Il cinese

The Chinese presented in this course is the language of the Han,  汉语 hànyǔ, or common language, 普通话 pǔtōnghuà. Children in the People's Republic of China all learn it at school, whatever the dialect spoken in their family or locally on an everyday basis. This common – and thus shared – language will help you communicate in all far-flung corners of China and throughout the Chinese diaspora.

Chinese belongs to the Sino-Tibetan group of languages. Whether you speak French, English, German, Russian, Spanish or Portuguese, your native language belongs to the vast Indo-European group of languages. And if you were born outside this mega-group, it’s the same: when you start studying Chinese, you change group, learning a different kind of writing, sounds, tones and everything! No fear: those who have ventured there before you have managed to get there, and enjoy it.

• Lively, useful dialogue
• Carefully-constructed progression
• Exercises and revision