Topic outline

  • Welcome to the training course in Mandarin Chinese for HSK Level 1!

    This course is for beginners in Mandarin Chinese Language. It offers a complete Chinese course based on the internationally recognized Level 1 of the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK) program.

    To learn Chinese in the best possible way, follow the order of the course as presented in each section. Some exercises come before the lesson so as to prepare it and others come after the lesson for practice and to test your knowledge.

    To access the full course, please enrol: Enrol me in this course
    You will then have access to activities (exercises and tests) that allow you to easily learn Chinese and prepare you for the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK).

  • Lesson 1 Greetings

    Language competences: to acquire the basics of Chinese pronunciation and writing; learn how to greet, thank, ask if someone is fine.


    New words: 11
    New Chinese characters: 10

    Grammar: simple sentence, yes or no questions; adjectival verb; particle 呢

    Text and media areas: 5 Lesson: 1 Pages: 12 Quizzes: 9 H5P: 1 File: 1

  • Lesson 2 Politeness

    Language competences: to learn how to greet politely, ask forgiveness, say thank you, please, etc.

    New words: 12 Total at this level: 24
    New Chinese characters: 16 Total at this level: 24

    Grammar: Plural, adverb 也, please 请

    Text and media areas: 4 Quizzes: 10 Pages: 10 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 3 Self-Introduction

    Language competences: to know how to introduce yourself (surname, first name, nice to meet you, etc.)

    New words: 17 Total at this level: 41
    New Chinese characters: 21 Total at this level: 47

    Grammar: the verb ‘to be’ 是; Open-ended questions; The Affirmative-negative questions; 姓 and 叫; Structural particle 的.

    Text and media areas: 5 Quizzes: 11 Pages: 10 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 4 Languages and countries

    Language competences: how to ask questions, how to answer when asked about nationality, where one lives, if one can speak a foreign language; how to convey the idea of totality.

    New words: 29 Total at this level: 70
    New Chinese characters: 21 Total at this level: 68

    Grammar: interrogative word 哪; the adverb 都; 在 and the adverbial phrase of place; the verb 会.

    Text and media areas: 5 Quizzes: 12 Pages: 10 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 5 Numbers - date - age

    Language competences: counting in Chinese; asking for date and age.

    New words: 26 Total at this level: 96
    New Chinese characters: 21 Total at this level: 89

    Grammar: natural numbers, date and age, 的 and the subordinate clause.

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 11 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 6 - Time

    Language competences: telling the time; use of simple directional complements; to make a call; to locate in time (punctual time and complements of time).

    New words: 27 Total at this level: 123
    New Chinese characters: 22 Total at this level: 111

    Grammar: the modal particle 了, the time, punctual time and duration, simple directionals, verb-object (separable verbs), 能 and 一点儿.

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 11 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 7 - Family and work

    Language competences: talking about family and work; to know how to use classifiers (measure words).

    New words: 19 Total at this level: 142
    New Chinese characters: 20 Total at this level: 131

    Grammar: classifiers; demonstratives; the conjunction 和; the verbs 想 and 有, omission of particle 的.

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 11 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 8 - Description

    Language competences: To be able to say what we own, to describe and to locate.

    New words: 21 Total at this level: 163
    New Chinese characters: 19 Total at this level: 150

    Grammar: classifiers 杯 and 本; location words.

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 11 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 9 - Shopping

    Language competences: talking about shopping, transport and weather.

    New words: 29 Total at this level: 192
    New Chinese characters: 20 Total at this level: 170

    Grammar: two ways to translate "how much?" ; transport and adverbial complement of means; the enumeration comma; the probability.

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 10 H5P: 1

  • Lesson 10 - Likes and dislikes

    Language competences: likes and dislikes, complex sentence, emphasizing with the 是…的 structure, to be in the process of,...

    New words: 19 Total at this level: 211
    New Chinese characters: 17 Total at this level: 187

    Grammar: the structure for emphasizing; the object-verb; various structures for expressing "in the process of".

    Text and media areas: 5 Pages: 10 Quizzes: 10 H5P: 1

  • HSK test simulation with random questions and time limit

    HSK test simulations draw at random all Level 1 questions within the same time limit as set in actual HSK tests (15 minutes for listening comprehension and 17 minutes for reading comprehension)

    In the real HSK test, the recordings of each question are played twice and follow each other without pause. For more realism, I invite you to listen to each recording twice.

    Page: 1 Quizzes: 2

  • Additional texts

    In this section you will find additional texts written with the characters of the level 1 program, but with other combinations to form new words and expressions that are not in the HSK program.

    These texts are written in a deliberately authentic style, with very Chinese expressions that go beyond the HSK program.

    Pages: 16 Text and media areas: 5

  • Feedback: 1

  • Certificate of Completion

    To obtain the Certificate of Completion, you must meet all of the following conditions:

    • obtain a final course grade equal to or greater than 16/20 (80%)
    • pass the final listening test
    • pass the final reading test