Quick Guide

Daily Step is your member home base — it's where you land each time you open the site, even when you're already logged in. It walks you through one simple day of learning: meet your next few characters, practise them, sharpen what you already know, take an evaluation to lock it in, then stretch yourself with a listening challenge. Finish today's evaluation and a cheerful congratulations appears so you always know you're making progress. Open it any time from Member › Daily Step. Prefer a nudge? Pick your reminder days in My Profile and we'll email you a gentle reminder on the days you choose.

Not sure where to start? Take our Evaluation to find your current level. We will place you at the right point in the character sequence so you are not wasting time on things you already know — or skipping things you are not ready for. Access it any time from your CharBank page — just tap Take Evaluation. Evaluation is available to members only.

CharBank is the number of characters you have mastered so far. It is the engine behind everything on this site — a higher bank unlocks more conversations and content tailored to what you can already read. Every character you complete on the step-by-step path grows your bank. You can view and manage your bank from Member › CharBank.

As your CharBank grows you earn puzzle pieces — one for every 10 characters you bank. From My Profile › Puzzles you design your own puzzle (choose a shape and a word or letter for each piece), then claim your earned pieces one at a time, picking a colour for each. Finish the whole puzzle and you can enter the monthly draw for a chance to have it printed as a real, physical puzzle and shipped to you — and you can share your finished puzzle with friends.

Head to Learn and work through characters in order — even if you already know some Chinese. The sequence is carefully ordered so each character builds on those before it. Members can let Daily Step guide the way — it serves up your next characters each day, so you always know exactly what to learn next. Each entry shows the character's origin, stroke order, similar-looking characters, example words, and sentences. Stick with it from Day 1 and you will be surprised how much you can read within weeks. Every character page also has a ✍ Writing Sheet button that opens a printable 田字格 practice grid — the character appears as an example, then rows of boxes to trace and write by hand. Just print it (or save as PDF) and practise on paper. The Writing Sheet is now open to everyone to try — no account needed, so give it a go before you sign up. Visual aids are included as memory hooks to help you link a character to a memorable image. They are tools for recall — they may not capture the full meaning of the character. If one feels genuinely misleading, let us know and we will look into it.

Every piece of Chinese content on the site has a ▶ play button next to it. Tap it to hear the correct pronunciation spoken aloud — no separate app or audio file required. Audio is available on individual characters, words, sentences in Speak, news articles in News, topics in Topics, and your own articles in MyDoc. All tabs (CHT, CHS, Pinyin, English, Customize) play the same Traditional Chinese audio so you always hear the authentic pronunciation regardless of which view you are in. Completely new to the sounds? Start with Phonetics (on the Learn page): it lays out every initial (聲母) and final (韻母) with bopomofo (注音), pinyin, tips, and audio — and there is a Phonetics practice game to drill them.

Use Practice (on the Learn or Games page) to quiz yourself on any character range. Members can set both the start and end of the range and adjust the number of questions. You can also include words and sentences in your session, and save items to your Favourites as you go. On many Topics you can also build a sentence hands-on: pick different words to drop into a blank, then tap ▶ to hear the whole sentence read aloud with your chosen word. Every character page links its related topics under Let's practice, so you can jump straight from a character to trying it in a real sentence.

The Customize tab turns any content into something you can actually read right now. Characters in CharBank appear as Chinese; everything else is shown as pinyin so you are never stuck. As your bank grows, more and more pinyin quietly converts to Chinese — you notice your own progress in real time. Available in Speak, Topics, News, and MyDoc. Your known character set updates automatically, so you never have to configure anything.

The Speak section contains short, practical dialogues graded by difficulty level. Switch between CHT (Traditional), CHS (Simplified), Pinyin, English, and Customize tabs to control how much support you need. Tap any sentence to reveal the full breakdown. Pick dialogues that match your current level and revisit them as your reading improves.

The News section brings real-world articles about China, Chinese culture, and current events — available to everyone, no account required. Each article is summarised at four difficulty levels: Easy, Medium,Difficult, and Expert, so you can always find a version that matches where you are right now. Use the script tabs to switch between CHT (Traditional Chinese), CHS (Simplified), Pinyin, and English. Members also unlock the Customize tab, which blends Chinese and pinyin based on CharBank — so you read as much real Chinese as you are ready for. Members can save articles to their Favourites to return to them later.

Essentials covers grammar patterns, sentence structure, and pronunciation guides. You do not need to read them all at once — dip in when something in a lesson or conversation confuses you.

Found an interesting article online? Paste it into MyDoc (under Member) and it is instantly converted into CHT, CHS, Pinyin, English, and — most importantly — Customize. That means you can read it with your known characters in Chinese and everything else in pinyin, at your exact level, right now. Copy anything: a news story, a social post, a blog, a recipe — in Chinese or English. English articles are translated into Chinese first, so you can read those at your level too. Each conversion costs credits based on word count (1 credit per 100 words, max 700 words). Results are saved so you can return any time. Go to Member › MyDoc to get started.

Members earn credits for activity on the site and receive 10 free credits on the 1st of every month. Additional credits are awarded for referring a friend (once they verify their email), levelling up via Grade My Level, and maintaining a 30-day login streak. You can also buy credits directly — AUD $10 for 100 credits or AUD $20 for 210 credits — from the Credits button on your My Profile page. Credits are spent when using MyDoc to convert your own Chinese articles (1 credit per 100 words). Remaining credits can be redeemed for a Coloring My Life voucher. View your full credit balance, purchase history, evaluation unlocks, practice sessions, and Grade My Level results from the History button on your My Profile page.

Learning sticks better with a little friendly rivalry. From My Profile › Challengers you can invite friends by email and compare your progress side by side — CharBank, day streak, and achievements. When a friend accepts, you both appear on each other's comparison table. A small badge on My Profile lets you know when a new invitation is waiting for your reply, and you can re-send or cancel invitations any time from the same page.

Games are short activities built around what you have already learned. They are a fast way to move new characters from short-term to long-term memory. Several are free for everyone — Flash Practice, Flash Test, Phonetics (drill every sound), Whack the Character, Listen & Pick, Identity Quest (spot the word behind a blurred picture) and Match. Members also unlock What's Next? and What did I say?. When you reach a new 100-character milestone, your CharBank invites you to take a Grade My Level test.