# Mahjong Mandarin — Learn Chinese Words & Pinyin

> Learn Mandarin and Cantonese through a Mahjong game with character repetition and audio pronunciation. (iPhone/iPad app by TileSpeak Software.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-mandarin/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 · 125 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2011-06-30
- Data updated: 2026-10-23
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mahjong-mandarin/id446011890/reviews.md

## What is Mahjong Mandarin?

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

Every time you select a tile, native Chinese speakers say the word aloud. The pinyin is written beneath each Simplified character, and the English meaning and its part of speech appear at the top of the screen. Characters are colored by tone, so you can see how a word should sound before you hear it. Each tile appears four times per level, giving you repeated chances to remember the character, its meaning and its pronunciation. Practice speaking while you play!

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

TRY EVERYTHING FREE FOR 7 DAYS
Start the free trial and every level, mode, stage, soundtrack and tile set is unlocked for 7 days, with no charge and no automatic billing. After 7 days, a one-time purchase keeps the full game unlocked for good.

FEATURES
* 500 Mandarin words, each recorded by a native speaker
* 500 Simplified Chinese characters with pinyin and English translations
* Tone colors for every character
* 14 levels, from the most common words up
* 4 ways to play: Mahjong, Sprint, Pairs and Sweep
* 10 living stages, from the Great Wall to a Sichuan panda valley
* 10 music tracks and 8 tile sets
* Chinese proverbs to reward each cleared board
* Your game is saved, so you can pick up where you left off

Learning Cantonese? Look for Mahjong Cantonese, also by TileSpeak.

## Key features

- Learn Mandarin and Cantonese
- 500 most frequent Chinese characters
- Native speaker audio pronunciation
- Color-coded tones for pronunciation
- English translation and grammar
- Mahjong puzzle gameplay
- 14 Mandarin and 14 Cantonese levels

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TileSpeak Full | $1.99 | one-time |


## Is Mahjong Mandarin safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Mahjong Mandarin.

## Is Mahjong Mandarin legit?

Mahjong Mandarin appears to be a legitimate app. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Mahjong Mandarin 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/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

### What Chinese languages can I learn with TileSpeak Mahjong?

TileSpeak Mahjong allows you to learn both Mandarin and Cantonese. The app offers 500 simplified Chinese characters for Mandarin and 500 traditional Chinese characters for Cantonese, each with corresponding audio and translations.

### How does TileSpeak Mahjong help with pronunciation?

The app uses color-coding to represent the four tones of Chinese characters, making it easier to learn correct pronunciation. Native Chinese speakers provide audio for each character, and the phonetic pinyin is displayed.

### What is the learning methodology of TileSpeak Mahjong?

The app employs a gamified approach, integrating language learning into a Mahjong puzzle game. Each character is repeated four times per level, facilitating memorization through casual gaming and repetition.

### Does TileSpeak Mahjong offer progress tracking?

While specific progress tracking features are not detailed, the app is structured into 14 Mandarin and 14 Cantonese levels, suggesting a progression through the learning material. Completing levels rewards users with Chinese proverbs.

### What age rating does TileSpeak Mahjong have?

TileSpeak Mahjong is rated '4+' by its developer, making it suitable for young learners and above. The content focuses on language acquisition through a puzzle game format.

### How often is TileSpeak Mahjong updated?

The latest version of TileSpeak Mahjong is 1.0.0622, last updated on August 4, 2026. This indicates a recent update, suggesting ongoing support and potential for future improvements.

### What devices are supported by TileSpeak Mahjong?

TileSpeak Mahjong is available for iPhone and iPad. The app is designed to function on these Apple mobile devices.

### Does TileSpeak Mahjong have ads?

No, TileSpeak Mahjong does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and play, with optional in-app purchases.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 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.

### 1.0.0620 — 2011-06-30

No release notes.

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## More apps by TileSpeak Software

- [Muggins](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/muggins/id6783000538)
- [Koi-Koi](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/koi-koi/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 2026-10-23.*