Highly recommended
The tools you need to succeed
Welcome to the Elementary Chinese Resources section, a curated list of the tools and websites I strongly recommend for learning Mandarin Chinese.
I have used every single recommendation on this page. They have helped me perfect my Mandarin Chinese and I hope they will make your learning experience a little easier.
Speak Everyday Chinese
A growing library of my videos for day-to-day life but with extra audio practice, so you can improve your listening and start learning to communicate how Chinese folks actually do.
Get Talking Chinese
Super practical Mandarin phrase book with audio to practice with.
Living Language Mandarin Chinese
Best self-study book I know of. Tons of content for the price. Three levels, character practice and audio in one box. Easy to follow lessons.
Skritter
Learn Chinese characters in your browser with real-time grading. Skritter gives you immediate stroke-level feedback tone practice, audio playback
The Chairman’s Bao
Read news to learn Mandarin. The world’s most comprehensive news-based graded reader for students of Chinese. Used in 150+ of the world’s most prestigious schools and universities. Study from over 1,600 HSK-graded lessons each year!
Drops
Word by word, Drops helps you learn new vocabulary through fun, fast-paced games with simple mnemonic images. Fun and effective, this app takes the boring out of language learning.
Astrill VPN
I depend on this VPN to upload five videos a week and live-stream on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube—all from China.
A quick and important disclosure:
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful.