To sign up for a Mandarin online class, you need to choose a language from the drop-down menu and click “get started.” For new students, you can either choose “7-day free trial” before committing longer or “buy now.” At the price table, select the program you wish to purchase, and you’re done! It’s that quick and that simple.

Are Flexi Classes for kids? No, Flexi Classes are designed for adult learners. It is very rare to happen, but teenagers age 14 or older can join Flexi Classes, subject to mature behavior in the class room. Flexi Classes is a learning system for adults and we will not tolerate immature or childish behavior during class.

Certainly! You have the total freedom to the date and time you want to learn. Simply go to “book a class” page and sign-up for your classes. Your classmates and teachers won’t be the same in every class.

Yes. Live online classes with native teachers are just as effective as in-person lessons for speaking and listening, and often more effective for consistency because you can study anytime. At Flexi Classe,s every lesson is a live 60-minute session with a native Chinese teacher, in groups of a maximum 5 students or 1-on-1, available 24/7. There is no pre-recorded content.

Mandarin has a reputation for difficulty, but it is more accurate to say it is different rather than hard. The grammar is simpler than most European languages: no verb conjugations, no genders, no plurals. The challenges are tones and characters, both of which are best learned with live teacher feedback from day one. Most of our students hold basic conversations within 3 to 6 months of regular classes.

With 3 to 5 classes per week, most learners reach HSK 2 (simple conversations) in around 6 months and HSK 4 (comfortable everyday fluency) in 18 to 24 months. The US Foreign Service Institute estimates roughly 2,200 hours for full professional fluency, but you can use Mandarin in real situations far earlier. Not sure of your level? Take our free HSK placement test above.

The fastest progress comes from combining live speaking practice with structured study. Apps are useful for vocabulary, but they cannot correct your tones or hold a conversation with you. A proven routine is 2 to 4 live classes per week with a native teacher, plus 15 to 20 minutes of daily review using our free Grammar Bank and Pronunciation Trainer.

It depends entirely on your needs. Mandarin (Simplified) and Mandarin (Traditional) have the same pronunciation. The difference lies in their writing systems, so it depends on where you intend to use Mandarin. If you plan to visit China and Singapore, Mandarin (Simplified) is the preferable option. However, if you intend to visit Taiwan or Hong Kong, Mandarin (Traditional) would be more suitable. You can see the differences between Simplified and Traditional Mandarin with our post here.

Learn Mandarin if you want the most widely useful option: it is the official language of China and Taiwan, and the most spoken language in the world. Cantonese is the better choice if your focus is Hong Kong, Macau, or Cantonese-speaking communities. We teach both, so you can also switch or combine them.

No, you can start speaking using pinyin (the romanized writing system) from your very first lesson. Most students begin reading characters within their first few months because it accelerates vocabulary growth, but our courses let you focus on speaking first if that is your goal.