# Laonei — Speak Chinese. Read anything.

> Speak Chinese. Read anything. (iPhone/iPad app by THOMAS JOSLPH LIDD SHANAHAN.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/laonei/id6809337940 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [THOMAS JOSLPH LIDD SHANAHAN](https://appshunter.io/developer/6809337942)
- Category: Travel, Education
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 9 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-11
- Data updated: 2026-10-09

## What is Laonei?

Laonei speaks Chinese for you.

Press the disc and say it in English — it says the Chinese out loud, so you can hand the phone to the person in front of you. They answer into the same button. No toggle to find, no direction to choose.

POINT IT AT ANYTHING
A menu, a street sign, a form, a receipt, a parking bay. Photograph it and Laonei reads the whole thing, line by line, with the characters, the pinyin and what it means. Or type one question and it answers only that — including the small grey print at the bottom that everything else skips.

THE ADDRESS A DRIVER CAN READ
Photograph a hotel booking and ask where it is. The address comes back in Chinese characters, in Chinese order, with a copy button — ready to paste into a ride app or hold up at a car window. Not a translation nobody local can read.

ASK ANYTHING ABOUT LIVING HERE
Visas, deposits, hospital paperwork, how the metro card works, where to eat when you have had enough rice. Short answers you can read standing up, from something that answers like a friend who has been here five years — and remembers what you just asked, so "which one is best?" means something.

LOOK AROUND YOU
The places on this street in Chinese, with pinyin and what they are, big enough to hold up to a taxi driver.

WHY IT IS DIFFERENT
No account. Nothing to sign up for. Your history stays on your phone and never reaches a server. No adverts, no tracking, no analytics.

老外 is the outsider. 老内 is the joke: the insider. You arrive as one and this is how you stop being one.

## Is Laonei safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Laonei.

## Is Laonei legit?

Laonei has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Laonei is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.5 — 2026-10-05

Four ways in, on one screen: Translate, Ask, Look and Listen.

Read is now Look — point it at a menu, a sign or a form and it reads it to you.

Free translated video calls. Ring anyone, anywhere, and you both read each other as you talk. They need no app and no account, just a link.

Learn has its own place again, built around the phrases you have actually needed, with a test both ways round.

Messages from us, so we can tell you what is new and you can write back.

### 1.0.4 — 2026-09-18

- Two tabs: Laonei for translating, asking and the camera, and Learn for everything else.
- Nine of China's most famous stories, read aloud with pictures: the Monkey King, the White Snake, Chang'e, the Butterfly Lovers, Mulan, Nezha and more.
- Save Laonei's answers, just like phrases.
- Lessons built from the phrases you use most, plus short culture lessons: toasts, gifts, the bill and face.
- Calmer, clearer voice, with Chinese names said properly.
- Your China status, front and centre.

### 1.0.3 — 2026-09-17

- Ask reads its answers aloud (switch it off with Voice), and tells a good story when you're curious.
- Listen to Journey to the West, the Monkey King's story, in short spoken chapters. Laonei remembers where you stopped.
- How laonei are you? A one-minute quiz on Chinese customs and survival phrases, and a rank from 老外 to 老内.
- Remember me: if you'd like, Laonei remembers what you've asked so it can pick up where you left off. It stays on your phone.
- The location request now asks as Laonei, and a gentle tap in your hand when it starts and stops listening.

### 1.0.2 — 2026-09-15

- Live camera: point at a menu or sign and the English appears on it while you look. Hold still for a moment, the picture freezes, and the translation fills in.
- Voice switches: tap Voice above the circle to turn the Chinese voice or your own language's voice on or off, so conversations move faster.
- Tap any translated sentence to hear it again.
- Fixed: on a first launch the microphone could show as unavailable until the app was restarted.

### 1.0.1 — 2026-09-15

- Photos: see the English or pinyin written on top of each line of Chinese, and tap a line to hear it
- Bigger and smaller buttons for zooming into a photo, always within reach
- Type your own question about a photo, not only the suggested ones
- Ask now asks about the photo on your screen

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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 2026-10-09.*