Mandarin Chinese 1: Chinese for Beginners

Mandarin Chinese 1: Chinese for Beginners introduces the sounds and writing system of Mandarin. Learners start with Pinyin, the romanisation system that spells Chinese sounds with the Latin alphabet. The course covers basic greetings such as Nǐ hǎo 你好 Hello and asks about the time with Xiànzài jǐ diǎn ？ 现在几点？ What's the time?. Vocabulary builds around everyday topics: what you want to buy with Nǐ mǎi shénme 你买什么？ What do you want to buy? and what you would like to eat with Nǐ xiǎnɡ chī shénme 你想吃什么？ What would you like to eat?. Grammar points include sentence structure for questions and the use of measure words when talking about family with Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén ？ 你家有几口人? How many people are there in your family?. By the end of the 19h 30m course, a beginner can introduce themselves, tell the time, describe their family, and order food in a restaurant. The course is free to audit; a certificate is available for a separate fee. It is taught in English and designed for absolute beginners with no prior knowledge of Chinese.

Coursera hosts the course. Shanghai Jiao Tong University provides the video lectures and graded quizzes. The self-paced mode lets learners spread the 19h 30m over several weeks. English captions are available for all video content. The course does not teach Chinese characters (hanzi) in depth; it focuses on speaking and listening through Pinyin. Learners who want to read and write characters may need a separate course or textbook.

Free options include the MandarinX: Mandarin Chinese Level 1 course on edX, which is also free and takes six weeks. The Udemy course Chinese language for beginners: Mandarin Chinese HSK1-HSK3 is not published with a price by the provider but has 6K+ ratings and 40K+ learners. Both are self-paced and aim at beginner level. Choose the Coursera course if you want university-backed content from Shanghai Jiao Tong University; choose the edX or Udemy options if you prefer a different platform or a lower time commitment.