2:55HSK 2 · Conversation
The Interview at the Tea House
茶馆里的面试
Mandarin Shadow
Languages on Shadow
Chinese listening practice for every HSK level
Graded Chinese stories, listening quizzes and conversations with slow, native Mandarin audio, pinyin and English subtitles. Listen, then repeat each sentence out loud. From HSK 1 to HSK 9.
Lessons by level
Every lesson stays within the words and grammar of its HSK 3.0 level.
Elementary
HSK 1
About 500 words · 300 characters
Very short, concrete sentences about yourself, family, numbers and daily life.
45 lessons
Elementary
HSK 2
About 1,272 words · 600 characters
Simple everyday situations: shopping, weather, hobbies, getting around.
39 lessons
Elementary
HSK 3
About 2,245 words · 900 characters
Short narratives about work, study, travel and plans with simple connectors.
12 lessons
Intermediate
HSK 4
About 3,245 words · 1,200 characters
Connected stories with feelings, opinions and cause and effect.
4 lessons
Intermediate
HSK 5
About 4,316 words · 1,500 characters
Richer narratives with social topics, nuance and some idiomatic phrasing.
Intermediate
HSK 6
About 5,456 words · 1,800 characters
Fluent storytelling with abstract ideas, culture and written-style connectors.
Advanced
HSK 7-9
About 11,092 words · 3,000 characters
Literary narration, complex sentences and culturally rich vocabulary.
New lessons
All 100 lessons →
Practice tools
Podcast
Mandarin Shadow Daily
A new Mandarin lesson every day, made for listening with no screen: graded stories to shadow, grammar taken apart, survival phrases for China, listening quizzes, a chat between a learner and a native speaker, a weekly audio drama and slow Chinese news. Every episode is graded to an HSK level and leaves you pauses to speak out loud.
2026-10-26 · 20:16
Shadow Story (HSK 1): Li Na's Bad Day 李娜不好的一天 (lǐ nà bù hǎo de yì tiān)
2026-10-25 · 16:22
Slow Chinese News (HSK 2 & 3): Zhengzhou Marathon and Chinese Culture 郑州马拉松里的中国文化 (zhèngzhōu mǎ lā sōng lǐ de zhōngguó wénhuà)
Free Puzzle & Story Books
Printable books to read, solve and say out loud, free from Mandarin Shadow.
PDFA short illustrated story with puzzles along the way. Comment "PDF" under any Mandarin Shadow video and we will send you the book. Want another level? Comment PDF and the level, like PDF 3.
Three ways to practise
Stories
Short illustrated stories at your level. Each sentence is read slowly with the translation, then you repeat it in the pause.
Listening quizzes
Hear a sentence with no subtitles and pick its meaning from three answers. Then see the answer and repeat it out loud.
Conversations
Everyday conversations with two voices. You play one person: answer in your own words, then hear and repeat the real reply.
Frequently asked questions
›Is it free?
Yes. Every lesson is a free video on YouTube with its transcript, pinyin, English translation and key words on this site.
›What is HSK 3.0?
HSK 3.0 is the current Chinese proficiency standard (GF0025-2021). It has nine levels in three bands: Elementary (HSK 1 to 3), Intermediate (HSK 4 to 6) and Advanced (HSK 7 to 9). Each level adds words, characters and grammar points.
›Which level should I start with?
Pick the level where you understand most of a story with the English subtitles, and some of it without. If you are new to Chinese, start with HSK 1: the sentences are short and the narration is slow.
›What is shadowing?
Shadowing means listening to a native speaker and repeating right after them, copying their pronunciation, tones and rhythm. It trains listening and speaking at the same time. Every video here has a pause after each sentence for you to repeat it.
›Do I need to read Chinese characters?
No. Every sentence shows pinyin above the characters and an English translation, so you can follow by ear and with pinyin first.
›How are the lessons made?
The stories are written for each HSK level and checked against the official HSK 3.0 word lists, then illustrated and narrated with AI. Every recording is transcribed and compared with its sentence to make sure it says exactly what is written.