# Hanzi Crush — Match characters by sound > Mandarin character matching game for pronunciation practice and vocabulary building. (iPhone/iPad app by WEIZHE ZHAO.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hanzi-crush/id6805753627 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [WEIZHE ZHAO](https://appshunter.io/developer/6801283476) - Category: Education, Games, Puzzle - Price: Free - Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 5 MB - Languages: American English, Chinese (Simplified, China) - Released: 2026-09-03 - Data updated: 2026-09-15 - Monetization: ad-supported - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hanzi-crush/id6805753627/reviews.md ## What is Hanzi Crush? Hanzi Crush is a matching game built on a single rule: two characters that share a Mandarin reading make a pair. Tap 明 and 名 — both míng — and they clear. That one mechanic happens to be the exact thing that makes spoken Chinese hard: thousands of characters, a few hundred syllables, homophones everywhere. Playing the game is practising the distinction. FOUR TIERS • Beginner — the 500 most common characters on a 2×2 board, five lives, no clock. Tiles speak their reading when you tap them. • Intermediate — 1,000 characters, and near-homophones start appearing beside the real pair. • Hard — 3,500 characters, 3×3 board, 90 seconds on the clock. • Pro — all 8,105 characters, same clock, and no character repeats within a run. Each tier unlocks by clearing the one before it. POLYPHONIC CHARACTERS Characters with more than one reading are in play, and every match names the reading it resolved on. Clear 行 against 航 and the app tells you it matched on háng — the reading you did not know — instead of letting you assume xíng. A DICTIONARY THAT ANSWERS BACK All 8,105 characters, searchable by character, by pinyin, or by English meaning. Readings, senses, and example sentences for each. Save any character to your notebook, and tap the speaker to hear it. WHAT IT KEEPS TRACK OF Your best run on each tier, how many distinct characters you have matched, and a "needs review" list ranked by what you have missed most recently and most often. Every run ends with a grid showing what you matched, what you missed, and what you never tried. Works entirely offline. No account, no ads, no data collection. Interface in English and 简体中文. Character data comes from the Unicode Consortium's Unihan Database. Example sentences come from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). ## Key features - Character matching by sound - Four difficulty tiers - Polyphonic character support - Searchable character dictionary - Progress tracking and review list - Offline play ## Frequently asked questions about Hanzi Crush ### How does Hanzi Crush teach Mandarin characters? Hanzi Crush uses a matching game mechanic where players pair characters that share the same Mandarin reading (pinyin). This helps reinforce pronunciation and distinguish between homophones, a key challenge in spoken Chinese. ### What are the different difficulty levels in Hanzi Crush? Hanzi Crush offers four tiers: Beginner (500 common characters, 2x2 board, no clock), Intermediate (1,000 characters, introduces near-homophones), Hard (3,500 characters, 3x3 board, 90-second timer), and Pro (all 8,105 characters, same timer, no repeating characters per run). ### Does Hanzi Crush have a dictionary feature? Yes, Hanzi Crush includes a comprehensive dictionary of all 8,105 characters. You can search by character, pinyin, or English meaning, and each entry provides readings, senses, example sentences, and audio pronunciation. ### Can I play Hanzi Crush offline? Yes, Hanzi Crush works entirely offline, meaning you do not need an internet connection to play or access its features. This makes it convenient for learning on the go. ### Does Hanzi Crush have ads? Yes, Hanzi Crush contains advertisements. As it is a free application, ads are displayed to support its development and availability. ### What kind of progress tracking does Hanzi Crush offer? Hanzi Crush tracks your best performance on each tier, the total number of distinct characters matched, and maintains a 'needs review' list prioritized by recent and frequent misses. Each game session concludes with a summary of matches and misses. ### Is Hanzi Crush suitable for beginners? Yes, Hanzi Crush is suitable for beginners with its 'Beginner' tier, which focuses on the 500 most common characters on a simple 2x2 board with no time pressure. Tiles also speak their readings when tapped. ### What devices does Hanzi Crush support? Based on the provided data, Hanzi Crush currently supports iPhones. Information on Android or other platform availability is not specified. ## Version history (last 1 release) ### 1.0 — 2026-09-03 No release notes. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-15.*