Best Chinese Graded Readers by HSK Level (2026)
Graded readers are the bridge between textbook dialogues and real Chinese books. They are stories written (or rewritten) with a controlled vocabulary, so that almost every word on the page is one you already know and the few new ones are explained. That sounds modest, but it changes what reading feels like: instead of decoding one sentence at a time, you read for the story, and words stick because you see them over and over in context.
This guide covers the graded reader series and apps that Mandarin learners actually use, sorted by level from roughly HSK 1 to HSK 6. For each one you will find how the series is leveled, what the stories are like, whether there is pinyin and audio, and who it suits best. One caution before you buy: most series use their own leveling systems, measured in characters or words, so the HSK ranges below are approximate. Read a sample page before committing to a level.
Quick picks: Absolute beginners (HSK 1): Sagebooks Basic Chinese 500 or Mandarin Companion Breakthrough. Lower intermediate (HSK 2–3): Mandarin Companion Level 1 and Chinese Breeze. Intermediate and up (HSK 4+): Du Chinese and The Chairman’s Bao at the higher levels.
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How to choose the right level
The rule most reading researchers and teachers agree on: for comfortable, fast reading you want to know about 95–98% of the words on the page. In practice that means no more than a handful of unknown words per page. If you are stopping every line, drop a level. If you never stop, move up.
- Character-counted series (Mandarin Companion, Sagebooks) tell you how many distinct characters the book uses. Useful if you learn characters individually.
- Word-counted series (Chinese Breeze, Rainbow Bridge, Imagin8) tell you how many vocabulary words. Easier to compare with HSK word lists.
- Apps (Du Chinese, The Chairman’s Bao, maayot) label each text by HSK level and add tap-to-translate, which makes level mistakes much less painful.
Rough HSK map used below, for the older six-level HSK: HSK 1 ≈ 150 words, HSK 2 ≈ 300, HSK 3 ≈ 600, HSK 4 ≈ 1,200, HSK 5 ≈ 2,500, HSK 6 ≈ 5,000. The newer HSK 3.0 has larger lists, so treat these as ballpark figures.
Starting from zero (HSK 1)
Sagebooks Basic Chinese 500 基础汉字500
A set of 25 small picture books, five per level, designed to teach children to read 500 basic characters. Each book introduces 20 characters through short illustrated lessons, and each level covers 100 characters. The stories are simple scenes and rhymes rather than plots.
Why it works for learners: It is the gentlest on-ramp to reading actual characters, and the repetition is relentless in a good way. The obvious downside is that it was made for preschoolers, so the content is childish. Adults use it as a character-recognition drill: one lesson a day, read aloud, and you have a solid base of high-frequency characters within a few months.
Mandarin Companion
Mandarin Companion publishes short novels in three levels. The Breakthrough level uses 150 core characters and includes original stories like My Teacher is a Martian and Xiao Ming, Boy Sherlock. Level 1 (300 characters) and Level 2 (450 characters) are mostly classic Western stories rewritten as if they happened in China: The Secret Garden, The Monkey’s Paw and Emma at Level 1, Great Expectations and Journey to the Center of the Earth at Level 2.
Why it works for learners: These read like real books, with plots that pull you forward, which is rare at this level. New key words are footnoted with pinyin and English the first time they appear, and there is a glossary at the back. Because the main text has no pinyin, you are actually reading characters. Many titles come in both simplified and traditional editions, and some have audiobook versions.
Rainbow Bridge Graded Chinese Reader 彩虹桥
A large series from the Beijing publisher Sinolingua, running from a Starter level (150 words) through Level 6 (2,500 words). Many titles retell Chinese folk tales and legends, such as Ten Brothers at the Starter level and A Stone on Trial at Level 1, and the books get longer as the levels rise.
Why it works for learners: If you want cultural content rather than Western adaptations, this is the series to look at. The stories are ones Chinese children grow up with, which pays off later when they are referenced in dramas and conversation. The levels are mapped to HSK and CEFR word lists, and the wide range means you can stay with one series for a long time.
Lower intermediate (HSK 2–3)
Chinese Breeze 汉语风
A long-running graded series from Peking University Press with original stories written for learners, from romance and mystery to everyday drama. Level 1 (300 words) includes titles like I Really Want to Find Her (我一定要找到她) and Can I Dance with You? (我可以请你跳舞吗？), and the published levels go up to 1,100 words.
Why it works for learners: These are short (an evening or two each), set in contemporary China, and written in the natural spoken style you need for conversation. Pinyin is given for difficult words in the notes rather than above every line, so your eyes stay on the characters. They are a good next step after Mandarin Companion Level 1.
Journey to the West in Easy Chinese (Imagin8 Press) 西游记
A retelling of the 16th-century classic, in which the monk Tang Sanzang travels west to fetch Buddhist scriptures, protected by the Monkey King and two other unlikely disciples. The series starts with Monkey’s birth and early mischief and runs to 31 short volumes. The core vocabulary is the 600 words of HSK 3, plus words introduced in earlier books.
Why it works for learners: Journey to the West is everywhere in Chinese culture, from cartoons to video games, and this is the only realistic way to read the whole story at an intermediate level. Editions with pinyin and English on facing pages are useful early on; switch to the Chinese-only text as soon as you can, or the English will do your reading for you.
Du Chinese 读中文
Du Chinese is a reading app with thousands of short texts across six levels, from Newbie to Master, roughly matching HSK 1 to 6. It mixes everyday dialogues, culture pieces and serialized graded stories, and every text has a recording by a native speaker.
Why it works for learners: Tap any word for its meaning, toggle pinyin on and off, and play the audio sentence by sentence. That makes it the easiest way to read and listen to the same text, which is one of the best habits for building listening speed. The serialized stories are the most motivating part; read one chapter a day.
Intermediate and beyond (HSK 4–6)
maayot maayot 每日中文故事
maayot sends one short story a day in three levels: beginner (about HSK 1–3), intermediate (HSK 4–5) and advanced (HSK 6+). Beginner stories are short dialogues about everyday matters; the higher levels move into culture and current affairs. Free users get a story a week.
Why it works for learners: The daily format is the point. A five-minute story every morning builds a reading habit better than an occasional long session, and the stories recycle vocabulary on purpose. The app supports simplified and traditional characters, pinyin on or off, a pop-up dictionary and native audio.
The Chairman’s Bao
The Chairman’s Bao publishes news articles rewritten for learners at levels from HSK 1 to HSK 6+, with new lessons every day on Chinese and world news, technology, society and culture. It is widely used by schools and universities.
Why it works for learners: News is a completely different vocabulary domain from fiction: economy, policy, statistics, formal written connectors like 据报道 and 与此同时. Graded news is the safest way to learn it before you try real Chinese newspapers. It is most useful from HSK 4 up, when the articles become dense enough to teach new structures.
Little Pig Xilihulu 小猪唏哩呼噜
A classic Chinese children’s book about the youngest of twelve piglets, named Xilihulu for the slurping noise he makes when he eats. Cheerful and brave, he keeps landing in trouble with wolves, foxes and other animals, and talking or working his way back out. It is often recommended reading for Chinese first and second graders, and editions with pinyin over every character (注音版) are easy to find.
Why it works for learners: This is not a graded reader, and that is why it is here. It is the natural first native book after graded series: written for Chinese seven-year-olds, with short episodic chapters, simple sentences and lots of dialogue. The pinyin edition lets you read words you know by sound but not by sight. When it starts to feel easy, you are ready for the approachable novels in our guide to Chinese novels for intermediate learners.
Comparison table
| Series | Approx. HSK | Format | Pinyin | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sagebooks Basic Chinese 500 | Pre-1 to 1 | Picture books | Check edition | Check edition |
| Mandarin Companion | 1–3 | Novels | Footnotes only | Some titles |
| Rainbow Bridge | 1–5 | Short books | Check edition | Some titles |
| Chinese Breeze | 2–4 | Short novels | For difficult words | Check edition |
| Imagin8 Journey to the West | 3 | Book series | Optional editions | Yes |
| Du Chinese | 1–6 | App | Toggle | Every text |
| maayot | 1–6+ | App, email | Toggle | Yes |
| The Chairman’s Bao | 1–6+ | App, news | Toggle | Yes |
| Little Pig Xilihulu | 3–4 | Children’s novel | 注音版 editions | No |
How to read graded readers well
- Read a lot of easy text, not a little hard text. Graded readers work through volume. Finishing five easy books teaches more than struggling through one hard one.
- Don’t look up everything. If a word appears once and the sentence still makes sense, keep going. If it appears three times, look it up.
- Read, then listen. Where audio exists, read a chapter first, then listen to it without the text. Your brain already knows the words, so you train listening speed rather than vocabulary.
- Reread favorites. A second reading of a book you liked is faster and builds fluency. That feeling of reading without effort is what you are training for.
- Turn pinyin off early. Pinyin is a crutch your eyes will lean on. Use it for the first pass if you must, then read the characters-only version.
Track your reading hours
Graded readers make progress easy to measure: books finished, levels climbed. Hours are the other half of the picture. Logging each reading session in LangTrack shows how much reading time each HSK level actually took you, which makes the next level much easier to plan. For benchmarks, see how many hours it takes to learn Mandarin.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Chinese graded reader for beginners?
Mandarin Companion's Breakthrough level (150 characters) is the most popular first novel for adult beginners. If you are starting from zero characters, Sagebooks Basic Chinese 500 is gentler but written for children.
What HSK level are Mandarin Companion books?
Mandarin Companion levels by characters rather than HSK words, so there is no exact match. As a rough guide, Breakthrough suits HSK 1 to 2 learners, Level 1 suits HSK 2 to 3, and Level 2 suits learners around HSK 3.
Should I read graded readers with pinyin?
Use pinyin only as a temporary aid. Your eyes will read the pinyin instead of the characters, so switch to characters-only text as soon as you can, using footnotes or a tap dictionary for new words.
When should I move from graded readers to native books?
Once the top level of a series feels easy, usually around HSK 4, try a children's novel or simple native fiction. Expect a jump in difficulty and use a pop-up dictionary for the first few books.
Track your Chinese reading
Log each graded reader session and see how many reading hours each HSK level takes you.
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