Guides
Learn Chinese with honest numbers, not hype
Study plans for every HSK level built from real word-list data, plus deep guides to the methods that actually work — spaced repetition, tones, vocabulary, and reading.
HSK study guides
One guide per level, fed by the real word lists: how many words, what's new, how long it takes, and how to study it.
HSK · 7 min
HSK 1 Study Guide
Everything HSK 1 covers: the 150-word list with real examples, honest hour estimates, and a study plan that builds tones and characters from day one.
Read guideHSK · 7 min
HSK 2 Study Guide
HSK 2 doubles your vocabulary to 300 words and introduces real grammar. What's new versus HSK 1, realistic hours, and how to move beyond memorized phrases.
Read guideHSK · 8 min
HSK 3 Study Guide
HSK 3 doubles vocabulary to 600 words and removes the pinyin safety net. What changes, honest hour estimates, and a character-first strategy that works.
Read guideHSK · 8 min
HSK 4 Study Guide
HSK 4 doubles the list again to 1,200 words — synonyms, formal register, and reading stamina become the game. A study plan for the volume phase.
Read guideHSK · 8 min
HSK 5 Study Guide
HSK 5 adds 1,300 words of formal, literary Chinese. Honest hour estimates, leech management, and how to study when the list outgrows brute force.
Read guideMethods, tones, and the long game
The evergreen questions, answered with specifics: how to start, how long it takes, and how memory research changes the way you should study.
Getting started · 9 min
How to Learn Mandarin
A month-by-month roadmap for learning Mandarin from zero — what to study in which order, how many hours it really takes, and what beginners can safely skip.
Read guideGetting started · 9 min
Chinese Tones Guide
The four Mandarin tones (plus neutral), the third-tone truth textbooks soften, tone sandhi rules, and a drilling method that makes tones automatic.
Read guideGetting started · 9 min
How Long to Learn Chinese
Real hour estimates for every stage of Mandarin — FSI's 2,200-hour figure, HSK-level breakdowns, and what 15, 30, or 60 minutes a day actually buys you.
Read guideMethod · 10 min
Spaced Repetition for Chinese
How spaced repetition actually works, why Chinese vocabulary is its perfect use case, and what the FSRS algorithm does that classic Anki scheduling can't.
Read guideMethod · 9 min
Learning Chinese Vocabulary
A workflow for Chinese vocabulary that sticks: frequency-ordered lists, sentence-context cards, audio on everything, component logic, and scheduled review.
Read guideMethod · 8 min
How Many Characters You Need
Coverage statistics that answer the question honestly: what 500, 1,000, and 2,500 characters buy you, why words matter more than characters, and where returns diminish.
Read guideReading & listening · 9 min
Reading Practice by Level
How to read your way to better Chinese: the 98% comprehension rule, what to read at each HSK level, and why extensive reading is the cheapest review you'll ever do.
Read guideHSK · 8 min
HSK 3.0 vs 2.0
The 2021 HSK overhaul in plain terms — nine bands instead of six levels, bigger word lists, handwriting requirements — and why most learners should still study the 2.0 lists.
Read guideBrowse the word lists
Every guide draws on our HSK word lists — 2,493 words with pinyin, meanings, and example sentences.
Reading about methods is not a method
MandarinAI puts everything in these guides into one daily loop: HSK words in real sentences, native audio, FSRS scheduling, and stories at your level.
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