While travelling to China is often the best way to learn Chinese, not everyone has the means to do so. But even for those who can’t travel, there’s another challenge that often goes overlooked: finding the time to study. No matter how motivated you are, it’s impossible to make progress if you never actually sit down to learn.
The good news? You probably have pockets of free time every day, where you can use that time to learn Chinese. Whether you’re on the bus on the way to work or university, stuck in traffic, or just doing some household chores, thankfully, there are tools that can help you in your language learning journey.1
While technology isn’t a magic solution, smartphones with Mandarin apps can be used effectively to learn languages, even a difficult one like Chinese.
Let us explore some of the best apps and resources that can help you learn Chinese effectively outside of Chinese language courses.
| App | Description |
|---|---|
| HelloChinese | Beginner-friendly gamified app with speech recognition, handwriting practice, and native speaker videos; strong for overall skills and conversation. |
| Anki | Flashcard-based app using spaced repetition to memorize vocabulary and characters; highly customizable but has a learning curve. |
| Pleco | Comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary with OCR, handwriting recognition, and flashcards; ideal for reading and vocabulary building. |
| Skritter | Focuses on writing Chinese characters with spaced repetition and handwriting practice; useful for HSK prep but less for speaking. |
| ChineseSkill | Gamified beginner app with structured lessons up to HSK4, covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing. |
Comprehensive Review of Top Chinese Learning Apps
Here are a few top apps that you can check out and improve in your Chinese learning journey.
HelloChinese
HelloChinese is one of the best apps to learn Chinese for free. It is a game-based mobile app that aims to improve language skills through conversation, correction, and everyday conversation with native speakers of Mandarin Chinese.
Whether you’re an absolute beginner, intermediate, or advanced student, this e-learning mobile app puts you in contact with native Chinese speakers and is incredibly useful if you're hoping to become conversational or steadily working towards fluency.
The app is available on both Android and iOS and requires its users to create a profile, including where they live.
Features
✅Speech Recognition: Helps you improve your pronunciation by analysing your spoken Chinese and giving you instant feedback. This will help you speak accurately.
✅Handwriting Practice: The app teaches you correct stroke order and character formation. This will help you learn Chinese characters quickly and effectively.
✅Native Speaker Videos: Access 2,000+ videos featuring real Chinese speakers for immersive listening. These videos help users note natural speech patterns.
✅Spaced Repetition System (SRS): The SRS system helps users retain vocabulary through spaced repetition schedules, ensuring information moves from short-term memory to long-term memory.
✅Real-time corrections: Allows users to correct their partner’s mistakes in a foreign language in real time via chat, helping each other improve their foreign language skills.
If you're an exchange student who's just moved to Beijing, it's a great way to find someone who teaches Chinese or would just like to learn to speak English.
Love this app, one of my primary goals was to learn how to read and I went from being able to read about 100 to over 900 words. The flashcards and stories are especially helpful and each lesson feels very well paced.
Alex Chen on HelloChinese app
Pros:
🔵It teaches all four skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening)
🔵It is easy to use
🔵It teaches tonal practice, character stroke
🔵The 2000-plus native videos expose users to diverse content
Cons:
🔵Its writing feature is not that advanced
🔵The app is not meant for advanced learners
🔵Language partner quality may not be up to the mark.
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Anki
Anki is the flashcard app par excellence for those taking private Chinese classes and learning as many Chinese words as possible. Highly recommended by Chinese language learners worldwide, it is one of the best free Chinese learning apps. This app can be installed on both Android and iPhone and users can use this free app to read, learn, and remember Chinese words and characters.
Key Features
✅The app is “open source” and developed by users, meaning there are a lot of community add-ons
Anki allows you to create flashcards exactly the way you want, using different note types like reverse cards and cloze deletions
✅Users can create or import vocabulary lists and test themselves using text, audio, images, speech synthesis, and spaced repetition to improve their Chinese
✅Anki uses a powerful spaced repetition system that automatically shows you cards on how well you remember them
✅Allows you to create decks and seamlessly sync your progress across all devices
✅It shows you your learning stats on how well you are performing, and adapts the schedule according to your performance
Pros
🔵Uses spaced retention to improve retention and long-term memory
🔵Enables you to actively remember answers instead of just reading passively
🔵It is highly customizable, allowing you to create your own vocabulary cards
🔵It is available on multiple platforms
Cons
🔵It is going to aid you with your studies, but will not replace your regular Chinese classes.
🔵It involves a learning curve that may not be conducive for all
🔵There are a lot of customisations that can make it overwhelming for users
Did you know you could also learn Chinese by watching videos?
Pleco
Pleco is a popular English-Chinese dictionary and is an essential tool for anyone wanting to learn Mandarin Chinese or write Chinese characters. Recommended by Chinese bloggers and professors, this comprehensive app offers several features that help students of Chinese improve their Chinese language skills.
Available on both Android and iPhone, the Pleco app is really useful for students learning to read in Chinese as well as intermediate students looking to expand their Chinese vocabulary.
Pleco was the first app to launch an OCR for Chinese characters way back in 2010.
Features:
✅One of its helpful features is the flashcard system that allows you to practise memorising Chinese characters as well as revise characters you’ve previously learned, like vocabulary from Chinese lessons or tutorials.
✅These flashcards are easy to manage and can be used to create tests, making them particularly useful for students preparing for Mandarin exams. This feature, which is available in the free version, is really useful as users can select word lists based on their current levels.
✅Another powerful feature is the optical character recognition that allows the app to effectively “read” Chinese characters using your phone's camera and subsequently provide their English translation. Users can also save scanned characters to review later.
✅Pleco also has a handwriting recognition tool that allows users to draw Chinese characters directly on their phone screen.
Pros
- Comprehensive dictionary – It has an extensive dictionary offering over 1,30,000 words and 20,000 example sentences, making it a useful app to learn Chinese.
- Works offline – You can use the dictionary and many features without an internet connection, which is helpful when travelling or studying anywhere.
- Useful learning tools – The app features flashcards, audio pronunciation, and example sentences to help students practise vocabulary.
- OCR – It helps you scan unknown Chinese characters using your phone’s camera and translate them instantly.
Cons
- Some features cost extra – Certain features like OCR or full-screen handwriting require paid add-ons.
- Complex for beginners – The user interface is a bit complex and involves a learning curve.
- Flashcard limitations – Some users feel the flashcard system isn't as robust as other study apps.
Skritter
If you want to take Mandarin lessons (where you want to focus on learning Chinese characters), you can use the Skritter app to help you learn Chinese characters effectively.
Skritter uses Spaced Repetition, a method that helps you learn Chinese characters with a 90% retention rate. While speaking Chinese is only half of your mission, if you want to become fluent, you need to be able to read, write, and speak! Skritter places a lot of emphasis on handwriting, and the app is designed as such to encourage handwriting practice.
It also has HSK practice papers for students to get ready for the big day when they finally sit the most popular official exam amongst those learning Chinese.
We built Skritter for anyone curious about learning Chinese and Japanese language and culture and want to do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whether you are studying for fun or in an academic setting, Skritter is designed to help you reach your language learning goals. Learn 10 characters, or 10,000…the choice is entirely up to you!
Skritter
Features
✅Skritter provides support to the 263 most commonly used Chinese and Japanese textbooks.
✅It lets you practice your handwriting on-screen, so you can practise your handwriting whenever and wherever you are.
✅It has over 3000 user-created word lists, and if a list you need is not available, you can create your own.
✅A standout feature of the app is the Skritter Character Course, which teaches over 150 common characters and components through 16 short video lessons. The best part is that it is available in-app for free!
✅Skritter lets you rely on the pre-existing mnemonics or create your own. To improve memorisation, Skritter gets to the root of it by teaching you character decompositions.
Pros
- Highly effective spaced repetition system
- Focus on handwriting
- High retention rates
- Support for HSK preparation
Cons
- Requires a paid plan to access all features
- Less focus on speaking
- It involves a steep learning curve
- Visually not so appealing
You might also want to know about the best websites for learning Chinese.
It also has HSK practice papers for students to get ready for the big day when they finally sit the most popular official exam amongst those learning Chinese.
ChineseSkill
Alongside the other Chinese learning app Singapore, ChineseSkill stands out as a popular Chinese learning app for beginners in Singapore. With an intuitive interface and a user-friendly design, this app has over 5 million downloads and a strong rating of 4.7/5 on Google Play.
Every sentence, word and dialogue you encounter in ChineseSkill is carefully structured, curated and reviewed by myself and my team, because we believe professional content from teachers and instant feedback from apps are the backbone of effective self learning.
Jie ZHANG, Co-founder of ChineseSkill
Features
✅Its curriculum has been carefully designed by professional teachers to guide users from complete beginner-level Chinese skills all the way up to HSK4 level
✅Users can learn from several recommended options, like Main Course, Arcade, and Speak Up
✅The Main Course section has 75 units to build HSK4 level fluency
✅The Arcade section contains 10 different games to reinforce what users have already learnt
✅The Speak Up section focuses on natural, everyday conversations
✅Lessons are gamified to attract users
✅Uses a spaced repetition system to improve retention and a handwriting feature for practising characters
Pros
🔵Suitable for beginners as well as users looking for HSK exam support
🔵Its engaging gamified mascot (the cute panda) encourages users to keep going
🔵Lessons can be downloaded for offline use
🔵Teaches all four skills (speaking, reading, writing and listening)
Cons
🔵Advanced content may require a paid subscription
🔵It is not suitable for advanced learners
Free vs. Paid Chinese Learning Apps
Free Apps
With so many excellent resources available, there is no doubt that you can learn Chinese for free. Apps like Pleco and Hanping make language learning easy. These free Chinese language learning apps are a great starting point for users to test if they are really willing to put the time into learning Chinese. They are best for those who want an introduction to Mandarin, need basic information about the language or want to test their commitment before spending money on a language learning app.
However, users wanting to learn the language on a deeper level would be better served by paid apps that offer them the depth and structure needed for serious learning. The best app for learning Chinese covers all aspects of learning, like grammar, vocabulary, tones, and reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills. And these features are mostly available on a paid app.
Paid Apps
These apps are usually designed by expert language educators, and they also help you prepare for certificate exams like the HSK exam. So, whether you’re browsing options like HelloChinese (www hellochinese html) or considering programs like Rosetta Stone Mandarin, these apps stand out among other language learning apps and free Chinese learning apps due to their adaptive learning systems.
The main drawback can, however, be the costs involved with learning from a paid app. Subscriptions can be expensive, and advanced features may even cost more.
Features
Cost
Best for Beginners
Intermediate/Advanced
Structured Curriculum
Personalized Learning
Real Usage
Grammar
Speaking
Writing
Paid Learning App
Paid
✔️ Yes
✔️ Strong
✔️ Yes
✔️ Yes
✔️ Yes (Often)
✔️ Detailed
✔️ Good
✔️ Good
Free Learning App
Free
✔️ Yes
⚠️ Limited
❌ Often No
❌ No
⚠️ Minimal
⚠️ Light
⚠️ Basic
⚠️ Basic
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Conclusion
To sum up, selecting the right Chinese learning app will ultimately depend on your goals, level, and preferred learning style.2 If you are a beginner, apps like HelloChinese and ChineseSkill provide a structured, engaging introduction to learning Mandarin Chinese. These apps use engaging, gamified lessons, interactive audio lessons and exercises and hands-on exercises to teach the core Chinese language skills.
Learners looking for character memorisation or vocabulary retention features should check out apps like Anki and Pleco that come with advanced features of spaced repetition, customizable flashcards, and handwriting recognition. Overall, the best learning apps cater to all types of requirements—whether it’s mastering basic Chinese or taking a deep dive into Chinese characters.
References
- Rocque, S. R. (2022). EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS IN ENHANCING LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT. International Journal of Innovative Technologies in Social Science, 3(35). https://doi.org/10.31435/rsglobal_ijitss/30092022/7847
- Johannsen, F., Knipp, M., Loy, T., Mirbabaie, M., Möllmann, N. R. J., Voshaar, J., & Zimmermann, J. (2023). What impacts learning effectiveness of a mobile learning app focused on first-year students? Information Systems and e-Business Management, 21(3), 629–673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-023-00644-0
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