FluencyClock

Mandarin Chinese to B1 (about HSK 5)

1,623
study hours
12.5 years
at your pace
2.5h
per week, as entered
How that number was built
NFATC class-hour baseline2200 h
Share of that needed for B1× 0.5
Estimated related-language factor× 1
Estimated study-method factor× 1.48
Total1,623 h

What we'd suggest

Ordered by how well each fits what you told us — never by what it pays us. Free options are included on purpose.

  • Anki

    free — we earn nothing
    • Anyone who needs to retain vocabulary — free, and better at spaced repetition than every paid app.
    • Matches how you said you want to study.
    • Goes to C2, so it does not run out before you do.
    • Free, and we earn nothing if you use it.
    Who this is wrong for
    • People who want a curriculum — Anki is a tool, not a course
    • Anyone unwilling to spend an evening on setup
    • Learners who need speaking practice, which this does not provide at all
    More on Anki

  • Language Reactor

    free — we earn nothing
    • Intermediate learners who want native input from video with dual subtitles, at no cost.
    • Matches how you said you want to study.
    • Goes to C1, so it does not run out before you do.
    • Free, and we earn nothing if you use it.
    Who this is wrong for
    • Beginners — unscripted native speech below A2 is noise, not input
    • Anyone without a streaming subscription to point it at
    More on Language Reactor

  • Rocket Languages

    • Learners who want one structured course covering grammar explicitly, bought once rather than rented.
    • Matches how you said you want to study.
    • Goes to B2, so it does not run out before you do.
    Who this is wrong for
    • Anyone who wants live correction from a human — this is a recorded course
    • Learners chasing a language Rocket does not cover
    • People who abandon anything longer than 15 minutes a session
    More on Rocket Languages

  • Pimsleur

    • Learners who want to speak from the first lesson and can give it thirty focused minutes of audio a day, hands-free.
    • Matches how you said you want to study.
    • Covers your B1 target, with nothing to spare above it.
    Who this is wrong for
    • Anyone who wants to read or write the language — the method is almost entirely spoken
    • Learners who need grammar explained rather than absorbed by pattern
    • People who cannot concentrate on audio alone, without a screen to look at
    More on Pimsleur

What this estimate assumes

  • The 2200-class-hour baseline targets integrated ILR 3 (Speaking + Listening) under intensive NFATC instruction. Treating that endpoint as roughly C1 is our estimate, not an official crosswalk.
  • NFATC also describes 17 hours of self-study in a typical week. The baseline is class-contact time; this model does not silently add that programme workload to every method.
  • Model assumption: a serious textbook or audio programme worked through properly. We make the estimated gap widen at higher levels because nobody corrects errors as they form; NFATC does not publish this comparison.
  • CEFR level factors and study-method coefficients are our own estimates, not published research. See /how-we-test for how each one was derived.

Every input, its label, and its provenance · Change your answers

Shareable link: https://fluencyclock.com/results?lang=zh&to=B1&via=structured-self-study&min=30&days=5