Du Chinese is a reading and listening app for Mandarin, with stories and articles written by Chinese teachers and recorded by voice actors in China. Bubblegum is a reading and listening app too. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Mandarin lessons at your level about the things you like, and the words you save come back in new lessons.
How Du Chinese and Bubblegum Compare
Both apps teach through Chinese you can mostly understand. Du Chinese has a fixed library made by people, and Bubblegum writes new lessons for you.
| Du Chinese | Bubblegum | |
|---|---|---|
| How you learn | Read graded stories, articles, and courses from its library, from beginner to advanced | Poppy writes lessons, stories, and news at your level, and you read and listen |
| How words come back | Save words and review them with spaced-repetition flashcards | Regenerative Review™: saved words come back in new lessons |
| Who writes and reads it | Teachers write it, and voice actors in China record it | Poppy writes it, and AI voices read it aloud |
| Characters | Simplified or Traditional | Simplified or Traditional |
| Phone apps | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| On the web | Reading practice on the web | Free guides and a pinyin course |
| Menu languages | 1 on its iPhone listing (English) | 74 |
You can read more about Bubblegum on its Mandarin page, and its menus come in 74 languages.
Who Each App Is Best For
Du Chinese
A team of Chinese teachers writes each Du Chinese story, and a second person checks every lesson. Its readings go from beginner to advanced, with material from HSK 1 to HSK 6, and its flashcards can sync with Skritter or Hack Chinese. It works well for learners who want a large, carefully made library to read through.
- More than 3,000 readings and more than 80 graded stories.
- Every reading comes with audio recorded by voice actors.
- Tap a word for its meaning, pinyin, and audio, and see a translation of each sentence.
- Grammar lessons show each pattern with examples and common mistakes.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
MobileWeb
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.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you'd like to read in Mandarin, like ordering hot pot or chatting with a coworker. She writes a lesson at your level with pinyin or zhuyin above the characters if you want it. Tap any word for its meaning and ask her about lines you don't follow.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum's lessons and voices are made with AI. For stories written by teachers and read by voice actors, Du Chinese is the better choice.
- Poppy writes each Mandarin lesson for your level, on a topic you pick.
- Ask Poppy about any line, and she explains the words and the grammar.
- Saved words show up again in later lessons through Regenerative Review™.
Taiwan Mandarin has its own course, with Taiwan words, readings, and voices.- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't import a web novel or an article you found.
- 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
Choose Du Chinese if:
- You want stories written by Chinese teachers and checked by a second person.
- You'd like audio recorded by voice actors for every reading.
- You want readings marked by HSK level, from HSK 1 to HSK 6.
Choose Bubblegum if:
- You want each lesson written about the topics you pick.
- You'd like Poppy to explain any line the moment you ask.
- You want Taiwan Mandarin in Taiwan's words and voices, or regional speech such as Chongqing or Northeastern Mandarin.
Using Both Together
Read Du Chinese's graded stories when you want something hand-made, and ask Poppy for a lesson on a topic its library doesn't cover. Spread both across your week, whenever you have time to read.
Common Questions
Which Mandarin 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'd like short graded stories made by teachers.
Can Bubblegum teach me pinyin first?
Yes. Bubblegum has a free pinyin course on the web, so you can learn the sounds before your first lesson. Taiwan Mandarin learners can start with the zhuyin course instead.
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.
Sources
- Du Chinese: Readings, graded stories, levels and grammar
- Du Chinese: Free lessons and plans
- Du Chinese: The Du Chinese Method, teachers and voice actors
- Du Chinese: iPhone App Store listing
- Du Chinese: Google Play listing
- Bubblegum: Learn Mandarin Chinese
- Du Chinese
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
