Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course

Learn about Mandarin Chinese as a tool for communication and gain insights into Chinese society and culture. This free course, Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course, provides a brief introduction to the Chinese language, its scripts and sounds, and how words are formed. You will hear short conversations where people greet each other and introduce themselves, and learn how to count from one to ten. You’ll learn different ways of saying your name and greeting people, as well as give your telephone number. This OpenLearn course is introductory material for absolute beginners in Chinese. First published on Thu, 22 Oct 2020 as Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course. To find out more visit The Open University's Openlearn website. Copyright free 2025