Our beginner Chinese lessons bring a world of fascinating topics to life through engaging dialogues, handy vocabulary, grammar insights and dynamic practice exercises. Each lesson builds on the previous lessons, which keeps solidifying your understanding of vocab and grammar so you can master their use. Click on the images to jump right in for free.
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Lessons 1 – 5
1 – Hello, how are you?
Learn basic greetings and common expressions in Chinese.
2 – Meeting someone new
Let’s use the basic greetings and common expressions we have learnt in the previous lesson to read a dialogue about meeting someone new and introducing ourselves.
3 – Where are you from?
Learn personal pronouns and the names of a few countries. Then put them together and learn how to talk about nationalities.
4 – Are you here on vacation?
Use the vocabulary from the previous lesson about personal pronouns and countries & nationalities in a dialogue.
Review of lessons 1-4
See how many words you’ve grasped by completing a couple short, instant-feedback quizzes.
5 – Number, months and days
Learn to say the numbers 0 – 100, months and days of the week in Chinese.
Lessons 6 – 10
6 – Do you have pets?
Practice using numbers while talking about pets.
7 – Expressing time and dates
Learn time and dates in Chinese, plus how to say yesterday, tomorrow and other useful words.
8 – What’s your phone number?
Use numbers, time and dates to read a dialogue that continues the story.
Review of lessons 5-8
See how many words you’ve grasped by completing a couple short, instant-feedback quizzes.
9 – I want to buy some clothes
Learn vocabulary related to clothing and accessories.
10 – Which colour looks best?
Learn eleven basic colours, adverbs of degree and descriptive words.
Lessons 11 – 14
11 – How much is this?
Learn the numbers 101-10000, how to ask prices in Chinese and talk about money in general.
Review of lessons 9-11
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
12 – I’d like a cup of tea
Learn different types of drinks and beverages and how to order drinks.
13 – At the coffee shop
Apply what you’ve learnt in another dialogue. Follow Emily and John as they visit a coffee shop in Beijing.
14 – What do you want to eat?
Learn many different types of food, including some Chinese foods, and talk about what you’re eating.
Review of lessons 12-14
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
Lessons 15 – 20
15 – My family
Learn to talk about different members of your family.
16 – What are your hobbies?
Learn commonly used verbs and 15 different hobbies.
17 – Where are you going?
Learn 14 common places in Chinese, their measure words and how to use them in everyday sentences.
Review of lessons 15-17
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
18 – Discussing routines
Explore adverbs of frequency and time, and combine them with activities, places and people to talk about daily routines.
19 – Getting around town
Learn to describe the position, direction, and location of objects or places. Talk about where different places are located in relation to others.
20 – Sharing past experiences
Explore how to use the particle “过” (guò) to talk and ask about past experiences.
Review of lessons 18-20
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
Lessons 21 – 25
21 – Run, walk, jump and fly
Learn to use some commonly used action verbs.
22 – Completion and change
Learn how 了 (le) is used to express completion of an action or to indicate a change of state.
23 – Thoughts and feelings
Learn how to express your thoughts and emotions in Chinese.
Review of lessons 21-23
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
24 – Back to school
Take a trip back into the classroom as we cover a useful set of Chinese school vocabulary.
25 – Asking questions
Learn to use the Chinese words for who, what, why, where, which, when and how and examine questions that might be asked in a classroom environment.
Lessons 26 – 30
26 – Showing off stationery
Learn the terms for various stationery items and some other useful vocabulary.
Review of lessons 24-26
Test how much you’ve learnt in the past three lessons by completing an instant-feedback quiz.
27 – Eat your fruits and veggies
Learn some common fruits and vegetables and about the weight measurements used in China.
28 – At the market
Let’s read a dialogue about Anna and her grandmother shopping at the market for meat, eggs, fruit and vegetables.
29 – How are you getting there?
Learn about various modes of transportation and talk about how you get to various places.
30 – I’m on my way
Learn even more ways to talk about getting from place to place and apply what you’ve learnt in another dialogue. Follow John as he takes a taxi to Lily’s house to attend a party.
