Chinese Parrot
Chinese Parrot: learn Chinese characters with pictures
Each character comes with a picture, its pinyin, its sound and its strokes. Study a lesson, test yourself, and review characters when they are due.
- Free
- No ads
- Works offline
- Learner profiles
- Android
100+ downloads
What it does
Chinese Parrot teaches Chinese characters the way they are easiest to remember at first: as pictures. Characters such as 日 (sun), 月 (moon) and 山 (mountain) appear next to an illustration of what they mean, with their pinyin and tone, their meaning and their sound.
Lessons are grouped by theme in a course for beginners, such as numbers, body parts and nature. In each lesson you study the cards, then tap “Test me” to check what you remember. A Strokes view on each card is there for writing practice.
The app keeps track of what each learner has studied and tells you when characters are ready to review, so practice goes to the characters you are about to forget.
Who it is for
Chinese Parrot is for complete beginners of any age who want to start reading Chinese characters: children learning at school or at home, and adults curious about the language.
Because profiles keep each learner’s progress apart, parents and children, or brothers and sisters, can learn on the same phone.
Features
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Picture cards
Every character is paired with an illustration of its meaning, its pinyin with tone marks and its translation.
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Hear it
Listen to each character and word, read aloud by the voice of your device.
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Strokes
Practise writing each character from its Strokes view.
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Themed lessons
A beginners course organised into lessons by topic.
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Test me and review
Quiz yourself after a lesson, and review characters when the app says they are due.
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Learner profiles
Several learners can share one device, each with their own course and progress, kept only on the device.
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Listen and Match
Extra practice modes to recognise characters by sound and by meaning.
What it helps with
- Characters that stick
- Linking a character to a picture of its meaning gives you a memory hook for every new character.
- Pronunciation from day one
- Pinyin with tone marks and audio teach how each character sounds, not only what it means.
- Practice at the right time
- Review reminders bring back characters just before you forget them.
- Learning anywhere
- Everything is in the app, so lessons work offline.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know any Chinese to start?
No. Chinese Parrot starts from zero, with picture cards and pinyin for each character in a beginners course.
Does Chinese Parrot teach pinyin and tones?
Yes. Every character shows its pinyin with tone marks, and you can listen to it.
Can I practise writing characters?
Yes. Each study card has a Strokes view for stroke practice.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Lessons, pictures and progress are all on the device.
Is my progress sent anywhere?
No. Learner profiles and progress stay on your device. The app has no account, no ads and no analytics.
No sign-up, no ads, no analytics. Read how the app handles data in its privacy policy (in English). Privacy policy (Chinese Parrot)
