Listen to everyday Mandarin conversations one line at a time, with pinyin and English under each, and say them back until they feel easy.
This page is for learners who know some Chinese words and want to use them with another person: asking where someone is going, checking into a hotel, asking what something costs. The three sample conversations below are at HSK 1, HSK 2 and HSK 3, so you can hear how the same kind of talk grows as your level goes up.
Once you know which conversations you need, head to the page built for them. There are level pages for HSK 1, HSK 2 and complete beginners, and situation pages for daily life, travel and ordering food. Each has dialogues with audio, phrases worth keeping and a short routine to repeat every day.
Lines you'll be able to say
- 黄金周，你休息几天？: How many days off do you have for Golden Week?
- 好啊，你想去哪里玩？: Sounds good. Where do you want to go?
- 人也太多了，我不想去。: There are too many people too. I don't want to go.
- 我用手机入住，不用去前台。太快了！: I checked in on my phone, no need to go to the front desk.
- 你有房卡吗？房卡在哪里呢？: Do you have a room card? Where is it?
- 石榴多少钱一斤？贵不贵？: How much are pomegranates per jin? Are they expensive?
- 好，我要三斤梨，还要两个大石榴。: OK, I'll take three jin of pears and two big pomegranates.
Three conversations, three levels
A 15-minute conversation routine
- One full pass
- Echo each line
- Read without help
- Use them with Mei Lin
Have the conversation for real
A lesson with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor, is a live spoken conversation at your level. You can join from a browser or your phone. She asks a question, listens to your answer and replies to it. When something comes out wrong, she repeats the sentence correctly and names the one change she made. Start a lesson with Mei Lin.
More practice
Frequently asked questions
Can I practice Chinese conversation on my own?
Yes. Start with dialogues you can play line by line. Repeat each line after the audio, then hide the pinyin and say it from the characters. Speak a role on SayMei goes a step further: you take one person's part, the other person answers, and every word lights up once it's heard. For someone who replies to anything you say, take a spoken lesson with Mei Lin.
What level do I need before I can have a conversation in Chinese?
You can trade short questions and answers early on: where you're going, what time something is, whether you want it. As your level rises you add reasons, plans and comparisons, and by around HSK 3 you can explain and haggle a little, like in the fruit market dialogue above. Pick the level page that matches what you can already read, and move up when the dialogues feel easy.
Should I read the pinyin or the characters?
Use both, in that order. Pinyin tells you how a line sounds while you're learning it, and the characters are what you'll see everywhere in China. A good habit is to learn a line with pinyin, then cover it and read the characters while playing the audio to check yourself. Over a few weeks you'll find you look at the pinyin less.
How many dialogues are there to practice with?
More than 3,500, from HSK 1 to HSK 6, and new ones arrive every day. You can listen to any of them for free with no account. To speak a role, a free SayMei account gives you one session a day, and Premium removes the limit.
How much does a lesson with Mei Lin cost?
How you start depends on where you are: in most countries your first lesson with Mei Lin is free, and in some, lessons start with a free week. Either way, the dialogues on this page stay free to listen to, so you can practice here first.