Beginner Chinese Reference

Your Chinese Learning Guide

A simple collection of learning resources and quick references to support your beginner Chinese lessons.

Your Lesson & Study Materials

Use these materials before and after class. During the lesson, we will focus mainly on practising and using Chinese together.

1

Before the Lesson

HSK 1 Vocabulary Flashcards REQUIRED

Preview the vocabulary before class. You do not need to memorize every word, but please become familiar with the pronunciation and meaning.

Vocabulary Flashcards →

Character Practice Paper RECOMMENDED

Even if you are not focusing on handwriting, writing each new character once or twice can help build muscle memory and make the characters easier to recognize.

Practice Paper →

HSK 1 Characters — Analysis of the Origins OPTIONAL

If you are interested in how Chinese characters are formed and where they come from, you can read the character analysis for each lesson.

Explore the Characters →
2

During the Lesson

Our lessons focus mainly on listening, speaking, pronunciation, and character recognition.

  • Pronunciation Sounds, tones, and natural pronunciation.
  • Chinese Characters Basic character knowledge and character recognition.
  • Speaking Vocabulary, grammar, sentence building, and dialogues.
  • Listening & Reading Understanding spoken Chinese and recognizing words and sentences.
The content and level of difficulty will be adjusted depending on how familiar and comfortable you are with each part.
3

After the Lesson

HSK 1 Text Flashcards HOMEWORK

Review the sentences and key language from the lesson.

Review Lesson Text →

Review Your Lesson Notes HOMEWORK

Review the vocabulary, sentences, corrections, and useful expressions from your lesson notes.

HSK 1 Workbook IF YOU HAVE TIME

Complete the workbook exercises that correspond to the lesson for extra practice.

HSK 1 Textbook REFERENCE

Our lesson PPTs are based on the textbook, so you do not need to study directly from it. Use it when you want to look something up or review the original lesson content.

Classroom Chinese

Useful expressions you will hear and use regularly during our lessons.

Greetings & Everyday Expressions

早上好

zǎoshang hǎo

Good morning.

上午好

shàngwǔ hǎo

Good morning.

中午好

zhōngwǔ hǎo

Good afternoon / Good noon.

下午好

xiàwǔ hǎo

Good afternoon.

晚上好

wǎnshang hǎo

Good evening.

下次见

xià cì jiàn

See you next time.

吃了吗?

chī le ma?

Have you eaten?

吃了。

chī le.

Yes, I have.

还没吃。

hái méi chī.

Not yet.

Useful Expressions in Class

请听。

qǐng tīng.

Please listen.

请读。

qǐng dú.

Please read.

请问。

qǐng wèn.

Excuse me / May I ask...

跟我读。

gēn wǒ dú.

Repeat after me.

对。

duì.

Correct / Right.

不对。

bú duì.

Incorrect / Not right.

对不对?

duì bu duì?

Is that right?

懂了吗?

dǒng le ma?

Do you understand?

What You Can Say

我不明白。

wǒ bù míngbai.

I don't understand.

我不知道。

wǒ bù zhīdào.

I don't know.

请再说一遍。

qǐng zài shuō yí biàn.

Please say it again.

请说慢一点。

qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.

Please speak more slowly.

这个怎么读?

zhège zěnme dú?

How do you read this?

……中文怎么说?

... Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?

How do you say ... in Chinese?

……怎么写?

... zěnme xiě?

How do you write ...?

什么意思?

shénme yìsi?

What does it mean?

懂了。

dǒng le.

I understand.

还不懂。

hái bù dǒng.

I still don't understand.

Chinese Foundations

Reference resources that bring together important beginner foundations from different lessons.

Pronunciation

Pinyin & Pronunciation

Use these resources whenever you want to check a Pinyin sound, tone, or pronunciation point.

Pinyin Chart with Audio

Listen to and practise individual Pinyin sounds.

Pinyin Chart →

Pinyin & Pronunciation Guide

A full-picture summary of the pronunciation knowledge covered across your beginner lessons.

Pinyin Guide →

Characters

Chinese Character Basics

A simple reference for strokes, stroke order, character structure, and other essential character knowledge.

Chinese Character Basics

Review the basic ideas behind how Chinese characters are written and structured.

Character Guide →

Extra Basics

Quick references for useful beginner topics you will meet as you move through the course.

Core Everyday Adjectives

Describe everyday things and feelings with 27 essential adjectives.

Study Adjectives →

Core Everyday Verbs

Build simple everyday sentences with useful Chinese verbs.

Study Verbs →

Top 12 Noun Measure Words

Learn how to count and describe common things using measure words.

Study Measure Words →

Numbers

Key examples that show how the Chinese number system works.

0–10

零

líng

0

一

yī

1

二

èr

2

三

sān

3

四

sì

4

五

wǔ

5

六

liù

6

七

qī

7

八

bā

8

九

jiǔ

9

十

shí

10

11–99

十一

shí yī

11

十九

shí jiǔ

19

二十

èr shí

20

二十五

èr shí wǔ

25

三十

sān shí

30

三十七

sān shí qī

37

五十

wǔ shí

50

九十九

jiǔ shí jiǔ

99

Hundreds

一百

yì bǎi

100

一百零一

yì bǎi líng yī

101

一百一十

yì bǎi yī shí

110

一百一十一

yì bǎi yī shí yī

111

Thousands

一千

yì qiān

1000

一千零二

yì qiān líng èr

1002

一千零二十

yì qiān líng èr shí

1020

一千二百

yì qiān èr bǎi

1200

一千二百零一

yì qiān èr bǎi líng yī

1201

一千二百二十

yì qiān èr bǎi èr shí

1220

两千

liǎng qiān

2000

二 vs 两: Use 两 commonly before 百、千 and measure words: 两百、两千、两个人. Use 二 in numbers such as 二十、十二 and when reading individual digits.

One More Useful Number

一万

yí wàn

10,000

Chinese uses 万 for 10,000. For example: 一万 = 10,000, 两万 = 20,000.

Dates & Days

A quick reference for months, dates, and days of the week.

Months

一月

yī yuè

January

二月

èr yuè

February

三月

sān yuè

March

四月

sì yuè

April

五月

wǔ yuè

May

六月

liù yuè

June

七月

qī yuè

July

八月

bā yuè

August

九月

jiǔ yuè

September

十月

shí yuè

October

十一月

shí yī yuè

November

十二月

shí èr yuè

December

Days of the Week

星期 and 周 are both commonly used.
星期一 = 周一, 星期五 = 周五, etc.

星期一 / 周一

xīngqī yī / zhōu yī

Monday

星期二 / 周二

xīngqī èr / zhōu èr

Tuesday

星期三 / 周三

xīngqī sān / zhōu sān

Wednesday

星期四 / 周四

xīngqī sì / zhōu sì

Thursday

星期五 / 周五

xīngqī wǔ / zhōu wǔ

Friday

星期六 / 周六

xīngqī liù / zhōu liù

Saturday

星期天 / 星期日 / 周日

xīngqī tiān / xīngqī rì / zhōu rì

Sunday

周末

zhōumò

weekend

Dates

Add 号 or 日 after the number. 号 is common in everyday speech; 日 is more common in written or formal contexts.

一号 / 一日

yī hào / yī rì

the 1st

五号 / 五日

wǔ hào / wǔ rì

the 5th

十号 / 十日

shí hào / shí rì

the 10th

二十五号 / 二十五日

èrshíwǔ hào / èrshíwǔ rì

the 25th