In the three years I’ve lived in Beijing, I must confess that I haven’t once attended a Chinese class. Admittedly, my Mandarin isn’t that bad to begin with (thanks to my mother’s homeschooling and a year of Chinese classes in first grade), but taking the HSK (standard for measuring your Chinese proficiency in China) has crossed my mind more than a few times.

In the past, I have tried to put some effort into studying…I watched youtube videos, subscribed to (free) websites, downloaded iOS apps, utilized CCTV’s free learn Mandarin website, and even got Pimsleur Chinese idioms. Turns out it’s pretty hard to remember proverbs and idioms, and even more difficult to remember characters.

At some point, I even researched private tutors and decided on one! That was over two years ago. I still have her WeChat (she’s good for business Chinese, FYI).

Now, as I’ve been getting busier (what with children and all), I really doubt I’ll ever drag myself to a legit Chinese class. However, as I’ve taken online courses before, and most of these are “go at your own pace,” I think a university course is feasible.

Here’s a roundup of FREE university Mandarin courses we could all potentially benefit from (if we can just make ourselves do it). The benefit of these courses is that they’re all “verified” and thereby trustworthy sources of information (which is more than we can say about some private tutors):

Basic Mandarin Chinese Level 1

1. Basic Mandarin – Level 1
National Chengchi University’s level one class is for complete beginner’s and only focuses on tones, basic phrases for getting around, and culture.  The course is recommended for friends or “groups” since it would allow you the chance to practice (but we’re in China, so…), but otherwise the six units can be completed at your own pace.

2. Basic Mandarin – Level 2

National Chengchi University’s level 2 Mandarin course teaches more vocabulary for daily use, such as describing people and objects, making comparisons, and stating opinions using a variety of sentence structures. The course highlights vocabulary differences between Mainland and Taiwan, and focuses a lot on tones and intonation for basic communication.

Tsinghua Chinese

3. Tsinghua Chinese – Start Talking with 1.3 Billion People

Tsinghua University’s Mandarin course is the most well-known in Beijing, and it’s beginner class acts as a sample and basis for HSK 1 studies! The course is varied and well-organized with dialogue, real-life listening comprehension, Chinese characters, Mandarin songs, and self-study tips.  Although I don’t know how this course compares to their official course, you can also get a certificate of completion for USD 49.

Chinese for Beginners

4. Chinese for Beginners

Peking University has a beginner’s Chinese class on Coursera where students can learn basic phonetics and easy day-to-day phrases. The course is six hours long, and although the lectures are delivered in English, you can view subtitles in Serbian, Urdu, French, and Marathi!

5. More Chinese for Beginners

A follow up course to the above, More Chinese for Beginners helps students expand vocabularies about personal information, daily life, food and drink, healthy, and expressions about greeting, suggestion, agreement, comparison, complaint, prohibition, experience, plan, recommendation, etc. No Chinese characters are taught in this class. This class has subtitles in Urdu.

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

BONUS: Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Peking University’s Intermediate Chinese class looks challenging (to me) as it’s for honing your grammar skills if you already have a grasp of Chinese grammar in speaking, reading, and writing for translation purposes. To comfortably take the class, you should have learned 1,500 words and the basics of Chinese grammar.

If you’d rather learn while watching cartoons with your kids, try googling Ni Hao, Kai-Lan, a Nick Jr. cartoon that’s been airing since 2008. I have a friend in the US who was ABC and spoke Cantonese at home, but managed to pick up Mandarin (to some extent) just by watching this show on a daily basis. You can watch full episodes on Youtube and other (not blocked) websites.

You can also check out Open Culture’s roundup of free Chinese learning resources (audiobooks, podcasts, etc.), BBC’s Learn Chinese site, Chinese Education Center has simple phrases, MIT offers their Foundations of Mandarin course textbook online for free, and this site has a really good roundup of useful websites.

Photo: courtesy of Jessica Suotmaa, Flickr

Upon Arrival

Listen for:

Do you have a reservation?
You yuding ma?
有预定吗？

What name (is the reservation under)?
Zenme chenghu?
怎么称呼？

What time is it for?
Ji dian de?
几点的？

How many people?
Ji wei?
几位？

Smoking or non-smoking?
Yao zuo xiyan qu haishi wuyan qu?
要做吸烟区还是无烟区？

Say:

We have a reservation*.
You yuding.
有预定。

* If you’re responding to a question, you can just say “you” (yes) or “mei you” (no).

We are [three, four, five…] people.
[San, si, wu…] wei.
【三，四，物。。。】位。

Do you have highchairs?
You ertong canyi ma?
有儿童餐椅吗？

When Ordering

Listen for:

What do you want to order?
Xiang chi dian shenme?
想吃点什么？

Do you have any dietary restrictions?
You jikou ma?
有忌口吗？

I’m going to repeat your order.
Wo chongfu yi xia.
我重复一下。

Say:

Do you have [name of dish]?
You … ma?
有。。。吗？

Please don’t put [meat, MSG, salt, spice, sugar…].
Qing bu yao fang [rou, weijin, yan, la jiao, tang…).
请不要放【肉，味精，盐，辣椒。。。】

I’m vegetarian.
Wo chi su.
我吃素。

What are your house specialties?
You shenme tese/zhaopai cai?
有什么特色、招牌菜？

I am allergic to [eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, gluten…]
Wo dui [jidan, huasheng, haixian, mianjin…] guomin.
我对【鸡蛋，花生，坚果，海鲜，面筋。。。】过敏。

I’d like [one, two, three…] cups of [cold, warm, hot] water.
Yao (yi, liang, san…) bei (leng, wen, re) shui.
要【一，两，三。。。】杯【冷，温，热】水。

Please hurry, we’re tight on time.
Jinliang kuai yi dian’r, wo men gan shijian.
尽量快一点儿，我们赶时间。

During Dinner

Say:

The rice still hasn’t been served.
Mi fan hai mei shang.
米饭还没上。

I’d like another bowl of rice.
Zai lai yi wan mifan.
再来一碗米饭。

I’d like more tea/water.
Jia dian’r shui.
加点儿水。

General

Waiter/waitress!
Fuwuyuan!
服务员！

Where is the bathroom?
Wo wen yi xia, xishou jian zai na’er?
我问一下，洗手间在哪儿？

Do you have cutlery?
You daocha canju ma?
有刀叉餐具吗？

Can you make fapiao?
Neng kai fapiao ma?
能开发票吗

Vocabulary

Drinks:
Juice: Guozhi 果汁
Soft drinks: Ruan yin 软饮
Sprite: Xuebi 雪碧
Coke: Ke le 可乐
Soda water: Suda shui 苏打水
Tea: Cha 茶
Beer: Pijiu (啤酒

Meat:
Chicken: Ji rou 鸡肉
Beef: Niu rou 牛肉
Pork: Zhu rou 猪肉
Mutton/lamb: Yang rou 羊肉
Fish: Yu 鱼
Shrimp: Xia 虾

Seasonings and spices:
Soy sauce: Jiang you 酱油
Sesame oil: Zhima you 芝麻油
Vinegar: Cu 醋
Garlic: Suan 蒜
Ginger: Jiang 姜
Chili pepper: Lajiao 辣椒
Chili oil: Lajiao you 辣椒油
MSG: Weijing 味精

Vegetarian:
Tofu: Doufu 豆腐
Spinach: Bocai 菠菜
Broccoli: Xi lanhua 西兰花
Chinese cabbage: Da bai cai 大白菜
Chives: Jiu cai 韭菜
Scallion: Cong 葱
Bamboo shoots: Zhu sun 竹笋
Mushrooms: Mo gu 蘑菇
Tomato: Shihongshi 西红柿
Corn: Yumi 玉米
Potato: Tudou 土豆
Eggplant: Qiezi 茄子

This article originally appeared on p58-59 in the January 2015 issue of beijingkids. To view it online for free, click here. To find out how you can obtain your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com