Finding the Corner Pieces: Resources to Start Learning Mandarin as an Absolute Beginner

Today’s digital age is the best time to learn Mandarin Chinese because of the numerous online tools available. The Chinese language learning blog Hacking Chinese has catalogued over a thousand relevant resources. On Hacking Chinese’s 50th podcast episode Julien Leyre discusses his doctoral thesis on modern Chinese language learning tools, his efforts to categorize them, and how they can work together. One identified problem with all these resources is that new Mandarin Chinese language learners do not know where to start.

I am not a fluent Mandarin speaker, a linguist, or a language learning expert, but I have spent a few years trying out different Mandarin learning tools through my own self directed study. Some have become part of my daily language learning, while I’ve tossed others in the bin. In an effort to share the results of my own struggles and experiments, below is a short list of resources along with any identified pros and cons. If you want a comprehensive list of resources, I suggest checking out Hacking Chinese, but if you want a place to start, look below. 

[For truly new learners of Mandarin, I want to define two terms before the lists. First, Pinyin is the romanization of Chinese characters. It takes the sounds of thousands of Chinese characters and presents those sounds in approximations in the Latin alphabet. Second, the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) is an official People’s Republic of China (PRC) Chinese language proficiency test for non-native speakers. The test has various levels, which can be used to determine one’s proficiency in the language. Now, onto the resources.]

General

• Pleco Dictionary (free; in-app purchases): Download this first. Pleco is the definitive Mandarin dictionary app. To get the most out of Pleco you should install Chinese keyboards on your phone for easy character input. You will definitely want the pinyin keyboard, but the hand drawn character keyboard is also useful. While the core dictionary is free, Pleco features several for-purchase add-on features including graded readers, optical character recognition, and the much-praised Outlier Dictionary.
• Zhongwen Chinese Popup Dictionary (free): This Google Chrome browser extension enables reading unfamiliar characters, making many of the other web-based resources more accessible. Hovering over any character for instant pinyin and translations. 
• Google Translate (free): Stuck on a translation with unfamiliar grammar or many unknown characters? Google translate feels like cheating, but it is a useful tool for occasionally untangling confusing sentences to facilitate learning. Chinese seems to be one of the harder languages for Google to translate but can usually get you 90% of the way there, especially at beginner levels.
• Chinese Grammar Wiki (free): This online wiki provides grammar lessons broken down by learning level. If you needed Google Translate for help with a translation, try to find the relevant grammar points in the wiki for plenty of example sentences and clear explanations. 

Structured Coursework

• Duolingo (free; premium $7-$13/month):  The Duolingo app is where many people think to start learning a language. I found the initial coursework challenging because it immediately dives into characters. Without some basic knowledge there may be a steep learning curve, but the app has plenty of practice crafting sentences, reading, and listening. I learned a lot completing the course and the gamification encourage me to put in work every day. However, even the end of the course spends limited time on intermediate level grammar points. Duolingo has courses for a number of languages but other language learning apps to consider that focus on East Asian language include LingoDeer and Hello Chinese.
• Mango Languages App ($8/month for 1 language): This is a recent discovery, but I wish I found it sooner to focus on my pronunciation. The app's lessons focus on learning by repeating audio structured around real world sentences. The app gives the characters and pinyin, but you could learn entirely by audio. Unfortunately, there is no feedback on your pronunciation, but you can compare your speech patterns to native speakers.  If you need constant feedback or gamification, I would suggest Duolingo. 
• Yoyo Chinese (limited free access; $19-$29/month): I enrolled in Yoyo's basic speaking course and it helped force me to practice speaking alone in my apartment. There is a clear emphasis on building up the learning from the absolute essentials including practicing initials and final word sounds. It is a video-based course that also includes interactive quizzes and lessons. The interactive components were engaging, but if you have the basics I might try Mango as an easier/cheaper way to practice speaking.
• Textbooks: I used the official HSK books ($32+) textbooks and workbooks(levels 1-3). This series of textbooks is pretty light on grammar explanations , but does give some structure to learning Mandarin and some workbook exercises. They included online answer keys and listening exercises, but I found myself wanting more explanations and practice. Most textbooks are clearly designed to be worked through with a teacher, but if that is how you want to learn in this digital age, there are several text book options out there. 

Reading

• Chairman’s Bao (limited free access; $6-$10/month): This reading resource for learners of all levels presents reading lessons based on news stories or current events. These are not news stories copied directly from other websites, they are graded--written at various levels of learning, usually based on HSK level. The stories are accompanied by vocab lists and an embedded dictionary. This is a great way to read content at your level and this type of  comprehensible input is one of the best ways to learn.  
• Mandarin Companion Graded Readers (~$13/book): Another form of comprehensible input, these short books with large type are targeted at specific reading levels and include only a limited number of characters. The appendices have reading comprehension questions and grammar points from the Chinese Grammar Wiki (above). Many are based on western stories and I found that knowing the general plot can be helpful in translating more confusing sentences. 
• Word Swing Online Resources (limited free access; $6-$8/month): This site has a hodgepodge of useful resources including a tone course, interactive text-based games, and comics. You can try the text-based game Escape! (逃出去) for free as well as access many of the resources. These are fun ways to interact with the language but many are more targeted towards intermediate learners. 
• New York Times (NYT) Dual Language Version (free): For more intermediate to advanced learners, the NYT has a Chinese version. Many articles have a dual language option on the top right of the article that presents the Chinese characters and English side-by-side. This is free, even without a NYT subscription. When paired with the Zhongwen Chrome extension (above) this is a good way to learn vocab on current events or specialized topics that you are interested in.

Flashcards

• Skritter App (free limited access; $8-$15/month): If you want to learn to write characters then seriously consider the Skritter app. It is an interactive spaced repetition flashcard system with built-in handwriting recognition. After over a year using Anki (below), I moved to Skritter which enabled me to learn how to write characters with proper stroke order rather than just recognize them. 
• Anki Flashcard app (free): Anki is another spaced repetition flashcard system. It doesn't have the character writing features of Skritte, but it does have infinite customization. It was not designed specifically for language learning, but can be customized for just about anything. This is a good alternative to Skritter if you want to save a buck, but it has a steeper learning curve and, again, no handwriting. 

Listening

• Mandarin Monkey Podcast (free podcast; membership $10+/month): This biweekly podcast features a married couple discussing a variety of topics, often using a mix of English and Mandarin (Chinglish). Some episodes feature a short Mandarin listening exercise followed by a vocabulary breakdown. Listening remains my weakest skill, so any entertaining Chinese audio at my level is beneficial. Paying members get access to transcripts and vocabulary lists with higher membership tiers include tutored individual lessons and access to their language learning community via Discord.
• Language Reactor (free): Formerly Language Learning with Netflix, this tool integrates with YouTube and Netflix to provide interactive character, pinyin, and English translations (where supported). I watched all 41 episodes of the Mandarin romantic drama Find Yourself (下一站是幸福) using this tool.  This is an easy way of turning watching TV in language learning!
• YouTube videos: Many language learning companies have YouTube channels that discuss vocabulary and grammar points (ChinesePod, Skritter, Yoyo Chinese) in an engaging format. Additionally, individual content creators create videos on a range of Chinese topics (I recommend Shuoshuo Chinese, Grace Mandarin Chinese).  Other creators (e.g. Lindie Botes) in the polyglot/language learning community have different tips and tricks for language learning more generally. Look around and find the video formats and types of content that you find the most engaging.

This (surprisingly long) list is only a small fraction of the options Mandarin learners now have at their fingertips. This list is not a roadmap to Mandarin language proficiency, but hopefully it gave you the materials to build the road. Your first step is to try a few and make choices on how you can efficiently spend your time while ensuring the content is entertaining enough to keep you engaged.  Learning Chinese is a worthwhile, challenging endeavor, but with technology, is now easier than ever. 加油!