Learning a foreign language is a great way to keep your mind busy, expand your social circle, and learn about other cultures. There are many great apps out there for learning different languages, but when it comes to Mandarin, the choice is limited.
It is considered one of the most difficult languages. Largely because it uses complex written signs (hieroglyphs), and the pronunciation sounds very unusual for a foreigner. Fortunately, there are good specialized applications that will help you with this.
HelloChinese
HelloChinese is probably the best app for beginners who want to learn Chinese. Like many other apps in this list, this app takes you through levels one by one, gradually building up your knowledge and improving your understanding.
HelloChinese lessons begin with an explanation of the rules for reading Pinyin, the written form of Mandarin that uses Latin characters instead of hieroglyphs. Vocabulary is expanded, grammar rules are learned, and sentence construction is taught in a playful manner. If you successfully complete all levels, you will be able to communicate in Mandarin.
Available for Android And iPhone.
Skritter Chinese
Learning to read and write is a very important part of learning a foreign language. Firstly, many characters are used not only in Mandarin, but also in Cantonese. The more characters you know, the more people you will be able to communicate with. Secondly, reading and writing are very important when meeting speakers of regional dialects. These dialects may be so far removed from Mandarin that you simply cannot understand their speakers.
Skritter is the best app for learning Chinese characters. It lets you learn over 10,000 characters, which is over 400,000 words. If you don't want to pay, keep in mind that the free version is only free for seven days. But that's enough time to learn the most common characters.
Available for Android And iPhone.
Duolingo
If you are interested in learning languages, you have probably already used the Duolingo platform. It is one of the best learning apps with courses for learning 30 languages, including Chinese.
As you progress through the levels, you will progress from simple to complex, from first words to sentences and dialogues. As you learn, you will earn points and compete with other users for the best results.
The big drawback of Duolingo is that it uses almost the same program to learn different languages. Other apps from our rating make it easier to learn grammar and hieroglyphs, since the software was developed specifically for learning Chinese.
Available for Android And iPhone.
LingoDeer
LingoDeer is a great option if you want to learn how to speak, read, and write. The beautifully structured app uses a minimum of English to help you think in Chinese faster. Hands-on writing exercises will also enrich your vocabulary, and by the end of the course you'll be able to speak Mandarin fluently and understand native speakers (as long as they don't speak too fast).
Listening will not only improve your foreign language comprehension skills, but will also help you improve your pronunciation. After each lesson, your comprehension of the material is checked, which allows you to see your progress in the learning process and understand what weak points need to be improved.
Available for Android And iPhone.
Pleco Chinese Dictionary
No matter how much time you spend studying Mandarin, there will always be characters you don't know. To fill in the gaps in your language knowledge, there's nothing better than the Pleco Chinese Dictionary.
Pleco not only gives you definitions and pronunciations of words you don't know, but also shows you examples of how those words are used in a sentence. Words can be broken down to determine the root or other components they are made of.
Find what you're looking for by typing in pinyin characters, hieroglyphs, or using the English search. You can even use your smartphone's camera to capture Chinese characters from signs and labels, but you'll need to pay for an in-app upgrade to enable this feature.
Available for Android And iPhone.
SuperTest
Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) is a standardized test used to assess proficiency in Chinese. It consists of several levels, arranged in order of increasing difficulty of the material, including a large number of common words and expressions. Starting from HSK 1, the basics, and ending with HSK 6, fluency in Mandarin.
Some other apps in our ranking have dictionaries that are compatible with HSK dictionaries, so you can choose what you want to learn. So why not get the information from the source instead of third-party apps?
To start working with the application, the user must already have some basic knowledge. The application offers specially designed lessons that will help you significantly improve your listening, reading and writing skills in Chinese. Start HSK lessons from the very beginning or test yourself to find out at what level you should start learning.