Learn Mandarin Chinese
A practical, free guide to speaking, reading, and writing Mandarin — from your first tones to everyday vocabulary.
Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world, with over 1.1 billion speakers across mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Chinese communities worldwide. It uses Pinyin for pronunciation, four tones (plus a neutral tone) that change word meaning, and characters that are written using simplified forms (mainland China, Singapore) or traditional forms (Taiwan). Learning it opens doors to business, travel, study, and culture.
1. Start Speaking: Pinyin and the 4 Tones
Before characters, get comfortable with Pinyin — the romanization system for Mandarin. Every syllable is made of an initial, a final, and one of 4 tones:
- 1st tone (mā 妈): high and level
- 2nd tone (má 麻): rising, like asking a question in English
- 3rd tone (mǎ 马): dipping down then up
- 4th tone (mà 骂): sharp and falling
- Neutral tone (ma 吗): short and light
Hear the difference right now — tap the buttons below, then practice repeating them out loud:
2. Learn Useful Phrases and Sound Natural
Get talking fast with high-frequency phrases, then build from there. Try these for yourself:
Every character on this site includes Mandarin audio — open today's Word of the Day or browse the character library and press the 🔊 Mandarin button.
3. Build Reading Skills: Characters and Radicals
You don't need thousands of characters to start reading. 2,500–3,000 characters covers the vast majority of everyday written Chinese. Learn them in context using a structured approach:
- Start with high-frequency characters from Level 1 and work through the units progressively.
- Understand radicals — the building blocks that hint at meaning and pronunciation.
- Review every day with the Word of the Day.
- Read our 90-day study plan for a day-by-day roadmap.
4. Write with Correct Stroke Order
Writing characters in the correct stroke order makes them neater, faster, and easier to remember. Use our interactive stroke order visualizer to watch each character being drawn step by step, then practice on paper with our free practice grid generator (Tian Zi Ge / 田字格 and Mi Zi Ge / 米字格 sheets).
5. Measure Progress with HSK Levels
Many learners use the HSK (Hànyǔ Shuǐpíng Kǎoshì) exam to certify their Mandarin level. HSK 1 requires around 150 vocabulary words and HSK 6 around 5,000. Practicing characters level by level on this site builds exactly the kind of vocabulary foundation these exams test.
More Mandarin Learning Resources
- Mandarin vs Cantonese: Key Differences
- How to Master Chinese Stroke Order
- Simplified vs Traditional Chinese
- Understanding Chinese Radicals
Ready to start? Open the character library, hear today's Word of the Day, or begin at Level 1, Unit 1. Everything here is free — no paywalls, no trial timers.