FAQ
What is the method?
Mandarin is compositional, and Radical Mandarin teaches it that way: components make characters, characters make words, words make sentences, sentences make poetry. You never meet a character before you know its components, and everything on screen carries its sound.
What do I do each day?
The HSK Level Estimation takes about 3 minutes. You set goals: how often you review, an HSK level, a reading, a group of words. Then each day brings a short lesson: the items you are about to forget, plus a few new things that connect to what you know. Between lessons, Explore lets you take apart any character in the collection.
How is this different from Duolingo or HelloChinese?
Those are courses: the order is theirs. Radical Mandarin models what you know, wherever you learned it, and follows the goals you set. Use it as your primary path, or as the companion to a class, a tutor, or a Mandarin-speaking family.
What does it cost?
$5 a month or $36 a year, with a 7-day free trial. The first 100 early adopters who sign up for a year lock in $1/month until they cancel, with the code RADICAL-EARLY-ADOPTER on the yearly checkout. Radical Mandarin intends to lower the price as membership grows.
What level is it for?
Today the collection covers the whole 2026 syllabus: 3,473 characters and 11,143 words, with sentences and readings sorted by HSK level. The HSK Level Estimation finds your start, so it fits complete beginners through advanced learners.