# Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese — Learn Chinese Words by Ear

> Learn Chinese characters and pronunciation through mahjong solitaire. (iPhone/iPad app by TileSpeak Software.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-mandarin-and-cantonese/id446011890 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [TileSpeak Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/446011893)
- Category: Education, Games, Puzzle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 3 App Store ratings · 20 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 131 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-06-30
- Data updated: 2026-11-06
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-mandarin-and-cantonese/id446011890/reviews.md

## What is Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese?

Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese builds the 500 most frequently used Chinese characters into a relaxing game of mahjong solitaire. Match open tiles and learn Mandarin or Cantonese by ear as you play.

Choose your language on first launch—or switch anytime from the menu or settings:
* 国语 Mandarin (Simplified characters with pinyin)
* 粤语 Cantonese (Traditional characters with jyutping)
Prefer Traditional characters with Mandarin, or Simplified with Cantonese? Your script choice is remembered automatically.

Every time you tap an open tile, a native speaker says the word aloud. The romanization (pinyin or jyutping) appears right on the tile beneath the character, and the English meaning and part of speech appear at the top of the screen. Characters are colored by tone, so you can see how a word sounds before you hear it. Each word appears four times per board, giving you natural repetition to connect the character, sound, tone, and meaning.

There are over 47,000 Chinese characters, but the 500 most common ones cover about 75% of everyday reading. Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese teaches all 500 across 14 progressive levels.

TRY EVERYTHING FREE FOR 3 DAYS — THEN $6.99 ONCE
Start the 3-day free trial to unlock both languages, all 14 levels, all 4 game modes, all 10 living stages, 10 soundtracks, and 8 tile sets—with $0 charge and no automatic billing. After 3 days, a single one-time purchase of $6.99 unlocks everything forever. No subscriptions, no ads, and existing full-unlock buyers keep full access via Restore Purchase.

FEATURES
* Both languages in one app: Mandarin (国语) and Cantonese (粤语)
* 500 Mandarin recordings and 500 Cantonese recordings by native speakers
* Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters with pinyin and jyutping
* Tone colors for every character, plus pinyin tone marks or tone numbers
* 14 levels ordered by real-world character frequency
* 4 ways to play: Mahjong Solitaire, Sprint, Pairs, and Sweep
* 10 living diorama stages across China, from the Great Wall to Sichuan Panda Valley
* 10 original soundtracks and 8 tactile mahjong tile materials
* Chinese proverbs to celebrate each cleared board
* Automatic round saving so you can pick up right where you left off

## Key features

- Learn Mandarin and Cantonese
- Mahjong solitaire gameplay
- Native speaker audio
- Visual tone indicators
- 14 progressive levels
- 4 game modes
- Simplified and Traditional characters

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TileSpeak Full | $6.99 | one-time |
| 7-Day Trial | Free | one-time |


## Is Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese.

## Is Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese legit?

Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese appears to be a legitimate app. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese is 90 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

## Recent user reviews (10 of 20)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-mandarin-and-cantonese/id446011890/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Good, but needs work

*2012-07-11*

This is fun to play & you do learn, but the tiles are too small. I would love to keep playing, but after a short time my eyes hurt. 

This needs a zoom feature. 

Music is pretty nice, but can get a little annoying if you play for a while. 

Needs an option to play your own music. 

Other than the above two things, this is pretty nice!

### 2/5 — One big problem!

*2012-05-23*

I love the idea of this app, however, on the New iPad the game only shows in the upper left quarter of the screen. The tiles are so small that it hurts my eyes to play and it is VERY difficult to select the correct tiles.

I sent TileSpeak an email asking for help but they still haven't answered. I've tried deleting the app and reinstalling but that didn't fix the problem.

If this issue was fixed I'd give the app four stars. To get five stars the word would be spoken once more when a match was made.

### 1/5 — Sound does not work

*2012-05-18*

I contacted the developer several days ago and they never replied so now it's time to go for the reviews. The sound doesn't work at all for me. Will be a five star review when this is fixed, but not nearly as useful or fun without the sound.

### 2/5 — Great Game

*2012-03-19*

Great game and great concept, but it only shows up on 1/4 of my screen. This version might not be compatible with iPad 3. Guess I'll just have wait for an updated version to come out.

### 5/5 — Love it

*2011-11-02*

This is a really brilliant idea.  Gameified education is wonderful stuff and this is a great example.  I swear this has done more to help me pickup Chinese characters than anything else I have tried.

One addition that I would like to see is the ability to turn off the visual pinyin and just leave the characters.  The pinyin is great but I would also like to be able to test myself on just the characters.

### 3/5 — Mispronounciations Galore

*2011-08-30*

Overall, it's colorful and the music is good. However, while playing the Mandarin version (I got this to help my kids a little), I noticed far too many pronunciation errors. Please correct them!

### 5/5 — Fantastic Mandarin Game

*2011-08-27*

太好了！ This is the best mandarin game I have found on the AppStore.  Very useful and fun to play.  Some word definitions are a bit too narrow, but I don't think there is a way around that. 

The only thing that would make it better is if there were example sentences to go along with the words. 

Please charge for this app I would love to support this type of development and get more games like this!

小罗

### 4/5 — I love this concept!

*2011-08-11*

It has a FANTASTIC concept, sooo educational and fun. Great background music and good background pictures. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that the tiles are hard to differentiate from each other. It needs zoom or a 3D environment like some of the other high quality games of this type. 
I will upgrade my rateing when this is remedied. Great start developers! Please don't stop improving this game!

### 5/5 — Already liked the game, now i can learn something also.

*2011-07-08*

I've already spent countless hours playing majhong without acquiring any knowledge, and now this wonderful app can teach me to be bi-lingual while i enjoy a game i have for years. Great idea.

### 5/5 — About time!

*2011-07-05*

Learning Chinese is boring, at least this makes a game out of it, thanks for making an alternative! I dig it

## Frequently asked questions about Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese

### What is Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese?

Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese is an educational game that teaches Chinese characters and pronunciation through mahjong solitaire. It offers both Mandarin and Cantonese learning options.

### How does Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese teach Chinese?

It uses a gamified approach where matching tiles helps you learn characters, their pronunciation by native speakers, and visual tone indicators. The game covers the 500 most frequently used Chinese characters across 14 levels.

### Can I try Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese for free?

Yes, you can try everything for free for 3 days, including both languages, all levels, and game modes, with no charge and no automatic billing.

### What is the cost of Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese after the trial?

After the 3-day free trial, a single one-time purchase of $6.99 unlocks all features forever. There are no subscriptions.

### Does Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese have ads?

No, the app is ad-free. The description explicitly states 'no ads' after the trial period.

### What languages and character sets does Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese support?

The app supports both Mandarin (with pinyin) and Cantonese (with jyutping). You can choose between Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters for each language.

### What are the different game modes in Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese?

Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese offers four game modes: Mahjong Solitaire, Sprint, Pairs, and Sweep, providing varied ways to practice your Chinese learning.

### How often is Mahjong Mandarin & Cantonese updated?

The app was last updated on 2026-11-05, indicating recent development activity. The latest version is 1.0.0625.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.0.0625 — 2026-11-05

Mandarin (国语) and Cantonese (粤语) are together in one app! Pick your language on first launch or switch anytime from the menu or settings.

* Both languages included: Simplified + pinyin for Mandarin, Traditional + jyutping for Cantonese
* Try everything free for 3 days with no automatic billing
* One-time $6.99 full unlock covers both languages, all 14 levels, 4 modes, and 10 living stages (existing buyers keep full access via Restore Purchase)

### 1.0.0624 — 2026-10-19

TileSpeak Mahjong is now Mahjong Mandarin, focused entirely on Mandarin and Simplified Chinese. Cantonese has its own app, Mahjong Cantonese.

New: try every level, mode and stage free for 7 days. Your game now saves when you leave, your settings are remembered, and the app downloads much faster.

### 1.0.0623 — 2026-08-14

TileSpeak returns with ten living stages, new music, refreshed Mandarin and Cantonese gameplay, redesigned menus and tiles, expanded customization and four play modes.

### 1.0.0622 — 2026-08-04

TileSpeak returns with ten living stages, new music, refreshed Mandarin and Cantonese gameplay, redesigned menus and tiles, expanded customization and four play modes.

### 1.0.0621 — 2026-07-24

TileSpeak returns with ten living stages, refreshed Mandarin and Cantonese gameplay, redesigned menus and tiles, expanded customization, and four play modes.

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## More apps by TileSpeak Software

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- [Koi-Koi: Hanafuda Card Game](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/koi-koi-hanafuda-card-game/id6800162245)

All apps by TileSpeak Software: https://appshunter.io/developer/446011893

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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 2026-11-06.*