You can do almost anything with a smartphone app. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are so many best android apps for learning Chinese online.
Along with Chinese TV shows, movies, and music, they are great learning tools to add to your arsenal.
Best Android Apps for Learning Chinese
1. iTalki
It is the most popular and one of the best Android apps for learning Chinese. At one time, it was also a really good app because you could use it to find language exchange partners for free.
Unfortunately, the language-exchange part of iTalki has been greatly simplified, making it practically unusable.
Because Chinese people own it, it is the website that Chinese tutors use the most. As a result, there are hundreds of teachers to choose from. Still, my interactions with the company’s customer service could have been better.
2. Anki
A lot of language learners like Anki, but if I had to choose among the best Android apps for learning Chinese, I wouldn’t use it.
The user interface and design are boring, and the flashcards don’t do much for me. You can use flashcard decks that other users made.
There are many of these decks to choose from, but their quality varies. You can also build your own decks, but you should know that this takes a lot of work and has a steep learning curve.
3. Preply
In contrast to iTalki’s much less confusing pay-as-you-go model, which Preply just copied, Preply’s subscription model for paying for classes needs to be clearer and more flexible.
Also, if you stop learning for six months, you lose all of your credit, and getting a refund is very hard.
When I saved instructors, I thought I might have an interest. I got a lot of messages from those tutors trying to sell me their services, which was also annoying.
4. ChineseClass101
ChineseClass101 is one of the best Android apps for learning Chinese. It has a well-organized listening course where most of the lessons are short, natural-sounding conversations in Chinese.
My main problem with ChineseClass101 is that in the first levels, each “lesson,” which usually lasts between 10 and 15 minutes, only spends about a minute teaching me Chinese. On the other hand, the remaining information is in English.
5. ChinesePod
In 2005, ChinesePod was a leader in Chinese listening apps and one of the first. But most of the people who were to take over for the original creators and hosts had already left the show.
Much of the older content is still available, but the newer stuff has a different appeal.
As with ChineseClass101, there needs to be more English at the more basic levels for it to be a good listening tool. It is hard to use, especially the part with the flashcards.
6. Google Podcasts
Like YouTube videos, podcasts are a great way to improve your understanding of what you hear.
But when I look on Google Podcasts for content about Chinese, the shelves are empty when it comes to content for beginners and intermediate learners.
This app is one of the best android apps for learning Chinese if you already know some Chinese (until somebody comes up with a great podcast for lower-level Chinese learners).
7. Duolingo
The fact that Duolingo is set up like a game and encourages you to keep your daily streaks going has made it one of the most popular language-learning apps out there.
But is it one of the best android apps for learning Chinese or Mandarin? After using it for a while, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t help me learn anything and was a waste of my study time.
8. HelloChinese
Another program is made to be like a game. It has many features, but I don’t particularly appreciate how it looks.
The people who were supposed to see it were younger kids. HelloChinese is a good choice if you want to teach your child Chinese and are looking for an app.
9. Mondly
This software has interesting extras, like a chatbot that doesn’t do much, Augmented Reality (which Chinese speakers can’t use), and a large vocabulary. But the way it’s made could be better and easier to use.
10. The Chairman’s Bao
Due to the need to keep the vocabulary and grammar simple, many reading materials, especially those meant for language learners at lower levels, can be boring.
By focusing on short versions of news stories, TCB gets out of this catch-22 situation in a big way. As the difficulty level goes up, the content will become more interesting.
There are more than 7,000 articles, so there is plenty to read, and new ones they add all the time—about six new articles every day.
The mobile app has a clean look and a simple layout that makes it easy to use. To get the most out of TCB, you must pay for a subscription, and the prices are set to be very competitive.
The Chairman’s Bao is probably one of the best android apps for learning Chinese if you like to learn new things by reading.
11. Du Chinese
In contrast to the TCB, Du Chinese is all about new and old stories that have been retold in a way that language students can understand.
The stories can be repetitive at the lower levels, which can help kids learn new words, but the style could be more colorful than TCB’s app.
Also, it’s easier to understand how it’s functioning. The subscription costs are slightly higher than those of TCB, and you can see less content than with TCB.
12. LingQ
This is a great idea popular as LingQ. You click on words you don’t know in a reading passage and then choose a meaning for them.
These words then become your “LingQs,” or words you are learning, and they are in yellow. The next time you read an article that has the word, it will be highlighted in a way that makes it easy for you to go back and look it over.
On the other hand, the most useful thing about LingQs is that you can use it to study content from anywhere online, such as YouTube and Netflix. On the other hand, sometimes, it takes effort to know how to use the app.
13. FluentU
FluentU is one of the best Android apps for learning Chinese. It helps people learn words and phrases by showing them things like music videos, TV and movie clips, parts of popular YouTube videos, and good old-fashioned flashcards.
Even though I’ve only been using FluentU for a short time, I’m already starting to remember words and phrases I used to have trouble with.
This is because I now think of the words in the context of something interesting, like a line from a movie. FluentU might be a bit pricey, which is the only thing that could be bad about it.
14. Memrise
Memrise is an app I use all the time. It teaches words and phrases and uses algorithms called “spaced repetition” to ensure that you are reminded to review vocabulary just as your ability to remember those words is starting to fade.
The part of Memrise I like the most is called “Learn with Locals,” It has videos of native Chinese speakers using the words in a very natural way.
Even though there are limits to what can be done with the free version, the price of becoming a member is reasonable.
15. Skritter
This software is for people who want to improve their Chinese writing skills to a higher level. The app uses a handwriting recognition algorithm to let students practice writing characters.
Skritter teaches you how to write each Chinese character correctly by following the order of its strokes. It also teaches you how to do many other things (though you definitely get that, too).
Swipe and tap to choose the right tone and learn how to write, read, and say each character simultaneously.
You also learn to say each word correctly using audio pronunciations and tone changes. If you plan to use Skritter, this is among the best android apps for learning Chinese.
16. Standard Mandarin
This app focuses on helping you improve your pronunciation. It will even show you how to use your tongue and facial muscles to make the right sounds, so you can put in the work needed to get rid of your foreign accent.
Because the app has charts and drawings of facial anatomy, you may not have to guess when it comes to making the right sound in Standard Mandarin.
You have to choose the sound you want to hear (which will be written in pinyin), and then you’ll see information and pictures about the different tones that go with that sound.
17. Grammar in Chinese
The Chinese Grammar app has more than a hundred lessons on grammar, from beginner to intermediate levels.
This software can be thought of as a portable grammar guide, and each grammar topic it covers is explained in simple language.
This ensures you can use each structure easily in your everyday speaking and writing. Besides that, the text is well-written and easy to understand.
Chinese grammar is free to use, and users don’t have to sign up for an account or watch ads. But it only works with Android devices, and the lessons are only in simplified Chinese and only go up to the HSK 5 level.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve discussed many things, which is one of the best android apps for learning Chinese? The answer is, “It depends,” which is the answer to many other questions. Everyone is different, and everyone learns things in their own way.
You may need to use multiple apps, each of which focuses on one of the most important skills for learning a language. FluentU is either the best app for learning Chinese or, at the very least, the most fun one for learning words.
If reading is one of your favorite ways to learn, The Chairman’s Bao might be the best app for you to use to learn Mandarin.
The best way to learn to hear is to watch videos on YouTube. The best thing is to try out all the apps above and see which ones work best.
