Best Apps for Learning Chinese 2024: improve your language skills

Discover the best apps for learning Chinese and improve your language skills.

Mastering a new language offers valuable mental stimulation, opportunities to connect with diverse individuals, and a gateway to understanding other cultures. There are a lot of best apps for learning Chinese, but not all of them are made for learning Chinese.

Mandarin Chinese is hard to learn because it has a complicated writing system and different tones that can be hard for Westerners to understand at first. Language learners are lucky that there are a lot of specialized apps that can help them on their journey. Below we have mentioned the best apps for learning chinese.

Best Apps for Learning Chinese Comparison Table

AppFeaturesUser-Friendly InterfaceOffline ModeVocabulary ExpansionPronunciation PracticeGamificationOfficial Link
AnkiFlashcard system, customizable decksYesYesYesNoNoVisit Website
PlecoComprehensive dictionary, OCR functionalityYesYesYesNoNoVisit Website
PimsleurAudio-based lessons, interactive exercisesYesYesLimitedYesNoVisit Website
DuolingoGamified lessons, interactive exercisesYesYesYesYesYesVisit Website
HelloChineseStructured lessons, speech recognitionYesYesYesYesYesVisit Website

Anki 

Best Apps for Learning Chinese

Features

  • System for learning and reviewing based on flash cards.
  • It lets you make and import your own decks.
  • Spaced repetition is a good way to learn quickly.

Anki is a free, open-source, and cross-platform flashcard program that has a lot of features. However, the iOS version costs money. This means that you can use Anki on any device to learn Chinese. The Spaced Repetition System, or SRS, is used by Anki. It shows how well you understand a word.

The process is then repeated at regular intervals to help you remember it for good. Ankit Flashcards is completely free and open-source, but iOS costs some money. It is free to download and has more than 100,000 card decks. Currently, this is one of the best Apps for Learning Chinese you can consider now.

Pros

  • A customizable flashcard system lets you learn in your own way.
  • A large collection of content made by users and shared decks.
  • Good for learning new words and characters.

Cons

  • Because it can be changed, it has a steeper learning curve.
  • It doesn’t have any interactive features or organized lessons.
  • Flashcard decks have to be made by hand or downloaded.

Pleco 

Best Apps for Learning Chinese

Features

  • The app is a complete Chinese dictionary.
  • Provides detailed definitions, examples, and audio pronunciations.
  • Optical Character Recognition (OCR) lets you translate text from images.

Pleco has a lot of other features that make it an important tool for students. It is a good dictionary with pronunciations in the native language. Even if you are not connected to the internet, you can use the dictionary. Characters can be found in a variety of ways, such as through writing, drawing, or taking photos with your camera. Additionally, you can look up words using pinyin, Chinese characters, or both.

It comes in two packages with a lot of dictionaries and tools in each. The price of the Basic is $29.90, while the price of the Professional is $59.99. Pleco also has dozens of other bundles and add-ons that you can buy separately or all at once. Thus, this is one of the best Apps for Learning Chinese you can consider now.

Pros

  • Full-featured Chinese-English dictionary that covers a lot of ground.
  • Offers OCR so that characters can be read instantly.
  • Includes example sentences and audio pronunciation.

Cons

  • Most of the features were about the dictionary and other references.
  • Few structured ways to learn a language.
  • Some of the more advanced features require in-app purchases.

Pimsleur 

Best Apps for Learning Chinese

Features

  • Program for learning a language through listening.
  • Focuses on how to listen and speak.
  • uses a structured approach based on a conversation.

The Pimsleur course is a breath of fresh air in terms of how easy it is to use and how nice it looks. Also, their audio lessons have been shown to be a good way to learn any language on the platform. It helps the audios and other tools because it gives you a lot of speaking and listening practice and looks nice.

The 30-minute audio sessions of the Mandarin course are made so that you can soon start to think and speak in Chinese. You’ll have lots of chances to practice repeating what people say and answering questions out loud. For now, this is one of the best Apps for Learning Chinese you can consider now.

Pros

  • Emphasizes spoken language and listening skills.
  • Offers structured audio lessons for real-world conversation.
  • Focuses on learning a language in a natural way by repeating it.

Cons

  • Compared to other apps, this one is less fun to use.
  • Compared to other language apps, this one has a higher price.

Duolingo

Best Apps for Learning Chinese

Features

  • Platform for learning languages through games.
  • Offers interactive lessons and quizzes.
  • It covers vocabulary, grammar, and how to understand what you hear.

Let’s take care of this one first. If you want to learn a language, chances are you have already used Duolingo. It’s one of the best apps for learning languages, and it has lessons for more than 30 languages, including Mandarin Chinese. Work through the different levels to get from your first words to semi-complex sentences. Currently, this is one of the best Apps for Learning Chinese you can consider now.

As you learn, you get points, and every week you compete with your friends to see who has the best score. The main problem with Duolingo is that it teaches almost every language the same way. Other apps on this list are made just for learning Chinese, so they make it easier to understand the grammar and written characters.

Pros

  • With interactive exercises, learning is made more like a game.
  • Gives beginners a well-structured curriculum to follow.

Cons

  • Less emphasis on how well you can speak.
  • Some translations might be too simple or not fit the culture.

HelloChinese

Best Apps for Learning Chinese

Features

  • App for beginners that is interactive.
  • Provides lessons, exercises, and quizzes.
  • Reading, writing, listening, and talking skills are stressed.

HelloChinese might be the best app to start learning Mandarin Chinese. Like many of the other apps on this list, you work your way up through different levels as you learn more and better understand the language. The first part of HelloChinese shows you how to read pinyin, which is a way to write Mandarin that uses letters instead of Chinese characters.

From there, you can play award-winning games to learn new words, grammar rules, and how to make sentences. By the end of the app, you should be able to talk to people in Mandarin. For now, this is one of the best Apps for Learning Chinese you can consider now.

Pros

  • Offers structured lessons and exercises that you can do with others.
  • Includes game-like elements to keep people interested.

Cons

  • Content may be better for beginning learners than for more advanced ones.
  • Not much was said about Chinese culture and history.

FAQs

Are these apps suitable for beginners?

Yes, most of the apps mentioned have courses for people who are just starting out. They give you lessons that teach you the basics of the Chinese language step by step, including how to say things, use words, and understand grammar.

Do these apps cover both simplified and traditional Chinese characters?

It’s up to the app. Some apps, like Pleco, support both simplified and traditional Chinese characters. But others may focus mostly on simplified characters or let you choose which set of characters you want to use.

Are these apps free to use?

Many of these apps have free versions that don’t have as many features or give you access to less content. But they often have paid subscriptions or in-app purchases that let you use all of the features and content. The prices for each app are different, so the best way to find out more is to visit their app stores.

Dian Erwin
Dian Erwin
Dian Erwin is a review writer for Bollyinside, covering topics related to computing, such as laptops, tablets, phones, and other hardware. Dian spends much too much of his free time on Twitter, reading speculative fiction novels, playing video games, and reading comic books. He also enjoys reading video game manuals.

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