Introduction to Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese is spoken by over a billion people worldwide, and this course gives you the foundation to start communicating in it — from your very first session. Introduction to Mandarin Chinese is a live online course built for absolute beginners who want practical skills fast: real listening comprehension, confident speaking, and the ability to form your own sentences and questions from scratch. You'll tackle everything from tones and characters to everyday conversations about family, shopping, directions, and weather. Whether you're preparing for travel, connecting with Mandarin-speaking colleagues or family, or simply unlocking one of the world's most spoken languages, this course gives you the tools to get started and keep going.

Tones, Pinyin, and First Characters Learn the four tones that give Mandarin words their meaning, use pinyin to sound out new words, and start recognizing and writing common characters.

Greetings and Introductions Greet people, introduce yourself, and share personal information in your first Mandarin conversations.

Numbers, Dates, and Times Count in Mandarin and put numbers to work in practical situations like prices and times.

Shopping Handle everyday shopping, from asking about items to understanding prices, with confidence.

Getting Around Ask for directions and talk about local geography so you can find your way in familiar, everyday situations.

Everyday Conversation Talk about your family and the weather, and form your own simple sentences and questions from scratch.