Articles
Guides for Chinese learners: tones, characters, HSK and a plan for your first month.
Chinese tones: the four tones and the neutral toneWhat the four tones of Mandarin are, how to read tone marks, and the three tone changes (不, 一 and two third tones) every beginner meets.Read Stroke order rules for Chinese charactersThe basic rules of Chinese stroke order with examples you can practise: horizontal before vertical, top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside and more.Read HSK levels explained: which word list to learnHSK 2.0, HSK 3.0 and the newest 2025 list: how many new words each level adds, how much the lists overlap, and where to start.Read Learning Chinese from zero: a plan for the first 30 daysA simple 30-day plan: pinyin and tones first, then about 10 new words a day — enough to cover the HSK level 1 word list in a month.Read