# Laoshi: Learn Chinese & HSK — user reviews > 168 indexed App Store user reviews of Laoshi by Laoshi Inc., rated 4.60/5 from 678 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/laoshi-learn-chinese-and-hsk/id1510215770/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/laoshi-learn-chinese-and-hsk/id1510215770.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 569 · 4★ 48 · 3★ 17 · 2★ 14 · 1★ 30 ## Newest reviews (14 of 168) ### 3/5 — Планируете ли вы выпустить новую версию HSK? *2026-08-06, version 5.7.10* Там старая версия на 500 слов за 2021 год, а сейчас вышла недавно новая версия на 300 слов в 1 HSK. ### 2/5 — Невозможно бесплатно пользоваться *2026-07-13, version 5.7.10* Сразу при открытии приложения выскакивает окно покупки тарифа плюс, невозможно его закрыть ### 2/5 — Dịch sai *2026-06-04, version 5.7.9* Tên dịch tào lao ### 2/5 — не могу начать обучение *2026-05-18, version 5.7.8* Здравствуйте! у меня проблема со входом в приложение, я зарегистрировалась, но мне вылезает окно о дополнительных услугах (подписка) а выйти я не могу и начать обучение бесплатно не получается, у меня просто не появляется крестик чтобы закрыть это окно. ### 1/5 — Unexpected Charge *2026-05-01* I downloaded Laoshi expecting to activate the free trial, but the app charged me immediately without giving me the free trial period. I only gained access after being billed, and now Apple won’t allow me to request a refund through their system. I did not like the app and feel misled by the payment flow. I would like my money back, but the app makes this process impossible. Very disappointing experience. **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry for the experience. Based on this comment alone, we’re unable to identify the user and investigate the issue in detail. It’s possible that the free trial had already been used before, which is why it could not be activated again. Please email us at app@laoshi.io, and we’ll take a closer look and do our best to help. ### 3/5 — ? *2026-04-28* I was about to start but do i need to pay? **Developer response:** We offer a free trial so you can decide whether the subscription is right for you. If you have any trouble activating the free trial, please email us at app@laoshi.io, and we’ll activate it for you without any questions. ### 4/5 — Writing Needs Improvement *2026-04-22* I am enjoying relearning Chinese again. The handwriting component could be improved in that it is slightly laggy and slow with unnecessary animation lag, which causes some of my strokes to not get registered causing frustration. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback — really glad to hear you’re enjoying learning Chinese again. We hear you on the handwriting performance — this shouldn’t feel laggy. We’re already working on improving responsiveness and stroke recognition to make it smoother. If you’re open to it, feel free to email us at app@laoshi.io with your device details — it helps us fix these issues faster 🙏 ### 1/5 — Confusing to use *2026-04-20* Unclear on how to track progress or progression. Feels a bit aimless or scattered. No real lessons here for an app called “teacher”. Basically, it seems to just be simple flashcards. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback — this is helpful to hear. Laoshi isn’t designed as a step-by-step course. It’s built more like a companion for serious learners — helping you build vocabulary, review with spaced repetition, and practice writing and pronunciation alongside your studies. That’s also why it’s called “Laoshi” — not as a traditional course, but as a tool that supports you between lessons. That said, we understand how this can feel unclear at first. If you’re open to it, email us at app@laoshi.io — we’d be happy to guide you and help you get the most out of the app 🙏 ### 2/5 — an extra star for the idea *2026-04-19* so its mandatory I HAVE to pay to use ? I thought it was like Duolingo where its free, but for bonuses, you can pay & such. Tell me why theres an option for $250 for a permanent pay once. 😔 other than that, the idea is pretty good. Just the paywall behind everything **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback — and glad you like the idea. Laoshi isn’t a freemium app like Duolingo — it’s a subscription product focused on serious learners, so most features are behind a paywall. We do offer a short free trial so you can try it first and see if it works for you. The lifetime option is there for people who prefer a one-time payment instead of a subscription — it’s not required. If you’d like to explore the app without starting a trial, feel free to email us at app@laoshi.io — we can activate access manually for you 🙏 ### 1/5 — Forced pay to use. *2026-04-18, version 5.7.6* You can’t use it yet you pay. ### 2/5 — Not letting me move to the other lesson *2026-04-15, version 5.7.6* I’m on the first lesson and it’s got me stuck at vertical strokes, I try to swipe but it stays on the same thing. And when I reset the app It doesn’t let me click the button to open the lesson for vertical strokes. I have to keep redoing the lesson on horizontal strokes for it to let into vertical strokes BUT THEN IM STILL STUCK ON THE SAME CARD ### 1/5 — Only for beginners *2026-04-12* Honesty far from a good app to learn Chinese. I tried to learn new words for hsk3 level, and it shows me very beginning like numbers family and greetings. Maybe it will be okay for beginners. I would recommend duo cards instead **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback — this definitely shouldn’t happen. During onboarding, the selected level marks all words up to that level as learned, so you don’t see beginner content again. It looks like something didn’t apply correctly in your case. Laoshi is mainly built for students who learn Chinese seriously (often international students in China), so you should be seeing content that matches your level. Please email us at app@laoshi.io — we’ll look into it, fix it for you, and add a small bonus for your time 🙏 ### 2/5 — Need to pay before trying app? *2026-04-10* Not a good business model and similar to the other high sales approach “systems” or “Blueprints” No thanks **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback. We understand that our model isn’t for everyone, but we believe a trial period is the best way to let users try the app before subscribing. If you’d like to give Laoshi a chance, please email us at app@laoshi.io and we can activate a trial period manually. ### 1/5 — Lame - needs a free trial *2026-04-09* Should let you try, then we pay. **Developer response:** Thanks for sharing your feedback. We’d love for you to try Laoshi first — just email app@laoshi.io, and we’ll activate a free trial period for you manually. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Just be upfront about payment *2026-09-07* I’m not opposed to paying for an app, but not without trying it first to see if it’s different from others. Just so you know, you need to pay to try the app. Wish this was stated in the App Store. **Developer response:** Hello! Sorry the first impression turned out this way. There is a free trial in the app — you can start it right on the subscription screen and try everything before paying anything. And if you'd rather we set it up for you, just write to app@laoshi.io: we'll switch on free access manually, no payment and no obligations. ### 1/5 — Deceitful Marketing Tactics *2026-08-25, version 5.7.10* I’m extremely disappointed with how a billing issue has been handled. I planned to cancel my free trial before renewal, but during the cancellation process I was offered a reduced annual price of $55.99. Despite accepting that offer before renewal, I was charged the full $79.99 plus tax. I contacted support and requested only a refund of the difference—not a full refund—but my request was rejected, even though I have documentation showing the price I agreed to. I would appreciate it if someone could please review this decision and honor the $55.99 price I was offered and accepted. Customers should be able to rely on the price presented to them when deciding whether to continue a subscription. I want to love the app itself, but this experience feels like a scam and reflects extremely poor customer service. ### 1/5 — Promised 3 day trial and instead it charged me *2026-07-26* If I don’t get this money back I will be enraged. I have heard so many good things about this app so I wanted to try it out for a bit before making any decisive payments, which is what the trial promised me. Next thing I know £10 is gone from my account. It may not seem like a lot but I’m a teenager so it’s not like I have an income to just buy whatever I like. I’m extremely dissatisfied. I better get my money back. **Developer response:** Sorry — that's a horrible way to meet an app, and we understand the frustration. The free trial is granted by the App Store, not by us, and Apple gives it only once per Apple ID. If a trial was used before — even long ago — the purchase goes through at the full price with no trial. That is almost certainly what happened here. The fastest way to get the money back is Apple's own form: reportaproblem.apple.com — sign in, find the Laoshi purchase, request a refund. They usually decide within a couple of days. If Apple refuses or anything goes wrong, write to us at app@laoshi.io. We can't process App Store refunds ourselves — that part is Apple's — but we will help you get to the bottom of it. Nobody should pay for something they only wanted to try. ### 1/5 — Full of mistakes *2026-07-19* The HSK3 grammar section of the app is absolutely full of mistakes. In many cases the pinyin is incorrect, and in some other cases the pinyin doesn’t correspond to the sentence at all. It’s not just the occasional mistake - it’s systemic. For such an expensive app, this is unacceptable. **Developer response:** Thank you for this — it's specific, and that makes it fixable. You're right that pinyin quality in the HSK 3 grammar section is something we need to hold to a higher standard, and a systemic issue is exactly what we'd want to catch. We're reviewing that section now. If you could send two or three examples of sentences where the pinyin is wrong or mismatched to app@laoshi.io, it would help us confirm we've found the same pattern you're seeing — and we'll write back once it's corrected. ### 1/5 — Misleading *2026-07-03* The app is not actually free to use. You need to pay a subscription before doing so + there is some indication it tracks and stores your data. I think the app might be good, but giving it a 1 star to balance seemingly commissioned or fake reviews. **Developer response:** "Free" on the App Store refers to the download — Laoshi itself runs on a subscription, and we'd rather you try it properly before judging: write to app@laoshi.io and we'll activate a free week — no payment, no obligations. On data: everything the app collects is listed on our App Store privacy card — nothing beyond it. And the reviews here are from real learners; quite a few of them started as emails to that same support address. ### 1/5 — Can’t use without subscription *2026-06-15* Should be a paid app if you need a subscription to use it - it’s 80 dollars a year to use….. deleted the app right after. **Developer response:** Fair point — that's real money, and nobody should judge an app blind. If you're still curious, write to app@laoshi.io and we'll switch on a free week for you — no payment, no obligations. The subscription funds the dictionary, audio and review engine — there's no ad model behind it. ### 1/5 — Лан *2026-06-02, version 5.7.9* Через три дня бесплатная версия перестала работать , всплывает баннер об обплате который никак не закрыть ### 1/5 — Not free *2026-06-01* Once you open the App will they force you to rate the app before even using it and then while you want use for the 1st time they app wouldn’t allow you until you subscribe and pay $ , useless app you should allow at least people to used for at least 3 days free **Developer response:** You're right about one thing — you should be able to try Laoshi before paying. And you can: write to us at app@laoshi.io and we'll activate a free week for you — no payment, no obligations. The subscription is what funds the dictionary, audio and spaced-repetition engine — a week is enough to see whether that's worth it for you. ### 1/5 — I'm irritated *2026-05-22* I can't even get past the subscription page. Why am I required to pay a subscription, i'm confused. You could've made the app cost money instead of making it free on the app store and then forcing us to buy a subscription. That's the dumbest thing ever. **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback. We understand that this setup can feel frustrating 🙏 We offer a free trial so users can try the app before paying. On the App Store, Apple may still require a payment method to activate the trial — this is handled by Apple, and we never receive your payment details. If you'd still prefer not to add a payment method, feel free to email us at app@laoshi.io with the email you used to register. We’ll gladly activate a free trial for you manually with no obligations 🙂 ### 1/5 — You need to pay a subscription to use and they don’t even tell you *2026-05-06, version 5.7.8* Sad ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Great Review *2026-07-16, version 5.7.10* Great app! ### 5/5 — Очень круто *2026-06-22, version 5.7.9* Классное приложение для изучения языка ### 5/5 — Muy interesante *2026-05-30, version 5.7.9* Me gustó porque puedes practicar más el sonido de la palabra en Chino y además en sus diferentes formas de usos en oraciones muy práctico. Me gustaría que tuvieran imágenes sería útil. ### 5/5 — Лучше не найти *2026-05-15, version 5.7.8* Перепробовал кучу приложений. Трейнчайниз, хеллочайниз и прочее — ни о чем для меня. Копирки дуолинго с интерфейсом и оптимизацией, режущими глаз. Очень спасло это приложение. Дает все нужные слова, тренировку произношения и самое главное — интерфейс, приятный для глаз без лишнего визуального мусора. Также можно писать в поддержку с предложениями, которые действительно учтут. Спасибо! ### 5/5 — Крутое приложение *2026-05-10, version 5.7.8* Замечательно приложение , доступно очень много функций , есть куча учебников по которым можно учить слова , все разделено на группу для лучшего запоминания и это очень практично и удобно , существует даже отдельный ИИ который может со многим помочь , замечательная поддержка которая не откажет в помощи , нравится что везде есть озвучка , легко можно запомнить иероглифы и карточки , по итогу одни плюсы ^^ ### 5/5 — An AWESOME Discovery 🙌🏻🤩 *2026-05-03* I’m a languages app junkie and have recently discovered an AWESOME app to learn and study Mandarin and purchased the Lifetime subscription 😍 What I enjoy of this app is that is well designed and structured, helping students to build a solid foundation for later on write and speak Mandarin correctly. This app also allows to practice strokes in order to memorize and learn Chinese characters. There’s as well a section for studying grammar in an easy way by grasping what I would like to called “grammar chunks.” You can also practice pronunciation, which is a plus! Please, give a try! You won’t regret 🙌🏻 BTW, they have one of the BEST customer service EVER! Thank you Laoshi team!🙏🏻🙌🏻❤️🫶🏻🤗Leah **Developer response:** Thank you so much for your kind words and support, Leah! We’re thrilled to hear that Laoshi is helping you build a strong foundation for Mandarin, and that you’re enjoying the design, grammar, stroke practice, and pronunciation features. Your feedback means a lot to our team, and we’re so happy to have you with us on this journey. 🙏💛 ### 5/5 — Поступить в универ мечты с Лаоши *2026-04-03* Я использую приложение уже почти неделю, исследовав его, могу поделиться своими впечатлениями. Я белоруска и в ближайшем будущем буду сдавать ЦЭ китайского языка. Для меня всегда была проблема с написанием и четким произношением( а это целых 8 заданий в ЦЭ). Тренируя слова под любой уровень, я могу повторять написание и автоматически слушать пининь! Это не может не радовать!!! Отдельно хочу отметить функцию тренировки произношения, которую я нахожу увлекательной и полезной. Даже моя семья хочет попробовать узнать насколько они могут звучать как китайцы! Множество учебников и программ, я занимаюсь по стандартному курсу HSK и в доп.Developing Chinese. Поэтому очень легко находить уроки по которым занимаюсь! Надеюсь в будущем выполнить все 8 из 8 заданий на написание иероглифов!) **Developer response:** Большое вам спасибо за столь развернутый и теплый отзыв. Уверены, что вы сдали бы экзамен и без нашей помощи, но будем стараться хоть как-то поучаствовать в достижении ваших целей ❤️ ### 5/5 — 🤌 *2026-03-30, version 5.7.4* ❤️200%🤙 ### 5/5 — Excelente para aprender *2026-03-26, version 5.7.4* Es increíble la cantidad de listas que puedes encontrar y está aún mejor porque está actualizada con respecto a los nuevos hsk, muy intuitiva y el soporte te contesta casi al minuto. Me gusta mucho ### 5/5 — Học tiếng trung *2026-01-11, version 5.7* Rất ổn --- *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 2026-09-12.*