Free beginner roadmap
Learn Chinese from zero, in eight weeks.
The sounds, how characters work, your first few hundred words and five sentence patterns — in the right order, about 25 minutes a day. At the end, you read your first real story.
Seven short chapters
Plain English, every Chinese word tappable, with audio.
A week-by-week plan
About 25 minutes a day, with a check-in at week 4 and week 8.
A free 180-word deck
For Anki or Pleco, or practice it right here on the site.
The plan
Eight weeks, one focus at a time.
By the end you have a small, solid base: into HSK 3.0 level 1, and ready for real stories at the Beginner or Easy level. If a week runs long, let it.
Week 1
Sounds
- Read how Mandarin works
- Say the four tones out loud
- Start a beginner course
Week 2
Pinyin
- Play through every sound
- Learn the everyday tone changes
- Keep the course going
Week 3
Characters and first words
- Learn twelve common parts
- Start flashcards, ten new words a day
Week 4
First sentences
- Learn 是, 的 and 吗
- Write five sentences of your own
Open one Beginner story, and tap what you don’t know.
Week 5
More patterns
- Learn 了 and measure words
- Finish the 180-word starter deck
Week 6
Into HSK 3.0 level 1
- Carry on through the HSK 3.0 level 1 deck
- Read a short story twice this week
Week 7
A reading habit
- Keep your flashcards daily
- Read a Beginner or Easy story most days
Week 8
Check-in
- Take the eight-sentence check
- Choose your reading level
Take the eight-sentence check and choose your level.
The chapters
Seven short chapters.
Chapter 1 · Week 1
How Mandarin works
Where the difficulty is, and why the grammar is small.
Chapter 2 · Weeks 1–2
Pinyin and tones
The four tones and every sound in the language, with audio.
Chapter 3 · Weeks 2–3
How characters work
A few hundred parts, combined. Recognition first, handwriting later.
Chapter 4 · Weeks 3–8
Your first words
A free 180-word starter deck, then on through HSK 3.0 level 1.
Chapter 5 · Weeks 4–5
Five sentence patterns
Word order, 是, 的, 吗, 了 and measure words, with audio.
Chapter 6 · All eight weeks
The eight-week plan
What to do each week, a 25-minute day, and what to do after a missed one.
Chapter 7 · Week 8
Your first real story
An eight-sentence check, then a story at your level.
Prefer it all at once? Read or print the whole guide.
By email
The guide in your inbox.
One short email a day for the first week, one chapter each, then check-ins at week four and week eight. Free, and easy to stop.
Already reading short Chinese sentences? Skip ahead and find your level, or open Dengdeng: the app checks your level when you sign up.
