HanPath

Learn Chinese — explained in your language

学汉语,一步步来

Free tools to learn Chinese — pinyin, tones, characters, vocabulary and grammar, explained in your own language.

  • 12 Language
  • 404 pinyin
  • 150 Vocabulary
  • 241 Characters
  • 13 Grammar

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Daily reading

粒粒皆辛苦

lì lì jiē xīn kǔ

—— 李绅《悯农》

Chinese for English speakers

English has no tones, so tones will be your single biggest hurdle. The good news: word order is the same as English, and Chinese has no verb conjugation, no tenses, no plurals and no gender.

For you

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Learning path

A 30-day plan built only from what HanPath actually contains. Each day tells you exactly what to learn, and links straight to it.

Sounds

Pinyin

Pinyin is the romanisation of Chinese sounds. Pick an initial and a final, choose a tone, and hear it.

Sounds

Tones

Chinese has four tones plus a light neutral one. The same syllable with a different tone is a different word.

Characters

Characters

Characters are built from radicals. Learn the building blocks and they stop looking like random drawings.

Characters

Radicals

A radical is the shared part of a family of characters. It usually hints at the meaning.

Characters

Writing

Writing by hand fixes characters in memory far better than tapping. Trace in the grid, then try from memory.

Words

Vocabulary

150 core words and phrases with audio, grouped by topic. Tap any word to hear it.

Words

Measure words

A measure word sits between a number and a noun. Chinese needs one for almost every noun — 一个人, 两本书.

Words

Flashcards

Spaced-repetition flashcards over the core vocabulary. Progress is saved in this browser only — no account, no server.

Words

Quiz

Quick multiple-choice quiz built from the core vocabulary. Pick the right meaning.

Grammar

Grammar

Chinese grammar is simpler than you fear: no conjugation, no tense, no plural, no gender.

Reading

Daily reading

One short Chinese line every day. Read it aloud, listen to it, then look up the characters you do not know yet.

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For you

What is easy and what is hard about Chinese depends on your first language. Here is your map.

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About

HanPath is a free, static, no-account site. Everything runs in your browser; your progress never leaves your device.