Best Chinese Learning Apps in 2025
(+ How to
Combine Them for Maximum Progress)
Why trust this list?
- 2025-only data. We checked the latest App Store / Google Play release notes, feature pages, and user reviews published in the last 12 months.
- Hands-on tests. We downloaded and tested the latest versions of a large number of apps as research for this article. These are our top picks from hands-on experience.
TL;DR cheat-sheet
| App | Best for | Stand-out strengths |
|---|---|---|
| Readly | Reading any physical or digital text | Saves time looking up words and making flashcards |
| Hello Chinese | Beginner-friendly structured lessons | Game-based learning, HSK-aligned courses |
| Miraa | Listening practice | AI transcription, echo-method speaking practice |
| Pleco | Dictionary | Gold-standard dictionary |
| RedNote (小红书) | Immersive native content | Authentic content, trend-spotting |
1 · Readly
Readly is a new app released in 2025, and has quickly become a favorite of many learners. Just snap a pic of a Chinese text, then tap words for instant in-context translations and pinyin.
Readly makes building spaced-repetition flashcards effortless. Just tap a word, click "save", and Readly auto-generates a flashcard with translation, pinyin, and native sounding audio.
Readly's AI assistant is also a great help. Use it to explain tricky vocab with example sentences, or teach you about grammar in your text.
A powerful way to acquire new vocab with Readly is to read books with it. We have a guide on that here.
2 · Hello Chinese
Hello Chinese is the top choice for beginners. It offers game-like, structured lessons that build your skills from the ground up. With HSK-aligned courses, speech recognition for pronunciation, and handwriting practice, it's a comprehensive starting point.
Think Duolingo, but optimized specifically for Chinese.
3 · Miraa
Miraa is our top pick for listening practice. This has become one of our go-to apps in our daily Chinese learning.
It uses AI to transcribe YouTube videos, dramas, or podcasts, creating bilingual subtitles. Tap words for easy lookup, or ask Miraa's AI assistant to explain unknown words.
The "echo method" lets you listen, imitate, and compare your pronunciation, making it a great tool for improving your speaking skills too.
4 · Pleco
Pleco is still the gold-standard dictionary. If there is a long reading text you want to study, Readly will be the best choice, but for individual word lookup, Pleco is excellent.
The free tier is great for look-ups, but the paid bundle unlocks more powerful features. Personally we use the hand writing lookup feature a lot. Draw a character, and Pleco will give you its definition and pinyin.
5 · 小红书 (RedNote)
RedNote is China's version of Instagram, full of authentic posts about fashion, food, and daily life. It's an endless source of real-world reading material.
Our top tip is to combine RedNote with Readly. When you find a post you want to study, take a screenshot and open it in Readly. Readly's OCR pulls out the text, letting you tap words for definitions, see pinyin, and listen to the audio. This turns RedNote into a powerful study tool.
How to combine these apps
No single app does everything. The key is to build a "stack" that suits your learning style.
- For Beginners: Start with Hello Chinese for simple lessons, and to help you build up a foundation of Chinese. If you have a textbook you are studying from, load the pages into Readly to help with lookup and making flashcards. For individual word lookup, use Pleco.
- For Listening Practice: This is where Miraa shines. Load in your favotite podcasts or youtube videos, and use Miraa to help you understand the spoken content.
- For Authentic Content: Dive into RedNote for native Chinese content. Screenshot posts you find interesting and use Readly to study them, looking up unknown vocabulary, chatting with Readly's AI to explain concepts, and making flashcards of unknown words.
FAQ
Which app is best for a complete beginner?
Hello Chinese is the best starting point. Its structured, game-like lessons are designed to build your
foundational knowledge from scratch.
Can I use these apps to study for the HSK?
Yes. Hello Chinese has HSK-aligned courses. For higher levels, using Readly to import and study past
papers or HSK-focused articles from other sources is a powerful strategy.
Bottom line
- For a structured start, use Hello Chinese.
- For reading anything and everything, use Readly.
- For listening practice, use Miraa.
- For the best dictionary, get Pleco.
- For real-world immersion, combine RedNote and Readly.
Combine these tools to create a learning system that's tailored to you, and you'll make progress faster than ever.