Mandarin is the official language used in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan. It is the mostly widely spoken language on the planet with over 1 billion speakers! My name is Chris, and I'll be your guide. I've been learning Mandarin for a couple years now and on this page you'll find all the resources you'll need to learn this wonderful language.

Software

• Learn chinese with ZDT - This is an open source chinese learning application created by myself. It's free and I use it for all my Chinese learning. It has flashcards with multiple modes, a chinese text annotator, and dictionary. Practice your writing by viewing the stroke order animations and print out writing sheets to practice with. Available for Windows, Linux, and OS X.
• PlecoDict - If you have a Palm or Windows CE device, this is the program to get. It's definitely not free (price ranges from $60-$120 depending on the dictionaries you get) but it's great. The dictionaries are great and using it with the handwriting recognition is awesome. Version 2.0 (not out yet) promises some nice new features as well.
• Pinyinput - The best way to type pinyin on your computer. Integrates directly into your Windows Chinese IME language bar. It's free but Windows only.

Podcasts

• ChinesePod - This is a really professionally produced podcast. It has different podcasts for every level ranging from Newbie to Advanced. Each lesson is about 15-18 minutes long, and it's really convenient load one up on my iPhone and listen on the way to work. The podcasts themselves are always free, but they also have several subscription services which offer transcripts and a host of supplementary material.
• Mandarin Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyks - Another set of free podcasts. Not updated as often as Chinesepod, but Serge is cool too.
• iMandarinPod - A podcast for intermediate level chinese learners. The lessons are almost entirely in Chinese and the transcripts (for the dialogs) and learning guides are available for free. They have a new lesson every three to four days.
• Antiwave - A free, completely chinese language podcast targeted to Chinese people. For advanced Chinese learners, this is the place to go for interesting Chinese listening content.

Other Resources

• Dict.cn - Slick online dictionary. What makes it special is the example sentences that it provides. The only bad point is that it does not show the associated pinyin.
• Xiaoma Cidian - If I need to look up a word online, I usually use this dictionary. Also includes some useful character lists for studying radicals, HSK, and most frequently used characters.
• Chinese Usage Dictionary - Really great site. Has very detailed explanations of common Chinese phrases. Lots of example sentences for you to practice with.
• Basic Chinese Grammar - Like the title says, this site has clear explanations of many Chinese grammar points.
• Rutgers Multi-Media Chinese Teaching System - If you want to do some self-learning, try this site. Four different levels with eighty total lessons. Each lessons includes dialogs (with actual speech), grammar points, vocab and exercises.
• Chineseblast - This is a collaborative learning site which allows its users to work together and translate short chinese language video clips. Really fun site with great potential.
• The most common Chinese characters - They say you'll be fluent in Chinese after knowing between 2000-3000 characters. Well here's a list (ordered by frequency) to see what characters you know.
• Chinese-forums.com - Easily the best forum for everything Chinese.

Contact

Are you interested in sponsoring this page? If so, send an email to chris@digitbit.com. Chinese not your cup of tea? Maybe you'll like my Basketball page instead.