There are seven lessons in this week-long course. Each lesson teaches skills and concepts that build on the previous one.

Lesson 1 - Pinyin

Pinyin is the foundation of this course if not learning Chinese in general. The lecture teaches 21 initials, 34 finals, five tones and how they are put together. However, to get proficient in reading and sounding out Pinyins, we recommend you to use the Pinyin tool in the Tools section.

Lesson 2 - Pronouns

This lesson teaches pronouns and how to make plural and possessive forms by adding one character to the base form. The pronoun fills the first part of the two essential elements of a sentence ¨C the subject.

Lesson 3 - Predicates

The second requirement of a sentence is the predicate. In Chinese, this can be either a verb or an adjective. There are three forms of predicates: affirmative, negative, and affirmative-negative. Simple statements and questions are made with pronouns and predicates.

Lesson 4 ¨C Greetings and Closed Questions

Closed questions are very easy in Chinese. You can change a statement to a closed question by using the affirmative-negative predicate or by adding a question particle. Greetings can often be made with closed questions and are useful for beginners to learn.

Lesson 5 - Open Questions

Open questions are more versatile and more difficult. There are many question words that can be used to seek information. This lesson will teach the most common ones.

Lesson 6 - Numbers

Numbers are important to know in our daily lives. We use numbers for date, time, address, prices etc. This lesson will teach the Chinese numbering system and how to use numbers in common situations.

Lesson 7 ¨C Tenses and Modifiers

Chinese words cannot be modified to express tenses, so time adverbs and tense particles are used to do this. Particles can also be added to create modifiers. Modifiers can enhance the message beyond the most basic functions of a sentence. This lesson teaches some common time adverbs, tense particles, modifiers and how they are used.