Learn Chinese Without Flashcards (and Still Remember the Words)
Learn Chinese without flashcards and the question is where the repetition comes from. In Chenjin it comes from reading: a library of graded articles and books where the same high-frequency words keep reappearing in new sentences, games where reading the line is how you win, and a vocabulary map that tracks what you know from your reading alone. Flashcards exist, but nothing depends on them.
Reading is the repetition
The 1,500 most common words cover most of any text, which means a graded library repeats them for you without a deck. Every article shows a familiarity meter and the count of words you haven't met, so you can pick texts that are mostly known with a few new words each, the mix that makes words stick from context.
Mark a word known when you recognize it in the wild and the reader stops highlighting it. That click is the whole bookkeeping.
Games where reading is the mechanic
The Night Peddler puts you on a night road where characters speak Chinese lines and you pick an action; only reading the line correctly gets you through. Escape rooms lock doors behind Chinese notes, mystery cases hinge on testimony, and the shop game has customers asking for things out loud. None of them show you a card.
A drill that isn't a card
If you want to test recall, cloze dictation plays a sentence from the article you just read and blanks only the hard words for you to type. It's graded per character and feeds a map of the sounds you keep missing. Dictation is part of the Plus plan, with a 7-day trial.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any flashcard system at all?
Yes, an optional one. Any word can be added to FSRS-scheduled review with one tap, and a free account allows 5 new cards a day. If you never tap it, nothing else changes.
How do I know I'm progressing without reviews?
The vocabulary map and the known-word count grow as you mark words known, the familiarity meter on new articles climbs, and the dashboard shows your reading activity by day.
Will I forget words without spaced repetition?
You'll forget rare words either way. Common words come back on their own in graded reading, which is the point of reading at the right level. For rare words you care about, that's what the optional card is for.
Keep exploring
Try it tonight
The free plan includes the dictionary, the free graded reader, three library articles a day, games, and flashcards. If it fits the way you learn, the Plus plan unlocks the rest with a 7-day free trial.
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