Wanting to teach yourself Chinese or looking to improve your Chinese skills without the hefty costs? Below is a comprehensive list of websites, apps, podcast, music, book and video suggestions to help improve your Chinese language level. All tried and tested by a Chinese language learner. Find your level (beginners, intermediate, advanced) then the skill you would like to improve underneath.
TOP PICKS
BEGINNERS
Website: Chinese Grammar Wiki– All you need to know for mastering Chinese grammar
INTERMEDIATE
YouTube: 理查老师的中文直播课-Richard Chinese – Entirely free Chinese classes broadcast daily
ADVANCED
Podcast: Dashu Mandarin – Conversations with 3 Chinese speaking uncles
BEGINNERS
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
YouTube: Everyday Chinese – Very basic phrases for starting your Chinese language learning journey
PROS: Really slow; several accents; great for learning several basic phrases
CONS: No in-depth explanations
App: Du Chinese– Read along stories to learn Chinese characters
PROS: Follow along characters; can add or remove pinyin; available in simplified or traditional characters; audio speed can be adjusted; can add vocab to flashcards; English translations
CONS: Only some lessons are free
Website: Chinese Grammar Wiki– All you need to know for mastering Chinese grammar
PROS: Clear layout; grammar points for all HSK levels; examples for each structure; barely any ads
CONS: Classic written format so requires active learning
App: Ka – Learn Chinese tones – Free app for refining your Chinese tones
PROS: Game format; great for mastering difference between similar words; helps with vocab; microphone for practising; hear tones used in a phrase
CONS: Only specific number of lives per day; subscription required for no ads;
App: HelloChinese – Game-based learning, great for bite-sized information
PROS: Targets all skills; character-writing lessons; fun game-based learning; can add or remove pinyin; direct translations; not too many ads!
CONS: Limited attempts; annoying reminders
YouTube: Yimin Chinese – Great video content for beginners
PROS: Slow speech; both English and Chinese; playlists for different HSK levels (try the Beginner Chinese one); great for listening and speaking
CONS: Doesn’t develop all 4 skills at the same time
Website: Mandarin Bean– Learn to read basic texts in Chinese
PROS: Simplified or traditional characters; can switch the pinyin off; audio available to follow along
CONS: Premium required for translations and exercises HINT!: Copy and paste the text into a translator
Website: Chinese Calligrapher– Create your own worksheets with stroke order for each character
PROS: Easy-to-use; entirely free; downloadable; English translation; shows the radical;
CONS: Subscription required for access to all features
Record yourself speaking.
The Chinese language needs to be practised out loud. A simple way to get to grips with the tones and the correct pronunciation is to record yourself saying words/a sentence. Listen back to your recording, then compare it to a native speaker (you can even use Translate if needed!). If you have a language exchange partner then you can ask them to help correct any mistakes. This website provides lots of other tips for improving your speaking skills in Chinese.
App: Pleco– Your go-to Chinese-English dictionary
PROS: Free version; handwriting option; flashcard system; audio pronunciation; OCR; Chinese-French dictionary (downloadable); works offline
CONS: Stroke order only for basic characters; add-ons required for better features
INTERMEDIATE
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
Podcast: Maomi Chinese – Weekly podcast for intermediate Chinese learners
PROS: Authentic Chinese; great length; free transcript available
CONS: None!
App: Todaii: Easy Chinese– App to practice reading Chinese characters
PROS: Integrated dictionary; short texts, auto translation; words categorised by HSK level; free HSK tests
CONS: ‘only’ 10 free reads per day; ads on free version
Pen and paper… Old school style
If you only want to learn how to recognise characters, then it’s not worth your time learning how to write them properly. If however if you want to learn how to write Chinese (I highly recommend it not only for your understanding of the language but it’s also really meditative!) then you will need to learn the correct stroke order. I advise getting yourself a Tian Zi Ge grid specifically for writing Chinese characters like this one. Alternatively, you can create your own printable writing practice worksheets here.
App: Tandem– Language exchange
PROS: Free language exchange app; translation capacity; allows voice notes
CONS: Be prepared to be hounded! HINT: Toggle off the ‘Show in the community’ button to avoid having too many language partners – this is key to keeping the discussions alive!
YouTube: 理查老师的中文直播课-Richard Chinese – Common phrases and useful vocabulary used in daily life
PROS: Daily live broadcast lessons; all levels; simplified and traditional characters;
CONS: None. This is such a great free source!
Website: Mandarin Corner – Everything you need to learn Mandarin!
PROS: Variety of topics; different video lengths; also available on YouTube; subtitles in various languages
CONS: Transcripts are usually premium content; website is very ‘busy’
Website: HSK Reading– Short HSK 3 and 4 reading practice texts
PROS: Pinyin only shown if you hover over words; translation for each word; comprehension questions for each text
CONS: Ads
Website: MDBG Chinese Dictionary – Simple interface for developing your vocabulary and ability to write Chinese characters
PROS: Simple interface; authentic recording of pronunciation for each character; can use handwriting method to write character; animated stroke order; very few ads; simplified or traditional characters; practice quizzes
CONS: Not any I can find!
Website/app: Speechling – Non-profit app with lots of really useful content
PROS: No ads; listening practice with real human voices (native speakers); scholarship available;
CONS: Subscription required for full access
Website: Bili Bili – almost like the Chinese equivalent of YouTube
PROS: Various topics; authentic Chinese; video to help with comprehension
CONS: It’s a social media platform so easy to get stuck doom scrolling (at least it’s in Chinese though!)
ADVANCED
LISTENING
READING
WRITING
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY
Podcast: Dashu Mandarin – Conversations with 3 Chinese speaking uncles
PROS: Natural authentic Chinese; several accents; various topics
CONS: None!
Website: Caixin – News articles related to China
PROS: Various topics; learn about China and the world;
CONS: None!
Website: MoE Chinese Dictionary – Taiwan MoE Chinese Dictionary
PROS: Traditional characters; translation into EN, FR and DE; several examples
CONS: You will need a good level of Chinese to use it (in particular traditional characters)
Language Exchange is a free service for you to find language exchange partners. Languages are to be spoken, so make the most of having the opportunity to speak with native speakers from around the world!
App: 小红书 – Authentic video content on all types of topics
PROS: Algorithm based on your preferences; lots of content;
CONS: It’s a social media platform so easy to get stuck doom scrolling (at least it’s in Chinese though!)
TUTORS
Yuna on iTalki
This could be you
Yuna is a particularly good teacher for beginner students as she speaks very clearly and slowly.
Xiaoyan at Fang Yuan Concept is a great teacher, especially for intermediate/advanced students. She has an excellent cultural understanding of France and can easily teach in French and English.
If you would like to appear on this website as a Chinese teacher, please contact me 🙂