As a complete beginner that knows how to say 2-3 sentences, how do we get to the point where it's possible to comprehend these sources?
edit: To expand on this, every advice resource i've seen on the internet has said: "forget textbooks, you need comprehensible input!" which I agree with, but how can you begin learning the language to the point at which this is possible?
You can start at an absolute beginner on DuChinese and read your way up. You probably want to be B1 level/completed HSK5 (~2500 words) before approaching native content since at that level you’ll understand like 90%. Unfortunately there’s a dearth of learner content for Chinese learners who know English. For free materials some people recommend just starting with reading native content and using a dictionary to fight your way through it until you finally understand it. The heavenly path notion site has some good free resources for people at a low level who want to approach native content. I have other ideas as well but those are the bottom-line recommendations. You basically just need to read as much as you can from material as close to your level you can access until you have enough vocab to listen to native content (HSK 5 bar, in my opinion). listening is much harder because you don’t set the pace
oh you can also download Douyin