Welcome Buddy! 👋

Your personal Mandarin learning journey starts here. Use the navigation below to explore lessons, or click to begin with Lesson 1.

How this works

This guide is broken down into 4 levels. Each lesson is its own page.

Use the dropdowns below to find and jump to any lesson.
Use the "Mark as Completed" button at the bottom of each page to track your progress.
Your progress is saved, so you can pick up right where you left off.

Course Progress

0 / 33 Completed

Course Navigation

Lesson 1: The Tones (聲調)

Mandarin is a tonal language. The "pitch" or contour of your voice changes the meaning of a syllable. Pinyin (拼音) helps us write these sounds and tones. There are four main tones plus a neutral one.

1st Tone (mā): High & Level. Think of a sustained musical note. 媽 (mā) - mother
2nd Tone (má): Rising. Like asking a question, "Huh?". 麻 (má) - hemp
3rd Tone (mǎ): Dipping. Down, then up slightly. 馬 (mǎ) - horse
4th Tone (mà): Falling. A sharp, quick drop, like a command. 罵 (mà) - to scold
Neutral Tone (ma): Light & Quick. No tone mark, pronounced softly. 嗎 (ma) - question particle

Tone Pair Practice

Mandarin words are often 2 syllables. Practicing common tone pairs is essential for fluency.

1+1: 今天 (jīntiān) - today

1+2: 中國 (Zhōngguó) - China

1+3: 開車 (kāichē) - drive car

1+4: 飛機 (fēijì) - airplane

2+1: 美國 (Měiguó) - America

2+2: 朋友 (péngyou) - friend

2+3: 銀行 (yínháng) - bank

2+4: 回答 (huídá) - answer

3+1: 你好 (nǐ hǎo) - hello

3+2: 水果 (shuǐguǒ) - fruit

3+3: 你好 (nǐ hǎo) - hello (spoken as 2+3)

3+4: 喜歡 (xǐhuan) - like

4+1: 再見 (zàijiàn) - goodbye

4+2: 電視 (diànshì) - TV

4+3: 考試 (kǎoshì) - test

4+4: 謝謝 (xièxie) - thanks (2nd is neutral)

Lesson 2: Basic Greetings (問候)

Content for Lesson 2 will go here.

Lesson 3: Common Courtesies (禮貌)

Content for Lesson 3 will go here.

Lesson 4: Numbers 0-10,000 (數字)

Content for Lesson 4 will go here.

Lesson 5: Introductions (介紹)

Content for Lesson 5 will go here.

Lesson 6: Yes, No & 'Bu' (是, 不)

Content for Lesson 6 will go here.

Lesson 7: Question Words (疑問詞)

Knowing how to ask questions is fundamental. Unlike English, Mandarin question words usually go in the same place where the answer would be.

The 5W1H Question Words

Who: 誰 (shéi)
Ex: 他是誰？ (Tā shì shéi?) - Who is he? (Literally "He is who?")
What: 什麼 (shénme)
Ex: 這是什麼？ (Zhè shì shénme?) - What is this? (Literally "This is what?")
Where: 哪裡 (nǎlǐ) or 哪兒 (nǎr)
Ex: 你在哪裡？ (Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?) - Where are you? (Literally "You at where?")
When: 什麼時候 (shénme shíhou)
Ex: 你什麼時候去？ (Nǐ shénme shíhou qù?) - When are you going? (Literally "You when go?")
Why: 為什麼 (wèishénme)
Ex: 你為什麼學中文？ (Nǐ wèishénme xué Zhōngwén?) - Why do you learn Chinese?
How: 怎麼 (zěnme)
Ex: 這個怎麼說？ (Zhège zěnme shuō?) - How do you say this? (Literally "This how say?")

Lesson 8: Buying Things (買東西)

This lesson covers the essential vocabulary and phrases you'll need to buy items in a shop or market. The most important phrase is "How much money?"

Key Vocabulary

To buy: 買 (mǎi)
To sell: 賣 (mài)
Thing: 東西 (dōngxi)
Money: 錢 (qián)
Expensive: 貴 (guì)
Cheap: 便宜 (piányi)
Money unit (colloquial): 塊 (kuài)
1/10th unit (colloquial): 毛 (máo)

Common Phrases

I want to buy...
我要買... (Wǒ yào mǎi...)
Ex: 我要買一個蘋果。 (Wǒ yào mǎi yí ge píngguǒ.)
How much money? (The most important phrase!)
多少錢? (Duōshao qián?)
Too expensive!
太貴了! (Tài guì le!)
Can it be cheaper? (Bargaining)
可以便宜一點嗎? (Kěyǐ piányi yìdiǎn ma?)
Do you have...?
你有沒有...? (Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu...?)

Shopkeeper Responses (店家回應)

Here are some common things you might hear from the person selling items.

What do you want to buy?
你要買什麼？ (Nǐ yào mǎi shénme?)
This is 50 dollars.
這個五十塊。 (Zhège wǔshí kuài.)
We don't have that.
我們沒有那個。 (Wǒmen méiyǒu nàge.)
Okay, a bit cheaper is fine. (Agreeing to bargain)
好的，便宜一點可以。 (Hǎo de, piányi yìdiǎn kěyǐ.)
Sorry, no bargaining.
不好意思，不二價。 (Bù hǎoyìsi, bú èr jià.)

Ways to Pay (付錢)

How you pay is just as important as what you buy.

Pay money: 付錢 (fù qián)
Use cash: 用現金 (yòng xiànjīn)
Swipe card (credit card): 刷卡 (shuā kǎ)
Scan code (very common): 掃碼 (sǎo mǎ)

Lesson 9: Using 'le' (了)

Content for Lesson 9 will go here.

Lesson 10: Using 'guo' (過)

Content for Lesson 10 will go here.

Lesson 11: Using 'zai' (在)

Content for Lesson 11 will go here.

Lesson 12: Dates & Time

Content for Lesson 12 will go here.

Lesson 13: Measure Words (量詞)

Content for Lesson 13 will go here.

Lesson 14: 'De' Particles (的, 地, 得)

...

Lesson 15: Comparisons (比, 跟)

...

Lesson 16: 'Ba' Sentence (把)

...

Lesson 17: Result Complements

...

Lesson 18: Directional Complements

...

Lesson 19: Hobbies & Social

...

Lesson 20: Ordering Food

...

Lesson 21: Modern Tech & Slang

...

Lesson 22: Business & Work

...

Lesson 23: Common Idioms (成語)

...

Chapter 1: Mandarin Alphabets

Content for Chapter 1 will go here.

Chapter 2: Numbers (Detailed)

Content for Chapter 2 will go here.

Chapter 3: Vegetables & Fruits

Let's learn the names of common vegetables and fruits. This is essential vocabulary for markets and restaurants.

Vegetables (蔬菜 - shūcài)

English	Character	Pinyin
Vegetable (general)	蔬菜	shūcài
Cabbage	白菜	báicài
Spinach	菠菜	bōcài
Potato	土豆	tǔdòu
Carrot	胡蘿蔔	húluóbo
Tomato	西紅柿	xīhóngshì
Cucumber	黃瓜	huángguā
Onion	洋蔥	yángcōng
Garlic	大蒜	dàsuàn
Mushroom	蘑菇	mógu
Eggplant	茄子	qiézi
Bell Pepper	青椒	qīngjiāo
Broccoli	西蘭花	xīlánhuā
Lettuce	生菜	shēngcài

Fruits (水果 - shuǐguǒ)

English	Character	Pinyin
Fruit (general)	水果	shuǐguǒ
Apple	蘋果	píngguǒ
Banana	香蕉	xiāngjiāo
Orange	橙子	chéngzi
Watermelon	西瓜	xīguā
Grapes	葡萄	pútao
Strawberry	草莓	cǎoméi
Mango	芒果	mángguǒ
Peach	桃子	táozi
Pear	梨	lí
Pineapple	菠蘿	bōluó
Lychee	荔枝	lìzhī

Common Drinks (飲料 - yǐnliào)

English	Character	Pinyin
Drink (general)	飲料	yǐnliào
Water	水	shuǐ
Tea	茶	chá
Coffee	咖啡	kāfēi
Juice	果汁	guǒzhī
Milk	牛奶	niúnǎi
Cola	可樂	kělè
Beer	啤酒	píjiǔ

Chapter 4: Daily Life Products

...

Chapter 5: Family Conversations

...

Chapter 6: Friend Conversations

...

Chapter 7: Work Conversations

...

Chapter 8: School & Business

...

Chapter 9: Core Vocabulary

...

Chapter 10: Test Yourself

...