Mandarin · 中文
Mandarin, starting with the sounds that decide everything.
Private lessons with native Mandarin tutors in London and online — tones and pinyin taught properly, characters on a schedule, HSK and school exam preparation, and business Mandarin.
Start here
Get the tones right early. Everything else follows.
Tones first, characters second, confidence throughout.
Mandarin grammar is far simpler than most learners expect; pronunciation and characters are where the work sits. One to one is the honest recommendation, because tones need immediate correction from a native ear.
Examinations we prepare for in Mandarin: HSK 1 to 6, and GCSE and A-Level Chinese.
Business genuinely requires it
Interpreters cover the meeting. They do not cover the dinner, and the dinner is often where the relationship is made.
A school exam is coming
GCSE and A-Level Chinese are demanding papers with heavy character and listening components, both of which respond well to technique.
An HSK level is the target
HSK 1 to 6 gives a clear ladder, and a clear ladder makes a programme easy to plan and easy to measure.
Your family speaks it and you do not
Heritage learners have a real head start in listening and a specific set of gaps. Both are worth teaching to directly.
What we offer
Every ways to learn Mandarin with us.
Choose the route that matches what you are trying to achieve — the format follows from the goal, not the other way round.
Private Mandarin lessons
One specialist, matched from our network, and a programme written around your goal.
Private Mandarin tuition in London or online, at any level. Your specialist is matched from the Mandarin teachers already selected into our network, you meet them on a chemistry call, and the programme is built from what you actually need to do in Mandarin.
From £64/hr
Flexi £75/hr for 4 hours (£300); Mastery £64/hr for 48 hours used within up to 12 months (£3,060). VAT included.
Business Mandarin
Language that holds up in the meeting, not just the lesson.
Programmes for executives and teams, scheduled around real diaries, with progress reporting for whoever is sponsoring the training.
From £120/hr
Executive one-to-one from £120/hr on 4 hours (£480), £102/hr on 48 hours used within up to 12 months (£4,896); open business group terms from £950 per person for ten weeks. VAT included.
Why Learn&Co is different
"Everyone comes to language learning for a reason — but what keeps people going is how it makes them feel. Seen. Capable. Connected. That's what we create at Learn&Co."
Life in the language
A language with a very long memory.
Written Chinese connects a modern email to two thousand years of text. That is part of the pleasure of learning it, and part of why character work deserves proper scheduling rather than cramming.
Tones taught, not assumed
Deliberate tone drilling with immediate correction, which is the single largest difference between a tutor and an app.
Characters in sequence
Simplified by default, traditional on request, taught by component so new characters become guessable.
Business etiquette included
Introductions, seniority and hospitality — the parts of a Chinese meeting that language alone does not cover.
The Learn&Co method
A selected network first. Your match, second.
We do not go looking for a Mandarin tutor once you enquire. The selection has already happened: our network is built slowly, from specialists we have interviewed, observed and chosen to work with — for their teaching, not simply their passport.
What happens after your enquiry is the second layer. Maria listens first — your goal, your level, your temperament, your timetable — and then chooses the specialist inside that network who fits the brief. You meet them on a chemistry call before anything is committed, and the programme is written around your life from there.
Our tutor matching is reviewed by The Good Schools Guide.
A network selected before you arrive
Mandarin specialists we have already interviewed, referenced and chosen — vetted for teaching skill, subject depth and the ability to adapt.
A conversation before a tutor
Maria hears the brief first — what you need Mandarin for, by when, and how you like to learn.
Matched from the network
The specialist inside the network who suits your goal, level and temperament is named to you, with Maria overseeing the match — no rota, no algorithm, no directory to scroll.
A chemistry call, then oversight
You meet the tutor before anything is booked. Progress reports, founder check-ins and rematching if the fit ever stops working.
Corporate clients
Trusted by global businesses
Language programmes delivered inside law firms, hedge funds, publishing houses and global property groups.
Partner schools
Working with leading schools in the UK and Europe
Exam preparation, tutor placement and curated exchanges with demanding independent schools here and with partner schools across Europe.
Investment
What each Mandarin route costs.
Every route is priced on its own model — monthly for tuition, per term for groups, per programme for travel. The figures below are the starting points; the full private plans, with the saving for a longer commitment, sit on the private tuition page.
Flexi £75/hr for 4 hours (£300); Mastery £64/hr for 48 hours used within up to 12 months (£3,060). VAT included.
From £64/hr
Executive one-to-one from £120/hr on 4 hours (£480), £102/hr on 48 hours used within up to 12 months (£4,896); open business group terms from £950 per person for ten weeks. VAT included.
From £120/hr
All figures include VAT. Private tuition prices are based on one hour a week online; group terms run for ten weeks with never more than six people. Corporate programmes are quoted in full after a scoping call.
Discuss a programmeBefore you book
Learning Mandarin — your questions, answered.
- Is Mandarin as hard as people say?
- The grammar is unusually simple — no conjugation, no gender, no plurals. The work is in tones and characters, and both are entirely learnable with a native tutor correcting you from the start.
- Simplified or traditional characters?
- Simplified by default, as used in mainland China. If Taiwan or Hong Kong is your focus, we teach traditional instead.
- Do you prepare for HSK, GCSE and A-Level?
- Yes to all three, with the programme planned backwards from the exam date and built around the format.
- Are there Mandarin group classes?
- Not currently. Mandarin runs as private tuition, in London or online, which is the right format while tones are being established.
- Do I need to learn characters?
- Only as far as your goal requires. Speaking-only programmes are legitimate; if you need to read business documents or sit an exam, characters are sequenced in from the start.
- Do you prepare for HSK and school exams?
- Yes — HSK at the level you need, and GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and IB Mandarin with tutors who know the specifications.
- How do you choose my tutor?
- Maria takes the brief, then matches you with a Mandarin specialist from our network, and you meet them on a chemistry call before committing.
Ready to start Mandarin?
Twenty minutes with Maria.
Tell Maria what you want to be able to do in Mandarin, and by when. She will tell you honestly which route gets you there, and introduce the tutor she would match you with.
Maria Toubbe
- 20 minutes
- A conversation, not a sales call.
- With Maria
- Our founder, every time — not a call centre.
- No obligation
- Advice you can use even if you never book.
20 min · video call · free
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