Sounds, tones and pinyin
Pronounce the four tones correctly and read pinyin — the foundation that makes every later lesson easier.
Chinese course · 汉语课程 · live now
Learn Chinese with a clear path from 你好 to HSK 9.
Mandarin from the very beginning: tones and pinyin first, then characters, everyday conversation and the grammar that holds it together. Levels 1 to 9 are ready today, each with its own lesson-by-lesson plan and textbook — and the programme is built to carry you all the way to HSK 9.
HSK 1–9the whole programme
70lessons in HSK 1–9
7course volumes
11,000flashcard words
HSK levels
From HSK 1 to HSK 9
Levels 1 to 4 are complete: a fixed number of lessons with one clear aim per lesson, using the HSK Standard Course textbook together with my own course written for Arabic speakers. Levels 5 to 9 are in preparation.
HSK 1
First words and sounds
300words in the deck
HSK 2
Everyday situations
200words in the deck
HSK 3
Longer conversations
500words in the deck
HSK 4
Opinions, work and society
1,000words in the deck
In preparation
HSK 5
Lessons being written
Coming soon
HSK 6
Lessons being written
Coming soon
HSK 7–9
Lessons being written
Coming soon
Course introduction
What you will learn
The programme starts with the sound system and builds up to real conversations. These are the main goals of the course, level by level.
Greetings and introductions
Greet people, thank them and reply, say goodbye properly, give your name, your country, your job and your age.
Numbers, dates and time
Count from 1 to 99 and beyond, tell the time, name the days of the week, ask for dates and talk about your family.
Food, shopping and money
Order in a restaurant or a shop politely, ask about prices, talk about what you like to eat and drink.
Places, travel and transport
Ask where something is, describe locations, invite someone politely, and talk about how you travelled somewhere.
Everyday life and weather
Talk about the weather, your daily routine, what you are doing right now and what you did yesterday.
Grammar that carries you
The particles and patterns that do the real work: 的, 了, 过, 把, 比, 得, result and direction complements, and connectors between ideas.
Real conversation and culture
Dialogues, phone calls, opinions and comparisons — plus the habits behind the language: tea, food, festivals and the way people actually speak.
Course structure
The lesson-by-lesson plan
Each level is a fixed number of lessons, and every lesson has one clear aim plus the language it introduces. Open a level to see its lessons.
HSK 1 — 15 lessons · 1.5–2 months
- 01你好
- 02谢谢你
- 03你叫什么名字
- 04她是我的汉语老师
- 05她女儿今年二十岁
- 06我会说汉语
- 07今天几号
- 08我想喝茶
- 09你儿子在哪儿工作
- 10我能坐这儿吗
- 11现在几点
- 12明天天气怎么样
- 13他在学做中国菜呢
- 14她买了不少衣服
- 15我是坐飞机来的
HSK 2 — 15 lessons · 2.5 months
- 01九月去北京旅游最好
- 02我每天六点起床
- 03左边那个红色的是我的
- 04这个工作是他帮我介绍的
- 05就买这件吧
- 06你怎么不吃了
- 07你家离公司远吗
- 08让我想想再告诉你
- 09题太多，我没做完
- 10别找了，手机在桌子上呢
- 11他比我大三岁
- 12你穿得太少了
- 13门开着呢
- 14你看过那个电影吗
- 15新年就要到了
HSK 3 — 20 lessons · 5–5.5 months
- 01周末你有什么打算
- 02他什么时候回来
- 03桌子上放着很多饮料
- 04她总是笑着跟客人说话
- 05我最近越来越胖了
- 06怎么突然找不到了
- 07我跟她都认识五年了
- 08你去哪儿我就去哪儿
- 09她的汉语说得跟中国人一样好
- 10数学比历史难多了
- 11别忘了把空调关了
- 12把重要的东西放在我这儿吧
- 13我是走回来的
- 14你把水果拿过来
- 15其他都没什么问题
- 16我现在累得下了班就想睡觉
- 17谁都有办法看好你的“病”
- 18我相信他们会同意的
- 19你没看出来吗
- 20我被他影响了
HSK 4 — 20 lessons · 7.5–8 months
- 01简单的爱情
- 02真正的朋友
- 03经理对我印象不错
- 04不要太着急赚钱
- 05只买对的，不买贵的
- 06一分钱一分货
- 07最好的医生是自己
- 08生活中不缺少美
- 09阳光总在风雨后
- 10幸福的标准
- 11读书好，读好书，好读书
- 12用心发现世界
- 13喝着茶看京剧
- 14保护地球母亲
- 15教育孩子的艺术
- 16生活可以更美好
- 17人与自然
- 18科技与世界
- 19生活的味道
- 20路上的风景
Free study tool · flashcards
Practise the vocabulary between lessons
The flashcard deck is the study companion of the course: every word comes with its pinyin and its meaning in English, French and Arabic, and the deck covers the vocabulary of HSK 1 up to HSK 9.
- 11,000 words — filter the deck by HSK level
- Study, browse and quiz modes, with stars for the difficult words
- Free and open — on your phone, tablet or computer
HSK 1
你好
nǐ hǎo
- English
- hello
- Français
- bonjour
- العربية
- مرحبا
A card from the deck — flip it, star it, and get tested by the quiz.
Learning materials
What we study from
A standard course series, my own Arabic-language course, and the flashcard deck that ties it all together.
HSK 标准教程 · HSK Standard Course
The HSK Standard Course textbooks and workbooks, used for the dialogues, listening and exercises of every lesson.
أجي تعلّم اللغة الصينية
My own Chinese course written for Arabic speakers, published in seven volumes, with the explanations, pronunciation help and grammar notes that make the standard course easier to follow.
HSK flashcards
Every word in one deck: characters, pinyin and meanings in English, French and Arabic — with study mode, browsing and a quiz.
Open the flashcards →Questions
Questions about the Chinese course
Levels, materials, pacing and the deck — answered before you start.
What HSK levels can I study?
HSK 1 to HSK 4 are complete, lesson by lesson. HSK 5 to HSK 9 are in preparation, and their vocabulary is already in the flashcard deck, so you can start on those words today.
Do I need to know any Chinese before HSK 1?
No. HSK 1 starts at the very beginning — the four tones and pinyin — and the first characters come from there.
Which textbooks does the course use?
The HSK Standard Course textbooks and workbooks for the dialogues, listening and exercises, plus my own seven-volume Chinese course written for Arabic speakers, which explains the pronunciation and grammar in Arabic.
How long does each HSK level take?
HSK 1 is 15 lessons, about one and a half to two months. HSK 2 is 15 lessons, about two and a half months. HSK 3 and HSK 4 are 20 lessons each, roughly five to five and a half months and seven and a half to eight months.
Is the flashcard deck part of the course?
Yes. The deck holds all 11,000 words of HSK 1–9 with pinyin and meanings in English, French and Arabic, in study, browse and quiz modes. HSK 1 is free; the rest comes with the five-dollar-a-month course.
Start your first Chinese lesson
HSK 1 is the place to begin, and the flashcards are free to use today. Tell me your goal — travel, work, study or an exam — and I will tell you which level to start from and what the first month looks like.
Write to me: elhouari710@gmail.com