The 5 Best Apps to Learn Chinese in 2026
In Mandarin Chinese, saying the same syllable with a different pitch changes the meaning completely, and that is the wall every beginner hits. The app you pick has to correct your tones from day one, or you will simply be memorising mistakes. In this guide we compare the 5 best apps to learn Chinese in 2026.
Apps for studying Mandarin Chinese on your phone
Apps to learn Chinese on your phone with tone correction by voice, character stroke order, pinyin, a camera dictionary and HSK exam preparation.
Top pick
HelloChinese: Aprende Chino
Free (with purchases) · 10M+
Best overall
4.8
405K reviews
TopApps analysis
HelloChinese is built for Chinese only and it shows: it corrects your tones with speech recognition and teaches characters with animated stroke order.
HelloChinese is the best Mandarin-specific app and fixes what Duolingo gets wrong: it teaches tones with speech recognition that corrects you, introduces characters with animated strokes and actually explains the grammar. It was built for Chinese only, and that shows in every lesson.
Pros
- Teaches tones with voice correction
- Characters with animated stroke order
- Clear grammar explanations
Cons
- Only useful for Mandarin Chinese
- Advanced levels require a subscription
- The interface is in English, not Spanish
Pleco: Diccionario de Chino
Free (with purchases) · 5M+
The dictionary you cannot skip
4.8
44K reviews
TopApps analysis
Pleco is the reference Chinese dictionary: search by pinyin, by drawing the character by hand or by pointing the camera at a menu, and it works offline.
Pleco is the reference Chinese dictionary and becomes essential the moment you move past the first few lessons: look words up by pinyin, by handwriting the character, or by pointing the camera at a text. The base version is free and works entirely offline.
Pros
- The best Chinese dictionary there is
- Look up characters by writing them by hand
- Camera reader for texts and menus
Cons
- It is a dictionary, not a course
- Extra dictionaries and features are paid
- Dense, dated interface
Duolingo: Aprende Idiomas
Free (with purchases) · 500M+
Best free starting point
4.7
47.0M reviews
TopApps analysis
Duolingo eases you into Chinese for free, though it is worth knowing that it works on tones far less than this language demands.
Duolingo is the world's most popular language-learning app, with more than 40 languages and a gamified method that keeps you coming back. Five-minute lessons, streaks, levels and rewards turn studying into a daily game. It is free (with ads) and ideal for starting a language or keeping one alive without much effort.
Pros
- More than 40 languages available
- Gamified method that hooks you and keeps you going
- Short lessons that fit into any day
Cons
- The free version shows ads
- Less focused on real conversation than Babbel
- Duolingo Super (ad-free) is paid
AnkiDroid: Tarjetas de Memoria
AnkiDroid Open Source Team · Free · 10M+
Best for characters
4.8
164K reviews
TopApps analysis
AnkiDroid with spaced repetition is the most effective way to retain characters long term, and the community has full HSK decks ready to use.
AnkiDroid is the Android version of the most respected spaced repetition system around, used for years by medical and language students. It works out when you're about to forget a card and shows it to you right then. It's free, unlimited, and there are thousands of ready-made decks to download.
Pros
- Spaced repetition, the most effective way to memorise anything
- Free and open source, with no limits
- Thousands of decks already made by the community
Cons
- Dated, unintuitive interface
- Setting decks up properly takes time
- The iPhone version is paid and comes from a different developer
Last updated: 2026-05-04
Mondly: Aprende 41 Idiomas
Mondly by Pearson · Free (with purchases) · 50M+
Best in your own language
4.5
927K reviews
TopApps analysis
Mondly teaches Chinese directly from your own language and its speech recognition keeps pushing on pronunciation.
Mondly covers 41 languages, far more than Babbel or Busuu, and it is one of the few that teaches from your own language instead of routing everything through English. Lessons are short, with speech recognition to correct your pronunciation, plus a chatbot for practising basic conversations.
Pros
- 41 languages, several of them unusual
- Teaches from your own language, not through English
- Speech recognition to fix your pronunciation
Cons
- Without a subscription you only get one lesson a day
- Less grammar depth than Babbel
- Quality varies a lot from language to language
Frequently asked questions
Is Chinese very hard to learn?
It depends which part. Mandarin grammar is among the simplest there is: no genders, no conjugations, no plurals. The difficulty sits in two specific places, the tones and the characters. If you tackle those two from the start with the right tools, Chinese turns out less impossible than its reputation suggests.
How many Chinese characters do you need to know?
With around 1,500 to 2,000 characters you can read a newspaper comfortably, and around 600 covers HSK level 3, enough for everyday conversation. The standard way to learn them is spaced repetition with AnkiDroid, leaning on HelloChinese to understand how they are built and on Pleco to look them up.
What is pinyin and do you need to learn it?
Pinyin is the transcription of Chinese into our alphabet, with marks that indicate the tone. It is essential: it is how you type on a phone keyboard and how pronunciation is studied. But it is best not to stay on it too long, because reading only pinyin delays learning the real characters.
Are these apps enough to prepare for the HSK exam?
HelloChinese builds its progression around the HSK levels, HSK being the official Chinese exam, and it is the best fit for that goal. AnkiDroid has widely used HSK vocabulary decks by level. For the higher levels, though, you will need dedicated exam material and listening practice beyond the apps.
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