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Chinese for complete beginners · free

Learn Chinese from zero, one small step at a time

Never studied Chinese? Start with short guided lessons, each with a few words and one sentence pattern, and practise the tones from the very first one. At the start every word comes with pinyin, so you can speak before you can read characters.

Start from zero, freeTest your level first

Your first steps in the app

Short lessons of three to five words and one pattern each, with reviews in between:

  1. Hello, thank you, goodbye: Greet someone, thank them, answer a thank-you and say goodbye.
  2. What's your name?: Say your name and ask someone's name.
  3. How are you?: Ask how someone is, answer, and ask back.
  4. Where are you from?: Say your nationality and ask about someone else's.
  5. Yes and no: Answer yes or no, and talk about him and her.
  6. Numbers 1 to 10, and your age: Count to ten, build numbers up to 99 and say how old you are.

Then the A0 grammar lessons

  1. The four tones
  2. Pinyin: letters that surprise you
  3. Tone changes: 你好, 不 and 一
  4. Hello, thank you, sorry, goodbye
  5. I, you, he, she: personal pronouns
  6. 是: to be (with nouns)
  7. Yes/no questions with 吗
  8. Numbers 0–99 and your age

The free A0 Chinese course: everything at this level.

What beginners worry about

Tones

They come first: the four tones and the neutral tone, with examples you can hear, the pairs English speakers mix up, and practice with your own voice.

Characters

In the beginner levels, every Chinese word and sentence comes with pinyin, and you can always answer in pinyin, so characters can come gradually. The early lessons use a small set of very common ones.

Pinyin

A lesson covers the letters that surprise English speakers (q, x, zh, c, ü), and the course writes 不 and 一 the way they're said.

Grammar

Chinese verbs don't change form, so there is no conjugation to learn. Basic sentences follow English order (我喝茶, “I drink tea”), and the lessons show where Chinese differs.

Start with the tones, read a first story, or see how long it takes.

Questions

Can I learn Chinese from zero for free?

Yes. SparkAI starts at A0, with tones and pinyin, and the whole Mandarin course is free, with no ads and no account needed to start.

What should I learn first in Chinese?

The tones and pinyin, then greetings, 是 (to be), questions with 吗 and numbers. That's exactly what the first A0 lessons cover.

Should I learn characters or pinyin first?

Both, side by side. Pinyin lets you say and type words straight away; characters are how Chinese is written, and every example shows them. The app accepts either in your answers.

Is Chinese hard for English speakers?

It takes longer than European languages: the US Foreign Service Institute puts Mandarin in its hardest group. But the grammar has no conjugation, and short daily practice adds up. See how long it takes to learn Chinese.

Start free, right now

A complete, free Mandarin Chinese course from A0 to C2. No payment details, no ads. No account needed to start; AI chat gives three guest prompts, then needs a free account.

Start from zero, free

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