It used to be that there were few resources available online for learning Chinese. Now there are so many that it can be hard to separate the good from the bad. Through extensive experience learning Chinese, creating Chinese content at ChinesePod, and consulting at AllSet Learning, I’ve come to rely on certain resources which really stand out. You’ll find them here.
Lessons by Podcast
- ChinesePod – the original award-winning podcast that inspired all the imitators continues to deliver the best podcasts for learning Mandarin [subscription required]
Pinyin
- Sinosplice: Review of Pronunciation Misconceptions
- ChinesePod: Pinyin Chart [subscription required]
- ChinesePod: Pinyin Program [subscription required]
- Pinyin.info: The Rules of Pinyin
Pronunciation
- Sinosplice Pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese: Setting the Record Straight
- ChinesePod: Pinyin Program [subscription required]
Listening
- Chinese BBTV Radio Online [review here]
- RhinoSpike – a site to submit a text and receive native speaker audio readings of that text
- Youku – one of the Chinese YouTube clones, full of great Chinese video content
Chinese Characters
- Skritter – the best online resource for practicing writing
- Chinese Character Etymology – tons of images covering the entire history of a character’s evolution
- Zhongwen.com – a hierarchical ordering of characters based on their composition
Chinese Dictionaries
- nciku – perhaps the most popular free online dictionary
- MDBG – a popular free online dictionary
- Jukuu – a database of sentences with part of speech data on words
- Wenlin – desktop software (Mac or PC) that uses the acclaimed ABC Dictionary
- Pleco – not free, but worth the money (for iPhone, Windows Mobile)
Chinese Grammar
- ChinesePod: Grammar Guide [subscription required, incomplete]
- Basic Chinese Grammar – a basic “big picture” view provided by Rutgers University
- Wikipedia: Chinese Grammar – an academic overview with linguistic value, but not well suited to actual study
Reading Tools
- Wenlin – a great program for Windows and Mac; paste in the Chinese text and have access to easy character readings, dictionary lookups, character info, and more
- Chinese Perapera-kun – the most popular Firefox add-on for adding popup-style readings to characters on an webpage
Writing/Composition
- Lang-8 – write whatever you want and get free feedback from the community
Flashcards
- Anki – the most popular SRS flashcard solution [more info on SRS]
- Smart.fm – a website-based SRS flashcard solution [more info on SRS]
Blogs
- Sinosplice: Language (if you follow only this category, all content is related to learning Chinese)
- Global Maverick – a blog about language learning, with emphasis on SRS and iPhone apps
- LaowaiChinese – thoughts on learning Mandarin
- Sinoglot – a blog on linguistic issues surrounding Chinese and its many dialects/languages
- Pinyin News Blog – academic examination of pinyin in action
Link Lists
- Learning Chinese Online – a huge list of resources compiled by professor Tim Xie
Note that this page is not meant to be a list of all materials for learning Chinese; it is a filtered list of personal recommendation based on my own experience. If you’d like to suggest a resource for this list, please contact me.
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