Get the learn to speak Chinese apps for Android and iOS
What are the best to “learn to speak Chinese apps?”
Get out your smartphones, go to the App Store or Google Play and start going through this list on the best learn to speak Chinese apps! In this article, we’ve selected 5 apps that will actually help your speaking Chinese — because they all help you get speaking with real people, both language partners and real teachers.
Each app in the list comes with a link, description, pricing, and a few comments. If we missed a great app — tell us in the comments! Alright, let’s go.
Top 5 Learn to speak Chinese apps
HelloTalk
| Cost | Free |
| In-App Purchases | Yes |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | iTunes |
Learn to speak Chinese app Hellotalk is avaiable for iOS and Android
If you’re looking to do language exchange through phone calls, audio bubble recordings, or just messaging — then HelloTalk is right for you! While not exclusive to Chinese, HelloTalk connects millions of language learner around the world with their global communications platform.
HelloTalk makes it easy to find people whose needs language needs match yours! It can be casual chatting about your favorite topics or more serious language studying (depending if the partner is into it). Take note, though, this still just language exchange. There is no curriculum, no standardized learning, and language partner “quality” varies. Use it as a fun tool to apply your language skills with real people! This is great for this very necessary aspect of language learning — speaking!
| Cost | Free |
| In-App Purchases | Yes |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | iTunes |
Learn to speak Chinese app Wechat is one of the most popular communications apps in the world and the #1 app in China!
Any list about speaking Chinese apps would be amiss without featuring WeChat. Wechat is not just the Whatsapp of China. Wechat is the Facebook/Instagram/Whats App/Text messaging and more all rolled into one app. See this video from the New York Times about how China is changing your internet and get a closer/more insightful look into Wechat.
Anyway, WeChat is where you will find the most native Chinese speakers! But, how to find some that are open to language exchange? With Wechat there are several functions that you can use:
Groups: Join Wechat groups for learning Chinese! There are many groups out there with upwards of 200 people learning Chinese together. Similar to our Ask a Chinese teacher facebook group but with less teachers and more community.
Shake: Use the ‘shake’ function and you will see anybody else nearby that is shaking their phone. This is usually just a fun one for a person or a group to all share contact information. But, who knows, maybe you’ll shake up a language partner!
Message in a bottle: This feature let’s you send out a public message for all to see. Send out a messaging asking for a language partner and see what you might get!
A friend of a friend: Have a friend introduce you to someone! It’s easy to share name cards to pass on contacts with WeChat. Also it recommends friends of friends that you might know.
LINE
| Cost | Free |
| In-App Purchases | Yes |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | iTunes |
Learn to speak Chinese app, LINE, is one of the most popular communications apps in Taiwan and Japan
LINE is similar to WeChat and WhatsApp. It’s a communications app to talk to your friends, colleagues, and family on a daily basis. LINE has less functionality than WeChat but more stickers. LINE users love the stickers and top users will have spent tons of money on building up a sticker collection that makes everyone jealous.
LINE is popular only in certain countries — namely Taiwan. If you’re looking to meet Taiwan Chinese speakers (aka people using traditional characters!) then LINE is definitely for you. Based on Similarweb’s blog about worldwide messaging apps — LINE is only popular in 4 major countries: Taiwan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, and Japan.
Most popular communication app by country map
TutorMandarin
| Cost | Free |
| In-App Purchases | Yes |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | Coming Soon |
Learn to speak Chinese app — TutorMandarin is a one stop shop for learning all aspect of Mandarin including speaking
Learn to speak Chinese app TutorMandarin is a one stop shop for Chinese Learning
Tutormandarin states their main goal is to help you learn to speak practical Chinese. The app has a robust virtual classroom that puts to shame simple video messaging apps. Here you can experience a real online class with full lesson PDF on an interactive whiteboard while seamlessly switching back to video and messaging at your convenience.
The other point here is that Tutormandarin is not just a language exchange. Tutors are professional with certifications and they are using a curriculum designed around HSK standards to teach in a systematic and efficient way. All users looking to learn Mandarin get a free trial class just for signing up.
Speaky
| Cost | Free |
| In-App Purchases | Yes |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | iTunes |
Learn to speak Chinese app Speaky is great for finding native speakers to talk with
Speaky is a 100% free language exchange app that helps you find language partners worldwide. While they have multiple languages — Chinese is among them!
Again Speaky is best for quickly finding someone to practice your language with and get real native practice. Userbase can be lopsided with some language combinations, but there are a few gems in there! Definitely a nice solution for finding the perfect language partner to ‘speaky’ with.