Honest app comparison

The best app to learn Chinese — sorted by what you actually want to do

There is no single best app to learn Chinese. Every "top 10" list pretends otherwise and ends up recommending the same five apps in every slot. The honest answer is shorter: figure out which one thing you want to learn, then use the one tool built for that.

Quick decision table

Pick one goal first

Most people who ask "what's the best app to learn Chinese?" are really asking "what should I install first?" The answer depends on what kind of learner you are and what part of Chinese you actually care about. The sections below take the most common goals one at a time.

For absolute beginners: HelloChinese

HelloChinese is the strongest free Mandarin beginner course on mobile. It teaches pinyin, tones, character recognition, and basic grammar in a structured path. The free tier covers the first several units, and the premium upgrade unlocks the full course. Unlike Duolingo, HelloChinese is purpose-built for Mandarin — it treats characters and tones as first-class citizens rather than bolting them onto a generic template.

Use HelloChinese when you have zero background and want one app that covers everything at a basic level. It is the closest thing to a "Chinese 101 in your pocket."

For dictionary and lookup: Pleco

Pleco has been the standard Chinese-English dictionary for over a decade, and nothing has displaced it. The free version covers everyday lookup well. Paid add-ons unlock OCR (point your camera at a sign and read it), advanced dictionaries, flashcards, and document reading. Most serious Mandarin learners eventually install Pleco regardless of what else they use.

Pleco is a reference tool, not a course. It will not teach you Mandarin on its own. Pair it with whatever course or character app you choose.

For handwriting: Skritter

Skritter is the market leader for Chinese handwriting practice. The app walks you through stroke order, corrects mistakes, and uses spaced repetition to schedule writing reviews. It is the right choice if you want to actually write Chinese by hand — for exams, calligraphy, or classroom requirements.

Skritter is also the wrong choice if you do not care about handwriting. Modern Mandarin learners increasingly skip writing entirely, since typing is done through pinyin input on phones and computers, and reading fluency is what most people actually need. If that describes you, the next section is the one.

For visual character recognition: InkSeal

InkSeal is built for the specific job of recognizing Chinese characters on the page, without spending hours on handwriting drills. Every character in the library is paired with a hand-crafted ink illustration that keeps the character's shape visible inside the artwork. You long- press a character, the picture fades in, and the meaning becomes something you can see rather than something you have to memorize.

The library covers 1,799 HSK 1–6 characters today (HSK 7 expansion planned), 260 browsable components, 5,300 example words, and 3,562 confusable character pairs. The first 100 characters are free; the full library unlocks once for $29.99. No subscription, no ads, no required account. iOS today, with Android on the roadmap.

InkSeal is the right choice when you want to read Chinese — menus, signs, captions, simple text — and when you specifically do not want to drill stroke order or fight a gamified streak. The longer method writeup is in learn Chinese characters visually. The broader guide to the writing system is at Chinese characters: how they work.

How InkSeal compares to other visual character apps

Three apps occupy the visual / mnemonic character-learning niche. They differ on price, platform, and method.

InkSeal is the lowest lifetime cost and the only iOS-native option. The tradeoff is that the library is HSK-scoped at 1,799 today (HSK 7 expansion planned) rather than 3,000+, and the Android version is on the roadmap but not yet shipped. Zizzle suits learners who want handwriting included and have a budget for the higher lifetime price. HanziHero suits learners who want a more analytical, component-led approach.

For DIY flashcards: Anki

Anki is the open-source standard for spaced-repetition flashcards. It is free on desktop and Android, and a $25 one-time purchase on iOS. The catch is that Anki ships empty — you build your own decks or download community decks of variable quality. The strength is total flexibility; the weakness is the time spent curating cards instead of learning.

Use Anki if you genuinely enjoy deck-building and want full control. Use a pre-built app like InkSeal, HelloChinese, or Skritter if you would rather skip the curation and start reviewing.

For graded reading: Du Chinese and The Chairman's Bao

Once you can recognize 500 to 1,000 characters, graded readers unlock the next stage. Du Chinese and The Chairman's Bao both publish HSK- leveled stories with built-in tap-to-translate. They are reading practice, not character-learning apps — pair them with InkSeal or Skritter for the character side.

For the gamified daily habit: Duolingo

Duolingo's Mandarin course exists and works as a daily habit anchor. It is the weakest option in this list for actually understanding the writing system — characters arrive without enough scaffolding — but the streak mechanics are real, and habit is the rate-limiting factor for most learners. Use Duolingo as a habit driver alongside a stronger character or course app, not as the main tool.

The one thing to ignore

Almost every "top Chinese apps" article will list 10 to 20 apps as if you should install them all. You shouldn't. Pick the one tool for your one goal, use it daily for a month, and add a second app only when you hit a specific limit. Five mediocre apps used briefly will teach you less than one good app used consistently.

Get InkSeal on the App Store