分级资源fēnjí zīyuán

Chinese learning resources, level by level

Most learners have too many apps. Here are the few we recommend, and what to do with each one. We've marked the free ones.

言, the CLI logo,marks something CLI created

A CLI teacher and a student laughing over a character workbook in a bookstore
Choosing workbooks with a teacher on a bookstore trip.

零基础líng jīchǔ, "from nothing"

Starting from zero

Get the sounds right first. Tones you learn wrong in week one are hard to fix later, so go slowly here and say everything out loud.

Not your level? Pick another

If you only do one thing

Free Chinese Course (made by CLI)

Eight weeks, from pinyin to your first story. Each step tells you which tool to open next, and most of the tools on this page turn up in it, in the order you'll need them.

Free, no sign-up.

The free course map: sounds, words, sentences, characters, reading and speaking, over eight weeks

  • SoundsPinyin Chart (made by CLI)

    Free

    Click a sound, listen, then say it back. Do this for ten minutes a day in your first two weeks.

  • WordsHSK 1 Vocabulary (made by CLI)

    Free

    The 300 HSK 1 words with examples, 20 at a time. It remembers where you stopped.

  • DictionaryPleco

    Free with paid extras

    Look up any word by pinyin, English or by drawing it. Almost every learner we know keeps it on their phone. While you're at it, turn on a pinyin keyboard.

Also good at this stage

  • My Dad Loves Drinking Tea (made by CLI)Free

    Your first story, once you know about 150 words. You can turn pinyin on and off and listen to the new words. After that, read My Family's Dog.

  • A free 30-minute lessonFree trial

    Half an hour with a teacher will tell you more about your tones than a month of apps.

  • HelloChineseFree with paid extras

    If you like apps, this is the one we'd start with: short daily lessons, with more tone and character practice than most beginner apps.

初级chūjí, "first level"

Beginner

About HSK 1 to 2. Read and listen a little every day, and start talking to real people. Say new words out loud, even if they come out badly, because that's what makes them stick.

Not your level? Pick another

If you only do one thing

One short story a day

Read while you listen. Du Chinese has thousands of short stories with audio, sorted by level. Our own graded readers work too. Start with My Bus Driver, Mr. Liu, switch pinyin off when you can, and listen to the new words.

Du Chinese is free with paid extras, and our readers are free. Give it ten minutes a day.

The start of My Bus Driver, Mr. Liu, in simplified characters, with buttons for traditional, pinyin and bilingual versions

  • WordsHSK Flashcards (made by CLI)

    Free

    Finish the HSK 1 words first, then add ten new words a day from our HSK 2 list and review them here. Each tone has its own color, so you see the tone as you say the word.

  • ListeningCoffee Break Chinese

    Free with paid extras

    A friendly podcast for beginners, and fifteen minutes of it on a walk counts. There are more in our podcast guide.

  • SpeakingA weekly conversation

    Free with paid extras

    A language partner on HelloTalk is friendly, but partners rarely correct your mistakes, and a teacher will. Try our one-on-one lessons.

Also good at this stage

中级zhōngjí, "middle level"

Intermediate

About HSK 3 to 4. If you know lots of words but still can't follow real Chinese, that's normal at this level: your ears are behind your eyes. So listen more than you read, and take new words from what you hear rather than from lists.

Not your level? Pick another

If you only do one thing

One video, three days

Pick a video from Comprehensible Chinese, a free YouTube channel entirely in slow, clear Mandarin. Then give it three days.

  1. 第一天Day one

    No subtitles. Get what you can.

  2. 第二天Day two

    Chinese subtitles on. Pause and look up.

  3. 第三天Day three

    No subtitles again. Notice how much more you catch.

Also good at this stage

高级gāojí, "high level"

Advanced

HSK 5 and up. Most learner books will feel too easy by now, so switch to what Chinese people read, watch and listen to for fun.

Not your level? Pick another

If you only do one thing

A podcast made for Chinese listeners

An episode a day, on the commute or at the gym. These two are our favorites. Our podcast guide has eight more, and where to listen.

Also good at this stage

  • Anki, for your fieldFree (iPhone app paid)

    Business, medicine, law: add the words you need, in the sentences where you found them.

  • How to pass HSK 6 (made by CLI)Free

    Taking the exam? Our guide covers the format and the vocabulary, and gives you a study routine.

Everything we recommend, by skill

The kits above, plus a few more we like. For over 100 tools, see our 2026 tools report.

Pronunciation3 picks

Words and characters7 picks

  • HSK Vocabulary lists (made by CLI)Free

    HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4. Every word with example sentences, and it remembers your progress. For HSK 1 to 4.

  • HSK Flashcards (made by CLI)Free

    Word cards for HSK 1–3 and sentence cards for HSK 1–4, with tone colors.

  • Radical Explorer (made by CLI)Free

    Look up any character's radical and stroke count, and see other characters with the same radical. For all levels.

  • PlecoFree with paid extras

    The dictionary. Paid add-ons include camera lookup and a document reader. For all levels.

  • AnkiFree (iPhone app paid)

    Flashcards you build yourself, shown just before you'd forget them. From HSK 2 up.

  • SkritterSubscription

    Handwriting practice that checks your strokes. Our review. For all levels.

  • NinchaneseFree with paid extras

    Game-style lessons for every skill. Use code STUDYCLI for 30% off any plan. Our review. For all levels.

Reading5 picks

Grammar3 picks

Speaking3 picks

  • Free trial lessonFree trial

    30 minutes one-on-one with one of our teachers in Guilin. For all levels.

  • One-on-one lessons onlinePaid

    Your own teacher on Zoom or another video app, at times that suit you. For all levels.

  • HelloTalkFree with paid extras

    Chat with Chinese speakers who are learning your language. Best for adult learners, from beginner up.

Listening and watching5 picks

HSK exam4 picks

What we'd skip, at any level

  • A separate pinyin keyboard app. Your phone and computer already have one built in, and here's how to turn it on.
  • Word lists as your main diet after HSK 2. Take new words from what you read and hear, in the sentence you met them in, and they'll stick far better. Keep our HSK 3 and 4 lists for checking gaps.

Coming to Guilin?

You don't need to arrive speaking Chinese. Your teachers read your Chinese story before you arrive and start from wherever you are. But a little work before you fly makes your first week much easier.

The front of the CLI Center on a quiet Guilin street, with red lanterns over the door
The CLI Center in Guilin, from the street.
Weeks before you fly

Your head start

0 of 4 done

Your teachers read it before you arrive and use it to plan your lessons. Write it in Chinese if you can; English is fine if you're just starting.

~20 min · Due 3 weeks before you start · On your pre-departure to-do list

Do the first two weeks of our free course, which cover the tones on the pinyin chart and then hello, thank you and sorry.

10 to 20 min a day · Weeks 1–2

Start on the HSK 1 words and learn our ten travel phrases. Staying with a host family? Read our homestay guide before you go.

10 to 20 min a day · Weeks 3–4

Pleco is the dictionary almost every learner we know keeps on their phone. Here's how to turn on a pinyin keyboard.

~10 min · Before you fly

If you already know some Chinese, send your Chinese story anyway and use your level's kit above instead of weeks 1 to 4. If you only have two weeks left, send it today, do weeks 1 and 2, and install Pleco. The pre-departure packet covers the rest.

Between lessons, online or in Guilin

  • Review your notes within a day of each class.
  • Put new words into your flashcards with the sentence you met them in.
  • Bring one thing to every class: a paragraph you wrote, or a clip you didn't understand.
Anna teaching a one-on-one with workbooks open on the table
Anna, who leads our teachers in Guilin, in a one-on-one class.

When you're ready to talk

Apps are good for review, but for tones and conversation you need a person listening. Do your review before class, so class time is for talking.

Book a free lesson

Or come and study with us in Guilin.

Common questions

  1. There isn't one. You need a few free tools that each do a job: the pinyin chart for sounds, Pleco as your dictionary, a flashcard tool for words, and short stories for reading. If you'd like them in order, our free Chinese course walks you through them over eight weeks.

  2. It's a pleasant way to start, but no. Most serious learners outgrow beginner apps within two or three months. HelloChinese does more with tones and characters, so we'd start there. Whichever you use, add reading, listening and real conversation early.

  3. Two to four: a dictionary, a flashcard tool, something to read or listen to at your level, and a way to speak. Learners who keep switching apps end up learning apps instead of Chinese.

  4. Learn the one you'll use. Simplified is used in mainland China and by most Mandarin programs, including ours. Traditional is used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Once you know one set well, the other comes much faster.

  5. With a pinyin keyboard: type the pinyin and pick the character. It's built into every phone and computer. Our guide shows how to turn it on for iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows.

  6. You can get a long way on your own, especially with reading and vocabulary. Tones and speaking are where self-learners get stuck, because nobody corrects them. Even one lesson a week is enough to catch tone mistakes early. You can try a free lesson with one of our teachers.

Further reading

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