Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Chinese when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Chinese you can mostly understand. These apps help you find material at your level or make the Chinese you choose easier to follow. This guide also shows which apps support 
Taiwan Mandarin.
Try about one unfamiliar word per sentence while you can still follow the meaning. Beginners can use short, simple sentences with many known words; advanced readers can try longer sentences and guess new words from context. Use this as a starting point. Choose easier material if you lose the meaning.
Isolated “top 500 words” lists leave out how words are used and how to catch them in a conversation. Read and hear common words in sentences you understand, then review them in context.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Chinese. You learn from Chinese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Learn Chinese with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you. Bubblegum also has news and stories, so you can read and listen to a mix of Chinese about things you like. Choose topics such as music, food, travel, or daily life.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for you. She can tie lessons to your goals, the news, or a holiday like Lunar New Year. If a sentence is hard to follow, just ask her to explain it.
Read with pinyin or zhuyin over the characters, in simplified or traditional characters. With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons. You learn how to use them as you read about new things. There are no cards to make or decks to keep track of.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- New lessons fit your level and what you like.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons.
- Ask Poppy for help as you read.
- Taiwan Mandarin is its own course, with Taiwan words and readings.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You cannot bring in your own books, web novels, or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Pinyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
Stories Written for Learners
Du Chinese
Du Chinese has over 3,000 readings across six levels, with new lessons every weekday. You can read in simplified or traditional characters. Du Chinese is one of the apps that inspired Bubblegum.
- Over 3,000 readings are sorted into six levels.
- Voice actors read each story.
- See the translation of each sentence.
- Grammar notes explain the patterns.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
MobileWeb
The Chairman's Bao
The Chairman's Bao turns the news into short lessons at six levels, with more than 10,000 lessons so far. Each one has grammar notes and a pop-up dictionary. It suits learners who want to read about what is happening in China and around the world.
- News stories are written for learners at six levels.
- People record the audio.
- Translate a whole lesson or one sentence at a time.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
MobileWeb
maayot
maayot sends one short story every day, written by teachers and matched to the words you already know. Tap a word to see what it means, or ask for an explanation of the sentence. It suits learners who like one short story at a time.
- A new story every day matches the words you know.
- Six levels line up with HSK and TOCFL.
- Words come back in later stories, without flashcards.
- Native audio comes with every story.
- Review in stories
- Traditional characters
MobileWeb
Read Bean
Read Bean turns real articles, stories, and conversations into graded readings, with short word drills after each one. It suits learners who want to read about culture, work, and daily life at their level. You can also practice speaking in AI role-plays.
- Readings come from real articles and stories, graded from HSK 1 to 6.
- It checks your reading and listening level and picks readings for you.
- Tap a word to see its meaning, pronunciation, and usage notes.
- Ask the AI tutor for an explanation or a memory tip.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Pinyin
Mobile
Read and Watch Chinese You Choose
These apps help you learn from Chinese you pick yourself. That can be a novel, a web page, a show on Netflix, or a YouTube video. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
Pleco
Pleco is the dictionary many Chinese learners keep on their phone. Its reader lets you paste in any text and tap a word to look it up. You can also buy graded novels inside Pleco, like the Mandarin Companion books.
- Look up a word by typing it, drawing it, or pointing your camera at it.
- Paste in any text and tap words to see what they mean.
- See readings in pinyin or zhuyin.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
Readibu
Readibu is a reader for Chinese web novels. It comes with popular novels and stories, and you can bring in your own web pages or ebooks. Reading is free, and Premium adds more tools.
- Read popular web novels, short stories, and children's stories.
- Bring in your own web pages and ebooks.
- Show pinyin or zhuyin over the words.
- See which HSK levels a book's words come from.
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to Chinese from its library or bring in your own books, articles, and videos. It highlights the words you have not met yet and the ones you are still learning. Its "Taiwanese Mandarin" page is its library in traditional characters, and some lessons there are about Taiwan.
- Bring in books, videos, and articles you want to read.
- See which words you know and which are new.
- Read in simplified or traditional characters.
- Review words with flashcards.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- No Zhuyin
MobileWeb
Language Reactor and Migaku help most with C-dramas and videos. Shows move fast, so these two work best once you can follow some of what you hear.
Language Reactor
Language Reactor shows Chinese subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube in Chrome. The subtitles come in simplified or traditional characters, depending on the video. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- See Chinese subtitles beside a translation.
- Turn on pinyin over the subtitles.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
- Doesn't teach Pinyin
- Traditional characters
Browser extension
Migaku
Migaku helps you learn from real shows, web pages, and books. Turn a word into a card with the sentence, sound, and a picture from the scene. The main study loop is to find words, save them, and review the cards.
- Make cards from shows, with sound and pictures.
- Show pinyin or zhuyin over the words.
- See how much of a show or page you already know.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
MobileBrowser extension
Courses With Stories
Some Chinese courses also have graded stories. They suit learners who want to follow lessons in order.
HelloChinese
HelloChinese teaches Chinese step by step, with speaking and handwriting practice. It also has a large library of graded stories, so you can read alongside the course.
- Over 1,000 graded stories sit beside the course.
- Lessons follow the HSK levels.
- Practice speaking and writing characters.
- Switch between simplified and traditional characters.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Pinyin
- Traditional characters
Mobile
ChineseSkill
ChineseSkill has a separate course for Mandarin from Taiwan, with about 300 short lessons in traditional characters and zhuyin. It suits learners who want a Taiwan Mandarin course with lessons in order.
- Choose the mainland course or the Taiwan course.
- The Taiwan course teaches zhuyin with free drills.
- Graded stories and listening practice fit your level.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters (partly)
- Zhuyin
MobileWeb
Taiwan Mandarin
Taiwan writes Chinese in traditional characters and uses zhuyin, a set of 37 symbols, to show how words sound. Some everyday words and readings are different from the mainland too. Many apps let you switch to traditional characters, and fewer teach the Mandarin people speak in Taiwan.
| App | Traditional | Zhuyin | Taiwan Words | Taiwan Audio | Taiwan Course |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Du Chinese | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | No | No |
| The Chairman's Bao | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No |
| maayot | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No |
| Pleco | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Readibu | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No |
| LingQ | Yes | No | Partly | Not confirmed | No |
| Language Reactor | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No |
| Migaku | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Partly | No |
| HelloChinese | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No |
| ChineseSkill | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
| TaiwanCards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| StayTW | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes |
Bubblegum's Taiwan Mandarin course writes every lesson in traditional characters, with the words people use in Taiwan, like 捷運 for the metro and 公車 for the bus. When Taiwan reads a word differently, you see the Taiwan reading first and the mainland one beside it. For example, 垃圾 (trash) is lèsè in Taiwan and lājī on the mainland. AI voices read each lesson aloud with Taiwan pronunciation.
Other apps help with Taiwan Mandarin in their own ways. Pleco's free Cross-Straits dictionary gives Taiwan pronunciations first. TaiwanCards is a free web app for Taiwan Mandarin, with flashcards and word audio recorded for Taiwan's Ministry of Education. StayTW is a new app with lessons and easy readings about life in Taiwan. Our Taiwan Mandarin app comparison covers them in more detail.
Learn Chinese in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, and Language Reactor’s from the Chrome Web Store. Lesson explanations and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Du Chinese | 1 | Full list |
| The Chairman's Bao | 1 | Full list |
| maayot | 1 | Full list |
| Read Bean | 1 | Full list |
| Pleco | 1 | Full list |
| Readibu | 1 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Migaku | 4 | Full list |
| HelloChinese | 13 | Full list |
| ChineseSkill | 17 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (6)
- SuperChineseA course for HSK 1 to 5 in eight levels, with dialogue and story lessons. Its AI lessons can show traditional characters.
- GlossikaSentence-by-sentence listening and speaking courses, with separate courses for mainland and Taiwan Mandarin.
- Mandarin CompanionGraded novels that start at 150 characters, sold as books, ebooks, and audiobooks, and inside Pleco.
- Mandarin BeanA free graded-reading website with stories you can view in simplified or traditional characters.
- ReadlangTap a word or phrase on any web page to translate it, and review the words you look up.
- Anki and SkritterAnki is free, flexible flashcards for any words you want to remember, and Skritter is handwriting practice for simplified or traditional characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Chinese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Chinese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Du Chinese if you want stories written for learners, sorted into six levels and read by voice actors. If you want lessons in order, try HelloChinese, or ChineseSkill for Taiwan Mandarin.
Do I need to learn pinyin before I start reading?
Yes, or zhuyin if you are learning Taiwan Mandarin. Pinyin spells Chinese sounds with letters you already know, plus a mark for each tone, and reading apps can show it over every character while you learn. Bubblegum's free Pinyin course and Zhuyin course teach them in your browser.
How many characters do I need to read Chinese?
In a count of more than 190 million characters of modern Chinese, the 1,000 most common characters made up about 89 percent of the text, and the 2,000 most common made up about 97 percent. Characters join into words, so you still meet new words after you know the common characters.
Should I learn mainland or Taiwan Mandarin?
Learn the one you will use most. The grammar is nearly the same, and the main differences are the characters, the reading aid, and some everyday words. A taxi, for example, is 計程車 in Taiwan and 出租车 on the mainland.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
The Chinese guides and the Pinyin and Zhuyin courses on this site are also free and need no account.
Sources
- Hu and Nation (2000), Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension
- Jun Da, Modern Chinese character frequency list
- Ministry of Education (Taiwan), 國語注音符號手冊
- Mandarin Companion graded readers
- TaiwanCards
- StayTW on the App Store
- Pleco forums, Taiwan pronunciations in the Cross-Straits dictionary
- Bubblegum
- Du Chinese
- The Chairman's Bao
- maayot
- Read Bean
- Pleco
- Readibu
- LingQ
- Language Reactor
- Migaku
- HelloChinese
- ChineseSkill
Checked on October 10, 2026 against each app's own pages.
