A1 · Chinese

Chinese from zero to A1

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Mandarin Chinese from zero to A1, taught in English (普通话, simplified characters): pinyin and the four tones, strokes, radicals and typing on a keyboard, introductions with 是, 吗 and question words, numbers, family with 有 and the measure word 个, things and places with 这, 那, 的 and 在, the time, dates and the weather with 了 of change. Then food and the café with 喜欢, 要 and 觉得, money and clothes, the city, transport and the doctor, the phone with 正在, study, work and free time with 能 and 会, telling about the past with 了 of completion. Extras: forms, the body, phones and payments, signs; real-life scenes: the market, a café, a taxi and the subway, the doctor and the pharmacy. Characters come with pinyin, and an answer typed in pinyin without tones counts too.

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PepelenCourse author

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Module 0. Pinyin and tones

Lesson 1. The syllable and the tone: four tones and the neutral tone

10 exercises · I can hear the four tones and the neutral tone and recognize them by their marks, name a tone by its number, and put the mark over the right letter — and keep the tones in a question instead of letting my voice rise as in English.

Lesson 2. Initials with and without a puff of air: b–p, d–t, g–k

10 exercises · I can tell b from p, d from t, and g from k by ear and in writing — by the puff of air, not by voicing — and read bàba māma aloud.

Lesson 3. Three sets of hissing sounds: z c s, zh ch sh r, j q x

11 exercises · I can tell the three sets of hissing sounds apart by ear and in writing, read i after them as a continuation of the consonant, recognize ü behind the letter u after j, q, x, and understand what older English spellings of Chinese names hide.

Lesson 4. Finals, -n and -ng, y and w

12 exercises · I can hear and write the difference between -n and -ng, read any final, correctly spell a syllable that starts with i, u or ü, and type ü on the keyboard as v.

Lesson 5. Tones in a phrase: 3 + 3, 不 and 一, erhua

12 exercises · I can read a word the way it sounds in speech (3 + 3, 不 and 一 before another tone, the neutral tone, and 儿), recognize 这儿 and 这里 as one word, and ask a 吗 question without letting my voice rise at the end.

Lesson 6. Characters: strokes, radicals, and typing

14 exercises · I can tell a character from a word, recognize the eight strokes and the eight radicals in familiar characters, and type my first characters on a Chinese keyboard.

Module 1. Meeting people

Lesson 1. Hello, thank you, sorry: 你好, 您, and polite set phrases

14 exercises · I can greet one person, an older person and a group, say thank you and reply to thanks, apologize and reply to an apology, and ask someone to repeat or to speak more slowly.

Lesson 2. 是: I'm a student, I'm not a student, are you a student?

15 exercises · I can say who I am and who other people are — a student or a teacher — say “not”, ask “are you a student?” with 吗, and give a short answer: 是 or 不是.

Lesson 3. What's your name and where are you from: 什么, 谁, 哪, and 呢

17 exercises · I can ask someone's given name and family name, who they are and what country they're from, answer about myself, return the question with “and you?”, and say “nice to meet you”; I can recognize a name and a country on a business card.

Lesson 4. Numbers to 99 and age

14 exercises · I can count to 99, write any such number in characters, say how old I am, and ask how old a child or someone my age is.

Lesson 5. Family: 有, 没有, and the measure word 个

16 exercises · I can say who's in my family and how many of us there are, say “I don't have…”, ask “how many children do you have?”, and put two and the measure word in the right place: 两个孩子, not 两孩子.

Lesson 6. Module 1 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: greet people and ask them to repeat, say who I am and where I'm from, give my age, talk about my family — and not mix up 二 and 两.

Module 2. Things and places

Lesson 1. What is it and whose: 这, 那, and 的

16 exercises · I can point to a thing and ask what it is and whose it is — 这是什么？(Zhè shì shénme?) 那是谁的手机？(Nà shì shéi de shǒujī?) — and answer: 是我的手机。(Shì wǒ de shǒujī.)

Lesson 2. This, that, which, and where: 这个, 哪些, 这儿, and 在

16 exercises · I can say “this book”, “those people”, “which one?” with a measure word, ask where a thing or a person is, and answer: 在这儿 / 在那儿.

Lesson 3. On the table, in the room: 上, 里, 前, and other place words

15 exercises · I can say where a thing or a person is: on the table, under the chair, inside, outside, in front, behind, next to — 手机在桌子上.

Lesson 4. What's where: 有 and 是 in describing a place

15 exercises · I can say what there is and isn't near my home — 我家旁边有一家超市 — recognize a supermarket, a hospital, and a school on a sign, and say where I live.

Lesson 5. What's it like? Adjectives without 是: 很, 太, 大不大

15 exercises · I can say what a thing or a place is like — 很大, 有点儿小, 太好了！ — and ask “how is it?” and “is it big or not?”: 怎么样？大不大？

Lesson 6. Module 2 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: say what something is and whose, where a thing is, what there is near my home and what a place is like — without mixing up 有, 在, and 是.

Module 3. Time and daily routine

Lesson 1. What time is it: 点, 分, 半

14 exercises · I can ask and say what time it is — 现在几点？— 下午三点半, — and agree on a time to meet.

Lesson 2. Dates, days of the week, and seasons: 年, 月, 号, 星期

15 exercises · I can say and ask the date, the day of the week, and the season — 今天几月几号？星期几？— and say when my birthday is.

Lesson 3. My day: who — when — where — what they do

17 exercises · I can talk about my usual day in Chinese order — who, when, where, what they do: 我早上七点在家吃早饭 — and ask about the other person's day.

Lesson 4. The weather and the 了 of change: “it's gotten cold”

13 exercises · I can say what the weather is like and that it has changed — 冷了, 下雨了！, 不下雪了, — and not confuse “has become” with “was”: 昨天很冷 — no 了.

Lesson 5. Module 3 review

15 exercises · I can say the time and the date, talk about my day in the right order, and say that the weather has changed.

Module 4. Food and shopping

Lesson 1. Food and drinks: 喜欢

16 exercises · I can name foods and drinks and say what I like and don't like: 我喜欢…, 我不喜欢…, 你喜欢…吗？

Lesson 2. At a café: 要, 给我, and 一杯

16 exercises · I can order food and a drink at a café — 我要…, 请给我一杯…, 还要… — and make a suggestion to a friend: 我们吃…吧！

Lesson 3. I think it's delicious: 觉得 and Chinese food

15 exercises · I can give my opinion about food — 我觉得…很好吃 — ask 你觉得…怎么样？, and describe a dish: 很好吃的菜.

Lesson 4. How much is it: numbers to a thousand, and money

16 exercises · I can say a number up to 9,999 and an ordinal number, ask 多少钱？, and understand a price: 元 on the price tag, 块 in speech.

Lesson 5. Clothes and choosing: 可以 and 看一下

14 exercises · I can ask at a store to look at or try on an item — 我可以看一下吗？ — choose 这件 or 那件, and say it's a bit bigger or a bit cheaper.

Lesson 6. Module 4 review

15 exercises · I can say what I like, order at a café, give my opinion, ask the price, and choose an item at a store.

Module 5. The city, getting around, and health

Lesson 1. Where to and what for: 去, 来, and 想

15 exercises · I can say where I'm going and what for, invite a friend over, and say what I do and don't want to do.

Lesson 2. How you get there: 坐 and 开, 怎么去

15 exercises · I can say how I'm traveling — by subway, bus, taxi, train, plane, or driving — and ask how someone gets somewhere.

Lesson 3. Where is it? 请问 and 左边, 右边

16 exercises · I can politely ask where the restroom, a store, or the hospital is, understand the answer “on the left”, “on the right”, “ahead”, and say “I don't know where it is”.

Lesson 4. I'm sick: 不要 and the doctor's advice

14 exercises · I can say I'm sick and what hurts, understand the doctor's advice “drink more” and “don't go”, and wish a sick person a quick recovery.

Lesson 5. Hello? What are you doing right now: 在 and 正在

14 exercises · I can answer the phone with “hello”, say what I'm doing right now and with whom, and ask what the other person is doing.

Lesson 6. Module 5 review

15 exercises · I can review the module: say where I'm going, what for and how, ask where a place is, understand a doctor's advice, and tell the three 在 apart.

Module 6. School, work, free time, and the past

Lesson 1. School and classes: 能 (“I can come”)

16 exercises · I can say whether I can come to class, ask someone else about it, and say where my children study and where I study.

Lesson 2. Work and jobs: 在…工作 and 对

14 exercises · I can say what I do and where I work, ask someone else about it, and say who treats me well.

Lesson 3. I'm learning Chinese: 会 and 再

17 exercises · I can say what I can and can't do in Chinese, ask someone to say something again, and answer the teacher “right / wrong”.

Lesson 4. Free time: 爱, 有的…有的…, and 只

15 exercises · I can say what I love doing in my free time and which of my friends loves what, and say how many cats or dogs I have.

Lesson 5. What I did: the 了 of completion and 没 + verb

15 exercises · I can say what I did yesterday, last week, and last year — and what I didn't do — and ask whether the other person did it.

Lesson 6. How the weekend went: 也 and 还 in a story

15 exercises · I can say in 3–5 sentences how my weekend went — what I did, what I didn't do, and how it was — and ask a friend about theirs.

Lesson 7. Module 6 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: tell apart the three “can”s and the two 了s, keep 不 and 没 apart, and talk about school, work, and the weekend.

Module 7. A1 extras

Lesson 1. Forms and documents

17 exercises · I can fill in a Chinese form — family and given name, sex, date of birth, citizenship, passport, address, and phone — read a number where 1 is said yāo, and ask a question for each field.

Lesson 2. The body and how you feel: 哪儿不舒服？

14 exercises · I can name body parts, say what hurts, that I have a fever or a cold, and ask where the pharmacy is.

Lesson 3. Phone, Wi-Fi, and paying

14 exercises · I can add someone on WeChat, ask for the Wi-Fi password, send a message, and agree on how to pay: by QR code, by card, or in cash.

Lesson 4. Signs, notices, and emergency phrases

19 exercises · I can find the entrance, the exit, and the restroom by their signs, understand “no smoking” and “danger”, call for help, and give the numbers for the police and an ambulance.

Module 8. A1 practice

Lesson 1. At the market and in a store: prices and bargaining

16 exercises · I can ask the price at a market and in a store, understand a price per half kilo and a total, bargain politely, and pay in cash or by QR code.

Lesson 2. Café and restaurant: ordering and the check

14 exercises · I can say how many of us there are, order without spice, call the waiter, ask for the check, and take leftover food to go.

Lesson 3. Taxi and subway

14 exercises · I can tell a taxi driver where to go and where to stop, ask in the subway which line it is and where to transfer, and understand which way to go: forward, left, right.

Lesson 4. The doctor and the pharmacy

14 exercises · I can register to see a doctor, say what hurts and for how long, understand how to take a medicine, and buy medicine at a pharmacy.