Learn Chinese with short stories

Read 5 free graded stories in Chinese, written for beginners at A1 to A2, right in your browser. Tap any word for its meaning in context, listen while you read, and save the words worth keeping. No sign-up, no install, works on any phone.

Stories in Chinese

Start reading, free, no sign-up

How it works

Tap any word to see its meaning in context, no pinyin crutch needed
Listen to the story read aloud while you follow the characters
Save new words as learning or known while you read

The stories are in simplified characters with no pinyin above or beside them. That is deliberate: pinyin printed over a text is what your eye reads, and the jump to real Chinese keeps getting postponed. The A1 stories stay on short sentences and everyday vocabulary so reading characters is workable from the start, and tapping any word gives you the meaning when it is not.

Common questions

Simplified or traditional characters?

Simplified, the script used on the mainland and in Singapore. It is not a one-to-one match for Taiwan or Hong Kong.

Is there pinyin?

Not in the text. Tapping a word gives you its meaning, which keeps you moving without printing a romanization you would end up reading instead of the characters.

What level are these stories?

Graded for beginners at CEFR A1 to A2: short sentences, everyday vocabulary, and ordinary scenes like a market morning, a new neighbour and a dinner for a friend. Three are A1 and two are A2.

Is the Chinese reader really free?

Yes. The browser reader is completely free, with no account, no sign-up and no trial timer. It is a free taste of the full oqou app for iPhone and iPad.

Is this the full oqou app?

This is the free web reader with oqou's Chinese starter stories. The iOS app adds your own books, articles and PDFs, in-context word explanations, and spaced review for the words you save.

Read the guide

Download on the App StoreRead your own books this way, in the oqou app for iPhone and iPad.