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.
- 13 Language
- 404 pinyin
- 300 Vocabulary
- 1804 Characters
- 13 Grammar
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Pick your path
Daily reading
限南北
xiàn nán běi
—— 贺铸《天门谣》
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.
All tools
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.
Course
Six steps built on the HSK word lists — each with its own word load, tools and readings. Progress is kept in your browser only.
Survival phrases
Thirty-six Chinese sentences for real situations — with pinyin and audio.
Pinyin
Pinyin is the romanisation of Chinese sounds. Pick an initial and a final, choose a tone, and hear it.
Tones
Chinese has four tones plus a light neutral one. The same syllable with a different tone is a different word.
Characters
Characters are built from radicals. Learn the building blocks and they stop looking like random drawings.
Radicals
A radical is the shared part of a family of characters. It usually hints at the meaning.
Writing
Writing by hand fixes characters in memory far better than tapping. Trace in the grid, then try from memory.
Practice sheets
Type any characters and print a grid sheet to write on — drawn in your browser, nothing uploaded.
Vocabulary
300 core words and phrases with audio, grouped by topic. Tap any word to hear it.
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.
Flashcards
Spaced-repetition flashcards over the core vocabulary. Progress is saved in this browser only — no account, no server.
Quiz
Quick multiple-choice quiz built from the core vocabulary. Pick the right meaning.
Grammar
Chinese grammar is simpler than you fear: no conjugation, no tense, no plural, no gender.
Classics
30 famous classical pieces in full — pinyin, interlinear notes, translation and the editor's commentary, lined up paragraph by paragraph.
Culture Map
10 real places behind the texts: what to look at so the sentences make sense, and what to eat nearby. Original guide text, facts only.
China Guide
A guide to China for travellers who want to understand what they are looking at: every province, every city, and the mountains, rivers, monuments and traditions worth planning a trip around.
Daily reading
One short Chinese line every day. Read it aloud, listen to it, then look up the characters you do not know yet.
For you
What is easy and what is hard about Chinese depends on your first language. Here is your map.
Common mistakes
The Chinese mistakes English speakers predictably make, ranked by cost, with the structural fix for each.
About
HanPath is a free, static, no-account site. Everything runs in your browser; your progress never leaves your device.
This browser has no speech synthesis, so the ▶ buttons stay silent. Everything else works — Chrome, Edge and Safari can read the sounds aloud.