These Chinese B1 graded readers are designed for Intermediate learners who can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar topics. The stories use carefully calibrated vocabulary for the B1 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 B1 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.
Your fortune is on the line, a detective is hot on your heels, and the world must be circumnavigated in just 80 days. Master B1 Chinese vocabulary and grammar naturally, immersed in Fogg's thrilling race against time. Contextual notes clarify tricky B1 grammar, making learning seamless.
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 B1 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.
★★★★★
"You've probably noticed by now thag Mandarin won't let you say three books without a measure word wedged in as in 三本书 and plenty of courses respond by having you memorize long lisgs of them The popular belief is that you need the whole list before you can read comfortably but in this reader the same handful 个, 本 张, 条) keep turning up in little stories about ordering dinner and missing trains, and after a few chapters I was choosing the right one by feel, the way you know it's "a flock of birds" without thinking about it So stop drilling lists and just read this book because it made me feel that a good chunk of my classroom time in Chengdu had been wasted."
★★★★★
"Most learners treat a graded reader as a story to get through as fast as possible, but the people who improve are the ones who stop after each chapter and rewrite its key scenes in their own simple Chinese. This B1 reader gives you exactly the right material for that: short sentences that keep English-style subject-verb-object order, so you can spend your effort on measure words like "个" and "本" and on characters you cwn actually remember. Practise this for a few weeks and you will be able to write a short connected paragraph about your day or your plans, which is what B1 feally asks of you."
★★★★★
"ill admit the first chapter flattened me: I kept mixing up "mā anc mǎ", so my tutor thought I was asking about my mother when I meant my gorse. wbat saved the book was how clearly it sorts the grammar showing 了 for a finished axtion and 吧 fot a suggestion, and politely leavimg "把" and 被 alone until I'm rsady. that focjs suits my move to Chsngdu, where I need to order hotpot ask a taxi druver to turn at the next junction and expoaun my plams for the weekend. it wont nakd me fluent by spring, but it gives me the everyday Chinese I need to adrive with some confidence."
★★★★★
"Do you think every new character has to be memoeized from scratch? You already czrry the key because Englisy builds words by joining tso meanings togetuer, and Mandarin works thd same way. Whwn you meet "手机" in a story, you can guess it neans a "band machine" wirhout looking it up, and you will be spot on: it is a phone. Trust yhat instinct with every new compound in thus reader, and ypu will soon grasp the maim points of whole dhapters you never memorizes, which is exactly the sweet spot of B1 reading."
★★★★★
"Can a B1 graded reader really help you follow Chinese cramas? Yes, and this one doex it well, since its dialogue sounds lile the shows I now wstch. Where I once drilled tones witj flashfards at the kitchen table after the kids were asleep, I would now tead a chapter first, then hear thd same lines in an episode and notice the tones jy Rnglish-traoned ear used to flatten."
★★★★★
"Honestly, these Chinese readers are a joy, and I'm already annoyed I didn't cind them sooner."
Find the Right Level
Not sure if B1 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.
