Learning guides
Choose a course
A good first course gives you sentences you can understand and want to use. Start with your level and your goal, then choose a short lesson.
Find your starting point
- Open Course Library. Browse the available courses and read the course description.
- Choose a goal. Use Beginner material for your first sentences, HSK for level-based practice, or Everyday topics for useful situations.
- Check the lessons and access label. Free courses and available Pro previews let you try material before deciding what to study next.
- Start a short lesson. If most sentences feel unfamiliar, use Watch first or choose easier material.
If you are new to Chinese
Choose a Beginner course with short, useful sentences. Listen before typing and use the English meaning to understand what you are building.
You do not need a Chinese keyboard. Type plain Pinyin in Guided Mode, and use Watch Mode when you want to see how the sentence fits together.
Finish a short lesson, then revisit a few difficult items. You can increase the amount once the practice flow feels familiar.
HSK and Everyday courses
HSK 1–6 material supports level-based study. Choose a level where you understand some of the sentences and can work through the rest with support.
Everyday courses focus on situations and topics. Use them when your goal is a conversation, a trip, or vocabulary you want to use now.
Course availability and lesson access are shown in Course Library. The HSK learning path explains how to balance new material and review.
Courses, lessons, and sentences
| Part | What it means |
|---|---|
| Course | A collection of lessons around a topic or learning level. |
| Lesson | A smaller set of items to work through in a study session. |
| Sentence or item | The Chinese content, English meaning, and Pinyin you practice. |
| Practice mode | How you work with that content: Watch, Guided, Dictation, Read-Along, or Speak. |
Changing your practice mode gives you a different way to work on the same material. It does not create a new course.
Start and continue a lesson
Open a course, choose an available lesson, and start Practice. Use My Courses to return to your courses and lesson progress.
Free includes all Free courses plus available preview lessons in Pro courses. Active Pro unlocks all active courses and lessons. Compare course access.
Practice your own material
Personal courses let you work with sentences from a class, a topic, or your own writing. Active Pro lets you create, edit, and practice them.
Your personal courses stay separate from the public catalog. Learn how to make a course and import material.