Key takeaways
- italki is the top app for learning Chinese because it connects you with a live native Chinese teacher who corrects pronunciation in the moment, something self-study apps built around drills and flashcards do not do.
- HelloChinese and Du Chinese work well for structured self-study, with gamified lessons and graded reading that build vocabulary, character recognition, and reading skills.
- ChinesePod and Skritter fill specific gaps: audio lessons for listening practice, and dedicated stroke order drills for character writing.
- For most Chinese learners, the fastest path to speaking confidently combines a structured chinese language learning app with regular conversation practice from a native Chinese tutor.
The best app to learn Chinese is italki because it solves a problem most Chinese learning apps cannot: personalized speaking feedback.
Many apps can teach vocabulary, characters, and listening skills. Fewer can tell you when your tones, pronunciation, or word choice are wrong while you’re speaking. Without that feedback, learners often struggle to turn knowledge into conversation skills.
italki addresses this gap through one-on-one lessons with native Chinese teachers, making it a strong choice for learners focused on speaking fluently and confidently.
This guide ranks the 9 best apps to learn Chinese and explains which is best for speaking, vocabulary, listening, character learning, and overall progress.
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Best apps to learn Chinese at a glance
Pricing reflects publicly listed rates at the time of writing. Check each app’s website for current offers.
9 best apps to learn the Chinese language
1. italki: best for live speaking practice with a native Chinese tutor
- Format: Live one-on-one lessons, available on web and mobile app
- Pricing: From $4 per lesson, pay per lesson
- Best for: Conversational fluency, HSK exam prep, business Chinese, all levels
A chinese learning app teaches you a word. It does not tell you that you said it with the wrong tone. italki closes that gap by putting a native Mandarin teacher on the other side of the lesson. With over 1,000 Mandarin teachers to choose from, you find one who matches your exact goal instead of settling for whoever a textbook or app assigns you.
What italki covers that most Chinese learning apps do not:
- Real-time correction of tones, pronunciation, grammar, and word choice during conversation.
- Live speaking practice with native Chinese teachers instead of scripted exercises.
- Personalized lessons tailored to specific goals, including HSK preparation, business Chinese, travel Chinese, and everyday conversation.
- The ability to choose teachers based on specialization, teaching style, and experience.
- Support for both Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese learning paths.
- Human feedback that adapts to your mistakes and learning pace rather than following a fixed curriculum.
Beyond the learning experience, italki also offers a large selection of teachers, flexible scheduling, and pay-per-lesson booking, making it easier to fit Chinese lessons around your goals and availability.
italki Chinese learners reviews:
“My 11-year-old son loves his teacher. They talk in Chinese, learn new words, and practice his reading and writing. His instructor is always prepared, fun, and patient. The activities he shares with him are appropriate for my son’s level, and my son is really enjoying it.”
“Have used italki for 100+ lessons for Chinese and Korean. Tried 10+ other sites before, some good some bad. Teachers have different qualities, but it’s very easy to do trial lessons with different ones to find one or two you work well with on italki. I typically like to have one more structured teacher for grammar and another tutor for more casual practice.”
“I have made such great progress with speaking in Indonesian and in Chinese using this platform. I was really struggling with speaking until I started booking on italki. If there is any language you want to learn, go sign up on here.”
How italki works:
- Create a free account onitalki
- BrowseChinese teachers by price, dialect, availability, and specialty
- Book a trial lesson to test fit
- Schedule regular lessons at a pace and frequency that fits your life
Find a Chinese tutor and book a trial lesson to see how live correction speeds up your speaking.
Find Your Perfect Teacher
Your Chinese doesn’t have to sound like a textbook. Get personalized lessons from native tutors who’ll help you speak naturally, not just correctly.
Book a trial lesson
2. HelloChinese: best app for absolute beginners
- Format: Mobile app with gamified, bite-sized lessons
- Pricing: Free plan; Premium from $11.99/month, with a Premium+ tier available
- Best for: Complete beginners who want daily practice in short bursts
HelloChinese turns the first weeks of Mandarin into short, game-like lessons covering pinyin, basic words, and basic grammar.
Pros:
- Generous free version with real lessons before any paywall
- Speech recognition gives instant feedback on pronunciation
- Interactive exercises fit into short daily sessions
Cons:
- Drills feel repetitive once you pass the early levels
- No live speaking practice with a real person
3. Du Chinese: best app for graded reading practice
- Format: Mobile and web app with leveled stories
- Pricing: From $14.99/month
- Best for: Learners who want to build reading skills without a textbook
Du Chinese sorts its library by HSK level, so engaging stories match your real level instead of throwing you into text written for native speakers.
Pros:
- Stories cover real topics and chinese cultural insights, not standard textbook filler
- Native audio paired with text builds reading and listening together
- Flashcards export to other apps for review
Cons:
- No grammar curriculum or speaking practice
- Premium pricing runs higher than apps that only cover one skill
4. ChinesePod: best Chinese listening app for every level
- Format: Audio and video podcast-style lessons with transcripts
- Pricing: Free plan; Basic $14/month, Premium $29/month
- Best for: Learners who want to build listening comprehension during a commute or workout
ChinesePod has libraries of Chinese listening content online, organized by level and topic.
Pros:
- Large library covering everyday life topics and cultural notes
- Hosts add context that a plain audio file does not
- Works well as a daily listening habit alongside other study tools
Cons:
- No live speaking practice included
- Lessons stand alone rather than following one tightly linked curriculum
5. Yoyo Chinese: best app for structured video lessons
- Format: Pre-recorded video lessons with quizzes and flashcards
- Pricing: From $19.99/month, $399 lifetime
- Best for: Beginners through upper intermediate learners who want a clear curriculum
Yoyo Chinese gives self-study learners a clear path through Mandarin Chinese with a video-based curriculum and a large grammar video library.
Pros:
- Quizzes after every lesson reinforce what was covered
- Downloadable audio reviews and course notes for offline study
- Clear progression from beginner to upper intermediate
Cons:
- No live speaking practice with a person correcting you in real time
- Covers simplified characters only, less ideal if your goal is traditional characters
6. Skritter: best app for character writing and stroke order
- Format: Mobile and web app focused on writing Chinese characters
- Pricing: From $14.99/month, lower on longer plans
- Best for: Learners who want to write characters correctly, beyond simple recognition
Skritter uses handwriting recognition to drill stroke order until writing characters becomes automatic, which most general apps to learn Chinese treat as an afterthought.
Pros:
- Handwriting recognition catches stroke order mistakes as you write
- Covers both simplified and traditional characters
- Vocabulary lists sync with popular textbook series
Cons:
- Narrow focus on characters, with limited features for speaking or listening
- Subscription cost adds up if used as your only app
7. Pleco: best free Chinese dictionary and reading tool
- Format: Mobile dictionary and reading app
- Pricing: Free app; paid add-on bundles from $29.99 one-time
- Best for: Intermediate and advanced learners who need a fast lookup tool
Pleco works less like a course and more like a reference you keep open while reading or chatting with Chinese friends, with instant lookups for characters, example sentences, and stroke order.
Pros:
- Free version covers core dictionary lookup well
- One-time paid bundles instead of an ongoing subscription
- OCR and document reader help with real-world reading practice
Cons:
- Not a structured course, so it pairs better with another app or a tutor
- The user interface feels dated next to newer apps
8. HelloTalk: best language exchange app for native speakers
- Format: Social language exchange app connecting learners with native speakers
- Pricing: Free plan; VIP from around $6.99/month, pricing varies by plan and region
- Best for: Learners who want casual practice chatting with Chinese people
HelloTalk works as a language exchange app where you message and call native Mandarin speakers directly, often building real chinese friends along the way.
Pros:
- Free version covers messaging and basic translation tools
- Exposure to slang and everyday phrasing apps rarely teach
- Useful for casual practice between structured lessons
Cons:
- Feedback quality depends entirely on the language exchange partner you are paired with
- No structured curriculum or guaranteed correction
9. Anki: best app for vocabulary review with spaced repetition
- Format: Flashcard app using spaced-repetition scheduling
- Pricing: Free on desktop and Android; $24.99 one-time on iOS
- Best for: Intermediate and advanced students managing large vocabulary lists
Anki is not built specifically for Chinese, but premade HSK decks make it a strong tool for reviewing chinese words and simplified characters on a schedule that adapts to what you forget.
Pros:
- Free on desktop and Android, with a wide library of shared HSK decks
- Spaced repetition keeps older vocabulary from fading
- Works alongside any other app or tutor without overlap
Cons:
- No built-in lessons, grammar explanations, or speaking practice
- Plain user interface compared to more interactive exercises in gamified apps
How to choose the best app to learn Mandarin Chinese for you
The right app depends on what you are optimizing for: speaking, reading, listening, characters, or daily habit-building. Most learners who make real progress combine a structured app with regular speaking time, rather than expecting one app to cover everything.
By learning goal
By Chinese level
Memorizing vocabulary lists and characters only goes so far. The pronunciation and natural phrasing that make you sound fluent come from regular conversation with a native speaker, not from an app.
italki matches you with a tutor for your exact goal, including conversational fluency, HSK prep, and business Chinese, and charges per lesson so you are never paying for a subscription you are not using.
Recommended readings:
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FAQ
Which app is best for learning Chinese?
italki is one of the best apps for learning Chinese because it combines live speaking practice with personalized feedback from native Chinese teachers. Learners can improve pronunciation, tone accuracy, grammar, listening comprehension, reading, writing, and conversational fluency through one-on-one lessons tailored to their goals.
What is the best app to learn Mandarin Chinese specifically?
italki is one of the best apps for learning Mandarin Chinese because learners receive real-time feedback on pronunciation, tones, grammar, and word choice from native Mandarin teachers. This helps bridge the gap between studying Chinese and speaking it confidently in real conversations.
Are free Chinese learning apps enough to reach fluency?
No. Free Chinese learning apps can help with vocabulary, characters, and listening practice, but fluency usually requires speaking practice and corrective feedback. Working with a native Chinese teacher can help learners improve pronunciation, tone accuracy, grammar, and conversational skills more effectively.
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