Vocabulary
129 words in 8 themes. Every word has its characters, its pinyin coloured by tone, and a button to hear it. These are the words that come up first, not the ones that come up in a textbook.
16 words
Greetings and courtesy
The words you will use in the first minute of every conversation.
16 words
Numbers and money
Ten number words, the three that go above them, and what you pay with.
16 words
Food and drink
Enough to read a menu and avoid the thing you did not want.
17 words
Getting around
Asking the way, and understanding the answer.
16 words
People and family
The nouns that turn a conversation from transactional into personal.
16 words
Time and days
When things happen, which in Chinese always comes before the verb.
16 words
Weather and seasons
The safest small talk there is, and the words on every forecast.
16 words
Keeping a conversation going
The small words that join sentences together and buy you a second to think.
Words for a situation
Longer pages that run in the order the situation happens, with the phrases you will hear as well as the ones you will say.
Situation
Chinese for restaurants
The Mandarin you need in a Chinese restaurant, in the order you need it, from being counted at the door to asking for the bill.
Situation
Chinese for taxis
Getting in, giving the address, following the route and getting out of a taxi in mainland China, with the phrases drivers actually use.
Situation
Chinese for shopping
Browsing, asking prices, bargaining at a market and paying, in Mandarin you can use the same afternoon.
Situation
Chinese for the hotel
Checking in, asking about the room, the few requests you will actually make at the front desk, and checking out on time.
Situation
Trains and directions
Buying a rail ticket, finding the platform, following the answer when you ask the way, and getting off at the right stop.
Situation
Greetings and meetings
How to greet people, introduce yourself, handle a business card, and leave politely, including the lines a host says to you.
Situation
Chinese for emergencies
The phrases you hope not to use: getting help, the emergency numbers, feeling unwell, and losing a passport or a wallet.
Situation
Chinese at the convenience store
The questions the cashier will ask you, in the order they ask them, plus the things you are most likely to be buying.