Learn Mandarin Chinese: Complete Beginner's Course
| Start Speaking Chinese From Day One - No Experience Needed
|
Lili Hao, Course Writer & Teacher |
40
Quizzes
40
Lessons
52
Videos
Real Beginner Success: Watch one of Our Students Speak Mandarin
Italian pro basketball player Nicola Natali
Master Mandarin Chinese from Day One
Get started with ChineseFor.Us's premier beginner Chinese course, designed specifically for Day 1 beginners who've never studied Chinese before. This course opens the door to Mandarin by breaking down exactly what you need to know - no more, no less.
Through carefully structured lessons, you'll master:
- 200 authentic Chinese sentences you'll actually use in real life
- 38 essential grammar points that form the backbone of basic Chinese
- 120 most-used Chinese characters chosen based on beginner needs
- 43 fundamental radicals that unlock character recognition
Every lesson streams instantly on all devices, backed by our comprehensive learning package: detailed audio vocabulary guides, clear grammar explanations, and interactive quizzes that ensure you're learning correctly.
While other courses overwhelm you with information, we focus on what Day 1 beginners truly need to start speaking Chinese. Start your journey with ChineseFor.Us and see why our focused approach makes the difference.
200
Useful Chinese Sentences
38
Chinese Grammar Points
120
Chinese Characters
43
Chinese Radicals
Course Writer & Teacher
Lili Hao
Lili Hao is the dedicated Teacher and Course Writer at ChineseFor.Us. With a Master's Degree in Chinese Linguistics and a Bachelor's Degree in English, Lili brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her teaching. Having taught Chinese as a second language at several universities in China, including Sichuan University, Lili has honed her skills and teaching methodologies over the past 10 years. As a certified HSK and YCT Examiner, Lili understands the importance of standardized Chinese language proficiency tests and incorporates this knowledge into her course material. Her passion for teaching and helping students achieve their language goals shines through in every lesson she creates.
Course Structure: Your Mandarin Learning Path
- 4 Comprehensive Units - Each building your foundation in Mandarin Chinese step by step
- 5 Focused Lessons Per Unit - Carefully paced for optimal beginner learning
- Dual-Topic System - Every lesson combines:
- Topic 1: Essential speaking and listening skills
- Topic 2: Character recognition and writing basics
- Regular Progress Checks - Interactive quizzes after each topic to reinforce your learning
- Real-World Practice - Each unit includes an authentic dialogue and extended story
- Active Learning Tasks - Two presentation assignments per unit to build your speaking confidence
Learn How to Write Chinese Characters
Learning to write Chinese characters is a fundamental part of mastering Mandarin Chinese, which is why every Topic 2 includes detailed character writing instruction. Follow along with our clear video demonstrations and practice on downloadable writing sheets designed specifically for beginners. We break down each character's structure and stroke order, making the learning process simple and effective.
Unlike courses that skip character writing, we believe it's essential for true Chinese language mastery. Our systematic approach helps complete beginners develop proper writing habits from day one. Start your character writing journey today - you'll be surprised how quickly you can master basic Chinese characters with our proven method.
What do I get from this Day 1 Beginner Chinese Course?
- Interactive Sentence Drills - Practice Mandarin structures until they become natural
- Real-World Dialogues - Start speaking Chinese immediately with practical conversation practice
- Native Teacher Guidance - Learn proper pronunciation and tones from an experienced Mandarin instructor
- Built-in Speaking Practice - Dedicated pause points let you practice speaking at your own pace
- Character Building System - Understand how Chinese characters and words are constructed, making them easier to remember
Questions Beginner Chinese Students Frequently Ask:
Take free trial lessons now!
All lessons of this course have been released. Check out other courses.
Dear Lili, thank you so much for this beginner course. This was extremely helpful on my way to learn the basics of Chinese. I look forward to HSK ! course with you. Kamila
Dear Nesika/Kamila,
We’re so glad you enjoy the course! Good luck with your studies! We look forward to your progress!
How do I get started?
Hi teacher, i wanted to know if the Chinese we learn is same like in Taiwan?
Thank you for your interest. Speaking wise, people from both Mainland China and Taiwan speaks Chinese, in Mainland China the Simplified Characters are used, while in Taiwan the Traditional Characters are used. We have a lesson explaining the differences between Simplified Characters and Traditional Characters.
Very nice
这个给大家想知道如果方法是不是真的。明天是我学中文一年的纪念日。我可以读，写，还说跟斗中文母语的人了。我希望这个短信会帮助每位人在猜测是否者会把你帮助来到说普通话。真的会！谢谢，加油！
This is for everyone that wants to know if this method works or not. Tomorrow will be my learning Chinese 1 year anniversary. I can read, write, and speak Mandarin with native speakers now. I hope this message will help every person that is guessing if this will help you learn Chinese. It really will!
Thank you, and Keep Going!
wow, I am Impressed, I am in my early weeks.
I found this website some time ago and I think it’s the best video-course based website.
But I have one doubt, I understand that every level will enable me to apply for the HSK test, and that’s great, I wanna know if this course is gonna teach me SLANG as well, aside from all the formalities given in this course.
Thanks for your interest. Our goal is to release structured courses as our priority, as there are many other ways to study slang. Also, slang isn’t standard across regions in China, and is subject to change every couple of years.
We thank you for your high rating of courses and we wish you the best of luck with your studies.
Terrific! I’m buying my premium subscription very soon then.
BTW, I’m looking forward to HSK 4 and more!
This so helpful. Thank you so much
Hi, I am a beginner. I just finished the basic skills courses. Should I do this Beginner Chinese Course before the HSK1?
Yes we recommend starting from our Beginner Chinese Course. Also we have a Learning Road Map for reference.
Hi Teacher! Am 9 and I already know Chinese! All thanks to you! Thanks teacher ;>
I Look Forward to Learning Throughout These Courses
hello,
first of all I would like to congratulate you for the courses. They are really useful and you can learn a lot. Looking at my course, although I am not completely sure, I think I have completed the quizzes and the videos. I would like to know what else do I have to do to finish this elementary level. I apologize for my questions,
谢谢！
Please see “CERTIFICATE” section on our FAQ page for guide to check for incomplete steps and learning progress. Here’s a quick link https://chinesefor.us/frequently-asked-questions/#CERTIFICATE
Hi
Can you please suggest how to improve listening skills ? I am finding it very difficult to make out the meaning of the conversation in Mandarin for reading comprehension. Cannot seem to get the native speaking style and the fast pace.
Thanks
Practice makes perfect.
That is why our structured courses are designed with a lot of practice materials to help develop and improve all language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing and even translating. If you follow each step without skip and practice strictly under the course instructions, improvements can be expected to be seen.
Also at beginner level, we wouldn’t worry if a student has trouble “getting the native speaking style”. Instead, at beginner level, we recommend students to focus on the course content: grammatical structures and sentence patterns, vocabulary and character writing.
And achieving “native level” can be held as a long-term goal. It takes time and effort, but eventually you can get there.
Really glad I got to read this informative and reassuring response. Long term goal. Focusing on what matters at the moment as you’ve mentioned.
Hi!
Is it common to focus only in Speaking and listening… and once you are ok with it… maybe start with writing and reading?
In case I want to do that, if I dont do the writing lessons, is ok to follow the course? Or to do it properly I must do all one by one?
thanks!
We highly recommend learning the characters (at least to be able to read and type them) from Day 1. The reasons are explained in the four introduction lessons in our Character Course.
你好 Lili 老师，I took Chinese one and two in college last semester, we learned all the way up to how to order food in a restaurant and how to tell time. Should I continue in the beginners’ course or should I move onto HSK1?
Please refer to “Which course should I start with?” on our FAQ page, under “COURSE” section.
Ni Hao Lili, xièxiè for everything (sorry if it’s wrong i haven’t watched ALL of your videos yet). But still thank you
Hi Lili, can I have a link for downloading writing sheets? Thank you for everything.
Is this content ok for kids to learn as beginners
Thanks for your interest. The course is not designed specifically for kids, but kids can learn it. Preferably kids older than 3rd Grade.
Great, I’ve recommended this to my older sister because my niece and nephew take Chinese in school but struggle with pronunciation at the moment. They’re in Grade 1 and kindergarten but I think if my older sister takes these courses with her husband then they can definitely help their children do better in Chinese language.
Thank you for your help.
Before, I had no clue to speak Chinese.
But, through this course, I could speak in Chinese a little.
I want to speak Chinese fluently.
Thank you.
NI HAO lili
Hi Lili, thank you so much for your hard work. I’m learning a lot!!
so far this is the best website I have seen. thanks, Lili
Thank you for making a very thoughtful and comprehensive course. I really appreciate all the details that has been thought in the course. I can’t wait to start learning HSK 1 course.
Hello LiLi, how can I buy this course?
You can unlock all lessons and features by getting a premium membership here→
So, I have a question about names. When I look at translation of my name to Chinese it looks sort of like this 黑暗山强度 . My name is Sierra, and that was it’s meaning if I go based on why my parents named me…. but it seems impossible to use that name. It’s a Spanish Irish translation into Chinese, and someone I’m trying to practice with said it is much easier if I try to adopt a Chinese name for the future.
We have a video lesson on How to Get A Chinese Name, check it out if you’re interested!
Excellent course, I found it very useful! The only area of opportunity that I found was that the final exam was way too easy and too short, it should be longer and harder so we can really test everything that you taught us. Other than that, I loved it.
I understand that some learners might expect this Final Test to be more challenging.
When I made this test, it was more for the purpose of testing whether the learner has mastered all the vocabulary and grammar in this level (also for learners to test if they need to study this course if they have been learning Chinese with other resources and decide to use our course), instead of challenging them to see if they will be capable for more complicated language tasks. Especially because this is a beginner course.
The test is 10 questions per quiz, but you can retake it and the whole question bank has 250 questions.
But the quizzes for Level 2 Course are much more challenging, because learners are expected to be able to use the language in a more flexible way in that level.
Hi lili, ummm…. I’m currently learning chinese mandarin, i’m asking for a favor?!?!
Can you give me a tip to pass an chinese oral reading??
It’s so hard for me, because it all written in chinese characters, hope you can help me!!!
Hi Lili,
I took this course last year (probably some lessons this year too). I did all the tests but I don’t have a ‘certificate’ for any test? I do have a green checkmark next to all the tests. Is there a separate test I have to pass?
Thanks,
Valentin
Hi Valentin,
At the moment we don’t currently have “Certificates” set up for the courses. But it’s definitely something we plan to implement in the future. But congratulations on completing all the quizzes. Keep up the good work!
Just an update, now we have included a certificate for each course. A “Certificate of Completion” will be generated in PDF form after you completing a course. Please see “CERTIFICATE” section on our FAQ page for details.
I like that your Beginner Chinese Course is simple and to the point whereas others are too complicated for beginners.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed our Beginner Chinese Course.
ni hao
你好！