Best App to Learn Chinese According to Reddit: What Learners Recommend

Reddit recommendation summary

Rank	Option	Best for	Reddit pattern
1	italki	Speaking, tones, correction, accountability	Learners use it when solo apps and free exchanges are not enough for real conversation
2	HelloChinese	Beginner structure	Often recommended for beginners who need grammar, stories, and a guided path
3	SuperChinese	Listening and speaking drills	Frequently praised for dialogue, audio, and output practice
4	Pleco	Dictionary and lookup	Treated as an essential Chinese support tool
5	Anki	Vocabulary and character review	Useful for spaced repetition and custom review
6	Du Chinese / LingQ	Reading and input	Helps learners move beyond short app sentences
7	Skritter	Character writing	Useful for handwriting and stroke practice

Key takeaways

• Choose by skill: speaking, structure, lookup, review, reading, or writing.
• italki fits best when the learner wants live Chinese lessons with conversation, tone correction, and teacher feedback.
• HelloChinese and SuperChinese are useful course-style apps, but they are not a complete speaking solution.
• Pleco is useful because Chinese learners constantly need lookup, pronunciation, examples, and character support.
• Anki, Du Chinese, LingQ, and Skritter are specialist tools, not full learning systems.
• The main Reddit warning is fragmentation: too many apps, not enough speaking, and no clear feedback loop.

The strongest version of this advice is simple: use one app to study, one tool to review or read, and one way to get feedback. If you add more than that, each tool should have a clear job.

How we analyzed Reddit Chinese learning app discussions

We reviewed 26 Reddit threads from r/ChineseLanguage and r/languagelearning. The focus was not raw mentions, but useful learner reasoning: why someone chose an app, where it helped, and where it fell short.

We gave more weight to comments that named a specific use case, such as tones, speaking, reading, structure, or review.

Threads reviewed

Reddit thread	Main pattern
Best apps for learning Mandarin?	Broad app recommendations: italki/tutors, HelloChinese, Pleco, Du Chinese, LingQ
Best app to learn Chinese?	Stack pattern: tutor/textbook, HelloChinese, SuperChinese, Pleco, Anki, Du Chinese
How is everyone liking the HelloChinese update?	Mixed reactions to HelloChinese course changes
Has anyone used BOTH HelloChinese and SuperChinese?	Direct HelloChinese vs SuperChinese comparison
I’m still unsure whether to buy a HelloChinese or SuperChinese subscription	Paid app decision
The best Chinese Learning app paid subscriptions	Subscription value
Good apps to learn Chinese for free	Free and low-cost options
My Chinese Learning Toolkit – 30+ Resources I’m Using as a Beginner	Beginner resource stack
What’s your approach to learning Chinese Characters?	Character study and handwriting
Pleco vs Anki flashcards	Flashcard workflow
Good Manhua for beginner?	Beginner reading and resource stacks
Beginning to learn	What to add beyond Duolingo and HelloChinese
next steps for learning?	Speaking/listening after beginner apps
How do I get better at speaking if my reading/writing is better?	Reading ahead of speaking
Ways to engage with iTalki teachers without textbooks?	Beginner tutor use
Best paid app/content for an intermediate learner? Or should I just get a tutor?	App vs tutor decision
How do I use my language exchange partner most effectively?	Live practice structure
2024 AI Wrap-up: How are you using AI to learn Chinese?	AI as support
Best way to study Pinyin	Pronunciation foundations
Best apps for vocabulary learning?	Vocabulary review
Best graded readers app?	Reading apps
What’s the best free app to learn Chinese?	Free beginner apps
Anyone Actually Making Free Language Exchanges Work?	Free exchanges vs italki
Anyone who became fluent without moving abroad?	italki conversation practice plus input
Tutor platform	italki, Preply, and tutor fit
Brain blue screens in real conversations	italki for beginner conversation practice

What Reddit learners recommend by goal

The Reddit pattern is practical: choose the tool by the skill you need to improve.

Goal	Best-fit tool	Why it comes up on Reddit
Speak Chinese with feedback	italki	Learners bring up italki when they need a real teacher to correct tones, pronunciation, and live conversation
Build a beginner routine	HelloChinese	Learners like its beginner structure, grammar, and stories
Practice listening and speaking drills	SuperChinese	Learners mention longer dialogues, audio practice, and output pressure
Look up words and characters	Pleco	It reduces friction when reading, listening, or reviewing Chinese
Remember vocabulary	Anki or Pleco flashcards	Spaced repetition helps words return before they disappear
Read more Chinese	Du Chinese or LingQ	Graded and supported input helps learners move beyond app sentences
Learn handwriting	Skritter or paper practice	Character production is different from recognition

What Reddit says about italki for Chinese

The strongest italki pattern is not “use italki instead of every app.” It is “use italki when the problem needs a live teacher: speaking, feedback, or real conversation.”

Several Reddit threads mention italki specifically in this context.

One learner who had used multiple language-learning platforms explained why they stayed with italki:

Another commenter described the trial-and-fit process:

Reddit learners do not treat tutor choice as automatic. They care about fit: correction style, lesson structure, price, teacher experience, and whether the teacher adapts to the learner.

For learners who freeze during real conversations, one Redditor gave practical advice about choosing community tutors:

That matters for Chinese because tone correction and speaking confidence are hard to self-check. A solo app can tell you whether you selected the right answer. A teacher on italki can tell you whether your tone, rhythm, and sentence sound natural.

Use italki when:

• your tones are inconsistent
• you can read more than you can say
• you freeze in live conversation
• you need Mandarin for travel, work, family, or study
• you want correction without building a full course alone
• you need weekly accountability

Best for:

• learners who want real speaking practice
• learners who need pronunciation and tone feedback
• app users who understand lessons but cannot answer naturally
• people preparing for travel, work, family conversations, or exams

Not best for:

• learners who want a completely free plan
• people who are not ready to speak at all

What Reddit says about HelloChinese and SuperChinese

HelloChinese and SuperChinese are the two course-style apps that appear most often in beginner app discussions. They are useful, but they serve different needs.

App	Strongest use	Main limitation
HelloChinese	Beginner structure, grammar, short lessons, stories	Learners may outgrow it or still need stronger listening/speaking practice
SuperChinese	Listening, speaking prompts, longer dialogues, progression	Speech practice is still not the same as live correction from a teacher

HelloChinese is usually recommended for beginners. In one Mandarin app thread, a commenter wrote:

Another learner described it as part of the beginner-course group:

Best use for HelloChinese:

• first Mandarin routine
• basic grammar and vocabulary
• beginner stories and short lessons
• low-pressure daily practice

Not best for:

• advanced conversation
• learners who already know the basics
• learners whose main weakness is live listening and speaking

SuperChinese gets more praise when learners want listening, speaking, and dialogue practice. In a direct comparison thread, one user wrote:

Another learner who switched from HelloChinese to SuperChinese explained the reason:

Best use for SuperChinese:

• listening drills
• speaking prompts
• longer dialogues
• learners who have outgrown basic app sentences

Not best for:

• learners who want a free-only route
• learners who need human tone correction
• learners who already have a full course and only need conversation

The useful takeaway: HelloChinese can help you start; SuperChinese can add more listening and speaking pressure. Neither removes the need for real feedback if your goal is conversation.

What Reddit says about Pleco, Anki, Du Chinese, LingQ, and Skritter

These tools are support tools. They are not direct substitutes for a course or teacher.

Tool	Use it for	Do not use it as
Pleco	Lookup, examples, pronunciation, characters	A complete course
Anki	Memory and spaced repetition	Your only Chinese routine
Du Chinese	Graded reading	Speaking practice
LingQ	Input from longer texts/audio	A pronunciation coach
Skritter	Character writing	A full study plan

Pleco

Pleco gets one of the clearest Reddit signals:

Use Pleco for lookup, pronunciation, examples, stroke order, and reading support. If you learn Chinese seriously, a dictionary stops being optional very quickly.

Anki

Anki is useful when words keep disappearing. It works best when you create cards from your own lessons, readings, and mistakes instead of downloading a huge deck you never finish.

Use it for:

• vocabulary review
• character recognition
• sentence recall
• audio cards

For Chinese, sentence cards are usually stronger than isolated word cards. A card with a word, audio, and example sentence gives you more context than a bare translation. If you take italki lessons, turn corrected sentences into cards. That way your review system is based on mistakes you actually make.

Du Chinese and LingQ

Du Chinese and LingQ solve the input problem. They help learners read and listen to more Chinese with support.

One learner recommended this combination:

Another put LingQ’s value simply:

Skritter

Skritter belongs in the stack only if handwriting matters to your goal. Many learners only need recognition and typing, while others want to write Chinese characters from memory. Those are different goals.

How to choose the right Chinese learning setup

If your problem is…	Use this	Why
You are starting from zero	italki + HelloChinese	Learn basics while correcting tones early
You need a daily habit	HelloChinese or SuperChinese	Course apps create structure
You cannot pronounce tones clearly	italki	Tone correction needs a trained ear
You forget vocabulary	Anki or Pleco flashcards	Spaced repetition supports memory
You want to read Chinese	Du Chinese or LingQ	Supported input builds reading fluency
You want to write characters	Skritter or paper practice	Writing needs deliberate production practice
You understand app lessons but cannot speak	italki + speaking drills	Conversation needs live recall and correction
You feel stuck after beginner apps	italki + input tools	You need harder material and feedback

If you want a simple two-part plan:

1. Pick one self-study tool for structure or input.
2. Add one feedback source so you know whether your Chinese is usable.

For many learners, that means HelloChinese or SuperChinese during the week and a short italki lesson to test pronunciation, tones, and speaking. For reading-focused learners, it might mean Du Chinese or LingQ plus a teacher who turns each text into conversation practice.

Three simple setups

Use one of these instead of trying every app at once.

Learner type	Setup	Weekly rhythm
Complete beginner	italki + HelloChinese + Pleco	15 minutes of app study most days, one short lesson for tones and basic speaking
App user who cannot speak	italki + SuperChinese + recording practice	Speaking drills during the week, one lesson to test natural answers
Reading-focused learner	italki + Du Chinese or LingQ + Pleco	Read two short texts, then discuss one with a teacher

The setup should change when your bottleneck changes. If you cannot remember words, add review. If you cannot understand audio, add input. If you cannot answer a basic question without freezing, add live speaking practice.

For broader planning, read italki’s guide to self-studying Mandarin.

Final verdict

Reddit’s best answer is a stack, not a single app. If speaking matters, italki Chinese lessons should be the live-feedback layer inside that stack. Use course and support apps around it:

• HelloChinese for beginner structure
• SuperChinese for listening and speaking drills
• Pleco for lookup
• Anki for review
• Du Chinese or LingQ for reading
• Skritter for handwriting

The mistake is using all of them equally. Pick one main path, one support tool, and one way to get feedback.

Ready to turn Chinese app study into real conversation?

Solo apps can help you start. A teacher helps you test whether the language is usable.

Learn Chinese online with personal guidance from qualified teachers, or book a trial lesson with a Chinese teacher and use your first session to test the skill solo apps cannot correct.