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Top 6 Apps for Learning Mandarin Chinese

Last summer, while I was supposed to be studying French intensively, I accidentally started studying Mandarin instead. These things happen! The best thing about Mandarin compared to some other languages I’ve studied (specifically Persian and Korean) is that there are a huge number of resources available to help learners, including a lot of very well-designed apps. After months of obsessively checking the iTunes store for the best apps and trying them out, these are my favorite six (plus a few more worth mentioning). They appear in ascending order from my least favorite to my most favorite.

Worth mentioning: A couple of apps not included on this list but worth mentioning are Pleco and Skritter. 

Pleco is a highly-regarded Chinese dictionary. I have it on my phone and do use it, but I left it off the list because I prefer another (#6 on this list). Since I’m still very much a beginner, a thorough dictionary isn’t quite so important to me right now. However, it seems like every advanced student of Mandarin recommends this app, so I had to include it.

Skritter is another app that’s highly regarded among serious students. I believe it focuses on helping with character recognition and writing. It has a subscription service that is a bit expensive, which is why I’ve never tried it; however, everyone seems to rave about it. If you’re a serious student, you should definitely look into it.

Also, I recommend downloading some Chinese-language apps designed for preschoolers. I found several of them online in the iTunes store, and a lot of them include short stories with simple words, practice with basic characters, etc. Using these apps gives you some immersive listening practice, which is fun. They can be kind of hit and miss, so I recommend downloading all you can find and seeing what you can figure out and what you like. They won’t replace any of the apps below, but they still serve a purpose.

6. WCC Dictionary This is the dictionary I use instead of Pleco. I like it primarily because of its beautiful design (something Pleco doesn’t really have). This app is mainly a dictionary, but it offers a lot more than that. For example, it has a character scanner (so you can look up words you find in books by taking a picture of the character). It also has a “story library” with a few simple books to read (with Pinyin, the characters, an English translation, and the ability to listen to the story being read). Characters are color coded if you use that as a device to help you with tones. It has a flashcard program with pre-created word lists, extensive example sentences, a section on radicals with example words, and stroke order animations. It also offers a “character of the day” and daily “homework” to motivate you to use what you learn. The dictionary itself is free, but there’s a lot of content that you have to pay to unlock, although there’s also a way to buy the content using “coins” that you earn through using the app.

5. Mindsnacks Mandarin A lot of you are already familiar with the Mindsnacks app because it’s offered for a lot of different languages (and a few school subjects like geography). This app uses games to teach Mandarin, mostly focusing on vocabulary (not grammar or sentence construction). It’s a bit limited, but it can be a really fun way to learn. After a while, the games start to feel repetitive and can get boring, but the app also has you move through levels (which allow you to unlock new games) and uses other incentives to keep you playing. The audio is an actual human, too, which is a big benefit since many apps and programs rely on Google Translate robot voices. This is a paid app, which could be a drawback.

4. FluentU This app is the reason I started learning Mandarin in the first place. I tried using it for French, but I felt like my French was too advanced to gain much from it. Even though there were advanced-level videos with vocabulary I didn’t know, FluentU doesn’t do a good job of adapting to your level and guessing which words will give you trouble. That’s perfectly fine for a beginner, though, since every word will probably give you trouble, which is why I used it for Mandarin. I think the makers of FluentU are Chinese speakers, and they seem to have focused more on Mandarin in their app. They have a built-in course you can follow, using videos they made themselves for teaching the language. The videos are pretty good, and you will feel like you’re learning a lot. There are also a lot of other videos if you want to branch out, including some catchy songs and clips from commercials or TV shows. The built-in flashcard system is a good way to review, but there’s no way to adjust their algorithms, so you might end up reviewing the same words way too often. I stopped using the program when I had 400+ words to review every day, and I just couldn’t keep up and continue advancing. This app is also very limited in the free version, and the paid subscription is VERY pricey, in my opinion, especially considering that there are other apps out there that offer more features. All of the videos are on YouTube anyway, so you can still use them to learn as you advance (or if you have a friend who can help you). I recommend this app if you want to pay for one month and use it to study intensively and advance quickly. That’s what I did, and I think it helped me out a lot.

3. ChineseSkill This is the first app that was designed to be a “Duolingo for Mandarin,” and it has a lot of great features. There’s the typical “tree” like in Duolingo, where you advance through different lessons one by one. It teaches character recognition, pronunciation, and grammar. The lessons can be really challenging for a beginner (sometimes too challenging, I thought), but it covers a lot of material. I’m not completely happy with the order in which lessons are taught (for example, there’s a lesson on shapes near the beginning that has you learn words like “triangle,” which seemed unimportant to me). The other drawback is there isn’t an easy way to review what you’ve learned (like on Duolingo when your gold-level lessons start to fade). It’s possible, but not super easy to access. Other interesting features include a tone game, a pinyin chart, a “survival kit” that’s like a travel phrasebook, and practice with stroke order. Also, this app is 100% free, which is amazing! I definitely recommend this app.

2. Social Language This app is really different from the others and is probably the most useful if you believe in speaking a language as soon as possible. I don’t think a lot of English speakers know about it because it seems to be marketed mostly to Chinese speakers. It’s a bit hard to explain, but I’ll try my best: basically, there’s a tree like you have for Duolingo, but the exercises are all to improve your speaking and pronunciation. You work through the lessons, and Chinese-speaking users rate and comment on your recordings. They can even leave voice messages to help you improve. You can do the same for them (in fact, you have to if you want to unlock higher levels). That alone makes the app worth downloading, but even better is that it includes a CHAT FEATURE that makes it very easy to interact with native speakers. You can see the profiles of hundreds of Chinese speakers who are online at any given time of day, and you can send a text or voice message to them and later add them to your friends’ list. What’s more,the ratio of Chinese to English speakers heavily favors English speakers. You will find hundreds of Chinese speakers eager to practice their English, and often you will be one of only a handful of English speakers on the app, meaning you have instant access to a chat partner any time of day or night. Have a question about your homework, something you read, or a phrase you don’t know how to pronounce? Instant, free tutoring is available 24/7 on this app, which is also FREE! I met some really nice people here without the pressure of a more formal language exchange. You can have a casual conversation any time you want, and it’s like text messaging so there’s less pressure if you’re shy about speaking Chinese. The only drawback is the same as with all language exchanges, which is that it’s sometimes difficult to balance the two languages. Also, I had problems with sending voice messages in chat, which can be frustrating. Overall, though, I’d say Social Language is a must-have.

1. HelloChinese This app didn’t exist last summer when I was looking for a Mandarin version of Duolingo, but I discovered it last week and fell in love with it. It actually has fewer features than ChineseSkill, but the pacing seems much better, and it focuses more heavily on pronunciation (though the speech recognition software isn’t perfect and you will sometimes need to skip a speaking question just to keep moving forward). It comes with some good grammar explanations and a really basic flashcard program for review. Honestly, I feel bad for rating it higher than ChineseSkill since ChineseSkill has been around longer and offers a lot more features, but I feel like HelloChinese just makes more sense and is easier to stick with than ChineseSkill. Like ChineseSkill, it’s also 100% free! I consider HelloChinese to be my “core” app for casual study, with the other apps acting as supplements. If you’re a more serious student, HelloChinese might not be your #1 pick, but it’s great for beginners who like the structure of an app like DuoLingo.

the only millennial headline that matters

Some magical associations for the flowers of @eartheasy’s “Save the Bees by Planting These” post:

Lavender - love, attraction, healing, protection. Thyme - awareness, purification, cleansing. Cilantro - awareness, creativity, communication, success. Borage - luck, power, inspiration, increase psychic abilities. Sage - purification, exorcism, cleansing, healing. Fennel - communication, prosperity, fertility. Crocus - love, visions. Geranium - self confidence, soothes a broken heart. Aster - love. Poppy - glamours. Sunflower - happiness, healing, longevity, prosperity, love. Heliotrope - love (especially homosexual), invisibility, revelations.

Your garden will not only be a haven for bees but you’ll always have access to ingredients to power your magic.

Anarchist sticker in Connecticut

Sea Witchcraft

Anchovies Ruler: sea goddess Powers; attract beauty, subduction, make your self beautiful

Coral Ruler: Venus, Neptune Powers: emotions. Unconscious, white coral opens subconscious/ vivid dreams, pink coral emotional healing, red coral passions, give it as a gift of love.

Crab Ruler: Venus Power: eat crab meat to protect the home, use the shell in real estate magic, stuff the empty shell with lavender and sage to protect your dwelling. When renting fill the shell with cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and sea salt.

Fish: Ruler: Christ, Neptune, Venus, ocean deities Powers: fish eyes are protective, eat them to invoke magic, cook and eat the whole fish while visualizing protection/ prosperity. Draw fish on parchment or formed out if metal to create talismans. Carry a coin with the image of fish on it for wealth. Use the skin of fish in fertility magic.

Oyster Ruler: Neptune, Venus Powers: aphrodisiac, female genitals, increase orgasm, men eat them to make themselves better lovers, fertility.

Salt Ruler: earth Power: sacred substance of the earth, prosperity, add some to dark leafy greens to increase your income. Cleansing, sprinkle around the four corners of the room and add to baths to protect and dispel evil. Create sacred areas with salt, Sprinkle black salt on doorways to keep away undesirable influences.

Sand Ruler: ocean deities Salt represents the multitude of possibilities. One grain of sand represents Uniqueness, a handful sand represents the great influence wielded by like-minded people. Brace added to the home when you want to attract a group of people to share your same interest. Place it in a dish and burn incense on it. Hold sand in your hands to open possibilities and more options in your life. Build sand castles to make dreams come true. Wet sad helps to ground and realized potential colored sand brings verity to life.

Sardine Ruler: ocean goddess Power: beauty, seduction, eat them smoked with mustard to sharpen your best features.

Sea weed Ruler; Neptune, Venus Power: eat it for prosperity, scrub seaweed on your skin in the ocean to bring good luck. Leads to excellent employment opportunity.

Sea horse Ruler: Venus Power: talisman for luck and love, understanding, acceptance, emotional well being

Sponge Ruler: moon, Venus Power: loofa for beauty/ love spells, cleansing negative emotions, release anger

Water Ruler: Venus, Neptune, moon Powers: dreams, feelings, cleansing, love, healing, protection, prosperity.

Sacred waters: rain, spring, salt water , holy water, Florida water, consecrated water,

Moon Goddess loose incense 6 benzoin 3 onion skins 1 1/2 allspice 1 1/2 camphor ½ poppy 1 1/4 olive oil

Grind together then burn on a charcoal disk.

Moon incense 1 willow ½ reed ¼ cucumber 1 3/4 water ½ water lily ½ jasmine

Grind all ingredients together to form a past then sculpt small cones. Then let it dry for 2 weeks.

Lunar Oil 4 pt sandalwood 2 pt camphor 1 pt lemon

Mix and Add to career oil , use during lunar rites.

Water oil 3 drops palmarosa 2 drops ylang-ylang 1 drop jasmine

Wear to promote love, healing, psychic awareness, purification.

Floor wash: Protection wash

The floor wash includes ingredients meant to help Clean and purify home and promote peaceful happy feelings through open your windows while you wash down the house with this blend and finish up by burning protection incense.

2 pt rosemary 2 pt basil 2 large bay leaves 2 pt ginger 2 pt sea salt 1 pt dried garlic 1 pt black pepper

Pour hot water over the herbs for 10 to 15 minutes drain water into the bucket and add warm tapwater and a cleansing product of your choice.

Use to clean your floors, window seals, door frames

Ritual baths:

Sea witch bath 3 pt lotus bouquet 2 pt lavender 1 pt rosemary Color: dark blue

+ 3 pt Epsom salts 2 pt baking soda 1 pt table salt (or borax)

Add a bit of sea salt to this base. Bathe in the sea witches bath for gentle purification prior to magical works.

Water element bath

2pt palmarose 1 pt sandalwood 1 pt myrrh 1 pt geranium Color dark blue + 3 pt Epsom salts 2 pt baking soda 1 pt table salt (or borax)

Aquariums Thought to prosperity and ward the home from bad luck and accidents, not to mention all the energy they bring in to your life. Watching fish swim can lower blood pressure.

Hag stones A stone with a naturally made hole going through it, also known as adder stones/ witch stones. Hang them above the door way to promote milk from curtailing. Look through the hole to see the unseen, wear as a protection amulet, the more holes the more realities the stone holds. The stone is formed by water and moving currents.

My sources used in this post. [kris Bradley, Scott Cunningham, Steven Smith, Lexa Roséan]

chunin at 6…..tiny….too tiny

Solid argument, Strong points, I like it!

why lance (probably) won’t be the red paladin, and also why keith (probably) won’t be the black paladin

alright, so, chances are you’ve watched and rewatched the season three trailer multiple times. or, at least, i have. in it, we see lance in both the blue lion and the red lion, and we also see keith in the black lion. 

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“Play it again, it’s my favorite song.”