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Preply

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Learn Chinese online

Learn Chinese online for free

Learning Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese with our free resources can help you tackle everything from pronunciation to reading, writing, and grammar. While there are many ways to study Chinese online, nothing matches the experience of working with 1-on-1 lessons that can guide you step-by-step through your journey to fluency. Start learning now with a private Chinese tutor or follow Chinese classes online

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A1, B2, C1

How to learn Chinese online

Search the internet for “how to learn Chinese online”, and you won’t believe your eyes: there are millions of websites, ebooks, apps, videos, and classes designed to help you study Chinese. With all these amazing resources, where do you begin? You need a clear path to build your knowledge and understanding of the Chinese language. With a private Mandarin or Cantonese Chinese tutor, you can get the most out of learning Chinese online.

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Research shows that you can learn a language 50% faster with 1-on-1 tutoring.

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Learn to speak Chinese fluently

Once you learn some essential Chinese vocabulary and grammar, reaching fluency requires regular practice. Speaking frequently with a conversation partner or tutor will teach you to understand and respond to the Chinese you hear. The more live conversations you have in Chinese, the more natural speaking Chinese will be for you.

Study Chinese grammar

Chinese grammar may be very different from the grammar in your native language. Chinese has no plurals, nor any words that mean “the” or “a.” Word order in a sentence can vary. And verbs don’t change to show when something happened. Chinese uses special words, called particles. Some of these words can tell you when an action took place. Others, like 吗 (ma) and 呢 (ne), show that you are asking a question. Another word, 吧 (ba), can make a command sound more polite. It’s possible to learn something about Chinese grammar through reading explanations and taking lessons online, but it can be confusing. To get clear answers to your questions about Chinese grammar, rely on an experienced tutor, like the one you’ll find on Preply.

Chinese tutors for beginners

Speak to one of our experienced tutors about tailored Chinese lessons for beginners.

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Learn Chinese for beginners

Learning to speak fluent Mandarin or Cantonese starts with basics, like the sounds of the language. Since a word’s meaning depends on its rising, falling, low, high, or neutral tone, this is usually one of the first lessons for beginners. Chinese has its own writing system, which uses symbols called characters to represent words or parts of words. Beginners are often taught a system called pinyin to read and write Chinese words. Pinyin is written in the same alphabet as languages like Chinese, German, French, and Spanish. Accent marks above the pinyin letters tell learners which tones they must use. To get more comfortable with the tones and the words themselves, beginners should try to speak Chinese as often as possible. It’s even better to speak with a partner, whether it’s an online friend or a tutor.

What our Chinese students say

Joseph

5

Aug 3, 2022

Glad I found Percy on this site. He's a friendly teacher with a lot of knowledge on many different topics and he cares about his students interests. He has been very helpful in providing authentic Chinese materials based on my unique interests and using them as prompts for discussions.

Kristin

4.98

Aug 3, 2022

Emma is an amazing teacher, and tailors each session to her students needs. It has been great to learn formally and informally through the HSK curriculum and through conversation as well. Highly recommend.

Alvaro

5

Aug 3, 2022

Qing is very good at teaching Chinese in a friendly and patient manner. Qing is also very personable and easy to get along with. Her lessons are very engaging and never boring.

Karen Angelica

5

Aug 16, 2022

Luna is an excellent instructor, she is very knowledgeable and patient. She is very resourceful and always has new ideas and a different topic to teach my child. Only with a few classes I can see the improvement for the better.

Frequently asked questions

Depending on your goals and learning style, you can find lots of different ways to learn by yourself online. There are online lessons with exercises and sites that teach Chinese through videos, as well as mobile apps for practicing vocabulary, grammar, and writing. You can certainly learn a lot of the basics this way. For speaking practice, you’ll need a conversation partner. Speaking Chinese with a tutor can help you master pronunciation, grammar, and real-life Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese expressions.
The time it takes to learn Chinese online can depend on many things, like how much time you have to study each day and how different Chinese is from your own native language. In the case of native Chinese speakers, Chinese can be quite a challenge. Per the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, it would take a native Chinese speaker almost two years of intensive training — about 2,200 classroom hours — to reach a near-native level of fluency. However, this is based on the experience of people training to be diplomats. If you just want to learn enough to hold basic conversations or travel confidently in a Chinese-speaking country, you may take a lot less time to reach your goals. A 1-on-1 tutor can speed up the learning process, since your lessons are completely focused on your needs. With a personal tutor, you can also get steady Chinese conversation practice.
Globally, most new Chinese language media — like blogs, newspapers, magazines, and books — are written in simplified characters. Their design makes it easier to learn written Chinese. Today, Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia all use the simplified characters. On the other hand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau still use the traditional characters. You’ll also see the traditional characters in “Chinatowns” throughout the world. For most learners, the simplified characters are the way to go. Still, if you want to speak Chinese in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, or an older “Chinatown” district, you should learn the traditional characters. As you learn one set of Chinese characters, you’ll probably start to recognize and understand many of the same characters from the other set. A Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese tutor can show you how to convert words from one set of characters to the other.