Skip main navigation

New offer! Get 30% off one whole year of Unlimited learning. Subscribe for just £249.99 £174.99. New subscribers only. T&Cs apply

Find out more

Welcoming you to the course

We welcome you to this course! This video introduces you to the course contents.

Welcome to our “Introduction to Chinese: Pronunciation and Tone” course, the second in our ‘Learn Chinese’ ExpertTrack!

The course educators Zhang Yanli and Zhu Xuan are both Chinese teachers from Shanghai International Studies University.

In this course we will introduce you Chinese Pinyin or Phonetics which is the first step in developing your communicative Chinese skills.

Over the next three weeks, we will focus on:

  1. Key elements of Chinese phonetics: initials, finals and tones
  2. Core rules of spelling and tone marking
  3. Distinguishing of similar sounds
  4. Simple daily language skills such as greetings, self-introduction, expressing thanks, love and apology.

By the end of the three weeks, you will be able to pronounce Chinese sounds accurately and speak some simple Chinese. We hope you will enjoy our course to improve your Chinese reading and oral skills and have fun along the way!

The tutorial file for Week 1 is attached (refer to ‘Downloads’) in which you may find the common questions and answers, learning tips as well as some difficulties you will meet in your study. Please come to us at any time you need!

This article is from the free online

Learn Chinese: Introduction to Chinese Pronunciation and Tone

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now