Best Apps to Learn Chinese in 2026, Honestly Ranked

沉浸 TeamAugust 11, 20266 min read

Searching for the best apps to learn Chinese gets you a wall of top-10 lists that rank whoever pays the best commission. This one works differently: we rank by use case, we list every app's weaknesses, and yes, our own app is in here with a clear disclosure. The short version: there is no single best app, because "learn Chinese" is several different jobs. Pick one app per job.

The quick answers:

Best for total beginners: HelloChinese
Best for reading and overall progress after the basics: Chenjin (that's us) or Du Chinese
Best dictionary: Pleco
Best free flashcards: Anki
Best video teaching: Yoyo Chinese
Best for tones: Chenjin's Tone Coach

How we judged

Three questions per app: Does it give you real Chinese input at your level? Does it make words stick (context + spaced repetition)? Does it give feedback on the hard parts (tones, listening)? Apps that only quiz you on translations score low here no matter how polished they look.

The apps, by job

1. HelloChinese: best zero-to-beginner course

A gamified, Duolingo-style course built specifically for Mandarin, and it shows: proper tone drills, speech recognition that catches bad pronunciation, stroke-order writing practice, and clear grammar notes. The free tier covers a lot.

Strengths: the smoothest first three months in any app; good habit mechanics.
Weaknesses: content thins out around HSK 3; lesson-style learning stops being enough once you need volume.

Full breakdown: our HelloChinese review.

2. Chenjin: best for reading-driven progress (disclosure: this is us)

Chenjin is built around one idea: after the basics, your fastest progress comes from reading and listening to graded stories, with every word one tap from its meaning. The library runs HSK 2 to 7, including full novels, and everything feeds one loop: tap a word, it becomes a flashcard with its sentence, the FSRS scheduler reviews it, and the story keeps you coming back.

Strengths: graded stories with audio, built-in SRS (or Anki sync), dictation practice in three modes, Tone Coach pitch feedback, video study with a Chrome extension, and games for review days. The free plan includes 3 stories a day and a complete novel, The Country of the Blind.
Weaknesses: not a beginner course. If you don't know pinyin and your first 200 words yet, start with HelloChinese or Yoyo Chinese for a couple of months, then come here. Speaking practice is pronunciation-focused; for conversation you still want a human.

3. Du Chinese: polished graded reading lessons

A well-made graded reading app with short story-lessons across six levels, synced audio, and tap-to-translate. If you want bite-size daily reading with high production values, it delivers.

Strengths: lesson quality and audio; gentle level ramp.
Weaknesses: flashcard review is basic, there's no pronunciation feedback, and lessons are mostly short pieces rather than full books.

Full breakdown: our Du Chinese review.

4. The Chairman's Bao: graded news

Thousands of news articles rewritten at HSK levels, with vocab lists and grammar notes per article. Great for adults who'd rather read about the world than about a panda's day at school.

Strengths: huge archive, grown-up topics, grammar notes.
Weaknesses: news-register Chinese gets samey, and short articles never build the pull of a story you need to finish.

Full breakdown: our Chairman's Bao review.

5. Pleco: the dictionary everyone needs

Free, fast, offline, with handwriting input and camera lookup as add-ons. Pleco isn't a learning method, it's infrastructure. Install it on day one regardless of what else you use.

6. Anki: the free SRS powerhouse

The most capable spaced-repetition app there is, free on desktop and Android. Endless shared Chinese decks, endless customization. The catches: setup takes effort, and pre-made decks teach you words without context, which is the slow way. Best used with cards mined from your own reading and watching (Chenjin can send cards straight to Anki if you prefer it as your review home).

7. Yoyo Chinese: best video teaching

Structured video courses taught in clear English, with an interactive pinyin chart that's still one of the best pronunciation resources anywhere. Ideal if you learn best from a teacher explaining things to camera.

Strengths: pronunciation and grammar explanations; well-sequenced curriculum.
Weaknesses: watching is passive, and the courses top out around intermediate.

Full breakdown: our Yoyo Chinese review.

8. Skritter: best for handwriting

Draw characters on screen with stroke-level feedback and SRS scheduling. If handwriting is a goal, it's the best tool for that one job. If you mainly type, our free printable practice sheets may be all you need.

9. Duolingo: fine streak trainer, weak for Chinese

Honest take: Duolingo's Mandarin course underserves the two hard parts, tones and characters, and its translation-tap exercises don't build reading. It's pleasant, it's free, and its streak mechanic gets people showing up daily, which counts for something. But if Chinese is a serious goal, HelloChinese does the same job better for beginners.

10. LingQ and Migaku: for import-your-own-content learners

Both let you turn arbitrary content (websites, videos, subtitles) into study material with lookups and SRS. Powerful for upper-intermediate learners with strong opinions about their content; fiddlier than a curated library, and comprehension depends on what you feed them. Chenjin's video study mode plus Chrome extension covers much of this territory with less setup.

Best free apps to learn Chinese

A fully free stack that goes a long way:

HelloChinese free tier for beginner lessons.
Pleco as your dictionary.
Anki for flashcards.
Chenjin's free plan for graded reading: 3 stories a day, the full free novel, dictionary pages for every HSK word, and the pinyin converter and practice-sheet tools.

How to combine apps without wasting money

Months 1–3: HelloChinese (or Yoyo Chinese) + Pleco + 10 minutes of tone practice.
Month 4 onward: a graded reading app becomes your main study; keep one SRS (built-in or Anki).
Intermediate: add video study and a weekly tutor. Drop the beginner course; it did its job.

Two apps at a time, used daily, beats seven apps sampled. The full method, week by week, is in how to learn Chinese, and the wider toolbox (podcasts, books, sites) is in Chinese learning resources.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best app to learn Mandarin overall?

For your first months, HelloChinese. After that, a graded reading platform with built-in review (Chenjin, or Du Chinese) becomes the best daily driver, because input volume is what moves intermediate learners forward.

Are paid Chinese apps worth it?

One good subscription used daily is worth it; three used weekly aren't. Most apps here cost $5–15 a month. Decide which job matters most (course, reading, handwriting) and pay for that one.

What about AI Chinese learning apps?

AI has added some genuinely useful abilities: instant example sentences, pronunciation scoring with pitch curves, and automatic transcription. It also has real limits. We cover both in AI-based Chinese learning apps.

Can apps alone make me fluent?

Apps can carry reading, listening, vocabulary, and pronunciation a long way. Conversation needs humans: a tutor, a partner, or a class. See Chinese classes for adults for options and costs.

If reading-driven learning sounds like your style, create a free Chenjin account and try it today: tap-to-look-up stories, native audio, and flashcards that build themselves. No credit card needed.