Chinese Starter Kit
中文基础包 — 你的第一堂中文课
Chinese Starter Kit is a free five-part first lesson in Mandarin for people starting from zero: the four tones, pinyin, 20 survival phrases, your first 10 characters, and numbers. Read it here in about 30 minutes or download the 6-page PDF — no signup, no email, no payment.
Adults who have never studied Mandarin. Nothing here assumes you already know a character or a tone.
About 30 minutes to read. Five short parts, one sitting, no homework afterwards.
Nothing. The PDF downloads without an email address, and nothing on this page asks for a card.
This is a reading kit, not a course. No account, no progress tracking, no emails. Tap a character in any table to hear it read aloud. Read it here or take the PDF — the content is the same.
1 · The Four Tones四个声调
Every syllable carries one of four tones. Same letters, different tone, different word — this is the #1 skill to get right on day one.
| Tone | Example | Pitch pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (high) | mā | High and flat — like singing a note | 妈 mother |
| 2nd (rising) | má | Rising — like asking "what?" | 麻 hemp |
| 3rd (dipping) | mǎ | Down, then up — like a sigh of doubt | 马 horse |
| 4th (falling) | mà | Sharp falling — like a firm "no!" | 骂 to scold |
2 · Pinyin in 5 Minutes拼音速览
Pinyin is Mandarin in Latin letters. Most sounds are close to English — just watch out for these seven:
| Pinyin | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| q | "ch" in cheese | 起 qǐ — to rise |
| x | "sh" but softer | 谢 xiè — thank |
| zh | "j" in jump | 中 zhōng — middle |
| c | "ts" in cats | 菜 cài — food / vegetable |
| z | "ds" in beds | 早 zǎo — early |
| r | like "s" in measure | 人 rén — person |
| ü | lips rounded, say "ee" | 绿 lǜ — green |
3 · 20 Essential Phrases二十句必备
Greetings, politeness, shopping, emergencies — the twenty sentences that carry a whole first trip to China.
| 中文 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 | Nǐ hǎo | Hello |
| 早上好 | Zǎoshang hǎo | Good morning |
| 谢谢 | Xièxie | Thank you |
| 不客气 | Bú kèqi | You're welcome |
| 对不起 | Duìbuqǐ | Sorry / excuse me |
| 没关系 | Méi guānxi | It's okay / no problem |
| 再见 | Zàijiàn | Goodbye |
| 是 / 不是 | Shì / Bú shì | Yes (is) / no (is not) |
| 我叫… | Wǒ jiào… | My name is… |
| 你叫什么名字？ | Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? | What's your name? |
| 我不懂 | Wǒ bù dǒng | I don't understand |
| 你会说英文吗？ | Nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma? | Do you speak English? |
| 多少钱？ | Duōshao qián? | How much is it? |
| 太贵了！ | Tài guì le! | Too expensive! |
| 便宜一点吧 | Piányi yìdiǎn ba | Can you make it cheaper? |
| 卫生间在哪里？ | Wèishēngjiān zài nǎlǐ? | Where is the restroom? |
| 我要这个 | Wǒ yào zhège | I want this one |
| 买单 | Mǎidān | Check, please |
| 好吃！ | Hǎochī! | Delicious! |
| 干杯！ | Gānbēi! | Cheers! |
4 · Your First 10 Characters最初的十个汉字
Characters aren't random — many are drawings. Learn these ten and you'll start spotting them inside bigger characters everywhere.
Try it: 木 + 木 = 林 (forest). 人 + 人 = 从 (to follow). Characters are Lego.
Want to write them by hand? All ten are in our free tool — see each one drawn stroke by stroke, then print a 田字格 practice sheet to fill in.
5 · Numbers数字
Build any number: 11 = 十一 (ten-one), 25 = 二十五 (two-ten-five), 368 = 三百六十八. Now you can hear any price.
Take it with you — free PDF
All five sections in one clean printable file. Save it, print it, put it on your fridge. No email required.
⬇ Download Chinese Starter Kit (PDF)Common questions常见问题
What is in the Chinese starter kit?
Five lessons: the four tones, pinyin in five minutes, 20 essential phrases, your first 10 characters, and numbers. No signup is needed to read any of them.
Which comes first, tones or pinyin?
Tones come first. Every syllable carries one of four tones, and the same letters with a different tone make a different word — so it is the first skill to get right. Pinyin is the Latin-letter spelling system, and most of its sounds are close to English.
How do Chinese numbers work?
You build them from parts: 11 is 十一 (ten-one), 25 is 二十五 (two-ten-five), 368 is 三百六十八 (three-hundred-six-ten-eight). Learn the digits and the place words and you can read any price.
Do I need to memorise characters on day one?
Only ten. Many characters started as drawings, so the first ten are the ones you can picture. Once you know them you start spotting them inside larger characters.
Is the Chinese starter kit really free?
Yes. Reading it here and downloading the PDF both cost nothing. There is no signup, no email capture, and no card. The only paid item on the site is a separate 500-phrase collection at $9.90, and this kit does not require it.
What should I do after the starter kit?
Pick one of three: play the four tones until you can hear the difference, print a stroke-order sheet for the ten characters, or run a ticket-and-taxi exchange in the transport simulator. Each takes about ten minutes.
Still unsure whether this is the right starting point? See the full learning path — it shows what comes after week one.