Chinese

Best Apps to Learn Chinese in 2026

Browse rankings by goal and learning style.

Audience Rankings

Feature Rankings

Head-to-head comparisons

Sottaku

Sottaku vs ChineseSkill

Mandarin lessons with bite-sized drills, quizzes, and handwriting practice. Good for early stages, but not as comprehensive for long-form reading or exam prep.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs LingQ

Immersion-focused platform built around reading and listening with imported real-world content. Excellent for input-heavy study, but lighter on explicit grammar teaching and guided output practice.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs HelloChinese

Beginner-friendly Mandarin course with short lessons, speech practice, and handwriting drills. Works best as a guided path rather than a fully customizable study system.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Powerful dictionary and reading tool with handwriting input and flashcards. Best as a reference tool rather than a structured course.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs ChineseClass101

Lesson-based Mandarin platform with audio, video, flashcards, grammar tools, and teacher-guided practice. Good for structured study, but not as strong for immersive reading or broad reference tools.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs ChinesePod

Large Mandarin lesson library with audio, video, transcripts, downloads, and community discussion. Strong for listening-heavy study and practical dialogues, but lighter on adaptive review and writing.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Memrise

Vocabulary and phrase practice with short video clips and review sessions. Good for exposure, but lighter on structured grammar instruction.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Mondly

Conversation-oriented app with short lessons, speech recognition, and chatbot practice across many languages. Good for quick speaking drills, but less comprehensive for serious long-form study.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Duolingo

Short, gamified lessons across many languages that make daily practice easy. Better for casual study than deep explanations or exam-focused prep.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs SuperChinese

Animated Mandarin lessons that emphasize listening and speaking practice. Focuses on a structured path, with fewer tools for broad review and customization.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Skritter

Character writing practice with stroke recognition and spaced repetition. Focuses on handwriting, not full-course skills like grammar or reading.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Busuu

General language app with community corrections and short lessons. Good for casual practice, but lighter on deep review and exam prep.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs LingoDeer

Guided, course-style lessons that cover the basics in a steady progression. Helpful for fundamentals, but lighter on long-form reading and deeper review tools.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Ninchanese

Game-like Mandarin lessons with levels and challenges. Fun for practice, but limited for structured exam preparation and deeper review.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Hack Chinese

Specialized Mandarin SRS for vocabulary growth, HSK lists, and textbook-based study. Excellent for retention and list management, but not a full listening, speaking, or grammar course.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs AnkiMobile Flashcards

Flexible spaced-repetition flashcards with full control over decks. Powerful for memorization, but not a guided curriculum by itself.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Eggbun

Chat-style lessons that focus on conversation practice. Fun for dialogue, but limited in structured review and long-form reading.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs The Chairman's Bao

Graded Mandarin news articles with audio and vocabulary support. Strong for reading practice, but not a full skills course.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Dong Chinese

Mandarin study platform built around comprehensible sentences, media, etymology, and handwriting. Strong for contextual reading and writing support, but lighter on explicit grammar teaching and speaking drills.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Du Chinese

Short, graded Mandarin stories with audio and a built-in glossary. Great for reading practice, but lighter on grammar instruction and writing.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Rosetta Stone

Immersive lessons with pronunciation feedback and visual drills. Good for repetition, but lighter on explicit grammar and exam prep.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs HelloTalk

Language exchange app for chatting with native speakers. Great for real conversation, but not a structured learning path.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Drops

Visual, bite-sized vocabulary practice with short daily sessions. Best for word exposure, but light on grammar, reading, and speaking.

Sottaku

Sottaku vs Pimsleur

Audio-first lessons that emphasize listening and speaking. Effective for habit practice, but light on reading, writing, and grammar explanations.

Sottaku

About Sottaku

Sottaku is an app for learning Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian with a strong focus on SRS. It includes automatic flashcard creation for hundreds of thousands of words, grammar breakdowns in example sentences, language-specific study packs where available, adaptive quizzes, mobile apps, a browser extension, and community features. Give it a try now! All learning content is free with no limits on flashcards or study time.

Sottaku is built to match the habits of successful learners. By using Sottaku, you will naturally learn in the most efficient way possible, as proven by countless success stories in the language learning community.

Free Forever

Access all grammar guides, quizzes, and flashcards without paying a cent. Quality education should be accessible to everyone.

Smart SRS System

Our flashcard system uses the FSRS algorithm (also used in Anki) to optimize your review schedule and maximize retention.

Comprehensive Content

From hanzi, kana, hangul, and European vocabulary basics to grammar and reading practice where available, we have lessons for every level. Practice with quizzes tailored to your skill.

Community Chat

Ask level-appropriate questions and get help from the community. Learn together with fellow learners across all 8 supported languages.