Mandarin is totally different to all European languages.

It's so alien that there are no common points of reference to help you remember. The only words with some link are imports like "salad" or "David Beckham".

So, I use "context learning" to remember and learn new words.

This helps create more connections and points of reference in the brain to things "stick" easier.

I use 5 kinds of context to help remember words:

1. "Now": Link what you learn to something happening - a news story, an event, an experience.

2. "Past": Linking to the past through idiom stories, poems, and literary references. This helps deepen understanding. 

3. "Theme": Connect words with overarching themes - such as with similar meanings, or related by common words or characters.

4. "Words": Through learning synonyms, similar phrases, opposites, negatives/positives, you'll remember and learn so much more. 

5. "Sentences": Learn words and phrases “in situ”, in real language as complete chunks.

When you learn something new in Chinese picture it as the centre of a network of connections. The more connections you can make, the more easily you'll remember it and be able to use it.