What can you learn to say in Chinese?
The vocabulary here starts with things you can picture: a cat, a family member, a glass of water or a red shirt. Each topic gives familiar objects a Chinese name. Use the categories to explore related words together, and the individual guides when you want a direct answer, an example sentence or a reminder about pronunciation.
Animals: name the creatures around you
The animal unit introduces ten familiar creatures, including a cat, dog, bird, fish, rabbit, horse, cow, sheep, panda and elephant. Pictures help you connect the written word with the animal itself instead of remembering only an English translation. Start with 猫 (māo), meaning cat, and 狗 (gǒu), meaning dog. Notice the different tone marks before trying to say the two words. The individual cat and dog guides add short examples and common questions. You can use this group to name pets, describe an animal you see outside, or recognise a familiar word in a simple Chinese sentence.
Family and people: talk about familiar faces
This group brings together parents, siblings, grandparents and people you meet in everyday life. Learn 妈妈 (māma) for mother and 爸爸 (bàba) for father, then explore words for a friend and a teacher. Chinese has different words for older and younger siblings, so the pictures and English labels help you keep those relationships clear. The family unit includes both older and younger brothers and sisters. Use the mother, father, friend and teacher guides to see each word in a short sentence. Read the relationship first, check the characters, and practise introducing one person at a time rather than memorising the entire family in one sitting.
Food and drinks: begin with everyday essentials
The food and drinks unit covers water, fruit, rice, bread, eggs, milk, tea and noodles. These are useful words for recognising ingredients and beginning to talk about what you eat or drink. 水 (shuǐ) means water, while 米饭 (mǐfàn) refers to cooked rice. The rice guide explains the distinction between cooked rice and uncooked rice, so you can choose the word that fits the picture or situation. Apples and bananas also connect this topic with the fruit colors unit. Try naming one item at breakfast, another at lunch and a drink later in the day. Small, familiar examples give new vocabulary something concrete to attach to.
Numbers: count from one to ten in a picture scene
The numbers unit introduces 一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九 and 十, with pinyin alongside the characters. Its free practice uses one classroom picture and a moving frame to focus your attention on a different group of objects. Count what you see, then type the Chinese character or its pinyin. You can listen, submit an answer, or reveal the answer when you need help. Revealing a word lets you continue without earning a correct-answer point. Your progress is saved in the current browser when local storage is available. The vocabulary table remains below the scene for a quick reference before or after practice.
Colors: move from a color name to a useful phrase
Start with eight basic colors: red, blue, yellow, green, black, white, purple and orange. The basic colors unit gives each color a written Chinese form and pinyin. Two related units put those words into a more specific context. Clothing Colors pairs colors with shirts, while Fruit Colors uses apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, watermelon, lemons and tangerines. This helps you recognise a color word even when the object changes. Compare the red and green apple pictures, then look for the same color in a shirt. Keep the color and the object distinct as you read, so you understand which part of the phrase names each one.
Measure words: learn how Chinese counts things
Chinese commonly places a measure word between a number and a noun. The everyday measure words unit introduces 个, 只, 本, 张, 条, 位, 辆 and 件 through concrete examples. You can begin by noticing 本 with books and 只 with many animals. The Containers & Pairs unit adds cups, bottles, pairs, bowls, boxes, bags, pieces and plates. These are useful connections when you want to describe an amount of food, a drink or a pair of objects. Learn each measure word with an example instead of treating the English translation as a rule for every noun. The topic page keeps both units together for easy comparison.
Use the picture, then check the characters
A picture gives you a starting point, but the written word deserves attention too. First identify the object, then look at the Chinese characters and read the pinyin underneath. Cover the English label for a moment and see whether you can recall the meaning. When two words are easy to confuse, compare their pictures and read the full labels again. The individual word pages offer a direct definition, example sentences, usage notes and answers to common questions. They are useful companions to the topic lists, especially when a single English word has more than one Chinese equivalent. Return to a small group of words regularly and notice which ones you can recognise without help.
Read pinyin and make time to say the words aloud
Pinyin shows Mandarin pronunciation using letters and tone marks. Pay attention to the marks over the vowels rather than reading the letters exactly as you would in English. Listen where a practice page offers audio, pause, and try the word yourself. The audio feature uses Chinese voices available in your browser or on your device, so availability and voice quality can vary. If playback is unavailable, follow the written pinyin and pronunciation notes. You do not have to finish a whole topic at once: choose a few words, compare their sounds, and revisit them later. Keep listening, reading and speaking connected to the same picture so each short session reinforces a clear meaning.