Guides to Learning Chinese

Practical guides on tones, pinyin, characters, HSK levels, radicals and more.

• How to Learn Chinese: A Beginner's Roadmap
  Learn Chinese from scratch in 6 steps: pinyin and tones, first 300 words, radicals, graded reading, speaking and review.
• HSK Levels Explained: HSK 1 to 9
  What each HSK level means: word counts for the old 6-level and new 9-level test, what you can do at each level, and which to aim for.
• 25 Most Common Chinese Radicals (Free PDF)
  Learn the 25 most useful Chinese radicals with meanings, examples and pinyin, and download a printable study sheet.
• Mandarin Tones Explained: The 4 Tones
  The four Mandarin tones plus the neutral tone, with examples, tone-change rules, common mistakes and daily drills.
• Pinyin for Beginners: A Simple Guide
  How pinyin works: initials, finals, tricky letters like q, x and zh, and how to read and type Chinese with it.
• How Many Chinese Characters Do You Need?
  You need about 1,000 characters for everyday reading and 2,500 for newspapers. See what each target covers and how to get there.
• Simplified vs Traditional Chinese
  Simplified vs traditional Chinese: how they differ, where each is used, and which to learn first.
• Mandarin vs Cantonese: Which to Learn?
  How Mandarin and Cantonese differ in sound, writing and usage, and how to choose which one to learn.
• Best Way to Learn Chinese Characters
  Proven ways to learn and remember Chinese characters: stroke order, radicals, mnemonics, context and spaced repetition.
• 50 Essential Chinese Phrases for Beginners
  The most useful Mandarin phrases for greetings, food, shopping and getting around, with pinyin and meanings.
• Chinese Measure Words Explained
  What Chinese measure words are, how to use 个, 只, 本 and more, with the most common ones and examples.
• Chinese Homophones: Same Sound, Different Meaning
  Why so many Mandarin words share one sound, how to tell them apart, and the puns and traditions that depend on them.