Learn the bricks. Build your sentences.
Instead of memorising lists of phrases, you learn reusable words and the rules that put them together. You build, transform and listen to sentences you have never seen before.
Six families of bricks
Every word comes in simplified characters, in pinyin with its tones, with its audio and a meaning in context.
Who is speaking, to whom, about whom. 他 and 她 sound exactly the same.
Around twenty common verbs. They never change form: no -s, no -ed, no -ing.
What you drink, eat or own, and the places you go.
Negation, questions and nuances: they transform a sentence without rewriting it.
The rules for putting bricks together. Nothing is glued word for word.
The four tones and the neutral tone, taught from the very first lesson.
The same bricks, everywhere
At a restaurant, on the move or meeting someone new, a few bricks are enough to make yourself understood.
Where is Mandarin Chinese spoken?
Mandarin covers the Chinese dialects of northern and southwestern China; its standard form, based on Beijing pronunciation, is the official language of China and Taiwan. It is also one of Singapore’s official languages and is widely spoken in Chinese communities in Southeast Asia and on other continents.
- China — Beijing: standard Mandarin (Putonghua) is based on its pronunciation
- Taiwan — known there as Guoyu
- Singapore — one of the four official languages
- Malaysia — language of instruction in Chinese schools
- Japan
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Australia
Homeland or official language Community · Approximate positions. Natural Earth.
The sentence builder
Every combination is checked against the grammar. Bricks marked ≠ don’t go with your choice: pick them to find out why.
Fifteen minutes a day
Adjustable from 5 to 30 minutes. Missing a day costs you nothing: your progress waits for you.
Eight weeks of discovery
A path, not a promise of a level. Each week targets a skill you can see for yourself.
Your bricks, stroke by stroke.
Speaking comes first, but characters are never set aside. Watch each brick being drawn, then draw it yourself.
Open the writing workshopLearning Mandarin Chinese with KilaTalk
What is KilaTalk, and what does learning “by construction” mean?
KilaTalk is a language-learning app. Instead of memorising lists of phrases, you learn reusable words — people, actions, things, places — and the rules that put them together, then you build, transform and listen to your own sentences.
Do I need an account? Is it free?
The sentence builder and the method, pronunciation and reading pages are open to everyone, with no account. The eight-week course, reviews and your word list require an account, which is free to create.
How much time does it take each day, and what is in the eight-week course?
A session lasts fifteen minutes, adjustable from 5 to 30: the day’s reviews, new bricks, sentences to build and a listening task. The eight weeks go from the first sounds to real-life dialogues, through negation, questions, numbers and polite requests; it is a discovery path, not a promise of a level.
How is pronunciation taught?
Every word and sentence has audio you can play at normal speed or slowly (0.5×, without distorting the voice). Words come with a transcription suited to the language: pinyin for Mandarin, Yale romanisation for Cantonese, rōmaji for Japanese, Revised Romanization for Korean, the International Phonetic Alphabet for Vietnamese and most European languages, and a transliteration for Russian.
Which languages can I learn from?
The interface is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and French. Explanations and translations are written for each of them, with comparisons drawn from the learner’s own language.
Who is behind KilaTalk, and can I trust the sentences?
KilaTalk is designed and published by SDiTech, a software publisher based in France. Every sentence in the builder is checked by a grammar engine: a combination that doesn’t work is refused, with the rule explained and correct alternatives offered.
Lay your first brick.
Choose your goal and your pace, and the first lesson starts straight away.