# Lock & Learn: Chinese Writing — Screen time for zhuyin & kanji

> Learn Chinese characters by writing them to earn app usage time. (iPhone/iPad app by Brendan Mullan.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lock-and-learn-chinese-writing/id6811321479 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Brendan Mullan](https://appshunter.io/developer/6811321481)
- Category: Education, Lifestyle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.6 · 53 MB
- Languages: American English, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
- Released: 2026-10-01
- Data updated: 2026-10-29
- Monetization: freemium
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lock-and-learn-chinese-writing/id6811321479/reviews.md

## What is Lock & Learn?

Screen time that teaches Chinese.

Your child wants a game. Lock & Learn asks for Chinese first: write a character from memory, stroke by stroke, and the game opens. Every correct stroke earns play time.

Two courses: Traditional Chinese with 注音, and Japanese (hiragana, katakana and the kanji taught in Japanese elementary schools). Choose the course at setup or in parent settings.

WHY I MADE IT
I'm a teacher and a parent. My daughter was struggling with Chinese, and she wanted more screen time than I wanted to give. So I built an app where her games wait until she writes. Practice happens every day, and play time is earned.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Choose the apps that stay locked, such as games or video.
2. When your child opens one, they write a few characters or words from memory.
3. Each correct stroke adds seconds, each word adds minutes, and stars add more.
4. A clock winds up to the time earned. Tap Exit and that app opens for that long. The others stay locked.

THIS WEEK'S SCHOOL WORDS, FIRST
• Paste the word list from school, any way it comes: one word per line, numbered, or run together.
• Practice uses only those words until each one is done. Clear the list and it goes back to the normal course.
• Every word is taught with its 注音 and meaning, then written from memory.

TAUGHT THE WAY TAIWAN SCHOOLS TEACH
• Traditional characters with 注音, in the stroke order taught in Taiwan schools.
• Watch the strokes, trace, then write from memory.
• Simple building blocks first (木, 人, 口), then harder characters explained by their parts. In 灣, 氵 gives the meaning (water) and 彎 gives the sound.
• Real words from the first levels, not just single characters.
• Meanings in English or in Chinese, so it works for bilingual families. In Chinese, the character being written is hidden as ○, so the meaning is a clue, not the answer.

FROM THE FIRST STROKE TO UNIVERSITY WORDS
• 4,900+ characters and more than 25,000 words, each with 注音 and a meaning.
• Start at your child's grade level, and move it up or back any time.
• Short levels, so there is a level-up often.
• Characters that were missed come back for review.

EARN MORE WITH BONUS WORDS
• On the clock, Bonus asks for a word of two or more characters they already know, worth more per stroke.
• You set a daily limit for bonus time, or turn the limit off.

JAPANESE, TOO
• Hiragana written from their sound, katakana from the hiragana, and about 1,000 elementary-school kanji.
• Kanji are asked the way Japanese kanji tests ask: a box inside a word, with the reading above.
• Strokes in the order commonly taught in Japanese schools.
• Hiragana and katakana ア–ノ (100 characters) are free.

FOR PARENTS
• A parent PIN protects every setting.
• You choose how many words to write, how much time each stroke, word and star is worth, the shortest and longest unlock, and whether too little time keeps the app locked.
• Off-limits apps: some apps stay closed, and writing won't open them, until you turn this off.
• Built on Apple's Screen Time.

FREE AND SUBSCRIPTION
• Levels 1–69 (about 300 characters, grade 1) are free, with no time limit.
• Homework without a subscription: every word inside levels 1–69, plus up to 5 harder words per list.
• A subscription unlocks all 4,900+ characters, unlimited homework words, and the full word list.

Privacy: https://smaggmeron-code.github.io/Lock-n-Learn/privacy.html

## Key features

- Write Chinese characters from memory
- Earn app usage time with correct strokes
- Traditional stroke order and character teaching
- Customizable word lists for homework
- Progress tracking with levels and reviews
- Parental controls and PIN protection

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Extra characters + Block | $29.99 | per year |
| Extra characters + Block | $2.99 | per month |


## Is Lock & Learn safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Lock & Learn.

## Is Lock & Learn legit?

Lock & Learn: Chinese Writing has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Lock & Learn is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lock-and-learn-chinese-writing/id6811321479/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Great learning tool!

*2026-10-18*

Thought this was for kids, but actually it’s great for adults who want to practice Chinese, too. Can’t seem to find time to practice (because you’re always on your phone)? Easy solution- you can’t use your apps until you practiced. I can see myself improving a lot with this little learning hack.

## Frequently asked questions about Lock & Learn

### How does Lock & Learn work?

Lock & Learn locks selected apps. To unlock them, your child writes Chinese characters from memory. Each correct stroke earns a small amount of time, and completing words earns more, which is then added to a clock for app usage.

### What learning method does Lock & Learn use?

It teaches traditional Chinese characters with 注音 and follows the stroke order taught in Taiwan schools. It breaks down characters into simple building blocks and explains their meanings and phonetic components.

### Can I use Lock & Learn for my child's school homework?

Yes, you can paste your child's weekly word list into the app. The practice mode will then focus on those specific words, teaching them with 注音 and meaning before they write them from memory.

### What content is available for free in Lock & Learn?

Levels 1-69, which cover approximately 300 characters, are free to use without any time limits. Homework practice is also available for words within these free levels, plus up to five additional harder words per list.

### What does the subscription unlock in Lock & Learn?

A subscription unlocks all 4,900+ characters and over 25,000 words. It also provides unlimited homework words and access to the full word list for comprehensive learning.

### What are the subscription prices for Lock & Learn?

There are two subscription options: $2.99 per month for extra characters and block features, or $29.99 per year for the same features.

### Is Lock & Learn available on Android devices?

Based on the provided data, Lock & Learn is supported on iPhone and iPad, indicating it is currently an iOS-exclusive application.

### How often is Lock & Learn updated?

The app was last updated on October 21, 2026, with version 1.0.6. This suggests a relatively recent update, though the frequency of future updates is not specified.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.8 — 2026-10-27

New: a Japanese course. Hiragana, katakana and elementary-school kanji, written from memory in the stroke order commonly taught in Japanese schools. Kanji are asked the way Japanese kanji tests ask: a box inside a word, with its reading above. Choose the course in parent settings.

Also new:
• A character now fails after too many wrong strokes, so guessing no longer gets through
• Corrected strokes in some characters, to match how Taiwan schools teach them
• Credits & licenses in parent settings

### 1.0.7 — 2026-10-25

Screen time that teaches Chinese: your child writes a character, then the game opens. Made by a teacher. Start free with grade 1.

New in this update:
• A bigger writing area on iPhone and iPad
• Off-limits apps: keep your own apps locked when your child borrows your phone
• Set your child's grade level, then move it up or back to grade 1 any time
• A simple Free vs Subscribe chart, so you know exactly what you get

### 1.0.6 — 2026-10-21

Start at your child's grade (subscription): take a short quiz or set the grade, and practice skips the earlier grades.
Easy, Medium or Hard: pick how hard it is to earn play time, or set every value yourself.
Try the yearly plan free for 7 days.
Clearer parent settings: "Write to unlock" for apps opened by writing, "Always blocked" for apps that stay closed, and a status line at the top.
Up to 50 apps in each list.
On a phone set to Chinese, the app now opens in Chinese.
The course now follows Taiwan's school character list, with Taiwan character forms and words.

### 1.0.5 — 2026-10-14

Earn play time: every correct stroke adds seconds, every word adds minutes, and stars add more. At the end a clock winds up to the time earned. Tap Bonus to write an extra word for more time, or Exit to play.
Parents set how many words to write, the time for each stroke each word and each star, a maximum per unlock, a daily bonus limit, and whether too little time keeps the app locked.
Words now come up from the first levels. Stroke order and stroke shapes now match what Taiwan schools teach for over 1,200 more characters, including 艹, 辶, 阝, 戶 and 兌.

### 1.0.4 — 2026-10-13

Lock & Learn now keeps selected apps locked until your child writes a character correctly. Parents can add their own study words, such as this week's spelling list, and practice will focus on exactly those words. This update also fixes an issue with Face ID.

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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 2026-10-29.*