Mandarin · 57-day course
Your Mandarin reading course
Read each day’s mission, sentence pattern and phrases directly. Use the trainer for pronunciation practice, review and saved progress.
Week 1 · Mandarin operating system
- Day 1 — Hear the four tones
Listen to 妈 mā, 麻 má, 马 mǎ, 骂 mà. Match the pitch shape, then say 你好 and 谢谢. Keep the low third tone low inside phrases.
- Day 2 — Pinyin and the mouth
Practice aspiration with a tissue: b/p, d/t, g/k. Learn j/q/x with the tongue forward; zh/ch/sh with it curled slightly back. Contrast nǐ and nǚ.
- Day 3 — Repair a conversation
Ask for repetition, slower speech and writing. Recover from a reply you cannot understand three times in a row.
- Day 4 — Numbers without counting fingers
Build 11–99 from tens and units. Contrast 四 sì and 十 shí. Use 两 before general counters: 两个人.
- Day 5 — Clock time and dates
Say three appointment times, today/tomorrow, and December 1. Read an invented departure time from a screen.
- Day 6 — Build a request
Use 我要 / 我想要 with five objects. Turn a statement into a yes-no question with 吗.
- Day 7 — Checkpoint: introduce yourself
Introduce yourself, ask one question, then ask for repetition. Do the weekly test with pinyin hidden.
Week 2 · Human survival
- Day 8 — Water, tea and coffee
Order a cup, bowl and bottle. Use 一杯 / 一碗 / 一瓶. Distinguish hot, cold and no ice.
- Day 9 — Read a menu
Recognize 米饭, 面条, 饺子, 鸡肉, 牛肉, 猪肉. Build a two-item order without English.
- Day 10 — Order and customize
Ask about spice, request less chili, and ask for chopsticks. Hear the difference between this item and that item.
- Day 11 — Allergies and ingredients
Ask whether a dish contains meat, eggs or peanuts. Practice your own true dietary restrictions; ask for a written answer.
- Day 12 — Shop without pointing
Ask the price, request a bigger or smaller one, then decline politely. Decode amounts through 100.
- Day 13 — Pay and ask for change
Ask which payment method is accepted. Handle 支付失败 and ask to try again. Read the receipt total.
- Day 14 — Checkpoint: eat and buy
Complete a restaurant exchange and a purchase. Include one unexpected reply and recover.
Week 3 · Move through China
- Day 15 — Find the bathroom and exit
Recognize entrance/exit, subway and restroom signs. Ask ___ 在哪里？ with five destinations.
- Day 16 — Understand left and right
Follow 往左 / 往右 / 一直往前. Repeat the instruction back; point to front, behind and opposite.
- Day 17 — Give a driver an address
Show an address and ask to go there. Ask how long the trip will take and request a safe stopping point.
- Day 18 — Buy a train ticket
Ask for a ticket to Beijing, today, then ask the next departure. Use 张 for tickets.
- Day 19 — Read a departure board
Read station, time, gate, delay and closed boarding. Separate a station name from a platform number.
- Day 20 — Transfer and find your seat
Ask which line, how many stops and where to transfer. Find platform seven and your seat.
- Day 21 — Checkpoint: cross the city
Solve a three-leg trip. Confirm the destination before boarding; handle a wrong vehicle.
Week 4 · Actual conversation
- Day 22 — Say who you are
Give your name and country, and ask the other person theirs. Add 你呢？ to pass the turn back.
- Day 23 — Family and home
Say where you live and who is in your family. Use 的 to express possession.
- Day 24 — Work and interests
Choose true personal work and interest sentences. Learn the pieces so you can replace an object.
- Day 25 — Ask follow-up questions
Ask what, where, when and why without moving the question word to the front.
- Day 26 — Yesterday and tomorrow
Use a time word before the action. Contrast 没去, 去过 and 明天去. Verbs do not conjugate.
- Day 27 — Opinions and reasons
Use 我觉得 and 因为 to give an opinion and a reason. Notice adjectives do not need 是.
- Day 28 — Checkpoint: a five-minute exchange
Have a five-minute exchange aloud. Record it and note three places you got stuck.
Week 5 · Handle problems
- Day 29 — Check in and show documents
Check in with a reservation, passport and two-night stay. Ask your room number and checkout time.
- Day 30 — Fix a hotel problem
Report no hot water, a broken air conditioner and noise. Ask to change rooms.
- Day 31 — Restore phone and payment
Ask the Wi-Fi password and charger question. Recover from payment failure with a second option.
- Day 32 — Find something missing
Report a missing bag or phone. Identify the missing item and ask a person to help.
- Day 33 — Explain a symptom
Point to a symptom location and state it simply. Ask for a doctor or an interpreter; this is language practice.
- Day 34 — Ask for urgent help
Ask someone to call an ambulance or police. Say stop and do not touch me. Practice with the help card.
- Day 35 — Checkpoint: recover when plans fail
Solve a hotel issue and a missing-item situation. Start without English; reveal it only if needed.
Week 6 · Reading immersion
- Day 36 — Doors, floors and warnings
Read 推 / 拉, 开 / 关, floors and no-entry signs. Never guess a safety instruction from one character.
- Day 37 — Menus without pinyin
Read a six-item menu. Spot an ingredient and its price; ask about an ingredient you cannot read.
- Day 38 — Ticket gates and station names
Decode a train board: destination, departure time, gate and status. Find the correct station name.
- Day 39 — Payment and phone screens
Find confirm, cancel, back, password and verification code. Read successful vs failed payment.
- Day 40 — Hotel and clinic signs
Read reception, checkout, pharmacy, registration and emergency department. Group characters into words.
- Day 41 — Read an address and a receipt
Decode a sample road address, room number and receipt. Cross-check every digit aloud.
- Day 42 — Checkpoint: a day of signs
Complete the reading tests with no pinyin. Use the full phrase for meanings, not guesses from components.
Week 7 · China simulation I
- Day 43 — Arrival and a dead phone
Solve airport arrival, then ask for charging help and the hotel route. Shadow every reply.
- Day 44 — Hotel desk, unfamiliar reply
Check in and handle a question you did not expect. Use a repair phrase and answer again.
- Day 45 — Breakfast with a restriction
Order breakfast and ask about your chosen restriction. Confirm the answer you hear.
- Day 46 — Get to the right station
Choose the correct station, gate and departure time. Explain what you want to staff.
- Day 47 — Buy something and return it
Buy two items and return a broken one. Ask what payment method works.
- Day 48 — Meet a curious local
Introduce yourself, describe work and interests, ask two follow-up questions.
- Day 49 — Checkpoint: half a day in China
Chain arrival, food, transport and hotel. Record five minutes without opening English.
Week 8 · China simulation II
- Day 50 — Your train is delayed
Read 晚点 and ask about the next service or changing your booking.
- Day 51 — Your room has no hot water
Explain no hot water and ask for a room change. Repeat the room number you hear.
- Day 52 — Your bag is missing
Report your missing bag, ask for help, then explain what contact you need.
- Day 53 — Find the pharmacy
Ask where the pharmacy is and explain a symptom without asking the trainer for medical advice.
- Day 54 — Follow spoken directions
Listen to directions at normal playback speed. Repeat them back, then choose the destination.
- Day 55 — Dinner with a new acquaintance
Order dinner, ask a question, give an opinion and handle the bill. Drop the pinyin support.
- Day 56 — Final practical assessment
Finish one listening, one reading and two scenario rounds without hints. Record a five-minute conversation; self-assess repair and clarity.
Week 9 · Departure
- Day 57 — Your personal China operating kit
Build your personal phrase kit: address, contacts, travel details and true health needs. Export progress and review every overdue item.