clauses that form one overall idea, especially in sequences like 先…，然后…. It’s grammatically fine either way; the comma version just flows more smoothly as a single statement of your plan.

What is the difference between 计划 and 打算? Could I say 我的学习打算?

Both relate to plans, but:

计划 (jìhuà)
- More formal and “structured”.
- Often used for schedules, formal plans, projects.
- Works well as a noun: 学习计划, 工作计划, 发展计划.
打算 (dǎsuàn)
- More informal, often used for personal intentions: plan to, intend to.
- Very often used as a verb:
  - 我打算明年去中国。= I plan to go to China next year.

You can use 打算 as a noun in some contexts, but it’s less common to say 学习打算. The set phrase people actually use is 学习计划.

If you want 打算, you’d more naturally say:

我的打算是先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西。
我打算先提高中文水平，然后再学别的东西。

Are there any tone changes I should pay attention to in this sentence (tone sandhi)?

Yes, there are a few common ones:

不 and 一 (not in this sentence, but very important in general) change tones in certain positions. In this sentence we don’t have them, so no need to adjust.
Two third tones in a row: the first one changes to a second tone in actual speech. For example:
- 水平 (shuǐpíng) is written as 3–2, and it’s normally pronounced like that: shuǐ(3) + píng(2). No change needed because it’s already 3–2.
- A word like 很好 (hěnhǎo) becomes hén(2) hǎo(3) in real pronunciation.
In normal fluent speech, several tone sandhi processes will operate across word boundaries, but as a learner, the main things to watch in this sentence are:
- 学习 (xuéxí): 2–2, easy and smooth.
- 水平 (shuǐpíng): clearly 3–2, don’t let 水 fall too low or it can sound like two 3rd tones.

If you pronounce each syllable with its dictionary tone, you will still be understood; tone sandhi just makes your speech more natural.

Could I say 我的计划是先学中文，然后再学别的东西 instead? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can. That would be:

我的计划是先学中文，然后再学别的东西。
= My plan is to first learn Chinese, and then learn other things.

Differences in nuance:

学习计划 emphasizes specifically a study plan.
计划 by itself is broader: your plan (in life / for now), not necessarily limited to studying.

So:

我的学习计划是… = My study plan is…
我的计划是… = My overall plan is…

Both are correct; the original sentence is just a bit more explicitly about studying.