SayMei

Chinese Reading Workbooks

By Mei Lin

These free PDFs give you texts at your level with something to do after each one. They suit beginners reading a first story, HSK learners preparing for the reading paper, and anyone stepping down from pinyin.

Beginners should start with the five mini-stories, six lines each with pinyin under the characters. From there, take the ten further stories or the eight two-part stories. Every HSK level has two reading practice books, with questions on main ideas, detail and inference.

54 workbooks. Free with a SayMei account.

Best first book

Five Beginner Mandarin Mini-Stories

Five six-line stories with pinyin under every line, then recall, dictation and retelling. It's a gentle first read, and knowing pinyin helps.

Reading workbooks (54)

Stories to read

From six-line stories with pinyin to eight without.

HSK reading practice

Two books a level, with questions on main ideas, detail and inference.

Reading skills

Drop pinyin, guess sounds, read the news.

For kids

Exam reading

HSK course books and packs

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find Chinese reading practice with pinyin?

Five Beginner Mandarin Mini-Stories and Ten More Beginner Mandarin Mini-Stories print Hanzi with pinyin. Elementary Chinese Short Stories has eight two-part stories with full pinyin, comprehension questions and retell practice.

How do I stop relying on pinyin?

Step down from it slowly. Read Chinese Without Pinyin is a guided workbook with six short stories and reading strategies. Then Intermediate Chinese Short Stories has eight stories in characters only, with new words glossed.

Is there reading practice for each HSK level?

Yes. HSK 1 to HSK 6 each have two reading practice books, with signs, messages and short stories at HSK 1, up to articles and arguments at HSK 5 and 6.

How should I use a Chinese reading workbook?

Read each text twice: once for the gist, once for the detail. Answer the questions, then retell the text in your own words. Reading sticks better when you say it out loud as well.

More workbook collections

By level: Total beginner · HSK 1 · HSK 2 · HSK 3 · HSK 4 · HSK 5–6 · For kids

By goal: Grammar · Characters & writing · Pronunciation & tones · Reading · Speaking PDFs · Speak & conversation · Travel & daily life · HSK exam prep · School & other exams · Festivals & culture

By exam: AP® Chinese · GCSE Chinese · IB Chinese · TOCFL

By kind: HSK mock tests · HSK speaking tests · Teacher guides

All 288 workbooks