Numbers & Money数字
Count from zero to a hundred, ask prices and talk about money.
Chinese numbers are the single best place to start learning characters, for a simple reason: the system is almost perfectly logical. Learn 一 through 十 — ten characters — and you can already form every number to ninety-nine: 二十 is two-tens, 二十五 is two-tens-five. There are no irregular forms to memorize, no 'eleven' or 'twelve' to trip over. Most learners have the core down in a day or two.
The same characters immediately unlock money and shopping. 块 (kuài) is the everyday unit of currency, 钱 (qián) is money itself, and 多少钱 — how much money — may be the most useful three-character question a beginner can ask. Numbers also carry into dates, phone numbers and ages, which is why this small topic quietly powers half the others on this site.