The best Chinese textbooks (2027)

Five series, the job each does best, and how far its words take you on today’s HSK.

By Mandarin The WildUpdated 10 November 20264 min read

We make Mandarin The Wild, not any of these books. What each series is comes from its publisher’s own pages; where it ends on the HSK is our count from the publisher’s word totals.

熊猫xióngmāopanda

The list at a glance

Series	Best for	Words it teaches	Where that ends today
1. Integrated Chinese	Starting from zero, in a class or alone	About 1,460 in 4 volumes¹	HSK 3–4
2. New HSK Course	Studying for the 2025 HSK	Written for the 2025 syllabus, level by level²	Its own HSK level
3. HSK Standard Course	The old HSK, and the most used exam course	5,000 in 6 levels (the old HSK 6)	HSK 5–6
4. A Course in Contemporary Chinese	Taiwan and traditional characters	Six volumes, CEFR A1 and up⁴	No word total published
5. Boya Chinese	Going all the way to advanced	About 10,000 in 9 volumes⁵	HSK 6 to 7–9

“Where that ends today” puts the series’ own word total on the 2025 HSK list, whose levels need 300, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,600 and 5,400 words in all for HSK 1 to 6, and 10,920 for HSK 7–9.⁶ It is a count, not a promise that the words are the same ones: what each HSK level covers.

1. Integrated Chinese

The standard first-year and second-year college course in the United States, from Cheng & Tsui. The fourth edition has four volumes of ten lessons each, every one with a textbook, a workbook and a character workbook. Volumes 1 and 2 introduce about 720 words, and Volumes 3 and 4 about 740 more, nearly 1,500 in all.¹ The explanations are in English, which is why it works for self-study too. Free practice for each volume.

这本课本我学完了，现在想看点真的中文。

“I finished this textbook, and now I want to read some real Chinese.”

课kè本běn

Noun

textbook

Also written 課本

2. New HSK Course

The first textbook series written for the 2025 HSK (HSK 3.0), from Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, sold as the official textbook for it.² Its lessons are short situational dramas, each book with a workbook, and the series runs from level 1 to 6.³ It is new, so the higher levels come out after the first. If you are sitting the exam, this is the book that teaches the words on today’s list, not the old one: free HSK practice tests check you on the same list.

3. HSK Standard Course

Nine books from Beijing Language and Culture University Press, one level of the old HSK each (two volumes from level 4), from 150 words to 5,000. It is still the most widely used exam course, with the most teachers, recordings and second-hand copies. But it was written for the old six levels, and the 2025 list moved hundreds of words between them: where each book sits on today’s HSK.

4. A Course in Contemporary Chinese

The six-volume course of National Taiwan Normal University’s Mandarin Training Center, the one most language centers in Taiwan teach from. The first three volumes train spoken Chinese, the last three written Chinese, from everyday talk to real articles on society, science and politics; each volume has a textbook, a workbook and a teacher’s manual, and the publisher places the six from CEFR A1 upward.⁴ It is written in traditional characters, as Taiwan uses. Taiwanese Mandarin and mainland Mandarin has the differences.

5. Boya Chinese

Peking University’s nine-volume series in four stages, elementary to advanced, used for its own international students. Each stage aims at a word ladder of about 1,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 words.⁵ It is the longest road on this list, and the advanced books are built from real Chinese writing.

How to use any textbook

Pick by the job, then finish it. A complete beginner needs one course book, not three. Switching series halfway costs you the words you would have met again.
Read alongside it from the first month. A textbook teaches each word once or twice in a dialogue. Readers follow a text on their own at about 98% of its words known.⁷ Graded stories in the Library are written at each HSK level and read aloud in two voices, so you meet your book’s words again in new sentences.
Keep the words you meet. Point at any word on a web page or YouTube video with Mandarin The Wild for its pinyin and meaning, keep it in one press, and Review brings it back. A whole textbook’s word list comes in from Anki or Pleco: bring in your words.
Know where you are. The level test tells you your HSK level in a few minutes, whatever book you used.

Questions

What is the best Chinese textbook for beginners?

Integrated Chinese, for most learners: four volumes with English explanations, in simplified and traditional characters, about 1,460 words in all. For the 2025 HSK, the New HSK Course; for Taiwan and traditional characters, A Course in Contemporary Chinese.

Is HSK Standard Course still good after the 2025 HSK?

It still teaches good Chinese, and it is the most used exam course. But it was written for the old six levels, and the 2025 list moved hundreds of words between levels, so check each book against today’s list or use the New HSK Course, which was written for it.

What HSK level is Integrated Chinese?

Its four volumes teach about 1,460 words, which is about the size of today’s HSK 3–4. Volumes 1 and 2 (about 720 words) are about HSK 2–3.

Can I learn Chinese from a textbook alone?

You can learn the basics, but not to fluency. A textbook series teaches one to a few thousand words; reading and listening to a lot of Chinese you mostly understand is what builds the rest. Read graded stories alongside your book from the first month.

Is Mandarin The Wild free?

Looking words up, the Library with its recordings, and Review are free. Looking up needs no account; a free account keeps your words.

Sources

Checked on 10 November 2026. Prices and features change; tell us if one has.