Day 1: Chinese Basics Masterclass - Learn Chinese in 7 Days | Proenglishguide.info

Chinese Foundations: Day 1 Masterclass

Build your Chinese foundation with pinyin mastery, tone pronunciation, essential greetings, and daily conversation starters.

60-75 Minutes English Support Audio Guides Beginner Friendly
Your 7-Day Chinese Journey Day 1 of 7 - Foundation Building
Getting Started Certificate: 6 days away

Interactive Pronunciation: Click on any Chinese character, pinyin, or the 🔊 button to hear the correct pronunciation with tones!

Pinyin Basics 4 Tones Greetings Introductions Numbers Basic Characters Exercises

Your Day 1 Learning Path

Welcome to your first day of Mandarin Chinese mastery! Today, we'll build the essential foundation that will support all your future Chinese learning. You'll finish today feeling more confident with Chinese sounds, tones, and basic conversations.

Pinyin Mastery

Learn the Romanization system for Chinese

Tone Pronunciation

Master the 4 essential tones of Mandarin

Essential Greetings

Learn formal & informal Chinese greetings

Self-Introduction

Confidently introduce yourself in Chinese

Maximize Your Learning

Tones are crucial in Chinese! The same pinyin with different tones means completely different things. Practice tones aloud throughout this lesson. Mimic the audio examples exactly, paying attention to pitch changes.

Pinyin: The Chinese Alphabet System

Pinyin (拼音) is the Romanization system for Chinese characters. It uses the Latin alphabet to represent Chinese sounds. Think of it as the "pronunciation guide" for Chinese.

你
nǐ
You
好
hǎo
Good
我
wǒ
I/Me
是
shì
To be
的
de
's (possessive)
了
le
(past tense marker)
一
yī
One
不
bù
No/Not
人
rén
Person
有
yǒu
To have
来
lái
To come
在
zài
At/In
大
dà
Big
中
zhōng
Middle/China
国
guó
Country
上
shàng
Up/Above
Pinyin Learning Strategy

Focus on initials (consonants) and finals (vowels) separately. Common initials: b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, h, j, q, x, zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s. Common finals: a, o, e, i, u, ü, ai, ei, ao, ou, an, en, ang, eng, ong.

The 4 Tones of Mandarin

Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. The same syllable with different tones can have completely different meanings. This is the most important aspect of Chinese pronunciation!

1st Tone
mā
High & Flat

Like singing a high note. Steady high pitch.

2nd Tone
má
Rising

Like asking "What?" in English. Pitch rises.

3rd Tone
mǎ
Falling-Rising

Like saying "Huh?" Pitch dips then rises.

4th Tone
mà
Falling

Like giving a command. Sharp pitch drop.

Neutral
ma
Light & Short

Quick, light pronunciation without tone.

Pinyin Tone Character Meaning Example
mā 🔊 1 妈 Mother 妈妈 (māma) - Mom 🔊
má 🔊 2 麻 Hemp/Numb 麻烦 (máfan) - Trouble 🔊
mǎ 🔊 3 马 Horse 马上 (mǎshàng) - Immediately 🔊
mà 🔊 4 骂 To scold 骂人 (màrén) - To scold someone 🔊
ma 🔊 N 吗 (Question particle) 好吗？(hǎo ma?) - OK? 🔊
Tone Practice

Listen and repeat these tone pairs to train your ear:

mā má mǎ mà (All 4 tones)
bā bá bǎ bà (Ba with 4 tones)
shī shí shǐ shì (Shi with 4 tones)

Essential Chinese Greetings

Learn these essential Chinese greetings with their proper tones. Pay special attention to tone changes!

Chinese Greeting Pinyin English Meaning Context & Response
你好 🔊 nǐ hǎo Hello (general) Universal greeting, used any time
您好 🔊 nín hǎo Hello (formal) For elders, superiors, formal situations
早上好 🔊 zǎoshang hǎo Good morning Used until about 10 AM
下午好 🔊 xiàwǔ hǎo Good afternoon Used from noon to about 6 PM
晚上好 🔊 wǎnshang hǎo Good evening Used after about 6 PM
再见 🔊 zàijiàn Goodbye Standard farewell
拜拜 🔊 bāibāi Bye-bye Casual, borrowed from English
谢谢 🔊 xièxie Thank you Standard thanks (second "xie" is neutral)
不客气 🔊 bú kèqi You're welcome Response to "thank you"
对不起 🔊 duìbuqǐ Sorry/Excuse me Apology or getting attention
Greeting Practice Dialogues

Practice these short conversations to build your greeting confidence:

Formal Situation (Meeting someone important):

A: "您好，李先生。" 🔊 (Hello, Mr. Li.)

B: "您好，王小姐。请坐。" 🔊 (Hello, Miss Wang. Please sit.)

A: "谢谢。" 🔊 (Thank you.)

Informal Situation (Meeting a friend):

A: "你好！最近怎么样？" 🔊 (Hi! How have you been recently?)

B: "我很好，谢谢。你呢？" 🔊 (I'm good, thanks. And you?)

A: "也不错。再见！" 🔊 (Not bad either. Goodbye!)

Self-Introductions in Chinese

Learn how to introduce yourself confidently in different situations. A good introduction includes your name, nationality, and basic information.

Basic Introduction Structure
  1. Greeting: Start with 你好 (nǐ hǎo) or 您好 (nín hǎo)
  2. Your Name: "我叫..." (wǒ jiào...) or "我是..." (wǒ shì...)
  3. Nationality: "我是...人" (wǒ shì... rén)
  4. Basic Information: What you do, where you're from
  5. Friendly Closing: "很高兴认识你" (hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ)
Introduction Examples
Formal Introduction (Business Meeting):

"您好，我叫张伟。我是中国人。我是北京公司的经理。很高兴认识您。" 🔊
(Hello, my name is Zhang Wei. I am Chinese. I am a manager at Beijing Company. Nice to meet you.)

Social Introduction (Language Exchange):

"你好，我是玛丽。我是美国人。我学习中文三个月了。请多指教。" 🔊
(Hi, I am Mary. I am American. I have been studying Chinese for three months. Please guide me.)

Casual Introduction (Party):

"嘿，我叫小明。我是上海人。我喜欢音乐和电影。你呢？" 🔊
(Hey, my name is Xiaoming. I am from Shanghai. I like music and movies. How about you?)

我

"Wǒ" - I/Me. This is one of the most common characters in Chinese.

Numbers 1-10

Chinese numbers are logical and easy to learn. Once you know 1-10, you can count to 99 easily!

Numbers 1-10
一
yī
One
二
èr
Two
三
sān
Three
四
sì
Four
五
wǔ
Five
六
liù
Six
七
qī
Seven
八
bā
Eight
九
jiǔ
Nine
十
shí
Ten
Number Pattern Tip

Chinese numbers are decimal-based. 11 is 十一 (shí yī) - literally "ten one". 20 is 二十 (èr shí) - literally "two ten". 21 is 二十一 (èr shí yī) - "two ten one". This pattern continues to 99!

Useful Number Phrases

Basic Chinese Characters

Chinese characters (汉字 hànzì) may look complicated, but many common ones are actually quite simple. Let's start with some basic characters that you'll use every day.

Character Pinyin Meaning Usage Examples
人 🔊 rén Person 中国人 (Chinese person), 大人 (adult)
口 🔊 kǒu Mouth 人口 (population), 出口 (exit)
日 🔊 rì Sun/Day 日本 (Japan), 生日 (birthday)
月 🔊 yuè Moon/Month 月亮 (moon), 月 (month)
山 🔊 shān Mountain 爬山 (climb mountain), 山东 (Shandong)
水 🔊 shuǐ Water 水果 (fruit), 水 (water)
火 🔊 huǒ Fire 火车 (train), 火灾 (fire disaster)
木 🔊 mù Wood 树木 (tree), 木材 (timber)
女 🔊 nǚ Woman/Female 女人 (woman), 女孩 (girl)
男 🔊 nán Man/Male 男人 (man), 男孩 (boy)
Character Writing Practice

Chinese characters are written with specific stroke orders. Practice these basic rules:

  1. Top to bottom: 三 (sān) - Write top line first
  2. Left to right: 人 (rén) - Write left stroke first
  3. Horizontal before vertical: 十 (shí) - Write horizontal line first
  4. Outside before inside: 月 (yuè) - Write outer frame first
  5. Middle before sides: 小 (xiǎo) - Write middle stroke first
你好

Try writing "你好" (nǐ hǎo - hello) following the stroke order rules above.

Day 1 Practice Exercises

Apply what you've learned with these practical exercises. Try to complete them without looking back at the lesson material.

Exercise 1: Pinyin & Tones
  1. Write the pinyin for these characters with correct tone marks: 你好，谢谢，再见，一，五
  2. Identify the tone of each syllable in "wǒ shì xuésheng" (我是学生 - I am a student)
  3. Practice these minimal pairs aloud: mā/má, shī/shí, bā/bà
Exercise 2: Greetings & Introductions
  1. Create appropriate Chinese greetings for these situations:
    • Meeting your teacher at 9 AM
    • Saying goodbye to a friend
    • Thanking someone for help
  2. Write a 4-sentence self-introduction in Chinese including:
    • Your name
    • Your nationality
    • One thing you like
    • A closing phrase
  3. Translate these English greetings to Chinese:
    • Good morning
    • Thank you
    • Nice to meet you
Exercise 3: Numbers & Characters
  1. Write these numbers in Chinese characters: 3, 7, 10, 15, 20
  2. Match these characters with their meanings:
    • 人 (a) water
    • 山 (b) person
    • 水 (c) mountain
    • 日 (d) sun/day
  3. Write your age in Chinese characters with pinyin.
  4. Practice writing the character "我" (wǒ - I/me) 10 times.
Checking Your Answers

After completing the exercises, review the lesson material to check your answers. Tones are especially important - use the audio examples to verify your pronunciation. Remember: consistency is key in language learning!

恭喜！(Congratulations!)

You've completed Day 1 of your Chinese journey. You now have a solid foundation in Chinese basics.

Tomorrow, we'll build on this foundation with essential everyday conversations and vocabulary.

Continue to Day 2: Everyday Conversations

Want to review? Go back to Pinyin or redo exercises