The course · 10 levels
One ladder, from zero to fluent
No ages, no grades — just levels. Tap any rung to enter that level, work its lessons and check, then clear it to light the next one. A teenager who starts today and a six-year-old both stand on Level 1.
- 5
- stages
- 10
- levels
- 30
- lessons
- 57+
- tap-to-hear words
- 3,000+
- years of script
Brand new? Warm up your ear first
Before Level 1, play with the four tones, pinyin and strokes in the interactive room — no account, no pressure.
How Chinese got here
Three thousand years, one living script
The characters you will learn did not appear all at once. They were carved, cast, standardised, squared and refined — the same word reshaped by the tool that wrote it. Follow one script from bone to the page in your hand.
Carved on bone and shell — thin, angular, still close to a picture.
→ picture → line
Cast into bronze vessels — rounder, fuller, more confident strokes.
→ angular → round
One empire, one script — even, symmetrical, tall and elegant.
→ many → one standard
Flattened and squared for speed — the birth of the modern boxy shape.
→ round → square
Clear, balanced, printable — the script you and I write today.
✓ the shape we use
Not sure where to start?
Three questions place you on the ladder
A rough nudge, not a verdict — the practice room refines it.
Start the placement check
“你好” (nǐ hǎo) means…
The ten levels
Tap a rung to enter
Foundations
Hear it, say it, write the first strokes.
Lesson 1 · The four tones
Learn · Mandarin uses pitch to tell words apart. mā, má, mǎ, mà are four different words.
✎Homework · Listen and point: tap each tone tile, then say the matching gesture out loud.
Lesson 2 · Onsets & vowels
Learn · Every syllable is an onset plus a vowel core. Hear b-, p-, m-, f- and a, o, e, i, u, ü.
✎Homework · Sound drill: read five initials and five finals aloud, record yourself, compare.
Lesson 3 · Blend & greet
Learn · Put them together: b + a = bā. Then your first words: 你好, 谢谢, 再见.
✎Homework · Greet three people today in Chinese and write down their reaction.
Quick check — instant feedback, no saving.
The syllable “mǎ” (horse) uses which tone?
Words in this level · tap to hear
By the end · You can hear the four tones and greet someone.
Finished the lessons and the check above? Clear this level and unlock the next rung.
Getting Going
Build words from parts, speak in short sentences.
Building
Read short texts, write a paragraph, live inside a story.
Expanding
Argue a point, trace history, translate with intent.
Owning It
Read the classics, create your own bilingual voice.