- Chinese learning apps at a glance
- Ten apps for learning Mandarin Chinese
- Which type of Chinese app you need at each stage
- Why Mandarin takes longer than French or Spanish
- Learning characters without burning out
- Tones, pinyin and speaking practice
- Mistakes that slow Chinese learners down
- My plain advice on choosing Chinese learning apps
- Frequently asked questions
The best Chinese learning setup usually combines three things: a structured course for beginners, a way to learn characters and a graded reader or dictionary for real text. Speaking apps help with tones, while writing apps help characters stick. Choose by your level and whether you need to read, write or speak. Ten options follow, in no particular order.
Mandarin looks scary from the outside: tones, thousands of characters and no alphabet to lean on. Apps have made the first steps far easier, because they can hear your tones, grade your handwriting and look up a character you can't read in seconds.
The ten apps below cover beginner courses, character trainers, graded readers and a dictionary. They're listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from each app's own website, read this week. If you need to translate between Chinese and English for work, my guide to Chinese and English translation covers the tools for that job.
Chinese learning apps at a glance
I checked the free plan column on each app's own website or App Store listing, as of Oct 2026. Yes means the page says the app, a course or a version of the app is free. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the page I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to start, so check before you sign up.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChineseSkill | Chinese course app | A structured path from zero to HSK 4 | Not stated |
| Du Chinese | Graded reader app | Reading and listening practice with stories | Not stated |
| Duolingo | Gamified language app | A gentle daily start with Mandarin | Yes |
| Hack Chinese | Character and vocabulary trainer | Spaced repetition for characters and words | Not stated |
| HelloChinese | Game-based Chinese app | Speaking and handwriting practice for beginners | Not stated |
| Mandarin Blueprint | Online Mandarin course with coaching | A daily plan with tutoring and coaching | Yes |
| Ninchanese | Gamified Chinese course | HSK 1 to 6 with a game feel | Yes |
| Pleco | Chinese dictionary app | Looking up characters with your camera | Not stated |
| Skritter | Character writing app | Learning to write characters stroke by stroke | Trial only |
| The Chairman's Bao | News-based graded reader | Reading real news at your HSK level | Not stated |
Ten apps for learning Mandarin Chinese
ChineseSkill
Best for: Beginners who want one app covering reading, writing, listening and speaking, with a curriculum that runs from zero to HSK 4.
Du Chinese
Best for: Learners past the basics who want graded Chinese stories to read and listen to on iOS, Android or the web.
Duolingo
Best for: Absolute beginners who want a free, game-like way to start Mandarin with short lessons and a daily streak.
Hack Chinese
Best for: Serious students who want a customisable spaced repetition system for Chinese characters and vocabulary that syncs with other apps.
HelloChinese
Best for: New learners who want bite-sized, game-based lessons with speech recognition for pronunciation and handwriting practice for characters.
Mandarin Blueprint
Best for: Busy adults who want a course with a clear daily plan, tutoring and coaching, starting with a free version.
Ninchanese
Best for: Learners who want a gamified Chinese course covering HSK 1 to 6 grammar, characters and speaking, with a free account.
Pleco
Best for: Anyone reading Chinese who wants a dictionary app that looks up words live through the camera or by handwriting.
Skritter
Best for: Students who want to write Chinese characters by hand and get real-time, stroke-level grading as they practise.
The Chairman's Bao
Best for: Intermediate students and teachers who want news-based graded reading lessons in Chinese, sorted into levels.
Which type of Chinese app you need at each stage
- Day one: a game-based course such as HelloChinese.
- Learning characters: a character trainer such as Skritter or Hack Chinese.
- Your first real reading: a graded reader such as Du Chinese.
- Reading the news: The Chairman's Bao.
- Looking up anything you see: a dictionary app such as Pleco.
- Preparing for HSK exams: a course organised by HSK level, such as Ninchanese.
Why Mandarin takes longer than French or Spanish
The US Department of State's Foreign Service Institute groups languages by how long they take a native English speaker to learn. It puts Mandarin in Category IV, the super-hard languages, at 88 weeks or 2,200 class hours.
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That's around three times longer than French or Spanish. It doesn't mean you can't learn Mandarin with apps. It means you should choose apps you'll still enjoy in a year, and judge progress by what you can read and say, not by how fast you finish a course.
Learning characters without burning out
- Learn the most common characters first, not the hardest or prettiest ones.
- Write each new character by hand a few times, then let spaced repetition bring it back.
- Learn characters inside words you'll use, rather than as isolated symbols.
- Read graded stories early, even simple ones, so characters appear in context.
- Keep reviews short and daily. Fifteen minutes every day beats two hours on Sunday.
Tones, pinyin and speaking practice
Pinyin is the Latin-alphabet spelling of Mandarin sounds, and it's how most apps start. Use it as scaffolding, then lean on characters as soon as you can, or you'll struggle to read anything real.
Tones change meaning, so practise them out loud from the first week. Apps with speech recognition give instant feedback, but a tutor or a native-speaking friend will catch habits an app can miss.
Mistakes that slow Chinese learners down
- Relying on pinyin for too long. Move to characters early.
- Ignoring tones. Practise them aloud from the start.
- Collecting apps instead of using one. Pick two and stick with them.
- Never reading anything real. Graded readers bridge the gap.
Do you make a Chinese learning app? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing Chinese learning apps
Don't look for one app that does everything. Pair a beginner course with a character trainer for the first months, then add a graded reader and a dictionary as soon as you can read short sentences.
Whatever you pick, practise a little every day. My ten-minutes-a-day language prompts are an easy way to add speaking practice between lessons.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to learn Chinese as a beginner?
A game-based course that covers tones, pinyin and basic characters is the easiest start. Add a character trainer once the basics feel comfortable.
Can you learn Mandarin with apps alone?
You can get far with apps for reading and vocabulary, but you'll need real conversations with people to become confident speaking.
How long does it take to learn Mandarin?
The US Foreign Service Institute lists Mandarin at 88 weeks of full-time training for English speakers, one of the longest of any language.
Should I learn simplified or traditional characters?
Most courses teach simplified characters, used in mainland China. Choose traditional if you'll live in Taiwan or Hong Kong or read material from there.
What is HSK?
HSK is the standard Chinese proficiency test. Many apps organise lessons by HSK level, which helps if you plan to sit the exam.
Do I need to learn to write characters by hand?
Not always, but writing them by hand helps many learners remember them, even if they mostly type later.
