Rosetta
Taiwan Mandarin is the one to learn if you're teaching English in Kaohsiung or want to follow Taiwanese talk shows, and Rosetta Stone doesn't teach it. Rosetta Stone listed one Chinese course among its 25 languages on October 24, 2026, and its Chinese page teaches Mandarin through pinyin with no Taiwan version.
Glossika and ChineseSkill, which both have Taiwan courses, are in our Taiwan Mandarin comparison. Babbel is checked in Is Taiwan Mandarin on Babbel?
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Taiwan Mandarin. You learn from Taiwan Mandarin you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Bubblegum's Taiwan Mandarin lessons about your own week, like a Friday night at the night market.
- A Zhuyin course teaches Taiwan's phonetic symbols, and lessons can show them above every character.
- Say your self-introduction for a new job in Taipei to Poppy in live voice chat.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- A Taiwanese comic or textbook you bought can't become a lesson. Photograph the page, and Poppy tells you what each line says.
- 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 Zhuyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
StayTW
StayTW covers all 496 grammar points on Taiwan's official TBCL list, and its zhuyin and tones follow Taiwan's Ministry of Education.
- Mock exams prepare you for the TOCFL, Taiwan's Mandarin test.
- Shadow YouTube clips, and get feedback on what you write.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Zhuyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
MobileWeb
TaiwanCards
TaiwanCards is made for anyone learning Taiwan's Mandarin, from day one to living there.
- Only Taiwan readings and Taiwan usage, with no vocabulary from China or Hong Kong.
- Its words come from everyday places in Taiwan, like a tea shop or a noodle shop.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Zhuyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Web
Du Chinese
Du Chinese is a library of Mandarin stories for every level, and you can read any of them in traditional characters.
- Save words as flashcards, and export them to Pleco or Anki.
- Audiobook mode, part of the paid plan, plays stories for you to listen to.
- Flashcards
- Doesn't teach Zhuyin
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
MobileWeb
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | The lesson library is free for everyone. Your first custom lesson is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. |
| StayTW | Free version | StayTW gives you free lessons and practice every day. Premium opens everything, and the monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial. |
| TaiwanCards | Free | TaiwanCards is free to use, with no ads and nothing to buy. |
| Du Chinese | Some lessons free | Du Chinese has a set of free lessons you can read at any time. A premium subscription opens every lesson in the app. |
Which Taiwan Mandarin app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Taiwan Mandarin, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or begin with TaiwanCards if you'd like a free start, or StayTW if you're working toward the TOCFL.
Could I use Rosetta Stone's Chinese course for Taiwan?
Rosetta Stone's Chinese page teaches Mandarin through pinyin. It says Taiwanese Mandarin uses traditional characters and some words of its own, but it lists no Taiwan course and never mentions zhuyin.
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
- Rosetta Stone: home page (language links, read October 24, 2026)
- Rosetta Stone Sapphire: App Store listing (25 languages, one Chinese course)
- Rosetta Stone: Learn Chinese (Mandarin, pinyin and tones)
- StayTW: App Store listing (TOCFL mock exams, TBCL grammar, Taiwan-accent audio)
- TaiwanCards: Taiwanese Mandarin with zhuyin and traditional characters
- Du Chinese: App Store listing (Simplified or Traditional, native audio)
- Du Chinese: home page (flashcards export to Pleco and Anki)
- Du Chinese: The Du Chinese method (narrators record in China)
- Du Chinese: pricing
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 24, 2026 against each app's own pages.
