Learning guides
Watch Mode
Watch Mode walks you through a sentence before you practice it yourself. Follow the words as they build into Chinese order, listen to Mandarin, and hear the explanation.
What Watch Mode helps you understand
Watch connects a sentence’s meaning to its words and structure. Use it when you recognize some vocabulary but cannot yet see how the sentence fits together.
- Connect each word to its meaning and sound.
- Follow the order of words in the Chinese sentence.
- Use the English explanation to understand the construction.
The explanation stays tied to the sentence you are studying. Open an available lesson in Practice and choose Watch.
Work through one sentence
- Read the meaning. Get an idea of what the sentence says.
- Watch the words build. Follow the Mandarin audio and the highlighted words as the sentence takes shape.
- Listen to the explanation. Connect the word choices and sentence order to the meaning.
- Replay what you need. Pause or return to a sentence if you want another pass.
- Try it in Guided. Rebuild the sentence yourself once it makes sense.
Connect word order and meaning
In 我在家学习中文, the location comes before the action:
| Part | Chinese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Who | 我 | I |
| Where | 在家 | at home |
| Action | 学习 | study |
| What | 中文 | Chinese |
Watch how those parts connect, then recall the whole sentence in Guided. Read more about learning word order.
Playback, explanations, and subtitles
Open Settings → Playback to adjust the pace:
- Playback speed: slow the sentence down or speed it up.
- Explanation level · Watch: choose how much grammar explanation plays.
- Show subtitles · Watch: show the narration subtitles.
- Subtitle size · Watch: choose a comfortable size.
Voice choices are in Settings → Audio & Voice. Available voices follow your plan.
Make watching part of active practice
After watching a sentence, try Guided while its meaning and sound are fresh. If listening is your goal, follow with Dictation. If pronunciation is your goal, listen again and use Speak.
Keep a useful explanation in a learning Note so you can return to it in Review → Notes.
Access and explanations
Watch is available on Free courses and on available preview lessons in Pro courses. Active Pro unlocks the remaining active lessons. Personal-course access and available voices also follow your plan.
AI explanations can make mistakes. If something does not match the sentence or course context, replay it and send us the sentence and explanation so we can investigate.
Common questions
Do I type while Watch is playing?
Watch focuses on explanation and demonstration. Switch to Guided when you want to type the sentence yourself.
Can I use Watch on a phone?
Yes. Watch is useful on a phone or tablet because you can listen and follow the sentence without typing.
Do I need to watch every sentence?
No. Start directly in another mode when you already understand the sentence. Return to Watch when you need the context.