I’ve spent the past few months building free Chinese learning tools — one at a time, based on what I actually needed while living in China and studying the language. This post collects all five of them in one place, with a note on what each one is good for and when to use it.
All five are free, work offline after the first load, and require no account.
The Full List
1. Pinyin Annotator — for reading anything
Paste any Chinese text and pinyin appears above every character. 2,500+ character dictionary. Tone color-coding (red/orange/green/purple for the four tones). HSK level highlight. Click any character for a popup. Best for: reading above your level, annotating texts you screenshot, removing the pain of unknown characters.
2. Chinese Reading Lab — for comprehension practice
10 real historical decisions told in Chinese at HSK4–6 level. Mandela in prison. Jobs getting fired from Apple. Musk betting everything. Tu Youyou’s malaria research. You read the story, make the decision before seeing the result, then answer 3 comprehension questions. Clickable vocab popup throughout. Best for: intermediate+ learners who want reading practice with real content.
3. Chengyu Stories — for the idioms you’ll encounter everywhere
20 classic 成语 with their 2,000-year-old origin stories in Chinese, English translations, modern usage examples, and a scenario quiz. Best for: HSK4–6 learners; anyone who keeps seeing four-character idioms and wants to actually learn them rather than memorize definitions.
4. Mandarin Flashcards — for vocabulary drilling
400+ HSK1–3 words with spaced repetition. Level filter. Clickable characters with pinyin popup. Story reader mode (English first, reveal Chinese). Best for: beginners building the 400-word foundation; anyone who wants a clean flashcard experience without paying for Anki decks.
5. Chinese Writing Toolkit — for the HSK writing section
Model essays and sentence banks for 11 applied writing types: invitation letters, thank-you letters, complaint letters, cover letters, self-introductions, and more. 13 grammar patterns. Vocabulary upgrade table. Practice pad. Best for: HSK4–6 exam prep; anyone who needs to write formal Chinese and doesn’t know where to start.
→ Open Chinese Writing Toolkit
Which One to Start With
If you’re a beginner (HSK1–3): start with Mandarin Flashcards. Once you have the vocabulary base, use the Pinyin Annotator to read anything above your level.
If you’re intermediate (HSK4–6): the Reading Lab and Chengyu Stories will do more for your actual comprehension than drilling more vocabulary. Use the Writing Toolkit if you have an exam coming up.
All tools are listed at ordinarymantrying.com/tools. The full collection is also on GitHub: daligao.github.io/learn-chinese-free.
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