Does WaniKani Teach Chinese Characters?
No. WaniKani teaches the kanji used in Japanese, with Japanese readings and words, and its site describes no Chinese course. It is known for teaching about 2,000 kanji and 6,000 words through radicals, the small parts that kanji are built from. Each radical, kanji, and word comes with a memory story, and reviews come back at the time that suits you.
Chinese has apps for each part of that method. Below, they're grouped by how you'd like to learn characters. For courses, tutors, and readers, see our best apps to learn Chinese.
Which Chinese Apps Offer What WaniKani Offers?
| What WaniKani Offers | Chinese Apps That Offer It |
|---|---|
| Reviews timed to your memory | Skritter, HelloChinese |
| Characters broken into parts | Pleco |
| Decks by level and topic | Skritter |
| Characters you read in sentences | Bubblegum, HelloChinese (graded stories) |
Chinese Characters You Meet Again in Context
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.
In Bubblegum, each word you save shows up again in a new lesson, inside a sentence you can follow. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you like, and she writes Mandarin lessons about it at your level.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum is not a character course. For writing practice and character parts, Skritter and Pleco below are the better fit.
- Poppy writes Mandarin lessons at your level about the things you like.
- Tap a word to see its meaning and pinyin.
- Words you save return inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™, so you review them by reading.
- Choose Simplified or Traditional characters.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- It doesn't teach characters one by one, with stroke order or memory stories.
- 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
Write and Review Characters
Skritter
Skritter teaches each character's meaning, reading, and tone first, and then you write it yourself. Pick a list that matches your textbook, or build one yourself. It suits learners who want to write Chinese by hand and keep it in memory.
- Write characters on screen and get graded stroke by stroke.
- Characters you find hard show up in reviews more often.
- Decks for HSK levels, stroke order, and topics like ordering tea.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
HelloChinese
HelloChinese is a full Mandarin course for beginners, with games, speech practice, and handwriting. It starts with a Pinyin course, so you learn the sounds before the characters. It suits learners who want characters as one part of a bigger course.
- Handwriting practice made for learning Chinese characters.
- A step-by-step course based on HSK levels.
- More than 1,000 graded stories to read at your level.
- Flashcards
- Teaches Pinyin
- Traditional characters
Mobile
See How a Character Is Built
Pleco
Pleco is a Chinese dictionary with flashcards built in. Tap a character to look up its parts, then follow the links to other words that use it. It suits learners who want to dig into a character after they meet it.
- Look up the parts inside any character.
- Split a word into its characters and see every word that uses one.
- Draw a character on screen to find it.
- Flashcards
- Traditional characters
- Zhuyin
Mobile
Frequently Asked Questions
Which app should a beginner use for Chinese characters?
If you are serious about learning Chinese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with HelloChinese if you'd like a course, because it teaches pinyin first and then adds characters. Add Skritter once you'd like to write them by hand.
Can I use WaniKani to learn Chinese?
WaniKani teaches each kanji with its Japanese readings and Japanese words, so its answers won't match Mandarin. A Chinese app gives you each character's Mandarin sound in pinyin and the Mandarin words that use it.
Should I learn Simplified or Traditional characters?
Pick the set used where you'll read Chinese. Bubblegum, HelloChinese, and Pleco let you switch between Simplified and Traditional, so you can change your mind later.
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
- WaniKani: A kanji learning application by Tofugu (2,000 kanji and 6,000 words with mnemonics and reviews)
- Skritter: Learn to write Chinese and Japanese characters (handwriting recognition, smart flashcards)
- Skritter: Write Chinese, App Store listing (decks by topic and HSK level, meaning, reading and tone before writing)
- HelloChinese: Home page (Spaced Repetition System, handwriting)
- Pleco: App Store listing (character components, word breakdowns, handwriting input, flashcards)
- HelloChinese: App Store listing (handwriting, graded stories, Pinyin course, Simplified and Traditional)
- Bubblegum
- Skritter
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
