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

Questions about the moon

Name the Moon’s surface, photographs and probes.

Goals & study plan
Questions about the moon

Separate imagination from information in sources. Keep the imagined rabbit and the photographs in different categories; use the text to explain what each contributes. You can pause after any study block and continue later.

  • Name the Moon’s surface, photographs and probes.
  • Distinguish an imagined scene from source information.
  • Find how two children organise and extend their learning.

Observation & useful questions · Lessons 9–12

Science · reading focus

Identify the phenomenon, the explanation and the evidence. Distinguish observations from guesses and look for a limitation.

Words & sentences

5–8 minutes

Learn the core expressions and record in short blocks.

Reading & dialogue

5–10 minutes

Read one part, try the checks, then record the core dialogue.

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 / 10 tasks
Task checklist · 0 / 10 complete

Characters · 生字

Flip each card for stroke order. This lesson’s writing focus: 资 · 球 · 探 · 想.

Lesson text · words, sentences and reading

Words & phrases

月球

yuè qiú

the Moon

表面

biǎo miàn

surface

照片

zhào piān

photograph

探测器

tàn cè qì

space probe

想象

xiǎng xiàng

imagine; imagination

资料

zī liào

information; reference material

Model sentences

月球绕着地球运动。

yuè qiú rào zhe dì qiú yùn dòng。

The Moon travels around Earth.

月球表面有许多大大小小的坑。

yuè qiú biǎo miàn yǒu xǔ duō dà dà xiǎo xiǎo de kēng。

There are many craters of different sizes on the Moon’s surface.

这些照片是探测器拍的。

zhè xiē zhào piān shì tàn cè qì pāi de。

These photographs were taken by a space probe.

探测器把信息传回地球。

tàn cè qì bǎ xìn xī chuán huí dì qiú。

The space probe sends information back to Earth.

这个月亮故事来自我的想象。

zhè ge yuè liàng gù shì lái zì wǒ de xiǎng xiàng。

This Moon story comes from my imagination.

查资料能帮助我们了解月球。

chá zī liào néng bāng zhù wǒ men liǎo jiě yuè qiú。

Consulting reliable information helps us learn about the Moon.

月亮上有什么

小安看着月亮上的明暗图案,想象那里有一只抱着书的兔子。

xiǎo ān kàn zhe yuè liàng shàng de míng àn tú àn, xiǎng xiàng nà lǐ yǒu yì zhī bào zhe shū de tù zi。

Looking at the Moon's light and dark patterns, Xiao An imagines a rabbit holding a book there.

弟弟认真地问,月亮上真的有兔子吗,她才发现自己的话需要解释。

dì di rèn zhēn de wèn, yuè liàng shàng zhēn de yǒu tù zi ma, tā cái fā xiàn zì jǐ de huà xū yào jiě shì。

Her younger brother seriously asks whether rabbits really live on the Moon, and she realises she needs to explain.

她说那是自己想出来的画面,不是观察到的事实,然后和弟弟一起查资料。

tā shuō nà shì zì jǐ xiǎng chū lái de huà miàn, bú shì guān chá dào de shì shí, rán hòu hé dì di yì qǐ chá zī liào。

She explains that the scene is imagined, not an observed fact, and they look up information together.

资料里的照片显示月球表面有许多坑,有的地方明亮,有的地方比较暗。

zī liào lǐ de zhào piān xiǎn shì yuè qiú biǎo miàn yǒu xǔ duō kēng, yǒu de dì fang míng liàng, yǒu de dì fang bǐ jiào àn。

The photographs show many craters on the Moon's surface, with some areas bright and others darker.

他们还读到,探测器可以帮助人们拍照和收集信息,不必只靠地面上的眼睛。

tā men hái dú dào, tàn cè qì kě yǐ bāng zhù rén men pāi zhào hé shōu jí xìn xī, bù bì zhǐ kào dì miàn shàng de yǎn jīng。

They also read that space probes help people take photos and collect information beyond what can be seen from the ground.

小安把纸分成两半,一边画自己的月亮故事,一边写从资料里了解到的内容。

xiǎo ān bǎ zhǐ fēn chéng liǎng bàn, yì biān huà zì jǐ de yuè liàng gù shì, yì biān xiě cóng zī liào lǐ liǎo jiě dào de nèi róng。

Xiao An divides her paper in two, drawing her moon story on one side and writing information from the sources on the other.

弟弟指着照片上的大坑,想把它画下来。小安翻到下一页,两个人又发现了更多高低不平的地方,桌边的画纸很快添上了新的图案。

dì di zhǐ zhe zhào piān shàng de dà kēng, xiǎng bǎ tā huà xià lai。 xiǎo ān fān dào xià yí yè, liǎng gè rén yòu fā xiàn le gèng duō gāo dī bù píng de dì fang, zhuō biān de huà zhǐ hěn kuài tiān shàng le xīn de tú àn。

Her brother wanted to draw a large crater in the photograph. Turning the page, they found more uneven ground and soon added new shapes to their drawings.

Conversation

A 月亮上真的有你画的兔子吗?

yuè liàng shàng zhēn de yǒu nǐ huà de tù zi ma?

Is the rabbit you drew really on the Moon?

B 没有,那是我想象的故事。

méi yǒu, nà shì wǒ xiǎng xiàng de gù shì。

No. That is a story I imagined.

A 那么照片里的坑是真的?

nà me zhào piān lǐ de kēng shì zhēn de?

So the craters in the photos are real?

B 是,我们可以在资料的照片里看到。

shì, wǒ men kě yǐ zài zī liào de zhào piān lǐ kàn dào。

Yes. We can see them in the source photographs.

A 探测器有什么用?

tàn cè qì yǒu shén me yòng?

What are space probes used for?

B 帮助拍照和收集月球的信息。

bāng zhù pāi zhào hé shōu jí yuè qiú de xìn xī。

They help take photographs and gather information about the Moon.

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.