Introduction
Studying a unique language like Chinese needs a special approach. Free Chinese Lessons has a unique method that teaches reading, writing and speaking at the same time. Starting with the very basics, this site is open to anyone with no previous knowledge of Chinese. Each lesson contains instruction on proper pronunciation, character recognition, and writing Chinese.
Basic Lessons
Proper pronunciation is essential in spoken Chinese. With more homonyms than any other language each mispronunciation results in another meaning. Studying the basics of pronunciation first is essential to making yourself understood.
» Browse basics lessonsBeginner Lessons
In this first section of beginner lessons you will learn to talk about yourself in Chinese. You will practice useful sentences that let you introduce yourself, talk about your family and discuss your work.
- Lesson One: How are you?
- Lesson Two: What's your name?
- Lesson Three: What country are you from?
- Lesson Four: What do you do?
- Lesson Five: How many people are there in your family?
- Lesson Six: Making an international phone call
- Lesson Seven: Changing Money
In the News
Mandarin's influence reaches deep (April 16)
Mandarin's status as China's standard language has been further enhanced as nearly 53 percent of the 1.3 billion Chinese in the country can communicate with others via Mandarin, said a national survey released here Sunday. The survey shows there are huge gaps in the number of Mandarin-speaking people if different resident localities, age groups, and educational background ... Read more »
Increasing Foreigners Show Desire to Learn Chinese (February 22)
Growing numbers of foreigners are showing a desire to learn the Chinese language, latest statistics from the Ministry of Education have shown. By the end of last year, nearly 30 million people from 85 countries and regions were learning standard Chinese -- putonghua. China is also witnessing a growth in the number of foreign students who come to study Chinese and ... Read more »
About Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is spoken by about 870 million people as a first language. An additional 180 million or so people speak Mandarin as a second language. The total number of speakers is over 1 billion, double that of English speakers. Mandarin Chinese is the official language of mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also one of the five official languages used by the United Nations
Links to other sites
- Learn to Speak Chinese in 58 Minutes
Discover a brand new way to learn to start speaking Chinese in 58 minutes online - with no notes. - Easy Persian - Free Online Farsi Language Lessons, MP3 Music, and Chat!
Free online Farsi lessons with audio files and writing samples. One of the best free language lesson websites ever!