--- title: "Learn Chinese from Real Mandarin: Point at Any Word | Mandarin The Wild" description: "Become fluent in Mandarin from real Chinese shows and books, not a textbook. Point at any word in YouTube or Netflix subtitles, on a web page or in free graded stories with audio, see what it means in that sentence, and Review brings it back." canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/" author: "Mandarin The Wild" --- Language is alive. Go meet it. # Real Chinese. Now it clicks. ![A rainy old-town lane in China, with red lanterns and steam rising from a bun stall.](https://mandarinthewild.com/landing/lane-480.webp) 怎么砍价How to bargain in Chinese ，？ 0:28 / 1:16中文 老láo板bǎn boss; shop owner Point at the Mandarin in a video’s subtitles or on any web page. See what it means right there, keep it in your Backpack, and meet it again in Review. [Add to Chrome, free](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2F) [Read a story](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-say-im-busy-in-chinese) [Read a story, free](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-say-im-busy-in-chinese) No account needed to look things up. Illustrative scene. 01 · How it worksLess looking up. More getting it. ## Watch it click. 1. 01 ### Point at a word.Tap a word. What it means in this sentence, right where you are. The video keeps playing. 2. 02 ### Stay a moment. Whole expressions stay whole. Then every part, and how it builds the meaning. 3. 03 ### Press M.Tap Mine. It’s yours. Into your Backpack, with the line you found it in. 4. 04 ### Meet it again. Review brings it back just before you’d forget, with the moment you met it. 5. 05 ### Anywhere. Videos, news, forums, stories. Every page with Chinese on it works the same way. 02 · Follow your curiosityThere’s no wrong rabbit hole. ## Come for the Mandarin. Stay for the rabbit holes. Your interests aren’t a distraction from learning Mandarin. They’re the reason you keep going. - [On the web and YouTube01Take the scenic route.Street food, side streets and the videos you already watch.](https://mandarinthewild.com/extension) - [The Library02A story at your level.Graded stories and articles. Free, no account.](https://mandarinthewild.com/library) - [Immersion03Bring your own.Books, articles, podcasts and videos you bring in. Private to you.](https://mandarinthewild.com/immersion) Not a prescribed path. A world of ways in. 03 · The LibraryFree, no account ## Stories worth staying for. 315 stories and articles, from HSK 1 to 7. [Browse the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library) - [星期一到星期天Days of the week in ChineseHSK 1](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/days-of-the-week-in-chinese) - [我的书在哪儿？Where is my book?HSK 1](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/where-is-my-book-location-words-in-chinese) - [楼下的小饭馆The noodle shop downstairsHSK 2–3](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/series/noodle-shop-downstairs) - [写给二十岁的我A letter to my future selfHSK 2](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/letter-to-my-future-self-in-chinese) - [送错的外卖The wrong deliveryHSK 3](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/series/wrong-delivery) - [我在咖啡店门口How to take a taxi in ChineseHSK 3](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-take-a-taxi-in-chinese) - [怎么点奶茶How to order bubble tea in ChineseHSK 4](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-bubble-tea-in-chinese) - [怎么砍价How to bargain in ChineseHSK 4](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-bargain-in-chinese) - [楼道里的灯The stairwell lightHSK 5](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/stairwell-light) - [雨后的气味从哪里来？Why rain has a smellHSK 6](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-rain-smells) - [什么是春运？What is Chunyun, China’s Spring Festival travel rush?HSK 6](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-is-chunyun-chinese-new-year-travel-rush) - [三打白骨精Sun Wukong and the White Bone DemonHSK 7](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/sun-wukong-and-the-white-bone-demon) - [十两饺子How to order dumplings in ChineseHSK 1](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-dumplings-in-chinese) - [小猫杯子The birthday present that came backHSK 1](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/easy-chinese-story-birthday-present) - [七点的电话The seven o’clock callHSK 2](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/seven-oclock-call) - [老师桌上的苹果An apple for the teacherHSK 2](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/an-apple-for-the-teacher-easy-chinese-story) - [为什么中国人见面总问“吃了吗”？Why do Chinese people ask “Have you eaten?”HSK 3](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-do-chinese-people-ask-have-you-eaten) - [我们都到了却没见面Same Place Different DoorHSK 3](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/same-place-different-door) - [十二生肖的故事The Great Race: the Chinese zodiac storyHSK 4](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/chinese-zodiac-story-the-great-race) - [拿错的伞The wrong umbrellaHSK 5](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/series/wrong-umbrella) - [塞翁失马The old man who lost his horseHSK 5](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/sai-weng-shi-ma-old-man-who-lost-his-horse) - [嫦娥奔月The legend of Chang’eHSK 6](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/legend-of-chang-e-mid-autumn-festival-story) - [画皮Painted SkinHSK 7](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/painted-skin-chinese-ghost-story) - [西游记Journey to the West in Advanced ChineseHSK 7](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/series/journey-to-the-west-advanced) 04 · Try your own text ## Stuck on a line? Paste it here. A message, a menu, a line from a show. Paste it, press Explain it, and every word is ready to tap. - **Explained by our server**Your text goes to mandarinthewild.com to be split into words and explained. - **Nothing you paste is kept**The server answers and forgets it. A word you keep is saved only when you sign in. - **Up to 2,000 characters**Longer text is never cut short. You’ll see how much to remove, or [read it all in the reader](https://mandarinthewild.com/read). 05 · Before you wander offQuestions ## A few questions. [Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2F) ### What makes this different from a dictionary? A dictionary lists every sense. The card tells you what the word means in the sentence in front of you, keeps whole expressions together, and then shows every part. ### Which browsers does it work in? Chrome, Edge and Firefox on a computer, and Safari on iPhone and iPad through the free Mandarin The Wild app. In other browsers and on Android, the demo on this page and the reader still work, and you can copy a setup link for later. ### Is it free? Yes. Looking up words, the Library with its audio, Review and the free tools cost nothing, with no ads and no free trial that turns into a charge. Looking things up and the Library stay free for good. A plan for heavy learners may come later, and nothing you keep will ever be locked. ### Do I need an account? Not to look words up. You need one to keep words, so your Backpack and Review follow you to any device you sign in on. ### Will it pause my videos? Not on YouTube: the video keeps playing while you read a card. On Netflix, Disney+, Viki and Prime Video it waits while a card is open and plays on when it closes. Pause after each line is there if you want it. ### Does it keep a list of the pages I visit? No. It reads the Mandarin on the page in front of you. Nothing goes to your Backpack until you keep a word yourself. ### Is it for complete beginners? It works best once you know some basics, around HSK 2 and up. From zero, start with the free tools, no account needed: [tone practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/tone-practice) draws your pitch over a native speaker’s, the [pinyin trainer](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-trainer) drills tones by ear in real words, [text to speech](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-text-to-speech) reads any Chinese aloud with pinyin, and [listening practice](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-listening-practice) plays real sentences at your HSK level. Less going through the motions. More getting the meaning. ## The world is talking. Go get the meaning. [Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2F) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library) Bring your curiosity.We’ll meet you in the wild.