One teacher. One student. One hour that's all yours.
$30 per 60-minute lesson, booked when it suits you. Structured by the official HSK 3.0 syllabus — or built around speaking, reading, or the Chinese your job actually needs.
- $30 per hour
- Book by the hour, no schedule to keep
- Packs from $26/hour
- Unused hours refundable
Why one-on-one
Nothing between you and the teacher.
The whole hour is yours
In a group of 3 you speak for roughly a third of the lesson. Here you speak for all of it, and every correction is about your Mandarin rather than someone else's.
Book around your week
No fixed twice-weekly slot to defend. Book the hours you can actually make — one week, three the next, none while you're travelling.
The lesson is built for you
Send the email you need to write, the meeting you're dreading, the chapter you got stuck on. That becomes the lesson, prepared before you arrive.
Your errors get tracked
Every mistake worth fixing goes on a running list, and the ones that keep coming back open the next lesson. Nothing quietly fossilises.
Structure without the exam
Structured by the HSK syllabus. Taking the exam is optional.
We build every course on the official HSK 3.0 syllabus because it is the most complete, best-sequenced map of Mandarin that exists — roughly 11,000 words and 900 grammar points, ordered so that each one is built from what came before. That structure is worth having whether or not you ever book an exam. Plenty of our students never do.
What we can work on
Pick a track, or bring your own.
In one-on-one lessons every track below is available immediately — there is no group to fill first.
HSK syllabus track
AvailableWork through one level of the official syllabus in order — vocabulary, characters, grammar and speaking practice for every topic area. Finish exam-ready whether or not you sit the exam.
Speaking intensive
AvailableNo new vocabulary lists. One hour of structured conversation per session on topics you actually need, with your errors written down and drilled the following week.
Reading a novel together
AvailableRead a graded Chinese novel a chapter at a time. We handle the vocabulary and sentence patterns in class so you keep reading instead of stalling on page 3.
Work Chinese
AvailableMeetings, email, small talk with clients. Built from the situations you send us in advance.
Something else in mind? Tell us what you want to work on.
How it works
Three steps, starting this week.
- 1
Tell us where you are
A short email exchange, or a first lesson spent placing you. If you've studied before, we work out what's solid and what only looks solid.
- 2
Pick the track
Follow an HSK level in order, or go straight at a goal — speaking, reading a novel, work Chinese. You can switch whenever it stops fitting.
- 3
Book the hours you want
$30 for a single lesson, or a pack if you'd rather commit. Packs never expire and unused hours are refundable.
Pricing
$30 an hour. Cheaper by the pack.
Packs never expire, and unused hours are refundable whenever you ask.
5-lesson pack
5 lessons · 60 min each
Save $10
Enough to fix one specific weakness.
10-lesson pack
10 lessons · 60 min each
Save $40
A full topic block, start to finish.
On a budget? The small-group course is $10 a session.
16 sessions over 8 weeks with at most 2 classmates, $160 in total. You speak less, but you hear other learners make — and fix — the same mistakes, which is worth more than it sounds.
Your Teacher
Meet Min Xiao
Master's in Linguistics · 5,000+ teaching hours · Founder of XM Mandarin
Min holds a Master's degree in Linguistics from Renmin University of China and has spent over 5,000 hours teaching Mandarin one-on-one and in groups. She has taught more than 8,000 students on Udemy, built a YouTube channel with 41,000+ subscribers, and earned over 1,000 five-star reviews.
See how a lesson is actually built.
An HSK 5 session on clearing customs — vocabulary drill, listening questions, full transcript, role-play. The same screen a student sees in a real lesson.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do I need to be taking the HSK exam?
No. We use the HSK 3.0 syllabus as a structure because it is the best-sequenced map of Mandarin available — but plenty of one-on-one students never book a test. If you have no exam plans, we skip the exam technique entirely and spend that time on whatever you actually need.
What can a one-on-one lesson be about?
An HSK level worked through in order, structured conversation practice, reading a graded novel a chapter at a time, work Chinese for meetings and email, or exam technique before a test. Tell us the goal and we'll shape the hour around it.
How is this different from the small-group class?
The group course is a fixed 8-week programme, 16 sessions, $10 each, with up to 2 classmates — cheaper, and having classmates to talk to is genuinely useful. One-on-one is $30 an hour with no fixed schedule and the whole hour on you. If your availability is unpredictable, or you want something the syllabus track doesn't cover, one-on-one is the right call.
How do I pay, and can I get a refund?
Lessons are prepaid — a single hour or a pack. Packs never expire, and any hours you haven't used are refundable at any point, no reason needed. Cancel or move a booked lesson with 24 hours' notice and it costs nothing.
What level do you teach?
Complete beginner through HSK 7–9. If you're unsure where you sit, say so when you get in touch — placing you takes one short conversation and costs nothing.
What happens in the first lesson?
Mostly you talk and we listen, so we can hear what's actually there rather than what a level label claims. You'll leave with a written plan for what the next few lessons cover and why.
Start with one hour.
$30 for 60minutes, no commitment beyond it. Tell us what you want to work on and we'll have the lesson ready.
Not sure which level you are? Say so in the email — placing you is free.