How the app works
Learn Chinese HSK helps you learn Mandarin from your first word to the HSK 6 exam. This page lists every feature and how to use it.
Getting started
- Open the app and answer a few placement questions, or tap "I'm new to Chinese" to start at HSK 1.
- Take the short welcome tour of the tabs.
- Follow the "Start here" card on Home: take your first lesson, review a few flashcards and try a practice tool.
The app works offline. There is no account, no sign-in and there are no ads.
Free and Pro
The app is free to download. HSK 1 and HSK 2 are free in full, and so is the first mock paper of every level in each format (12 papers). These are free at every level: the dictionary, search and word details with audio and stroke order, SRS review of words you have already learned, favorites, progress, backup, the placement test, the pinyin chart, tone practice, the focus timer, the Word of the Day widget and reminders.
Pro unlocks HSK 3 to 6: lessons, flashcards, quizzes, grammar, dialogues, graded stories, the level 3 to 6 items in the practice tools and all 186 mock papers. Tap any HSK 3 to 6 level or a locked paper to see the plans, or open Pro in Profile. There are three plans:
- Monthly: $9.99 a month, renews automatically.
- Yearly: $39.99 a year, renews automatically.
- Lifetime: $59.99 once, no renewal.
Prices are in US dollars; the store shows the price in your local currency. There is no free trial. Payment is handled by the App Store or Google Play, and the app never sees your payment details. On a new device, use Restore purchases on the Pro screen. Cancel a subscription any time in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings. See the Terms of Use for details.
The five tabs
- Home: Your level switcher (HSK 1 to 6), today's word, daily goals and the practice shortcuts. Tapping a daily goal opens that activity. New users get a short welcome tour and a "Start here" card.
- Lessons: The units of your level, in order. Each unit teaches its words with a short quiz and writing practice. Progress is saved after every answer, so you can leave a unit and continue later.
- Review: Flashcards with spaced repetition of the words your lessons have taught: words you find hard come back sooner, words you know come back later. A word counts as mastered once its next review is 21 days or more away.
- Practice: All practice tools, in groups, each with a one-line description.
- Profile: Language (English or Indonesian), appearance (light, dark or the phone's setting), new words per day, voice and speed, font, study reminders, badges, Pro and restore purchases, backup and restore, and reset.
One level at a time
Pick your level with the "HSK n" switcher on Home or on the Lessons tab. Lessons, quizzes, practice and tests then show that level only. Your progress in other levels is kept. The dictionary, search, pinyin chart and radicals always cover all levels.
Practice tools
- Vocabulary quiz: Multiple-choice questions on the words of your level.
- Character writing: Trace characters stroke by stroke with stroke-order hints.
- Tone trainer and pinyin chart: Hear and tell apart the four tones; every syllable of the pinyin chart can be played.
- Radicals, measure words, word pairs, look-alike and sound-alike characters: Short drills on the parts of Chinese that confuse beginners most.
- Graded stories: Short stories per level with pinyin and translation that can be shown or hidden, audio per paragraph and a quiz.
- Dialogues: Everyday conversations you can listen to or role-play by taking one of the parts.
- Grammar: Grammar points per level with explanations and examples.
- Sentence scramble and dictation: Put words in order to build a sentence; write what you hear.
- Dictionary and search: All 5,456 HSK 1 to 6 words, searchable by characters, pinyin or meaning.
- Focus timer: Study in focus rounds with short breaks: by default 25 minutes of focus and a 5-minute break, with a 30-minute break after 4 rounds. Pick what you study, change the lengths in its settings, and get an alert when each round or break ends, even with the app closed.
Most screens show a short "How it works" guide on the first visit. It can be opened again from the help button (?) at the top of the screen.
Practice test and mock tests
The practice test starts your next full-length paper. The mock tests list shows every paper of your level, with filters and your scores. Papers follow the length and timing of the real exam:
| Level | Questions | Time | HSK 2.0 papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| HSK 1 | 40 | 35 min | 16 |
| HSK 2 | 60 | 50 min | 20 |
| HSK 3 | 80 | 85 min | 24 |
| HSK 4 | 100 | 105 min | 28 |
| HSK 5 | 100 | 120 min | 32 |
| HSK 6 | 101 | 140 min | 36 |
Each level also has 5 papers in the new HSK 3.0 format. A paper can be saved and continued later. Scores are practice scores, not official HSK results.
Audio
Every HSK word has built-in audio, a synthesized Mandarin voice that works offline. Sentences, stories and dialogues are read by the Mandarin voice installed on the device; the voice, speed and pitch can be changed in Profile.
Content and credits
All questions, mock test papers, stories, dialogues, example sentences and pictures were written and drawn for this app. The word lists follow the published HSK syllabus. English word meanings are based on CC-CEDICT, used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. The app is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with the official HSK organizers.
Your data
Progress is stored only on your device. Study reminders and focus timer alerts are local notifications; turn reminders off in Profile and timer alerts in the timer settings. Backup creates a file you keep yourself; restore reads it back. See the Privacy Policy for details, or contact us.