Best Free Apps to Learn Chinese in 2026

You don't need to pay anything to learn Chinese in 2026. Here's the all-free stack — from your first pinyin lesson to reading native articles with HSK tracking.

Step 1 — Pinyin and tones (free)

Pinyin Trainer on the web and YoYo Chinese's free YouTube channel will get you reading pinyin and distinguishing the four tones in under a week. Don't skip this — every later step depends on it.

Step 2 — Hanzi (free)

Anki with a community HSK deck is free and brutal. InputDojo's HSK hanzi dictionary is also free — browse all 3,000+ HSK characters with pinyin, meaning, and study mode.

Step 3 — HSK vocabulary (free)

Anki HSK 1–6 decks, free. InputDojo's HSK track gives you the full vocabulary list, organized by level, with built-in SRS — no paywall for the core HSK content.

Step 4 — Grammar (free)

Chinese Grammar Wiki is the de-facto free reference. Pair it with InputDojo's free HSK grammar dictionary to see grammar points organized by level.

Step 5 — Listening (free)

YouTube channels Mandarin Corner, ChineseClass101, and DianxiXiaoge — all free, all genuinely watchable. Slow Chinese podcasts also free on Spotify.

Step 6 — Reading native content (free)

The Chairman's Bao has a free tier with graded news. InputDojo lets you import any Chinese article, YouTube video or PDF and read it with one-tap pinyin + meaning, free to start.

Step 7 — Speaking (free)

HelloTalk and Tandem connect you with native Chinese speakers for free text and voice exchange. Make the deal: "I'll help with your English if you help with my Chinese."

The complete free 2026 stack

1. YoYo Chinese (pinyin)
2. InputDojo HSK track (hanzi, vocab, grammar)
3. Chinese Grammar Wiki (reference)
4. Mandarin Corner on YouTube (listening)
5. InputDojo import (real content)
6. HelloTalk (speaking)

That's it. Free, complete, and enough to take you from zero to HSK 5 if you put in the hours.