The best apps to learn Chinese, reviewed by a teacher
What is the best app to learn Chinese? There isn't one: the best set-up combines three tools. A course app for daily habit (HelloChinese or Duolingo), a dictionary (Pleco), and a flashcard app for review (Anki). Add graded reading and listening when you can, and a teacher for speaking and tones. Here is my honest review of each.
By Zoey (Ziqiao Zang), Chinese teacher since 2011
My students often show me their phones in the first lesson: three course apps, two flashcard apps, a streak of 200 days on one of them, and the feeling that they still can’t say much. Apps are wonderful tools, but each does one thing well. The trick is to know which job each app does, and which jobs no app can do. Prices and features below are as of October 2026 and change often.
The apps, at a glance
| App | Best for | Cost | Teacher’s verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| HelloChinese | Structured beginner lessons, pinyin, tones | Free basics, paid premium | Best course app for starting Mandarin |
| Duolingo | Daily habit, basic vocabulary | Free, paid premium | Fun and motivating, limited depth |
| Pleco | Dictionary, character lookup | Free core, paid add-ons | Essential: install it today |
| Anki | Spaced-repetition flashcards | Free (iOS app paid) | Most efficient way to remember words |
| Du Chinese | Graded reading with audio | Free stories, paid subscription | Excellent for reading practice |
HelloChinese
Designed specifically for Chinese, HelloChinese teaches pinyin and tones systematically, includes speech recognition that checks your pronunciation, and builds up characters gradually. For complete beginners it is the strongest course app I know. Its speech recognition is useful but forgiving: it can accept tones a teacher would correct.
Is Duolingo good for Chinese?
Is Duolingo good for Chinese? For habit and motivation, yes: the streaks and short lessons get many people to open the app every day, and you will learn to recognise basic words and characters. For speaking, tones and natural sentences, no: the sentences are sometimes stilted, there is little focus on tones, and progress is slow. My advice: if Duolingo keeps you practising every day, keep it, and add something that trains listening and speaking.
Pleco
Every learner of Chinese should have Pleco. It is a dictionary with example sentences and audio, it lets you look up characters by drawing them with your finger or by pointing your camera at text, and it has an optional flashcard system. When a teacher or a friend uses a word you don’t know, Pleco is how you find it.
Anki
Anki is a flashcard app based on spaced repetition: it shows you a word just before you would forget it. It is not pretty, but it is the most efficient way to keep thousands of words in your memory. Download ready-made HSK decks or, better, make cards from words you met in lessons and reading. On my HSK pages you can download every word list as CSV to import.
Du Chinese
Du Chinese offers graded stories and articles with audio, adjustable pinyin and tap-to-translate. Reading at your level is how vocabulary grows naturally, and this app makes it easy. It works best from HSK 1–2 upwards.
Free resources and YouTube
You can learn a surprising amount for free:
- YouTube: graded stories, pronunciation lessons and podcasts. On my channel, KeSong Chinese, I tell short stories for every HSK level with pinyin, subtitles and grammar notes.
- Online dictionaries: MDBG and the free tier of Pleco.
- Grammar: the Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) explains grammar points by HSK level.
- University courses: free introductory Mandarin courses on Coursera and edX.
- My guides: pinyin and tones, Chinese characters, basic phrases and complete HSK word lists.
The video loads from YouTube when you press play.
Books
If you prefer a textbook, choose one series and stay with it:
- HSK Standard Course (HSK标准教程): one book and workbook per HSK level; the natural choice if the exam is your goal.
- Integrated Chinese: widely used at universities, thorough and structured.
- Graded readers, such as the Mandarin Companion series, for extensive reading from about HSK 2.
When an app is enough, and when you need a teacher
An app is enough if your goal is a few phrases for a trip, recognising characters on menus, or keeping a habit alive between other learning.
You need a teacher, or at least a conversation partner, when you want to:
- get your tones right: apps can’t reliably hear what is wrong, and wrong tones become habits;
- speak in your own sentences, not only recognise others’;
- understand natural, fast speech;
- prepare for an exam with a plan and mock tests;
- use Chinese at work.
The best way to learn Chinese
The best way to learn Chinese is the one that combines input (listening and reading), review (flashcards) and output (speaking and writing with feedback), and that you can keep up for months. Apps cover the first two very well. For the third, see online Chinese lessons or start with the course for beginners.
Frequently asked questions
Is Duolingo actually good for Chinese?
It is good for building a daily habit and for recognising basic words and characters, and it is free. It is weak on tones, natural sentences and real speaking practice, and progress through its Chinese course is slow compared with a structured course. Use it as a supplement, not as your only method.
What is the best online program or website to learn Chinese?
For self-study, a combination works best: HelloChinese for structured beginner lessons, Pleco as a dictionary, Anki for spaced repetition, Du Chinese for graded reading, and YouTube channels with graded stories. If you need speaking practice and feedback, online lessons with a qualified teacher fill the gap that apps leave.
Can you learn Chinese with apps only?
You can learn a lot of vocabulary and characters with apps alone, and reach a basic reading level. Most learners who rely only on apps struggle with tones, listening to natural speech and producing their own sentences. That is where a teacher, a conversation partner or a language exchange makes the difference.
What is the best book to learn Chinese?
For exam-oriented learners, the HSK Standard Course series follows the HSK levels. Integrated Chinese is a widely used university textbook series. For grammar, the free Chinese Grammar Wiki is an excellent reference. Choose one main textbook and stick with it rather than switching often.
Learn with Zoey
One-to-one or in a small group, online or in Amsterdam by arrangement. Tell Zoey what you want to achieve and she will suggest a plan.
Keep reading
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Beginners
Start from zero: pinyin, tones, your first characters and real conversations.
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Online lessons
Live one-to-one or small-group lessons on Zoom, from anywhere.
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How long does it take to learn Chinese?
Realistic hours per HSK level, what is hard, what is easy, and a 12-month plan.
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Pinyin and the four tones
A clickable pinyin chart, the four tones, tone pairs and the classic mistakes.
About the author
Zoey (Ziqiao Zang, 臧子乔) has taught Chinese as a foreign language since 2011 and in the Netherlands since 2016. She holds a Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Zhejiang Normal University and set up and ran an official HSK online exam centre with more than 250 candidates.