🆓

Free Resources

You can make real progress in Chinese without spending money. These free and freemium resources cover every core skill — dictionary, listening, vocabulary, and reading. Many paid apps also have generous free tiers worth using before you subscribe.

35 free & freemium resources

Freemium

Pleco ★

The essential Chinese dictionary app

vocabularyreadingwriting

Freemium

HelloChinese ★

Best structured course for beginners

vocabularygrammarspeaking

Freemium

Du Chinese

Graded news-style reading with audio

readinglisteningvocabulary

Freemium

Anki

Spaced repetition that makes vocabulary stick

vocabularywriting

Freemium

HelloTalk

Language exchange with native speakers

speakingwritingvocabulary

Freemium

SuperChinese

Structured HSK progression with AI

vocabularygrammarspeaking

Freemium

LingQ

Import and read any Chinese content

readinglisteningvocabulary

Freemium

ChineseSkill

Gamified lessons from zero to HSK 4

vocabularygrammarspeaking

Freemium

ReadChinese ★

HSK-leveled stories with audio and smart annotation

readinglisteningvocabulary

Free

Yoyo Chinese ★

Structured video lessons from a trusted teacher

grammarvocabularylistening

Free

Mandarin Corner ★

Real Chinese from street interviews and vlogs

listeningvocabulary

Free

ChineseFor.Us

Best free pinyin and pronunciation instruction

speakinglisteningvocabulary

Free

Mandarin Click

Slow stories with visual context for beginners

listeningvocabulary

Free

Little Chinese Everywhere

Comprehensible input with engaging travel content

listeningvocabulary

Free

Dashu

Conversational Chinese with a native speaker

listeningvocabularyspeaking

Free

Chinese Zero to Hero

HSK grammar and vocabulary deep dives

grammarvocabulary

Freemium

ChinesePod ★

Thousands of structured audio lessons

listeningvocabularygrammar

Free

Slow Chinese

News at a learner-friendly pace

listeningvocabulary

Free

Tea-Time Chinese

Intermediate podcast spoken mostly in Chinese

listeningvocabulary

Freemium

ChineseClass101

Audio and video lessons for all levels

listeningvocabularygrammar

Free

Zhongwen ★

Hover dictionary for any Chinese webpage

readingvocabulary

Freemium

Language Reactor

Dual subtitles for Netflix and YouTube

listeningvocabularyreading

Freemium

Toucan

Sprinkle Chinese into your daily browsing

vocabularyreading

Free

Mandarinspot

Reading helper with pinyin and translation overlay

readingvocabulary

Free

Chinese Grammar Wiki ★

Comprehensive free grammar reference

grammar

Free

MDBG Chinese Dictionary

Best free web dictionary

vocabularyreadingwriting

Freemium

YellowBridge

Character etymology and stroke order

writingvocabulary

Freemium

Coursera Chinese Courses

University-level Mandarin courses online

grammarvocabularyspeaking

Free

Hanzi Writer

Free open-source stroke-order animations

writing

Free

Hacking Chinese

Evidence-based strategies for learning Mandarin

vocabularygrammarspeaking

Freemium

Hanping Chinese Dictionary

Strong Pleco alternative on Android

vocabularyreadingwriting

Freemium

Duolingo Chinese

Casual daily practice and habit building

vocabularygrammar

Freemium

Beelinguapp

Side-by-side bilingual stories

readinglisteningvocabulary

Freemium

Tandem

Language exchange with text and video chat

speakingwritingvocabulary

Freemium

Miraa

AI subtitles for YouTube and podcasts

listeningvocabularyspeaking

Practice reading with ReadChinese

HSK-leveled stories with audio narration, word-by-word annotation, and built-in vocabulary review. Start reading for free.

Start reading free →