A story-driven Chinese curriculum for self-directed learners.
The Idea
Most language apps drill vocabulary in isolation. You memorize words, forget them, and feel stuck.
I built this because I was frustrated. Years of apps and flashcards hadn’t given me the fluency I wanted. When I discovered TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) and started studying this way, it was addictive and effective. I wanted to share that experience.
The core principle: You acquire language through comprehensible and compelling input — meaningful stories you can actually follow, not random sentences about pens and tables.
Cold Character Reading: Characters are introduced after you’ve already learned the sounds and meanings through pinyin. By the time you see 你好, you already know it’s nǐhǎo and means “hello.” This makes character recognition about connecting shapes to sounds you already own — not decoding from scratch.
The Story
You’ll follow Kevin, an anxious new hire at a mysterious company where no one can explain what they actually do. His coworkers include the deadpan Lily, the enthusiastically unhelpful Boss Wang, and other characters you’ll meet along the way.
It’s an episodic workplace comedy. Each lesson advances the plot while introducing new vocabulary through repeated, contextualized exposure.
How It Works
Each lesson follows the same structure:
| Section | What You Do |
|---|---|
| Target Audio | Listen to the full dialogue once — don’t worry about understanding everything |
| Vocabulary | See the new words for the lesson with English translations |
| Pattern Practice | Work through statements and Q&A pairs to understand usage |
| Pinyin Story | Read the dialogue in pinyin with English translations (click for audio) |
| Comprehension Check | Multiple choice questions to reinforce understanding |
| Pinyin Production | Produce pinyin from English prompts (don’t worry about tones) |
| Cold Character Reader | Your chance to match what you know to what you see. Read slowly, click for audio, hover to reveal pinyin. Take away the help gradually — you’ll be surprised how fast you can read. |
| Character Production | Type characters from English prompts (let me know if you need help setting up your keyboard — tutorial coming for Mac and Windows) |
| Listen Again | Three more listens — recognition, follow along, then anticipate |
Features
Word Wall Essential vocabulary for the lesson will be displayed in the right and left column for quick reference throughout the lesson.
Tone Color Coding
Every syllable is colored by tone. You’ll internalize tone patterns visually before you even think about them consciously.
- 1st tone (high flat)
- 2nd tone (rising)
- 3rd tone (dipping)
- 4th tone (falling)
- neutral tone
Capitalization Patterns
Colors work great on screen, but we also encode tones through capitalization. This technique was created by Terry Waltz. I was skeptical at first, but was surprised at how quickly I found it supportive to my pronunciation:
- 1st tone: ALL CAPS → TĀ
- 2nd tone: last letteR → réN
- 3rd tone: all lowercase → nǐ
- 4th tone: First Letter → Shì
- neutral: lowercase + italics → ma
Traditional Characters
We use traditional characters (繁體字) throughout. If you can read traditional, you can generally read simplified — the reverse isn’t as true.
Audio for All Story Lines
Every line of the story arc has audio. Listen, read, listen again.
The Goal
40 lessons. ~300 words. HSK 1 (2026 standard) proficiency.
By the end, you’ll be able to read Chinese text, maintain conversations, and have a foundation for continued study. You might even pass the HSK exam!!!
Current Status: Beta
Right now, Lessons 1–10 are live. More are coming.
I’m looking for feedback on:
- Does the lesson flow make sense?
- Are the instructions clear?
- Is the difficulty progression reasonable?
- Any bugs or broken elements?
- What’s working? What’s not?
Start Here
→ Lesson 1: First Day
→ Lesson 2: What Do We Do Here?
→ Lesson 3: The Meeting
→ Lesson 4: Lunch Break
→ Lesson 5: The Break Room
→ Lesson 6: Going Home
→ Lesson 7: Morning Routine
→ Lesson 8: Back to Work
→ Lesson 9: The Phone Call
→ Lesson 10: Friday
Leave Feedback
Use the comments below to share your thoughts (you’ll need to make a github login, it helps me track your feedback). Or just send me an email if that is easier. Be as specific or general as you like — everything helps.
謝謝！