The 7 best apps to learn Chinese in 2026: each one wins at something
How to choose: ask "for what job" before "which app"
"What's the best app to learn Chinese?" is half a question. The full question is: best for what — building a daily habit, learning properly from zero, drilling HSK exams, looking things up, or reviewing vocabulary? Each job has a different winner, and most serious learners run two apps: one backbone for daily study, one tool (a dictionary or flashcards).
Quick comparison table
| App | Wins at | Free? | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myra | Structured learning for Vietnamese speakers; per-word tone scoring | Free during beta | Built for Vietnamese speakers — that's the point, but it's not for everyone; still in beta |
| HelloChinese | The most polished general beginner course | Core course free, advanced paid | Advanced content behind Premium |
| SuperChinese | A long HSK-aligned path with AI speaking practice | Limited; frequent upgrade prompts | Narrow free tier, pushy upsells |
| Duolingo | Keeping you coming back daily | Free (with ads) | Light on tones, characters, grammar — see our full comparison |
| Pleco | The dictionary every learner ends up installing | Core free, add-ons paid | A reference tool, not a course |
| Du Chinese | Graded reading with synced audio | A few free lessons weekly | Reading-only; needs a main course beside it |
| Anki | Spaced-repetition flashcards, infinitely customizable | Free (one-time fee on iOS) | You manage everything yourself; dry interface |
The apps, one by one
1. Myra — for Vietnamese speakers who are serious
Myra bets on one idea: Vietnamese speakers shouldn't learn Chinese the way English speakers do. Over 60% of Vietnamese vocabulary has Chinese roots, so Myra teaches every word through that bridge — and scores the tone of every individual word when you read aloud, then re-drills exactly what you missed. Vocabulary review runs through 41 games on a spaced-repetition schedule. And one feature almost nothing else has: feed it your own class materials — hand Myra your teacher's handout or a PDF and it extracts the vocabulary and grammar, then builds a full set of games from it, so evening practice matches exactly what today's class covered. If you're not a Vietnamese speaker, the other apps below will serve you better — that focus is the product. The beta is currently free.
2. HelloChinese — the best general beginner course
The international favorite for good reason: short, polished lessons, solid speech recognition, beautiful stroke animations, and a smooth ramp from zero. If you want the safest mainstream choice and learn comfortably through English, start here. Head-to-head details in Myra vs HelloChinese.
3. SuperChinese — the long road, with AI
Strongest on the extended path toward the upper HSK levels, plus AI conversations and pronunciation scoring. The free tier is narrow and the upgrade prompts are frequent — worth paying for if you're committed to the long haul. Details in Myra vs SuperChinese.
4. Duolingo — the habit machine
Nothing keeps you coming back like the owl. But the Chinese course is light on tones and characters — great training wheels, not a road to real proficiency. We wrote an honest full comparison, including when Duolingo is the right choice.
5. Pleco — the dictionary
The gold-standard Chinese dictionary app: handwriting lookup, stroke order, example sentences, OCR. Not a course — the reference tool that belongs on every learner's phone alongside whatever course they use.
6. Du Chinese — graded reading
Stories leveled from beginner to advanced with tap-to-define words and synced audio. The best answer to "how do I start actually reading?" from around HSK 2 — as a companion, not a main course.
7. Anki — flashcards for control freaks (affectionately)
The classic spaced-repetition engine with ready-made HSK decks. Infinitely powerful, entirely self-managed, aggressively plain. Best once you're past the beginner stage and want total control over your reviews. One note: if what brought you to Anki is "I want to review exactly what my class covered," typing every card by hand now has a faster path — Myra ingests your class PDF and builds the review games itself.
How to combine apps by stage
| Stage | Backbone | Companion |
|---|---|---|
| Months 1–2 (zero → HSK 1) | Myra or HelloChinese, 30 min/day | Pleco for lookups |
| Months 3–6 (HSK 2–3) | Keep your backbone | Pleco + Du Chinese for reading |
| Past HSK 3 | Backbone shifts to review | Anki for vocab volume, a tutor for conversation |
The only rule: one backbone, not three. Installing five course apps at once is the fastest way to open none of them.
Beyond the ranking: two names worth watching
Two apps that aren't top-7 "backbones" but deserve a mention: Corodomo — a Vietnamese-built app teaching through video shadowing and dictation with HSK mock exams, a great listening gym from HSK 2 up (full comparison); and Praktika — AI avatar tutors for conversation practice, Mandarin included, at its best once you have vocabulary to spend (full comparison).
Frequently asked questions
What's the best free app to learn Chinese?
Fully free with a structured path: Duolingo (with ads) and Myra (free beta, for Vietnamese speakers). HelloChinese's free core covers the beginner stage well. Pleco and Anki are free but they're tools, not courses.
Which app should a complete beginner pick?
Vietnamese speaker: Myra. Everyone else: HelloChinese is the safest start, with our 6-month beginner roadmap as the plan around it.
Can apps alone get me to an HSK certificate?
To HSK 3, yes — with daily consistency and some mock exams before test day. From HSK 4 up, keep the app backbone but add a human for conversation and writing.
Myra links every Chinese word to its Vietnamese cognate, scores your tones word by word, and reviews vocabulary through 41 games. The beta is free.