你好！(Nǐ hǎo!) This free, self-paced starter course is built especially for English speakers. Master greetings, Mandarin tones and pinyin, numbers, key verbs, everyday phrases, ordering food and your first real conversation — then earn your free iLinguist certificate.
A gentle, practical introduction to Mandarin Chinese (普通话) designed for native English speakers. No grammar overwhelm — just the words, tones and structures you will actually use from day one.
Greetings and introductions that work the moment you land in a Chinese-speaking country — or on a WeChat call.
Tone marks and pinyin explained the way an English speaker's ear expects — mā, má, mǎ, mà — so you are never scared of the four tones.
No need to memorise thousands of characters. Start with common radicals and simple characters like 人, 大, 小 — meaning through pictures.
Pass the quiz with 70% to unlock your downloadable, printable iLinguist certificate.
Ten short modules take you from your very first "你好" to a complete mini-conversation.
Start with the greeting you already know: 你好 nǐ hǎo (hello) is safe all day, 早上好 zǎoshang hǎo is "good morning", and 晚上好 wǎnshang hǎo is "good evening". Respond with the same phrase back — 你好！ — mirroring is perfectly polite.
Introducing yourself is simple: 我叫… wǒ jiào… ("my name is…", literally "I am called…"). To say where you are from use 我是…人 wǒ shì… rén — for example 我是英国人 wǒ shì Yīngguó rén ("I am English/British"). If someone introduces themselves, reply 很高兴认识你 hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ ("nice to meet you").
Don't forget politeness words: 谢谢 xièxie (thank you), 不客气 bú kèqi (you're welcome), 对不起 duìbuqǐ (sorry), and 请 qǐng (please).
This is the single most important lesson in the course. Chinese is a tonal language: the same syllable means completely different things depending on the pitch you use. Practise with mā 妈 (mother), má 麻 (hemp), mǎ 马 (horse), mà 骂 (to scold), and the neutral ma 吗 (question particle).
The four tones + neutral: 1st tone is flat and high — mā; 2nd tone rises, like a question — má; 3rd tone dips down then up — mǎ; 4th tone falls sharply — mà; the neutral tone is short and light — ma.
Sounds English speakers find tricky: j/q/x are like English "jee/ch/see" pushed forward to the roof of the mouth (jiǔ 九 nine, qù 去 to go, xiè 谢 thanks). zh/ch/sh are "retroflex" — curl your tongue back (zhè 这 this, chī 吃 to eat, shū 书 book). r is like a soft "r"/"zh" blend (rén 人 person). ü is purse your lips and say "ee" (nǚ 女 woman, lǜ 绿 green).
Zero to ten is the foundation: líng 零 (0), yī 一 (1), èr 二 (2), sān 三 (3), sì 四 (4), wǔ 五 (5), liù 六 (6), qī 七 (7), bā 八 (8), jiǔ 九 (9), shí 十 (10).
From 11 the system is gloriously logical — literally "ten-one, ten-two…": shí yī 十一 (11), shí èr 十二 (12), shí jiǔ 十九 (19). And 20 is "two-ten": èr shí 二十. So èr shí sān 二十三 is 23 — the pattern extends all the way up (三十 thirty, 一百 yì bǎi one hundred).
Note the friendly quirk: when 一 yī (one) sits before a fourth-tone word it becomes yí or yì — 一个 yí gè ("one of…"). Listen for it and you will hear it constantly.
The days are beautifully simple — 星期 xīngqī (week) plus a number: 星期一 xīngqī yī (Monday, "week-one"), 星期二 xīngqī èr (Tuesday), up to 星期日 xīngqī rì or 星期天 xīngqī tiān (Sunday). 今天 jīntiān (today), 明天 míngtiān (tomorrow), 昨天 zuótiān (yesterday).
The months are equally easy: 月 yuè (month) plus a number — 一月 yī yuè (January), 二月 èr yuè (February), 十二月 shí èr yuè (December). Days of the month work the same way: 五月一号 wǔ yuè yī hào = May 1st.
The time: 现在几点？xiànzài jǐ diǎn? ("what time is it now?"). 点 diǎn = o'clock, 半 bàn = half, 分 fēn = minutes. So 现在三点半 xiànzài sān diǎn bàn = "it's 3:30".
Five verbs unlock half of everyday Chinese — and here is the gift: they never change form. No conjugation, no tenses to memorise. 是 shì (to be): 我是老师 wǒ shì lǎoshī ("I am a teacher"). 有 yǒu (to have): 我有时间 wǒ yǒu shíjiān ("I have time").
去 qù (to go): 我去学校 wǒ qù xuéxiào ("I go to school"). 吃 chī (to eat): 我吃米饭 wǒ chī mǐfàn ("I eat rice"). 说 shuō (to speak): 我会说中文 wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén ("I can speak Chinese") — 中文 Zhōngwén is the written/spoken Chinese language, while 普通话 Pǔtōnghuà is spoken Mandarin.
Word order is far kinder than English: subject + verb + object, with no articles (no "a/an/the") and no plurals. 我 wǒ works for "I" and "me".
Characters are not random squiggles — they are built from radicals, small building blocks that hint at meaning. Learn a few radicals and suddenly characters make pictures. Start with 人 rén (person), 大 dà (big — a person with arms stretched), 小 xiǎo (small), 水 shuǐ (water — three flowing drops), 山 shān (mountain — three peaks).
Stroke order basics are simple rules, not guesswork: write top-to-bottom, left-to-right, outside-to-inside, and horizontal strokes before vertical ones. Practise 人 (two strokes: left-falling then right-falling) and 大 (three strokes: horizontal, left-falling, right-falling) and you have two characters in a minute.
The good news: you do not need thousands of characters to travel. Everyday signs and menus use a limited set — and your flashcards in this course cover the most useful ones.
Family is central to Chinese culture, and the words are easy because many repeat the syllable (a sign of closeness): 爸爸 bàba (dad), 妈妈 māma (mum), 哥哥 gēge (older brother), 姐姐 jiějie (older sister), 弟弟 dìdi (younger brother), 妹妹 mèimei (younger sister).
More people words: 爷爷 yéye (grandpa, father's side), 奶奶 nǎinai (grandma, father's side), 朋友 péngyou (friend), 老师 lǎoshī (teacher), 学生 xuéshēng (student), and 家 jiā (home / family).
The classic small-talk question: 你家有几口人？nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén? — "how many people are in your family?" Answer: 我家有四口人 wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén ("my family has four people").
Asking a yes/no question in Chinese is the easiest in any language: just add 吗 ma at the end. 你是老师 nǐ shì lǎoshī ("you are a teacher") → 你是老师吗？nǐ shì lǎoshī ma? ("are you a teacher?"). Same word order, no inversion, no auxiliaries.
Question words: 什么 shénme (what) — 你叫什么名字？nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? ("what's your name?"); 哪 nǎ (which) — 哪个？nǎ ge? ("which one?"); 谁 shéi (who), 哪里 nǎlǐ (where), 什么时候 shénme shíhou (when), 为什么 wèishéme (why).
Negation is two quick words: 不 bù goes before verbs — 我不去 wǒ bù qù ("I'm not going"); 没 méi negates "have" and past actions — 我没有时间 wǒ méiyǒu shíjiān ("I don't have time"), 我没吃 wǒ méi chī ("I didn't eat").
The essentials on any menu: 茶 chá (tea), 水 shuǐ (water), 米饭 mǐfàn (cooked rice), 面条 miàntiáo (noodles), 饺子 jiǎozi (dumplings), 鸡肉 jīròu (chicken), 牛肉 niúròu (beef).
Order humbly and politely with 这个 zhège ("this one"): point and say 我要这个，谢谢。wǒ yào zhège, xièxie. — "I'd like this one, thank you." For a menu ask 有菜单吗？yǒu càidān ma? ("is there a menu?"), and when finished, 买单，谢谢。mǎidān, xièxie. — "the bill, please."
Shopping phrases: 多少钱？duōshao qián? ("how much?"), 太贵了 tài guì le ("too expensive"), 便宜一点 piányi yìdiǎn ("a bit cheaper" — polite bargaining).
Everything you have learned fits into a real conversation. Read this dialogue out loud twice — once slowly, once at a natural speed:
Notice how every piece you learned appears here: greetings, 我叫 wǒ jiào, 谢谢 xièxie, 很高兴认识你 hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ, 吗 ma, 是 shì, 不 bú, and the farewell 再见 zàijiàn.
Shadowing drill (the habit that builds tone): replay the dialogue aloud from memory once a day. Copy the pitch of the tones, not just the words. Thirty seconds a day beats one big cram session every week.
Your go-to cheat sheet — say it out loud a few times and you will keep it. The highlighted word is the one that carries the sentence.
Answer all 20 questions and score 70% or above to unlock your certificate. Enter your details below — your certificate is released only after your details are recorded.
Complete the Basic Chinese quiz with 70% or above to generate your personalised "Basic Chinese for English Speakers" certificate.
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