Learn Mandarin Fast - Master Essential Words and Phrases for Quick Fluency

What you'll learn

• Master the 4 Mandarin tones with clear examples
• Learn 30 core survival words for daily life
• Use 35 essential phrases for greetings and shopping
• Order food and drinks at Chinese restaurants confidently
• Navigate cities with directions and transport vocab
• Engage in social conversations with proper politeness
• Handle emergencies with safety-critical vocabulary
• Build sentences using 25 reusable grammar patterns

Preview the flashcards

A sample of the 200 cards in this set — each with pronunciation and English meaning.

妈/ ma1 (high, flat tone) /

mother - 1st tone (high level). Keep your voice high and flat, like singing a sustained note.

麻/ ma2 (rising tone) /

hemp / numb - 2nd tone (rising). Voice rises from mid to high, like asking a surprised question.

马/ ma3 (dipping tone) /

horse - 3rd tone (dipping). Voice dips low then rises slightly, like a drawled 'well...'

骂/ ma4 (sharp falling tone) /

to scold - 4th tone (falling). Voice drops sharply from high to low, like a firm command.

吗/ ma (neutral, unstressed) /

question particle - Neutral tone (light, short). Unstressed, quick and soft at the end of a sentence.

八/ ba1 (high flat tone) /

eight - 1st tone. High level tone, voice stays flat and high.

拔/ ba2 (rising tone) /

to pull out - 2nd tone. Voice rises from mid to high.

把/ ba3 (dipping tone) /

to hold / measure word - 3rd tone. Voice dips down and rises back up.

爸/ ba4 (falling tone) /

dad - 4th tone. Voice falls sharply from high to low.

书/ shu1 (high flat tone) /

book - 1st tone. High level tone demonstrated with a common noun.

熟/ shu2 (rising tone) /

ripe / familiar - 2nd tone. Rising tone with 'sh' initial.

鼠/ shu3 (dipping tone) /

mouse / rat - 3rd tone. Dipping tone with 'sh' initial.

树/ shu4 (falling tone) /

tree - 4th tone. Falling tone with 'sh' initial.

四/ si4 (falling tone) /

four - 4th tone. Falling tone. Often confused with 十 (shi2, ten) by beginners.

十/ shi2 (rising tone) /

ten - 2nd tone. Rising tone. Contrast with 四 (si4, four) to practice tonal distinction.

+ 185 more cards with full native audio in the complete set.