Mandarin Meadow
A little Mandarin, every day.

Help & FAQ 常见问题

Practising Mandarin

How do Listen, Record, Play mine and Compare work?

Listen plays the example. You can skip listening and record straight away. Tap Record, say the item, then tap Stop. A successful recording completes that item’s task. Play mine plays your voice; Compare plays the model, then your voice.

“Recorded” means you practised; it is not a pronunciation score. Listen for tones, rhythm and light syllables. You can record again. Try a few items at a time and take a break when needed.

Where do my recordings and completed tasks go?

Voice clips stay in this browser tab. Reloading, closing the tab or leaving the website clears them. Opening this help page keeps your clips available. Completed tasks remain saved even when a voice clip is gone, so Play mine and Compare become available after a new recording.

Learners have separate progress. Use the learner’s progress backup or sign-in sync to carry supported learning progress between devices. Voice clips are not included in backups or sync.

How can I read a longer text?

Use the Listen button beside each part. Pause or stop with the audio controls, then continue when ready. Pinyin + English and Useful expressions provide optional support. Short texts have one Listen button.

How do character animations and tracing work?

Flip a character card to see the writing controls. Replay shows the strokes; Trace lets you try them. The lesson’s writing focus identifies which characters to practise first. Printable pages are available in Practice.

Choosing a course & reviewing

How do I choose a starting point?

Each course page lists what to know before starting and what you will practise. Choose by what you can understand and do in Mandarin. Later literature and social themes are intended for teenagers and adults ready for extended reading and discussion; language support remains available.

How do the cumulative reviews work?

Open Review & connect on a course page, or use the extra review in the Review tab after each study block. Earlier vocabulary, sentence patterns and readings return in short recall questions, followed by a written response. First choices and retries remain saved. The written reflection is self-reviewed, with room for different supported answers.

Can I spread a long reading over several days?

Yes. Open Goals & study plan for reading sessions linked to each part. Read one part in a sitting, then connect the parts and complete the reading tasks when ready. The short Course 7 bridge readings have optional longer versions; the longer version is not required.

Chinese typing

How do I type Chinese and use written responses?

Add a Simplified Chinese Pinyin keyboard in your device’s keyboard or language settings. On iPhone/iPad, look under Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards. On Android, use your keyboard’s Languages settings. On Windows or Mac, use language or input-source settings. Select the Chinese keyboard, type pinyin, then choose the intended characters.

Later readings include a short written response. Drafts are saved to the active learner’s progress as you type. You can save a response, compare it with a possible supporting detail, and revise it. These responses are not automatically graded; different reasoned answers can work. Progress backup and supported sign-in sync include saved responses.

Microphone setup

What if microphone access is blocked?

Tap Record and allow microphone access when your browser asks. If access was denied, change this website’s microphone permission to Allow or Ask. Your device must also let the browser use its microphone. Return to the lesson and try Record again; reload only if your browser requires it. Reloading clears voice clips in this tab.

Open Mandarin Meadow directly in your browser if recording is unavailable in an embedded window. If the microphone is busy, close other apps using it. For children, a parent or carer can help with permission settings.

iPhone or iPad · Safari
  1. Open this website in Safari, then tap Record and allow the request.
  2. If blocked, open Safari’s page menu beside the address, find Website Settings (or More, then Website Settings), and change Microphone to Ask or Allow for this website.
  3. You can also check Settings → Apps → Safari → Microphone; older versions may show Safari directly in Settings. Return to Safari and try again.

Menu names vary by version. Apple’s Safari settings guide

Android phone or tablet · Chrome
  1. In Chrome, open Settings → Site settings → Microphone. Allow this website or remove its blocked permission, then try Record again.
  2. If still blocked, check Android Settings → Apps → Chrome → Permissions → Microphone, and allow access while using the app.

Google’s microphone guide for Android

Mac · Safari or Chrome

In Safari, use Settings → Websites → Microphone and choose Ask or Allow for this website. In Chrome, open the controls beside the address → Site settings → Microphone → Allow.

If the browser is blocked by macOS, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and allow the browser if listed. Relaunch it if requested; relaunching clears current voice clips.

Safari website settings · Chrome microphone settings

Windows · Chrome or Edge

Open the controls beside the website address and allow Microphone in this site’s permissions. In Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone, check microphone access and permission for desktop apps. On older Windows versions, look under Privacy.

Microsoft’s microphone settings guide

Firefox

Use the permissions icon beside the address to remove a blocked microphone permission, then tap Record and allow the new request. You can also review Microphone under Firefox Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions. Check your device’s microphone permission for Firefox too.

Mozilla’s permission guide

Learning Chinese online: feedback that changes a plan

Select support for a named difficulty.

Goals & study plan
Learning Chinese online: feedback that changes a plan

Choose a study activity for a specific need. A corrected answer, a completed activity and lasting recall are different; use evidence and a later attempt to check learning. You can pause after any study block and continue later.

  • Select support for a named difficulty.
  • Explain a correction using the original passage.
  • Distinguish completion from later recall.

Learning, time & promises · Lessons 1–4

Technology · reading focus

Trace events, perspective and a meaningful detail. Explain your interpretation and consider another possible view.

Reading sessions · 3 parts
  1. Session 1 · Part 1

    Read this part, identify the main event or idea, and note one useful detail.

  2. Session 2 · Part 2

    Read this part, identify the main event or idea, and note one useful detail.

  3. Session 3 · Part 3

    Read this part, identify the main event or idea, and note one useful detail.

  4. Connect & respond

    Link the parts, try the reading checks, then write or explain a supported response. Complete the dialogue recordings in short blocks.

Words & sentences

5–8 minutes

Learn the core expressions and record in short blocks.

Reading & dialogue

10–15 minutes per sitting

Read one part per sitting. Use the reading sessions in this plan, then connect the parts and practise the dialogue in short blocks.

Practice & review

5–10 minutes

Practise the writing focus and revisit your first-choice answers.

Help with self-study

Try each item in a short block. Listen when needed, record when ready, and use the hints to retry. Pinyin and English can be turned off independently.

Show support:
Pronunciation & learning options

Pinyin shows how to say a word. The mark above a vowel shows its tone.

mā1. High and level
má2. Rising
mǎ3. Low, then rising
mà4. Falling

Watch the tone marks and listen for the rhythm of the whole phrase. Light syllables are short; pauses belong between meaningful groups.

Characters0 / 22 tasks
Task checklist · 0 / 22 complete

Characters · 生字

Flip each card for stroke order. This lesson’s writing focus: 习 · 示 · 进 · 顺 · 复 · 度.

Lesson text · words, sentences and reading

Words & phrases

课程

kè chéng

course

预习

yù xí

preview a lesson

复习

fù xí

review

提示

tí shì

hint

笔顺

bǐ shùn

stroke order

进度

jìn dù

progress

Model sentences

网上中文课程每周有一次视频课堂。

wǎng shàng zhōng wén kè chéng měi zhōu yǒu yí cì shì pín kè táng。

The online Chinese course has one video lesson each week.

上课以前,我先预习课文和生词。

shàng kè yǐ qián, wǒ xiān yù xí kè wén hé shēng cí。

Before class, I preview the text and new vocabulary.

周末复习能帮助我记住本周的学习内容。

zhōu mò fù xí néng bāng zhù wǒ jì zhù běn zhōu de xué xí nèi róng。

Weekend review helps me remember what I learned during the week.

遇到难题时,网页会提供一个简短提示。

yù dào nán tí shí, wǎng yè huì tí gōng yí ge jiǎn duǎn tí shì。

When I encounter a difficult question, the webpage provides a short hint.

书写页面用动画展示每个汉字的笔顺。

shū xiě yè miàn yòng dòng huà zhǎn shì měi gè hàn zì de bǐ shùn。

The writing page uses animation to show the stroke order of each character.

进度记录显示我已经完成哪些练习。

jìn dù jì lù xiǎn shì wǒ yǐ jīng wán chéng nǎ xiē liàn xí。

The progress record shows which exercises I have completed.

网上中文学校

周末,小宁想复习中文,却不想每次都从第一课开始。她打开学习网站,先翻自己的记录本,找出上次阅读时最容易弄混的词,再选择相应的单元。

zhōu mò, xiǎo níng xiǎng fù xí zhōng wén, què bù xiǎng měi cì dōu cóng dì yī kè kāi shǐ。 tā dǎ kāi xué xí wǎng zhàn, xiān fān zì jǐ de jì lù běn, zhǎo chū shàng cì yuè dú shí zuì róng yì nòng hùn de cí, zài xuǎn zé xiāng yìng de dān yuán。

Ning wants to review Chinese without always starting at lesson one. Her notebook helps identify confusing words and select a relevant unit.

单元里有汉字、词语、故事和练习。她原来只想把所有按钮点一遍;妈妈问:“今天你想学会用哪个词说清楚一件事?”

dān yuán lǐ yǒu hàn zì、 cí yǔ、 gù shì hé liàn xí。 tā yuán lái zhǐ xiǎng bǎ suǒ yǒu àn niǔ diǎn yí biàn; mā ma wèn:“jīn tiān nǐ xiǎng xué huì yòng nǎ ge cí shuō qīng chǔ yí jiàn shì?”

The unit contains characters, words, stories and exercises. Her mother asks which word she wants to learn to use meaningfully today.

小宁选了“安排”。她先听例句,再看拼音和英文对照,发现它可以用于安排时间,也可以用于安排活动。她在本子上写了一个关于周六下午的句子。

xiǎo níng xuǎn le “ān pái”。 tā xiān tīng lì jù, zài kàn pīn yīn hé yīng wén duì zhào, fā xiàn tā kě yǐ yòng yú ān pái shí jiān, yě kě yǐ yòng yú ān pái huó dòng。 tā zài běn zi shàng xiě le yí ge guān yú zhōu liù xià wǔ de jù zi。

She selects the word meaning ‘arrange’, studies an example with pinyin and English, and writes a sentence about organising Saturday afternoon.

阅读时,她先把一段中文读完,说出大意,然后打开对照检查。遇到不懂的词,她回到前后句寻找线索;如果仍然不明白,就把问题记下来,带到下一次中文课。

yuè dú shí, tā xiān bǎ yí duàn zhōng wén dú wán, shuō chū dà yì, rán hòu dǎ kāi duì zhào jiǎn chá。 yù dào bù dǒng de cí, tā huí dào qián hòu jù xún zhǎo xiàn suǒ; rú guǒ réng rán bù míng bái, jiù bǎ wèn tí jì xià lai, dài dào xià yí cì zhōng wén kè。

She summarises a Chinese paragraph before checking the support. Unresolved vocabulary questions are recorded for her next class.

书写部分显示一个字的笔顺。她看了一遍就想跳过,真正拿起笔时,却忘了中间的一笔。她重新观察,先在纸上描,再遮住模型独立写,并比较两次的形状。

shū xiě bù fèn xiǎn shì yí ge zì de bǐ shùn。 tā kàn le yí biàn jiù xiǎng tiào guò, zhēn zhèng ná qǐ bǐ shí, què wàng le zhōng jiān de yī bǐ。 tā chóng xīn guān chá, xiān zài zhǐ shàng miáo, zài zhē zhù mó xíng dú lì xiě, bìng bǐ jiào liǎng cì de xíng zhuàng。

A stroke-order display looks easy until she forgets a stroke on paper. She watches again, traces, then writes from memory and compares the shapes.

做阅读题时,小宁第一次选错了。提示让她注意人物出发以前说的话。她回到正文,找到相关句子,才改选另一个答案,还在旁边说明为什么原来的选项不合适。

zuò yuè dú tí shí, xiǎo níng dì yī cì xuǎn cuò le。 tí shì ràng tā zhù yì rén wù chū fā yǐ qián shuō de huà。 tā huí dào zhèng wén, zhǎo dào xiāng guān jù zi, cái gǎi xuǎn lìng yí ge dá àn, hái zài páng biān shuō míng wèi shén me yuán lái de xuǎn xiàng bù hé shì。

After a wrong answer, a hint directs her to a character’s earlier words. She finds the evidence, changes her answer and explains the original mistake.

妈妈问,答案改对以后,能不能说明已经完全学会。小宁想了想,关掉提示,又用自己的话讲了一遍。第二天,她还准备找一个新情境,再试着使用“安排”。

mā ma wèn, dá àn gǎi duì yǐ hòu, néng bù néng shuō míng yǐ jīng wán quán xué huì。 xiǎo níng xiǎng le xiǎng, guān diào tí shì, yòu yòng zì jǐ de huà jiǎng le yí biàn。 dì èr tiān, tā hái zhǔn bèi zhǎo yí ge xīn qíng jìng, zài shì zhe shǐ yòng “ān pái”。

To check understanding beyond a corrected answer, she retells the passage without the hint and plans to use the same word in a different situation the next day.

她在学习记录里分开写了完成的步骤和需要复习的内容。虽然这个单元的活动都做过了,她仍然把容易忘的字圈起来,约好星期三再看一次。

tā zài xué xí jì lù lǐ fēn kāi xiě le wán chéng de bù zhòu hé xū yào fù xí de nèi róng。 suī rán zhè ge dān yuán de huó dòng dōu zuò guò le, tā réng rán bǎ róng yì wàng de zì quān qǐ lai, yuē hǎo xīng qī sān zài kàn yí cì。

Her record distinguishes completed activities from material needing review. She circles a forgettable character and schedules another look on Wednesday.

下次到中文学校,老师看了她的问题,发现她已经能指出哪一句不明白。讨论因此更具体,小宁也听见同学用同一个词讲出不同的例子。

xià cì dào zhōng wén xué xiào, lǎo shī kàn le tā de wèn tí, fā xiàn tā yǐ jīng néng zhǐ chū nǎ yī jù bù míng bái。 tǎo lùn yīn cǐ gèng jù tǐ, xiǎo níng yě tīng jiàn tóng xué yòng tóng yí ge cí jiǎng chū bù tóng de lì zi。

At school her precise question helps focus the discussion, and classmates provide different examples using the same expression.

她慢慢形成了自己的顺序:先选需要的内容,认真读和写,利用反馈修改,再过一段时间检查。网上学习给她更多选择,记录和实际表达则帮助她判断下一步。

tā màn màn xíng chéng le zì jǐ de shùn xù: xiān xuǎn xū yào de nèi róng, rèn zhēn dú hé xiě, lì yòng fǎn kuì xiū gǎi, zài guò yí duàn shí jiān jiǎn chá。 wǎng shàng xué xí gěi tā gèng duō xuǎn zé, jì lù hé shí jì biǎo dá zé bāng zhù tā pàn duàn xià yí bù。

Her routine becomes selecting a need, reading and writing, using feedback, then checking later. Choice, records and real expression together guide her next step.

Conversation

A 今天你从哪个单元开始?

jīn tiān nǐ cóng nǎ ge dān yuán kāi shǐ?

Which unit are you starting with today?

B 从上次容易弄混的词开始。

cóng shàng cì róng yì nòng hùn de cí kāi shǐ。

With the expressions I confused last time.

A 你先打开英文对照吗?

nǐ xiān dǎ kāi yīng wén duì zhào ma?

Do you open the English support first?

B 我先读中文,说大意,再检查对照。

wǒ xiān dú zhōng wén, shuō dà yì, zài jiǎn chá duì zhào。

I read Chinese and summarise it before checking.

A 选错以后,你做了什么?

xuǎn cuò yǐ hòu, nǐ zuò le shén me?

What did you do after a wrong answer?

B 我按提示回到正文找依据。

wǒ àn tí shì huí dào zhèng wén zhǎo yī jù。

I followed the hint back to the text for evidence.

Sources & image credits

Curriculum references: 幼儿汉语 1–4 and 中文 1–12. Lessons are organised by learning themes and include original texts and graded adaptations.

Scene illustrations: Twemoji, © Twitter and contributors, CC BY 4.0. Pilot word-card illustrations are original AI-generated images.