First Step
eBook - PDF

First Step

An Elementary Reader for Modern Chinese

  1. 368 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

First Step

An Elementary Reader for Modern Chinese

About this book

First Step is an elementary Chinese textbook for students with no previous background in the language. Focusing on the basics of modern Chinese phonetics and grammatical structure, the book uses everyday topics to help students establish a solid foundation in the Chinese language.

The textbook, which includes color illustrations, contains thirty lessons, each of which can be covered in a week's worth of classes. Each lesson features a lively dialogue or a short essay, representing a real-life situation, which is then followed by vocabulary lists and grammar notes. Explanatory notes on Chinese culture and customs are also provided. The companion workbook for First Step is sold separately and includes comprehensive exercises and character writing sheets with information on the stroke orders of newly introduced characters. Free online audio files, accessible on smartphones, tablets, and laptops, allow students to listen to First Step dialogues and practice their pronunciation at their leisure. This vital audio supplement gives students the chance to learn Chinese intonation with greater accuracy.

First Step provides students with the necessary tools to begin practical daily communication in Chinese.

  • Emphasis is on basic grammar structure and principles
  • Textbook features both traditional and simplified characters, pinyin, and English translation
  • Perforated workbook (which is sold separately) facilitates easy handling of homework
  • Free audio recordings of dialogues and other content available online
  • Appropriate for college and high school students

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
At the moment all of our mobile-responsive ePub books are available to download via the app. Most of our PDFs are also available to download and we're working on making the final remaining ones downloadable now. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access First Step by Chih-p'ing Chou,Jing Wang,Jun Lei in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Languages. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. CONTENTS
  5. Preface
  6. Audio Content: Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation
  7. List of Abbreviations
  8. Main Characters
  9. Hanyu Pinyin Romanization System
  10. 1 老师和学生 Teacher and Students
  11. 2 书在桌子上 The Books Are on the Table
  12. 3 今天我很忙 I Am Very Busy Today
  13. 4 北京烤鸭 Beijing Roast Duck
  14. 5 一张照片 A Picture
  15. 6 我的两个朋友 My Two Friends
  16. 7 选课 Choosing Classes
  17. 8 看不清楚 Cannot See Clearly
  18. 9 喝茶还是喝咖啡 To Drink Tea or Coffee
  19. 10 戴着眼镜儿找眼镜儿 Looking for Glasses While Wearing Them
  20. 11 谁吃了我的东西 Who Ate My Stuff
  21. 12 门锁着,进不去 The Door Is Locked, I Cannot Get In
  22. 13 买鞋 Buy Shoes
  23. 14 起不来,迟到了 Cannot Get up and Late for School
  24. 15 下雪了 It’s Snowing!
  25. 16 越来越胖,怎么办? Getting Fatter, What Shall I Do?
  26. 17 骑自行车 Ride a Bike
  27. 18 自行车被偷了 The Bike Was Stolen
  28. 19 中国城 Chinatown
  29. 20 东亚图书馆 East Asian Library
  30. 21 中文桌子 Chinese Table
  31. 22 我们的中文老师 Our Chinese Teachers
  32. 23 个别谈话 Individual Sessions
  33. 24 看电影 See a Movie
  34. 25 我吃素 I’m Vegetarian
  35. 26 演讲比赛 Speech Contest
  36. 27 我得搬家 I Have to Move
  37. 28 住在校外不如住在宿舍 Living Off Campus Is Not as Good as Living in the Dorm
  38. 29 小丁和苏三 Xiao Ding and Susan
  39. 30 给爸爸妈妈的电子邮件 An Email to Parents
  40. Pinyin Index
  41. English Index