Learn Chinese: Basic Mandarin Chinese HSK 1 for Beginners

Learn the pinyin initials d, t, n, l with pronunciation practice and the example words duō, tiān, nǐ, lèi.

Master the Chinese initials gē, kē, hē and pronounce them with familiar English parallels g, k, h, while practicing words like gāo, kāi, and hēi through repetition.

Practice zi, ci, si with some finals to build basic Mandarin pronunciation for beginners. Repeat the syllable patterns shown in the caption to reinforce initial and final sounds.

Practice zh, ch, sh, r with finals and all four tones, focusing on zhī, chī, shī, rī phonemes to build beginner Mandarin pronunciation.

Practice in lesson 2 builds basic Mandarin conversations, teaching xièxiè and búxiè as thanks and you’re welcome, with reading-along pronunciation drills.

Learn essential Chinese vocabulary for beginners: 叫, 什么, 名字, 我, 是, 老师, 学生, 人, 李月, 中国, 美国. Practice pronunciation and tones, including 妈 as a neutral tone character.

Learn to introduce your name in Chinese with the pattern subject plus 叫 plus name, recognizing 叫 means to be called, using examples like 我叫Tom and 你叫David.

Discover how Chinese uses a subject plus verb shénme structure for questions, with examples like zhè shì shénme and nǐ jiào shénme míngzì, to ask what and introduce names.

Learn how 不 (bù) negates verbs and adjectives with shì, forming bú shì to express not to be, as in wǒ bú shì lǎo shī.

Present a school scene conversation to learn basic mandarin, including Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ma and responses such as Wǒ shì Měiguó rén and Wǒ bú shì Zhōngguó rén.

The lecture explains pinyin whole syllables as fixed units of initials and finals. There are 16 syllables, read as a whole with examples like zi, ci, si, yi, wu, yu.

Learn pronunciation-focused Mandarin vocabulary in lesson 4, including words such as Tā, De, Nǎ, Nē, Tóng xué, Shuǐ, Shéi, Hàn yǔ, Guó, Tā, and Péng yòu.

Explore 的 usage in longer Mandarin sentences with examples like zhè shì wǒ de shū and tā shì wǒ de mā ma, then practice translating 'she is my mother'.

Practice introducing names in Chinese using 叫 and the subject plus 呢 pattern with you, through a short dialogue including phrases like Wǒ jiào Zhāng hǎo and nǐ ne.

Learn how to say her daughter is twenty years old this year and count from zero to ten in Mandarin, noting that the possessive de can be omitted.

Learn to say numbers from 10 to 100 in Chinese, focusing on the tens digit and the shí construction, with examples like èr shí, sān shí, sì shí, and beyond.

Explore using the measure word kǒu between numbers and family nouns, with sì kǒu rén for four people, and practice sentences like wǒ jiā rén.

Learn how to use 有 to express possession in Mandarin, following the subject plus 有 plus object pattern with examples like 他有两个女儿 and 我有中国朋友, including measure words.

Learn to count family members in Mandarin using the measure word kǒu. Practice sì kǒu rén, sān kǒu rén, and wǔ kǒu rén with example sentences.

Learn how the pinyin tone of 一 yī changes when it precedes a syllable, becoming second tone before a fourth-tone syllable and fourth tone before first/second/third tones.

Learn how to ask someone's age in Mandarin using the subject plus number plus suì, add lè to show a change, and use jǐ and jīnnián.

Learn how to ask someone's age in Chinese across all ages using 你多大了 and 你爸爸多大了, and politely with 您今年多大年纪了.

Practice pinyin spelling and pronunciation of basic Mandarin syllables for beginners by listening to a recording, repeating after it, and reading monosyllabic words with pictures.

Learn mandarin vocabulary for mā ma and the question pattern subject verb what, and practice speaking. Read mā ma zhè shì shén me to say this is a map.

Explore how huì expresses can or be able, using examples like 我会说汉语 and 我会打篮球. Learn to form yes-no questions with the question particle ma and negation with 不/不会.

Explore how hěn links adjectives to nouns in Chinese, illustrated by zhōng guó cài hěn hǎo chī, meaning Chinese food is delicious. Learn to form statements and questions with ma.

Learn to form yes-no questions with the ma particle using 你的汉语好吗 and practice 我的汉语很好 and 我的汉语不好. Apply the patterns subject 很 adjective and subject 不 adjective.

Explore essential Chinese characters (汉字) and the use of measure words between numbers and nouns. Practice writing 汉字, 写汉字, and forming names with 写名字 and 名字 (汉语名字).

Practice speaking with the lesson's sentences, such as 我会写汉字 and 我不会写汉字, and ask 你会写汉字吗? Note how 不 changes tone when followed by another falling-tone syllable in 不会.

Practice the verb 读 and build vocabulary for reading Chinese characters, books, and texts, while learning to form yes-no questions with 吗 and using phrases like 这个汉字 and 你的汉语名字.

Master the topic-based question pattern in Chinese: topic plus zěnme plus verb, with examples like zhè ge hàn zì zěnme dú and nǐ de míng zi zěnme xiě.

Review vocabulary from lesson 6, including huì, shuō, māma, cài, hěn, hǎo chī, zuò, xiě, hàn zì, zì, zěnme, and dú, and practice reading these words without pinyin.

Learn to express the date in Chinese with jīntiān jǐ hào and use qǐng to make polite requests with verbs like dú, shuō, and xiě.

Learn to read a year in basic Mandarin Chinese by pronouncing each digit one by one. See er ling yi wu nian for 2015.

Learn to express months in Chinese by placing a number before yue, meaning month or moon. Practice yi yue for January and shi er yue for December.

Learn how to ask the date in Chinese using jīn tiān jǐ hào and jīn tiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào, with explanations of today and the date components.

Learn how to express days of the week in Chinese using the pattern 星期 plus a number, and recognize the two Sunday forms 星期日 and 星期天.

Learn how to express dates in Chinese by stating the month first, then the date, then the day of the week, using 月, 六月, 一号, and 星期一 as examples.

Learn to ask and say dates in Mandarin using jǐ yuè jǐ hào, review yesterday and tomorrow with shì, míng tiān ne, and identify dates and days of the week.

Practice pinyin spelling by reading dialectic words aloud and repeating after the recording, using pictures to reinforce coffee, cola, roast duck, hot pot, map, airplane, brush, and headphones.

Learn basic Mandarin food and drink vocabulary, including mǐ fàn meaning rice, chī to eat, zhōng guó cài for Chinese food, and hǎo chī for tasty.

practice a restaurant conversation in Mandarin, reading aloud and explaining sentences in English; learn to ask what you want to drink or eat using 想 and 吃/喝, 你想喝什么 and 我想喝茶.

practice listening to time‑of‑day words in Chinese, zǎo shàng, shàng wǔ, zhōng wǔ, xià wǔ, wǎn shàng, and match dates to a schedule in this Mandarin HSK 1 course.

Learn shāngdiàn, the Mandarin for shop or store, and how to say go to the store—the core sentence tā qù shāngdiàn.

Practice listening to a dialogue about what to do this afternoon, including questions like xià wǔ nǐ xiǎng qù zuò shén me and xiǎng mǎi yí gè bēizi.

Compare the usage of duō shǎo and jǐ to distinguish large numbers from small quantities, including price questions and measure word omission rules.

Practice a listening store dialogue to identify what the shopper wants to buy and how much zhège bēizi duōshao qián.

Review key mandarin vocabulary: xiǎng to want, hē to drink, chī to eat, mǐ fàn rice, shāng diàn shop, mǎi to buy, gè measure word, duōshǎo how much, qián money.

Explore the Great Hall of the People in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a political landmark that hosts national meetings and diplomacy with global leaders, blending traditional Chinese styles with modern design.

Participate in a listening exercise with a dialogue about where a kitty and a puppy are, then place them in positions (A on chair, B under chair, C here, there).

Practice Chinese measure words by describing pictures using the pattern number, measure word, noun, and apply běn for books with examples like yí gè diàn nǎo.

Learn how to use méiyǒu to express absence, with examples like yǐ zi xiàmián, méiyǒu xiǎogǒu, and xuéxiào lǐ méiyǒu shāngdiàn.