Learning Mandarin is probably one of the most difficult goals you’ve set until now. It’s no wonder that you’re trying to use all the possible resources to study it. There are many study guides and apps available for online use. The only thing you have to do is research them well and then choose an app that sticks to you.
Learning Chinese characters is arguably the most difficult part, so you’ll definitely need all the help that you can get. Here are our top 10 apps that’ll help you out.
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ChineseSkill
This app is optimized for English speakers and it offers the free option to learn Chinese characters online. The app breaks down the study of Chinese characters into multiple segments, offering the student increasingly difficult challenges.
The coolest thing about ChineseSkill is that it is game-based, so you get to play and learn at the same time. The characters, handwriting and pronunciation are all simplified to offer beginners the easiest way into the language.
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Skritter
This app is designed for both Chinese and Japanese learners. It features handwriting recognition and offers you real-time grading on your characters. It also gives students the opportunity to write down flashcards and review those characters constantly. The immediate feedback is a huge benefit. With Skritter, you can study at your own pace and get efficient reviewing at the same time.
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Chineasy app
This is one of the more appealing apps from a design point of view. The app teaches you characters in 400+ levels. Each level teaches characters in a very simple yet smart way so that you can breeze through them quickly.
Each successive level uses characters from before to construct ever more difficult words and phrases. It’s designed to help you understand both the structure of a character and its role inside words. It’s ideal for beginners and intermediate-level learners, as there is no punishment for wrong answers – only rewards for right answers.
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Super Chinese
This app uses AI technologies to recognize speech and help you conceptualize faster. The visual stories get you started on learning the basic Chinese characters, while the gamification elements help you enjoy learning the language even more. Super Chinese also uses spaced repetition to help you remember everything easily and effortlessly.
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Zizzle
Zizzle is great because it features learning through stories which visualize the events in pictures, and they can be highly beneficial for learning how to write about those events in Chinese. The app also uses spaced repetition, just as Super Chinese, and offers students access to its flexible services. Zizzle is good for learning basic Chinese quickly.
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HSKOnline
Another app that uses AI to help you learn, HSKOnline offers students the possibility of practicing tests at their own pace. The modules feature active learning of Chinese characters and words with interactive tutors and AI guidance. A personalized study path can be designed for each student individually, segmenting your work into digestible chunks and helping you learn even faster.
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Duolingo
Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning apps available. Learning Chinese with Duolingo can be fun and exciting. You get to experience personalized learning, receive immediate feedback and grading on your work, and keep yourself motivated with rewards. You can learn to write Chinese characters, too, and improve quickly by engaging in repetition modules.
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Pleco
Named the number one Chinese dictionary on the web, Pleco is indeed one of your best options when it comes to studying Chinese characters. You get access to handwriting tools, audio material, document and screen readers, a top-level dictionary, and well-tested methods of learning how to write in Chinese. Their engagement system helps you learn super-fast and effectively!
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Lingodeer
LingoDeer is not designed exclusively for studying Chinese, but it’s an effective tool to learn how to write Putonghua characters. The app uses detailed, complex explanations on how to write in Chinese and chooses a personalized curriculum. It offers highly detailed grammar explanations. There are many practice questions and tests available here, too.
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HelloChinese
This app is all about fun and motivation, great for learning how to write Chinese. It uses the gamification method to keep you pumped and going. There is speech recognition to help you pronounce words better. It features free access to systematic learning of handwriting to make sure you get every stroke and every dot correctly.
Conclusion
Learning Chinese has never been easier in today’s world when you can get access to so many indispensable apps on the web. Practice, practice and more practice is what you need to learn any language. With these, you’ll ace those Putonghua characters in no time, Good Luck!