Each video is an animated board with no presenter and no music. It says one thing, shows it, and ends with a rule to remember. None of them replaces its lesson. A video is the half-minute version, and the page linked under it has the explanation, the examples and something to practise with. If you are new to Chinese, start with the four tones. If you have a specific problem, jump to its topic:
Chinese is a tonal language, so a wrong pitch can give you a different word. These videos cover the four tones, the third-tone change, the sounds English speakers mix up, and two pinyin spelling rules.
One syllable, four tones, four words: 妈 mā (mother), 麻 má (hemp / numb), 马 mǎ (horse) and 骂 mà (to scold). Typed as ma1, ma2, ma3 and ma4, the number is the tone.
Full lesson: Pinyin TranslationWhen two 3rd tones appear in a row, the first one changes to a 2nd tone: 你好 is written nǐ + hǎo and said ní hǎo, and 很好 hěn + hǎo is said hén hǎo. The pinyin spelling doesn't change, only the pronunciation does.
Full lesson: Chinese Tone Sandhi: The 4 Tone-Change Ruleszh, ch and sh are said with the tongue curled back; j, q and x with the tongue flat and forward, against the front of the palate: zhī (知 know) vs jī (鸡 chicken), chī (吃 eat) vs qī (七 seven), shī (诗 poem) vs xī (西 west).
Full lesson: Distinguishing Similar Sounds in ChineseAfter j, q, x and y the pinyin ü is written as plain u, as in ju (居), qu (去), xu (虚) and yu (鱼), and is still pronounced with the ü sound; after n and l the dots are kept: nǚ (女), lǜ (绿).
Full lesson: The 6 Pinyin Spelling RulesType the tone as a number straight after each syllable and convert it: hao3 becomes hǎo, ni3 hao3 becomes nǐ hǎo, and because pinyin never uses the letter v, nv3 is nǚ.
Full lesson: How to Type Pinyin With Tone Marks (ā á ǎ à)Practise it: train your ear in the Tone Trainer, then say a syllable into the Tone Pitch Mirror to see your own pitch drawn against the tone. The sentence shadowing tool does the same for a whole sentence, and the Pinyin Checker tells you whether a spelling is right.
Every video restates one lesson that is already on this site. Its Chinese is not written for the video: each word, pinyin reading and meaning it shows appears word for word on the lesson it came from, and the site's build checks that before a video can ship. That is why each one links back to its lesson rather than standing alone.
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Characters look impossible until you see that they are built in a fixed order from a small set of parts. These videos cover the first stroke-order rules, one radical, characters that look alike, simplified against traditional, and what to do when you cannot type a character.
Three rules cover most Chinese stroke order: top to bottom (三 sān, three), left to right (川 chuān, river), and horizontal before vertical (十 shí, ten). Each character is written stroke by stroke in its real order.
Full lesson: How to Write Chinese Characters: Stroke Order & PracticeThe water radical 氵 appears in 河 (river), 海 (sea) and 湖 (lake). The part repeats, and so does the meaning: every character written with 氵 has to do with water.
Full lesson: Chinese Radicals List: 100 Most Common己 jǐ, 已 yǐ and 巳 sì differ by one gap: watch the upper-left gap, fully open 己, half closed 已, sealed shut 巳, written stroke by stroke.
Full lesson: Look-Alike Chinese CharactersHorse is 马 in simplified Chinese and 馬 in traditional: 3 strokes against 10, written side by side, and both are read mǎ. Simplified and Traditional are two writing systems for the same spoken language.
Full lesson: Simplified vs. Traditional ChineseDraw 爱 on the square with a wobbly hand, one stroke per line, and the handwriting lookup still puts it at the top of the matches: a wobbly stroke in the right place beats a beautiful one in the wrong place.
Full lesson: Handwriting Character LookupPractise it: draw a character you cannot type in the handwriting lookup, which also grades your stroke order, or find one by its parts with the character finder. The radicals library covers the parts one by one.
Chinese verbs never change form, so word order and a few small words do most of the work. These videos cover where time and place go, how to count things, and two of the words learners get wrong most.
Chinese sentences follow Subject + Verb + Object: 我 (I) + 学习 (study) + 汉语 (Chinese) = 我学习汉语. Time and place go before the verb, in that order: 我晚上在家学习汉语 (wǒ wǎnshang zài jiā xuéxí Hànyǔ).
Full lesson: Word order — Subject + Verb + ObjectIn Chinese a measure word sits between the number and the noun: 三个人 (sān gè rén), 两本书 (liǎng běn shū). 个 (gè) is the all-purpose one: when in doubt, use 个.
Full lesson: Essential Chinese Measure Words了 (le) has two jobs. After a verb it marks a completed action: 我买了三本书 (Wǒ mǎi le sān běn shū), I bought three books. At the end of a sentence it marks a change of state: 天冷了 (Tiān lěng le), it's got cold. It is not a past tense.
Full lesson: 了 — completed action and change of state把 (bǎ) moves a specific object in front of the verb to focus on what was done to it: 请把门关上 (Qǐng bǎ mén guānshang), please close the door. The verb can never stand bare: it needs 了, a complement, or a direction attached.
Full lesson: 把 sentencesPractise it: every pattern in these videos has a lesson with a drill in the grammar library. When you know them, test yourself in Grammar Gauntlet, or fill the missing word in real sentences in Cloze in Context.
Some of what you need is not grammar. These videos cover the usual Chinese name order, why some numbers are lucky, how to say cheers, and how to hand over a business card.
In 王伟 (Wáng Wěi), 王 Wáng is the family name and 伟 Wěi is the given name: in Chinese the surname always comes first.
Full lesson: 100 Most Common Chinese Surnames四 sì (4) is almost the same word as 死 sǐ (death): the same syllable in a different tone. 八 bā (8) echoes 发 fā, as in 发财 fācái (get rich): similar, but not the same sound.
Full lesson: Chinese Lucky NumbersCheers in Chinese is 干杯 (gānbēi): 干 gān = dry / empty, 杯 bēi = cup / glass, so it literally means "dry the cup". Lower your glass below theirs when you clink, and if you'd rather just sip, say 随意 (suíyì, "as you please").
Full lesson: Cheers in Chinese: 干杯, 随意, 6 Toasts and Banquet EtiquetteStand up, present your card with both hands with the Chinese side facing the recipient, and receive theirs with both hands. Read the card you are given for a couple of seconds, then place it on the table in front of you rather than pocketing it.
Full lesson: Chinese business cards and job titlesPractise it: the travel phrasebook has the phrases for eating, shopping and getting around, with audio for every line, and Idiom Chain is the word game Chinese speakers play with four-character idioms.
Start practising: the Tone Trainer