Many Chinese learners stall in the same place. They know pinyin, a few hundred characters, and a long list of HSK words, and they still cannot follow two friends ordering hotpot. Words learned from lists and flashcards don't turn into understanding on their own. Comprehensible input is the fix: you spend the same study time on Chinese where you already know almost every word, so the few new ones explain themselves.
What Comprehensible Input Looks Like
Each row below is a sentence. The gray bars are words you already know, and the purple bar is the one that is new.
About one new word per sentence.
At this difficulty you keep reading, because everything around the new word tells you what it means. You work it out yourself, and a word learned that way stays with you far longer than one memorized from a list.
Your Roadmap by Level
Bubblegum sorts every lesson into six levels, and each level is described by a sentence about the learner. Find the sentence that sounds like you, and the row tells you what to read and what to do.
- Absolute Beginner
I can't read pinyin yet.
Pinyin spells Chinese sounds with letters you already know, plus a mark for each of the four tones. Start with the free Pinyin course, or the Zhuyin course if you are learning Taiwan Mandarin.
Pinyin course - Level 1
I know a few words, or I can sound out words but not much else.
Read short dialogues with pinyin over every character, audio, and a translation, and save the three words you look up most often.
Level 1 lessons about greetings - Level 2
I can handle simple exchanges.
Read dialogues about food and weekend plans with the translation hidden, and look up only the words that stop you.
Level 2 lessons about food - Level 3
I follow conversations on familiar topics.
Turn pinyin off for the characters you know, and listen to each lesson once more without reading along.
Level 3 lessons about C-dramas - Level 4
I understand most content but miss some nuance.
Watch C-dramas with Chinese subtitles, one episode a week, and read a lesson about the episode afterwards.
Level 4 lessons about internet slang - Level 5
I read complex topics but rare words slow me down.
Read web novels and the news, and look up only the words that block the story.
Level 5 lessons about university life - Level 6
I read at near-native level.
Read novels and the news for their own sake.
Move up a level when the current one starts to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line. If you are learning 
Taiwan Mandarin, the plan is the same with traditional characters and zhuyin, and Bubblegum's Taiwan Mandarin lessons go from Level 1 to Level 6.
Try It on a Real Lesson
The lesson below comes from Bubblegum, where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Chinese lessons at your level. You can read it here just as you would in the app. Read it at all three levels and notice which one you can follow while still looking up a few words.
One Situation, Three Levels
From Bubblegum’s guide Chinese Food: Hotpot, Street Food, and Ordering. It works here the way it works inside Bubblegum.
I can handle simple exchanges.
Dim Sum and Tea
Xiao Mei and her friend went to have dim sum.
When are we having dim sum?
I sometimes come in the morning and sometimes at noon.
When do you want to drink tea?
Sometimes I drink tea and sometimes I drink water.
Frequently Asked Questions About Comprehensible Input
Do I need to learn characters before I start?
No. Read with pinyin over the characters at first, and turn it off for the ones you have seen many times. You learn characters by meeting them again and again in sentences you understand.
Is watching C-dramas comprehensible input?
From Level 4 with Chinese subtitles, yes. Below that, most of an episode passes too quickly to learn from, so lessons about the shows are the better starting point.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team. The Chinese guides and the Pinyin and Zhuyin courses on this site are also free and need no account.
