Best apps to learn Chinese vocabulary
Memrise for the most everyday Mandarin words, from clips of native speakers, in pinyin and characters; Skritter to write each word's characters from memory, with decks for every HSK level; Drops or uTalk for words by topic in short picture games; Clozemaster for words in sentences, sorted by HSK level, once you know the basics; and Pleco, the free dictionary that turns the words you look up into flashcards.
Prices checked 6 Sept to 13 Oct 2026 · How we check
How many Chinese words each app says it teaches, and what it teaches of the characters
Each app's drill in a line, its Mandarin course and its size as its maker states them, what it teaches of the characters, how to try it and its cheapest plan.
- Memrise
Short clips of native speakers saying words and phrases, then spaced review.
- Skritter
Learn a character's meaning, reading and tone, then write it on the screen stroke by stroke and get graded as you go; the ones you get wrong come back sooner.
- Drops
Five-minute picture games that teach words by topic.
- uTalk
Picture games for words and phrases by topic, with native-speaker audio.
- Clozemaster
Fill in the missing word in real sentences, in quick rounds.
- Pleco
Look a word up by typing, drawing it or pointing your camera at it, hear it, watch its stroke order, then make it a flashcard with one tap.
- MosaLingua
Flashcards of everyday words and phrases with audio: recall each one, rate yourself, and MosaLingua schedules the next review; dialogues and listening practice sit alongside.
Our picks
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Best for your first Chinese words, spoken first
uTalk
Vocabulary and flashcards
$24.99 or $29.99 a yearfor Chinese alone, or $3.99 or $4.99 month to month; uTalk's page shows the lower or the higher price from visit to visit
Why it's here. Phrase and vocabulary games with native-speaker audio in many languages. Works offline.
Free: Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com.
Skip it if you want to build sentences and learn grammar: it teaches words and phrases.
160 languages · offline lessons
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Best for Chinese words in sentences, once you know the basics
Clozemaster
Vocabulary and flashcards
$79.99 a year$6.67 a month, billed yearly
Why it's here. Fill-in-the-blank sentences make you recall words in context instead of recognising them on a flashcard. It is useful extra practice once you already know the basics.
Free: Up to 30 sentences a day; Pro adds unlimited play and advanced features.
Skip it if you are starting from zero: it is sentence practice, not a course.
71 languages · offline lessons
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Best free start
Drops
Vocabulary and flashcards
FreeFree access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay.
Why it's here. A free account with limits. Five-minute visual vocabulary sessions.
Paid upgrade: $69.99 a year ($5.83 a month, billed yearly)
Skip it if you want more than vocabulary, or more than 5 minutes every 10 hours without paying.
55 languages · offline lessons
7 of the 52 apps we cover are vocabulary apps that teach Mandarin Chinese.
Each maker counts in its own unit (words, or words and phrases), so each size on this page is the app's own figure, not a common measure; Clozemaster, MosaLingua, Pleco and Skritter give no word count for Mandarin. Chinese adds two questions: whether the app teaches you to read the characters or only pinyin, and whether it uses simplified characters (mainland China) or traditional ones (Taiwan and Hong Kong). Skritter has you write simplified or traditional characters stroke by stroke, Memrise teaches with pinyin and characters, uTalk's course is in simplified characters, and Clozemaster has a separate traditional collection. Drops' Chinese page counts its words but does not say how it teaches the characters.
Every vocabulary app for Chinese, compared
In the order the answer at the top names them. Sort any column or filter by what matters to you.
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| Best for | Free tier | Speech | Tutor | Offline | CEFR | Refund or trial | Where to buy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocabulary and flashcard apps | ||||||||||||
| MemriseVocabulary and flashcards | Native-speaker clips and review | $61.99 a year$5.17 a month, billed yearly | $24.99 | $329.99 | Free to keep using Limited free version of the app; the paid plan unlocks the rest. | 149 | Yes | — | No · The current experience needs cloud-based tools | — | 30-day money-back guarantee; monthly plans have a 14-day refund window. Apple purchases require a refund from Apple. | |
| SkritterVocabulary and flashcards | Writing Chinese and Japanese characters from memory | $99.99 a year$8.33 a month, billed yearly | $14.99 | — | Free to keep using A guest account keeps free access to selected decks for good; a subscription unlocks review mode and every deck. | 2 | — | — | — | — | A 7-day free trial, then a 30-day money-back guarantee on a first purchase made with Skritter; App Store and Google Play purchases follow Apple's and Google's rules. | |
| DropsVocabulary and flashcards | Five-minute vocabulary sessions | $69.99 a year$5.83 a month, billed yearly | $11 | $150 | Free to keep using Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | 55 | — | — | Yes | — | 7-day free trial on the Yearly plan; affiliate terms reference a 14-day refund period | |
| uTalkVocabulary and flashcards | Phrases in 160 languages | $24.99 or $29.99 a yearfor Chinese alone, or $3.99 or $4.99 month to month; uTalk's page shows the lower or the higher price from visit to visit | $3.99 or $4.99for Chinese | — | Free sample Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com | 160 | No | No | Yes | A1 to A2 | 28-day money-back guarantee | |
| ClozemasterVocabulary and flashcards | Free vocabulary practice in context | $79.99 a year$6.67 a month, billed yearly | $12.99 | — | Free to keep using Free account with up to 30 sentences a day; Pro adds unlimited play and advanced features | 71 | — | — | Yes · on Pro, in the mobile app | — | 30-day money back guarantee on the Yearly plan; no refunds on Monthly plans | |
| PlecoVocabulary and flashcards | Looking up any Chinese word, by drawing or camera | FreeBasic Bundle: $29.99 once | — | $59.99 | Free to keep using The dictionary is free for good, with two dictionaries, handwriting lookup, 500 stroke-order animations and no ads; the full flashcard system, camera lookup and the document reader are add-ons you buy once. | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| MosaLinguaVocabulary and flashcards | The most useful words first, on a review schedule | $71.88 a year$5.99 a month, billed yearly | $9.99 | — | Free trial Free download and a free trial; the full set of features needs a Premium subscription. | 11 | — | — | Yes | — | A free trial first, then a 30-day money-back guarantee on website and Android purchases; not on App Store purchases. | |
Which to choose
You want the most everyday words
Memrise
Memrise says its Chinese course has 4,000+ words, learned from short clips of native speakers with spaced review, and teaches them with pinyin and characters. A limited free version comes first; the full app costs $61.99 a year.
You want to write the characters, not only recognise them
Skritter
Skritter has you write each character on the screen, simplified or traditional, grades it stroke by stroke and brings back the ones you get wrong more often. Its decks follow HSK 1 to 6, the new HSK 1 to 9 and hundreds of textbooks, or you make your own list. A guest account keeps selected decks free; a subscription is $99.99 a year.
You want a few minutes a day, by topic
Drops or uTalk
Drops teaches 2,000+ Chinese words in five-minute picture games; the free version gives five minutes every ten hours. uTalk's Mandarin course has 2,500+ words and phrases in 60+ topics, in simplified characters, and takes you to A1 to A2 by its own account, for $24.99 or $29.99 a year, with a free 26-word starter pack.
You know some Chinese and want words in context
Clozemaster
Clozemaster has you fill the missing word in real Mandarin sentences, the most common words first, in collections for HSK 1 to 6, with a separate collection in traditional characters. It says it is not meant for the complete beginner: it is most useful once you know the pronunciation and some basic grammar. It is free up to 30 sentences a day.
You read Chinese and want to keep the words you look up
Pleco
Pleco is a Chinese dictionary, free for good with two dictionaries and lookup by handwriting. Its flashcards come from the entries you look up or from vocabulary lists you import, and they are part of the add-ons you buy once: the Basic Bundle ($29.99 on Android) adds flashcards, camera lookup, stroke order diagrams, the document reader and Mandarin audio. It brings no course: it keeps the words you meet elsewhere.
You want to make your own cards, or start from a shared deck
Anki
Anki brings no Chinese course of its own: you make the flashcards, or download a deck another learner has shared, and Anki brings each card back just before you would forget it. It is free on a computer and Android, with free sync; only the iPhone app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time $24.99 purchase. Anki's own manual warns that a downloaded list of words and translations will not teach you a language: cards made from what you read and hear work better, and a shared deck saves time when it follows a textbook you are using.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to learn Chinese vocabulary?
Memrise for the most everyday words (4,000+ by its count), Skritter to write the characters from memory, Drops or uTalk for a few minutes a day by topic, and Clozemaster for words in sentences by HSK level once you know the basics. Pleco is the dictionary whose flashcards keep the words you look up, and Anki is the one where you make the cards yourself.
How many Chinese words do these apps teach?
By each maker's own count: Memrise 4,000+ words, uTalk 2,500+ words and phrases, and Drops 2,000+ words. Clozemaster sorts its sentences by HSK level and Skritter its decks by HSK level and textbook, without a word count; MosaLingua and Pleco give none either. Each counts in its own unit, so the figures are not a common measure.
Which Chinese vocabulary apps teach the characters?
Skritter has you write simplified or traditional characters stroke by stroke. Memrise teaches with pinyin and characters, uTalk's course is in simplified characters, and Clozemaster has simplified and traditional collections. Pleco shows stroke order for 500 characters free, and for about 27,000 with its add-ons. The Chinese characters page compares the courses that teach reading and writing.
Is there a free app for Chinese vocabulary?
Memrise has a limited free version, Clozemaster is free up to 30 sentences a day, Drops gives five minutes every ten hours, uTalk's Starter Words pack of 26 words is free, Skritter's guest account keeps selected decks free, and Pleco's dictionary is free. MosaLingua starts with a free trial. Anki is free on a computer and Android, with cards you make or download.