The title of this blog alone will surely generate some controversy. There are a plethora of Chinese language apps available. Some are great, many are good, and some near unusable.
Of course, everyone is different and we all tend to fall into one of seven categories of learner, which include Visual, Aural, Verbal, Physical, Logical, Social and Solitary learners. The recommendations in this blog are based on the personal experience of the author. By my own admission, I’m probably a combination of the first three types of learner. I’ve studied Mandarin for close to six years and am mainly self-taught. I’ve tried most apps, recordings and online resources and the following are the apps I’ve found most useful. Apps that I feel have genuinely helped progress my Mandarin ability, leaving me with a true sense of accomplishment…
ChineseSkill
This is one of the first apps I began using. This app took me from zero Chinese to elementary. It’s broken down into LEARN, REVIEW and DISCOVER.
LEARN comprises a series of subjects, each comprising several lessons. Each lesson can be sat in Study Mode or Practice Mode. Lessons are a blend of multiple choice images and sentences, drag and drop sentences, Chinese character drawing and more. There is also dialogue practice, speaking practice and class notes sections.
REVIEW enables you to reinforce Characters, Vocabulary and Grammar.
DISCOVER features a large array of Vocabulary, Grammar, Phrases and Integrated tests/games
There is a lot to this app. It’s constantly under development and is far more feature-rich than when I first started using it. There are many more features these days and ChineseSkill has begun charging past the initial free teachings. So you can take a good look around, learn some basic Chinese free of charge, and if ChineseSkill is a system you feel helps your learning, you can always subscribe for full access.
HelloTalk
This is essentially a language exchange social networking site. You can search for people based on their native language, learning level, region, city, gender and age in order to find language partners who complement your level of Chinese.
You can then message individuals and follow them if you wish. Messages allow for the full translation of all spoken and text messages.
Once you follow individuals, their posts show up in ‘Moments’ which you can like and comment on. Again, full translations are available. However, you get circa 10 free translations per day if you are a non-paying member.
The ‘Learn’ section unveils a plethora of learning resources, including personalised live classes. These are additionally charged.
Click on ‘Me’ and you can effortlessly track your progress, translate text and access a free grammar check. If you choose to subscribe, which only costs £44.99 per year, you are granted more search function, no adverts and unlimited translations.
Google Translate
Google Translate is incredibly convenient. But always remember, translations are not natural or produced in the context you might be looking for. However, for rapid word on the move, or as a starting point it’s ideal.
The app also translates text live and from images.
A word of caution: If you’re going to rely on this in mainland China, remember that all Google services are blocked. Either ensure that you have a reliable VPN on your devices, or use another resource.
Pleco Dictionary
This stunning dictionary app shows all variations, stating their usage in speech i.e. verb, noun etcetera, and offers phrases containing the word to give it context, as with traditional dictionaries.
The app is free, but you can pay for additional add-ons, including an optical character recogniser, flashcards, as well as Mandarin companion reading resources in both simplified and traditional characters.
