Chinese Courses for beginners

Individual courses: business and social Chinese, contact us for a quote.

Group courses: HSK1-2, Monday & Thursday, contact us for more information.

You can take classes online.

Chinese Proficiency Levels (HSK 2.0) Intro

Chinese language proficiency consists of six levels, from the basic level HSK 1 to highest HSK 6, which is equivalent to common European framework of language level CEFR.

The HSK1 (Level I) is intended for the beginners. The target is after about 60 hours active learning in half year, to master 150 commonly used words and basic grammar patterns.

The HSK2 (Level II) is intended for the beginners plus who have had the basic Chinese skills. The target is after 90 hours active learning in about nine months, to master 300 commonly used words and basic grammar patterns.

Chinese characters are so-called ‘square word’. Many second foreign language learners start learning Chinese from its phonetics Pinyin. For example, the word 'China' in Chinese character is "中国", and in Pinyin it is ‘Zhōngguó’;
the word 'the Netherlands' in Chinese character is "荷兰", in Pinyin: 'Hélán'.

- Online eLearning packages with learning materials available 24x7, including audios, videos, exercises, tests etc.,
- Practice opportunities with Chinese language buddies,
- Group courses Chinese mandarin,
- Extracurricular tutoring for students learning Chinese,
- In company training for intercultural awareness and business etiquette.

Language functions of HSK 1-2:

1. Greetings and polite expressions
2. Brief introduction of personal information (name, age, residence, family, hobbies, ability, etc.)
3. Using numbers to express quantity and order
4. Expressing time e.g. minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, house number, present, past, and future
5. Brief description of weather, location, size, how much, right or wrong, mood, color, etc.
6. Asking questions and answering simple questions regarding shopping, transport, medical treatment, sports, entertainment, etc.
7. Expressing and understanding simple requirements or requests
8. Expressing emotions and asking opinions
9. Giving suggestions
10. Making comparison
11. Explaining the reason

Click here to get the one page list of the 150 words of HSK level 1, from Giammy.com

Click here to go the interactive word list of HSK level 2

Click here to go the interactive word lists of all HSK level 3

Click here to go the interactive word list of HSK level 4, from HSK Academy.

HSK level 3 and 4 are the intermediate Chinese level.
Subsequent to HSK level 2, the learners will learn 300 new words for HSK 3. It takes about 120 hours active learning in one year to reach the proficiency of the third level. HSK level 4 requirs additional 600 words subsequent to HSK level 3. From HSK level 3, learners should master some basic Chinese characters in order to pass the official tests.

Please go to tag 'Chinese for higher levels' to see more.

Read the text (in Pinyin or characters), and listen to the audio attached. If you like the story, or have any remarks or questions, please share with us by leaving a message in the form at 'Contact us'.
Thank you.
                         一片绿叶的故事
    有个女孩儿生病了，得了重病。她每天都坐在床上，望着窗外的一棵大树。
    秋天来了，她看着树叶一片片落下，很伤心，她觉得她的生命也快结束了。
    一位画家知道了这件事，决定帮助她，就画了一片绿叶，挂在树上。
    冬天到了，这片绿叶一直留在树上。因为这片绿叶，女孩儿奇迹般地活了下来。

Yí piàn lǜyè de gùshì

   Yǒu gè nǚháir shēngbìngle, déliǎo zhòngbìng. Tā měitiān dū zuò zài chuángshàng, wàngzhe chuāngwài de yìkē dà shù.
   Qiūtiān láile, tā kànzhe shùyè yípiànpiàn luòxià, hěn shāngxīn, tā juéde tāde shēngmìng yě kuài jiéshùle.
   Yíwèi huàjiā zhīdàole zhè jiàn shì, juédìng bāngzhù tā, jiù huàle yípiàn lǜyè, guà zài shù shàng.
   Dōngtiān dàole, zhè piàn lǜyè yìzhí liú zài shù shàng. Yīnwèi zhè piàn lǜyè, nǚháir qíjì bān de huóle xiàlái.