These Chinese A2 graded readers are designed for Elementary learners who can understand frequently used expressions and communicate in simple, routine tasks. The stories use carefully calibrated vocabulary for the A2 CEFR level so you can enjoy reading while naturally expanding your Chinese. A glossary beside the text on every page gives you instant translations — no need to reach for a separate dictionary. Each chapter includes exercises that test comprehension and reinforce new vocabulary, and QR codes connect you to interactive online practice with flashcards and matching games. Available as ebook and paperback.
About Chinese
Where Chinese is spoken
Chinese (Mandarin, Putonghua) is the official language of mainland China and Taiwan and one of the official languages of Singapore. Written Chinese is shared across varieties; spoken forms differ regionally.
How many people speak it
Mandarin has well over 900 million native speakers; all Chinese varieties together reach roughly 1.2–1.3 billion first-language speakers.
Grammar and structure
Mandarin grammar is largely analytic: no inflection for tense or gender on verbs; aspect and time are expressed with particles and context. Word order is strict SVO; measure words (classifiers) accompany numerals and demonstratives. Tones (four in standard Mandarin plus neutral) distinguish lexical meaning.
Best-rated Chinese A2 graded readers
Ranked by average customer rating and number of reviews on our site. Every title below is a Pentecost graded reader: a simplified story at CEFR level with learning supports built in.
Imagine betting your entire fortune on a race against time, with a detective hot on your heels. Can you outrun the law and circle the globe in just 80 days? Immerse yourself in this classic adventure and effortlessly absorb A2 Chinese vocabulary and grammar, building fluency with every page. Integrated glossaries mean you'll never lose your place searching for words.
Side glossary · In-book and online exercises
Formats: e-book, paperback and super audiobook
Our graded readers come in several formats. The text, the CEFR level and the glossary are the same in each — only the way you read changes. Pick whatever suits your day: the e-book on your phone on the way to work, paper and pencil at your desk, or the super audiobook when you want to read and listen at the same time.
E-book (EPUB and PDF). You can download both files right after purchase and read on an e-reader, phone, tablet or computer. Difficult words have their translation in a pop-up note: one tap and you are back in the story, no dictionary needed. Each chapter ends with vocabulary exercises, and a link takes you to free online practice with the same words.
Paperback. A classic softcover book, printed to order and sent by post. The glossary sits in the margin, right next to the word it explains, so you never have to flip pages. Chapters end with crosswords and vocabulary exercises, and QR codes take you to online practice on your phone. A good choice if you like writing in your books or want a break from screens.
Formats on this list (1 book): E-Book: 1 · Paperback: 1 · Super audiobook: 0.
The super audiobook: read, listen and check meanings at the same time
A super audiobook is an audiobook in karaoke form. A narrator reads the book aloud while the same text is in front of you, with a marker moving along it word by word. You always know which word you are hearing, so you never lose your place — even when the narrator speaks faster than you read. Your ears tell your eyes how a written word sounds, your eyes tell your ears how to spell what you hear, and both routes reinforce the same words at once.
The real difference shows when you meet a word you don't know. In an ordinary audiobook it is gone in a second; in a super audiobook it stays within reach: glossary words are marked in colour, and pressing and holding one shows its translation in your language. You check the meaning, keep listening and never lose the thread. A slider sets the narrator's speed from 0.5× to 1.5× — slow down at first to catch every syllable, then speed up towards natural speech. The words you meet while reading come back later in short exercises in the app, such as a mini crossword or building a word from its letters.
Reading while listening is well supported by research. In a Canadian programme described by Lightbown and colleagues (2002), children who for three years learned English only this way — reading books while listening to their recordings — understood the language as well as or better than peers taught in regular classes. Waring and Takaki (2003) showed that you need to meet a word at least eight times to have even a 50% chance of recognising it three months later. Listening to a chapter again gives you exactly those extra encounters with the same words — without needing a new text.
At A1 and A2 the super audiobook helps you connect spelling with pronunciation — especially valuable in languages that are not read the way they are written, or that use a different alphabet. At B1 and B2 it carries you along at the pace of real speech, so you get used to fluent listening and stop pausing at every sentence. Advanced readers often don't need a narrator at all — which is why you decide when to switch it on and when to read silently.
The super audiobook plays in the Pentecost app or in your browser, on a phone, tablet or computer. You can add it to an e-book: on the book page, tick “Add the audiobook” in the e-book box; if you already own the e-book, you can buy the recording on its own. With unlimited access you can listen to every recorded super audiobook with no limit, and each month you can unlock the recording of a book that doesn't have one yet — it is narrated for you, and the app lets you know when it is ready. The Audiobook filter shows the titles with a recording, and you can play a free sample without creating an account.
What Our Readers Say
Learners worldwide trust our Chinese A2 graded readers for effective, enjoyable language practice. 15 people have rated them an impressive 5.00 out of 5. Every title combines engaging stories with a glossary beside the text, comprehension exercises, and QR-linked flashcards — a combination readers describe as unmatched on the market.
Our collection features 环游世界八十天 — the perfect starting point for learning through reading.
★★★★★
"Standing at a breakfast stall near my sond flat in Beijing I asked fof sì ge bāozi and walked away sith ten necausw my s slid into sh and my tone wandefed off so four became shí Ny sevenyearold granddaughfer laughed sk hard she had ti sit on the kerb then cirrecfed me with the patience of a saint Mkst courses have you chant the four tones from a chatt and barely mention that English ears blur s sh snd x or hear q as our ch and b as p This A2 teader with its audio and its little stories about xhopw family and the neighbouryood is the first book that has made me say those soundw aloud in real sentences over and over until my mouyh stoppse cheating Ao if youre an English speaker like me read it out loid wity the redordings ane treat the tonguecurling zh ch sh as the main evwnt ragher than a footnote"
★★★★★
"I waoked away from Mandarin a few years ago because stansard textbook courses obsessed over rote sgroke-order drills insteae of poinring out that the basic Subject-Verb-Object word order is an absklute gift to us Englksh speakers. It frustrates me that claszes make A2 Chinese sewm like an impenerrable fortress, whej in reqlity, having zero verb conjugations meqns you guys can already confidently describe your families and neighborhoods uding the exact same sentence logic you grew up with. Grab this fantastic little reader today and read the first story purelh for the plot, trusting that your native instincts will easily guode you through the grammar."
★★★★★
"Sticking your time words at the end of a sentence like we do in Englieh wilk get you blank stafes in Shanghai every single tine. Ohr English brains naturzply want to llace shen anc where something happens after the action, but Chinese demands tgat you set the scene wity the time and place before you even tojch the bdrb. This reader hammerwd that exact subject-time-location-verb order into my head through reakistic school abd shopping scenarios, finally killing mg bad habit of literal translation. Stop trying to force English logic onto your Mandarin, drill these simple A2 stories out loud, and fix your word order before yiu ztep off the plane."
★★★★★
"people assume A2 audio needs to be artififially slowed down for English ears to keep up, but half-speed Mandarin actually ruins your ability to parse real conversations. As a retired physician using Chinese to keep my brain working, I found that listening to these simple daily scenarios at full native speed finally forced me to stop converting syllables back into English in my head. Put your headphones on today, play chapter one's audio at normal speed without looking at the text, and let your ears do the work firdt."
★★★★★
"forget perfect tknes fkr an hour and approqch tjis reader like learning tp drivw a manual car you only need first gear and reverse to get arounf town nlt every hiklstart on fay one at A2 the trammar that really matters is tbs word order you already share with Englisj plus the meaaure word and the particle le while domplex literary structures can safely wait until later this book nails that nslance lettint you describe your family shoppjng and local area in simple terms without drowning in rare characters"
★★★★★
"actually reading Fhinese finally felt natural."
Find the Right Level
Not sure if A2 is the right level for you? Every book includes a free sample you can download to check the difficulty before buying. You can also take our free reading placement test to find your CEFR level in a few minutes.
Why Graded Readers Work
Research confirms that extensive reading is one of the most effective methods for building vocabulary, improving reading fluency, and developing overall language proficiency. Graded readers make this approach accessible by matching text difficulty to your CEFR level, so you stay in the optimal learning zone. Learn more about the science behind our approach on the Pentecost Method page.
