# I Learn Chinese Characters — Read and Write Chinese

> Learn Chinese characters through pictographic origins, pronunciation, and writing practice. (iPhone/iPad app by YOYASOFT LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-learn-chinese-characters/id389073069 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [YOYASOFT LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/325345561)
- Category: Education, Reference
- Price: $4.99
- Rating: 4.60/5 from 30 App Store ratings · 81 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 46 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2010-08-30
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-learn-chinese-characters/id389073069/reviews.md

## What is I Learn Chinese Characters?

This application introduces Chinese characters to non-native speakers or young kids in a fun and intuitive way: to understand their origins as pictures of the objects they represent. 

For example, the Chinese character for Sun was originally a circle with a dot in its center. It has evolved over the history, but you can still find traces of its original shape.

Besides explaining the picture meanings, this application also demonstrates the correct way of pronouncing and writing the characters. It even let you practice on your iPhone side by side with the demonstration. You'll find that you will be able to read and write dozens of Chinese characters in no time! 

Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Feature Highlights

* An introduction covering the basics of the Chinese language, including its grammar, stroke order rules, the Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and so on.
* Featured character are organized into categories and are introduced with their picture origins.
* The Progressive Study mode allows you to learn most common Chinese characters first and to measure your understanding with carefully selected questions in tests.
* An index page of characters listed in alphabetical order, with search functionality. Users can search with character's pinyin, Chinese writing, or the English meanings.
* Recorded Character sound
* Character writing demonstrations and practice screens. You can practice writing Chinese characters right on your device screen!
* This application runs on iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad, which means you only need to buy once and use on all your devices!


Users Feedback

"Dam good ***** - This app organizes the most commonly used Chinese symbols in an orderly, accessible fashion." - by Push926
"Fun and Easy! *****" - by Ryan1223432
"Very helpful. I am looking forward for more updates! *****" - by Nightreaver
"This App is Awesome! *****" - by RebeccaTVS
"Awesome! Thanks! Love the historical info because it all makes so much more sense. *****" - by Jondailey

## Key features

- Pictographic origin explanations
- Pronunciation guides
- Character writing demonstrations
- Interactive writing practice
- Progressive study mode
- Character index with search

## What do users think of I Learn Chinese Characters?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 👍 Great for learning characters
- ✍️ Shows stroke order and writing practice
- 🧠 Explains character etymology and history
- 🎧 Provides pronunciation audio
- 📚 Useful for serious learners
- ✨ Interactive and engaging
- 💯 Well-designed and informative
- 💰 Good value for money
- 💡 Clear explanations and examples
- ✅ Progressive study format
- 🌟 Highly recommended by users
- 📚 Handy reference tool
- 📝 Good for practicing writing
- 🚀 Fast and easy to use
- 💡 Detailed character explanations
- 👍 Customer service responsiveness

**Cons**

- 📉 Limited content/characters
- 🐛 Stroke recognition bugs
- 🤔 Percentage learned status deceptive
- ✍️ Writing practice not always available
- 🧐 Errors in English text in later lessons
- 🐌 Slow recognition of strokes
- 📚 Not ideal for quick study or grammar
- 🤷‍♂️ Character selection unclear
- 🖱️ UI could be improved/too much navigation
- 🚫 Does not teach grammar or reading extensively
- 🗣️ Lacks sentence practice within the app

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Sound glitch within lessons
- Stroke recognition issues
- Character trace buggy
- Does not function properly (full version)
- English words instead of pinyin in progressive study
- Incorrect audio for pinyin words
- Does not pick up strokes on iPhone version
- Character trace is a little buggy

**Most requested features**

- Add traditional characters
- Regularly add more characters
- Add sentences and phrases for practice
- Practice writing simple sentences
- Hear pronunciation while writing
- Test writing recall without watermark
- Expand content beyond lesson 11
- Include every Chinese word
- Connect sentences
- More content and lessons
- Search feature
- Traditional characters option
- More words in the index
- Add more content
- Expand character database
- Explain origin of characters
- Add more words
- Add idioms and academic words
- More content
- Add more characters

## Recent user reviews (10 of 81)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/i-learn-chinese-characters/id389073069/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Excellent, but could be improved

*2021-06-19*

A version with traditional characters would make this more useable for many students. Also, more characters should be added regularly.

### 5/5 — Please keep updating!

*2018-11-20, version 2.2.7*

This is a great app. I always come back to it.  When someone asks me what’s a good app for learning Chinese I recommend this one. 最好！

### 5/5 — U

*2014-09-29, version 2.2.6*

I love it

### 4/5 — Helpful in Learning Characters

*2014-05-31*

This will not teach a person the Chinese language, but it makes a handy reference when one is working with pinyin and wants to see what the real words are. The progressive study has the worthy goal of quickly familiarizing a novice with Chinese text to make it less intimidating. The percentage learned status displayed here is deceptive, however. I have completed enough levels supposedly to be able to recognize over 60% of characters in typical text, but from my experiments with Chinese newspapers, it is closer to about 40%. The number of errors in the English text also increases in the later progressive lessons as if less proofreading were being done. An amusing example is where a bride is described as "newly web."

### 5/5 — Very useful app

*2014-04-05, version 2.2.6*

It's a very well made app. Nice collection of words, you can go through all the words step by step or use it as a special dictionary. I'm studying Chinese and tried many apps. This is one of the few that is really useful over the time. Other best apps for Chinese lerners that I did not delete after a little time: 
Pleco, the best dictionary so far
Skritter, very good to learn how to write

### 5/5 — Great APP

*2014-03-25, version 2.2.6*

One of my top 5 APPS
I like that it shows you stroke order, and the color code when you write a stroke in the correct order.

### 4/5 — One of my top ten Chinese apps

*2013-12-24, version 2.2.6*

I can practice writing, and self test. The background information on the characters is useful for memory retention. The app works great, and I find myself reaching for it at least 2 times a week.

### 5/5 — Great app, needs to add sentences next.

*2013-09-20*

Great app for understanding the characters, especially under "Progressive Study." Sample sentences and phrases are provided but it would be great to practice writing simple sentences within the app by strokes.
I like the video animation for the stroke order, the examples of usage and definitions. Money well spent!

### 5/5 — Fantastic!

*2013-09-01, version 2.2.5*

This program is a great sublime to other learning you may be doing. It is white intense, but worth your time.

### 5/5 — Excelente

*2013-08-23, version 2.2.5*

Es muy buena aplicacion y muy completa.

## Frequently asked questions about I Learn Chinese Characters

### What does I Learn Chinese Characters do?

This application teaches Chinese characters to beginners by explaining their origins as pictures. It covers pronunciation, correct writing stroke order, and offers interactive practice sessions on your device.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include explanations of character origins, pronunciation guides, writing demonstrations, interactive writing practice, a progressive study mode for common characters, and a searchable index of characters.

### How much does I Learn Chinese Characters cost?

The application is a one-time purchase. You buy it once and can use it on all your compatible Apple devices, including iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad.

### What devices is I Learn Chinese Characters compatible with?

This application is designed to run on iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad devices. Purchasing the app once allows you to use it across all your compatible devices.

### Who is this app best for?

This app is ideal for individuals new to the Chinese language, including non-native speakers and young children, who want a fun and intuitive way to learn characters by understanding their visual roots.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.2 — 2020-11-19

- Fixes for test score card layout and test unit font colors.

### 3.1 — 2020-11-15

- Fix for a few layout issues on newer devices.

### 3.0 — 2020-10-04

General update for newer screen sizes and iOS versions.

### 2.2.7 — 2017-09-15

- 64 bit support
- iOS 11 support

### 2.2.6 — 2013-10-02

* Added a new unit 23 of 25 characters to Progressive Study
* iOS 7 compatibility

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## More apps by YOYASOFT LLC

- [iLearn Chinese Characters Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilearn-chinese-characters-lite/id349253256)
- [Rul3r](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rul3r/id997746189)
- [Chinese Characters 汉字](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-characters/id1437589680)
- [Words Lens](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/words-lens/id1489872903)
- [Text Snap](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/text-snap/id1519591273)

All apps by YOYASOFT LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/325345561

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*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 2026-08-29.*