Chinese Apps for Smartphones and Tablets

Learn to read and write Chinese characters with these popular mobile apps from Clavis Sinica. All of our apps run on iPhone, iPad, and Android phones and tablets. They can be purchased from the iTunes AppStore and from Google Play using the links on the Clavis Sinica ordering page.

Zika Chinese Flashcards

Study and review the 1500 most frequently used Chinese characters, all 189 radicals, and 375 common compounds grouped by category. This app uses a unique multiple-choice format and wide-ranging usage examples to help you master Chinese characters and radicals. The app includes 19 built-in flashcard sets for a total of over 2,130 vocabulary items.

You can view common usage examples for any character or radical to help you learn and remember unfamiliar items. For any character, you can view a list of common compound words in which it is used. For any radical, you can view a list of common characters that it forms. Both types of usage list include characters, pinyin, and English definitions. (Product Details | Pricing)

Chinese Character Test

Based on the popular Chinese Character Test applet, this app estimates the number of characters you know based on a simple character recognition test. For each test item, you're shown a character and then offered a choice of five pinyin pronunciations and five brief English definitions to match with the character.

If you get them both pinyin and definition correct, you go on to the next character. If you get either one wrong, you're shown the correct answer along with a list of compound words using the character so you can see how it is used in context. Once you've completed the test, the app estimates the total number of characters you know based on your ability to recognize characters at different levels of difficulty. (Product Details | Pricing)

Chinese Character Trainer

Learn to write Chinese characters on your touch screen device. This app uses attractive stroke animations to show you how each character is formed, one stroke at a time. It then invites you to practice writing the character yourself on the touchscreen, giving you immediate feedback on every stroke you draw.

Three different learning modes take you from your first encounter with each new character through systematic writing practice to a thorough mastery of the character's structure and stroke order.

Different versions of the app are available to help you study basic Chinese radicals as well as the characters used in HSK levels 1-3 and in the Stepping Stones Chinese e-textbook. (Product Details | Pricing)