# Novli - Learn Chinese — AI scan and read

> AI-powered Chinese text scanner for translation, pinyin, and flashcard creation. (iPhone/iPad app by Alexander Simpson.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novli-learn-chinese/id6744056786 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Alexander Simpson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1768207932)
- Category: Education
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 58 App Store ratings · 53 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 85 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2025-04-15
- Data updated: 2026-08-23
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novli-learn-chinese/id6744056786/reviews.md

## What is Novli?

HOW TO USE NOVLI:

1. Snap a photo of a chinese text you want to read. 

2. Tap on words to instantly translate them and see pinyn. 

3. Explore the other features: add to Anki style flashcards in a single tap, ask AI questions about the text, listen to your text.

Novli works for images of textbooks, novels, social media posts, uploaded lecture notes, or any other Chinese text input you need. 

We built Novli because when we were learning to read Chinese, it would always take ages to look up words, find their pinyin, and add to our Anki flashcards. Now we can do this all from Novli in a few taps. 

If you have feedback or questions, please feel free to email us at alexsimpson96@aol.com. This directly contacts the founder, and he will read every email :)

(Note, we recently renamed from Readly to Novli. Same app, subscriptions and lesson history, just a new name)

Privacy Policy: https://novli.app/privacy-policy.html
Terms of Service: https://novli.app/terms.html

## Key features

- Scan Chinese text from images
- Instant word translation
- Display pinyin for words
- Add words to flashcards
- Ask AI questions about text
- Listen to text pronunciation

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $11.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $95.99 | per year |
| Monthly Premium | $14.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $119.00 | per year |
| Monthly Premium | $7.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $59.90 | per year |
| Annual Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Monthly Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium | $5.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium | $44.99 | per year |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 53)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/novli-learn-chinese/id6744056786/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Timely response and problem solution from Novli team

*2026-08-08*

My previous issue has been resolved and I am satisfied with timely problem solving from Novli team. The founder was very helpful in making things right. I really appreciate the support and the extra month they provided. So, I have changed my rating accordingly. So, hopefully, this would help clear my old review.

### 1/5 — Device access

*2026-08-06*

I subscribed premium membership in my iPhone and I am planning to study with my iPad. When I log in using the same Gmail, it shows free member in my iPad. How do I study just with my small screen iPhone? I sent email to founders that said “we read every email”, yet, I didn’t get any reply. So, when I try to get refund, mine got rejected. This all just happened within 1 day of my subscription. And this is not my first time subscription. If you don’t give me premium membership access to my iPad, give my refund back. It’s such a waste of time reaching out to you and not getting any response back for such access issue. I feel so dissatisfied and disappointed when such issue happened and there’s no timely solution from the app side.

### 5/5 — 助かってます

*2026-08-03*

編集すると、フォルダ内のファイルの順番が変わってしまうため、変わらないようにするか、フォルダ中でのレッスンの移動もできるようにしてくれるとありがたいです。

### 4/5 — Writing Practice Feature

*2026-06-20*

Great app. Only thing is that I would like a feature where I can write the phrases I’m trying to learn

### 5/5 — Very helpful with room for improvements

*2026-06-11*

I’ve been using this app for a while to read Chinese literature and learn new vocabulary. I also bought the premium version because I think 4€ a month is still okay. However I wish that you could scan more than one page at once since I wanna have the whole article/ story in one scan. I think you also can’t merge two scans together? If I scan a double page at once, ai sometimes makes mistakes with the translation as it can’t see all words clearly. It would also be great if you can move already scanned texts into new folders to organise your learning material better. In the future I hope there will be better mistake analysis for the AI translation and maybe a few more functions. For example correction for your own written texts. Shorts videos or podcasts to improve listening skills or even Chatrooms. For now the app is already not bad…很不错～

### 5/5 — Amazing app

*2026-06-11*

I have lots of Chinese novels I want to read. Finally found one to help me read and learn! Love it!

### 2/5 — Одно бесплатное сканирование

*2026-05-31*

Не тратьте время. Дает одно бесплатное сканирование. И триал с последующей подпиской. Это точно не тот функционал, за который сразу платить.

**Developer response:** Здравствуйте, извините за неудобство. Каждый раз, когда кто-то сканирует текст, переводит слово и т. д., это стоит мне денег. Я финансирую Novli из своих личных сбережений, поэтому мне нужно сделать приложение платным, чтобы покрывать расходы.

Вы можете попробовать приложение бесплатно в течение 7 дней и отменить подписку в любое время без каких-либо затрат. Но если вам нужно больше времени, чтобы протестировать приложение, напишите мне на alexsimpson96@aol.com, и я с радостью дам вам 1 месяц Premium бесплатно.

С уважением,  
Alex

### 5/5 — 大学生にとって神

*2026-05-23*

中国語で拼音調べるのに苦戦してたけどこのアプリが勝手に拼音、日本語訳、辞書でニュアンス全てやってくれるからまじ助かる

### 3/5 — 惜しい

*2026-05-10*

課金して使うにはAIの精度が低すぎて使い物にならないし、高すぎる。回答に1分とか遅すぎて待てないし、質問履歴(やり取り)は保存されないの深掘りしても残らないのは残念。 
課金して使うには半額にしてAIの質を上げて、音声プレイにブクマつけて、再生速度つけてくれるとかじゃないと他のアプリから移る理由なくて課金したくないと思いました。 でも魅力的なアプリなのでお試し試してみようかな

**Developer response:** こんにちは。

この度は貴重なご意見をいただき、誠にありがとうございます。また、ご不便をおかけしてしまい申し訳ございません。

1. AIの回答が遅かった点については、本来想定している挙動ではありません。通常はもっと速く回答できるはずですので、原因を調査いたします。もしよろしければ、アプリの設定画面にあるNovli IDを alexsimpson96@aol.com までお送りいただけますと、詳しく確認させていただきます。

2. また、AIの品質がご期待に沿えず申し訳ございません。日本語での説明品質は私にとって非常に重要ですので、今回のご指摘をもとに確認し、改善を進めてまいります。

3. 価格についてもご意見ありがとうございます。AI機能の運用には費用がかかっており、Novliは現在、私個人の資金で開発・運営しているため、運用コストを継続できる価格に設定しております。ただ、もしご予算的に難しい場合は、メールでご連絡いただければ、今回に限り何かできることがないか確認させていただきます。

改めまして、丁寧なフィードバックをいただき本当にありがとうございます。いただいたご意見をもとに、より良いアプリにできるよう改善してまいります。

Alex  
Novli開発者

### 4/5 — 사진 자르기 방식 빼고 좋습니다

*2026-04-09*

별 다섯개를 줄 어플이지만, 사진을 자르는 방식이 복잡해서 별 한 개 뺐습니다.

## Frequently asked questions about Novli

### What does Novli do?

Novli is an app designed to help you learn to read Chinese. You can snap a photo of any Chinese text, and the app will instantly translate words, provide their pinyin, and allow you to add them to flashcards. It also offers AI-powered question answering and text-to-speech functionality.

### What are the key features of Novli?

Key features include scanning Chinese text from images, instant word translation, displaying pinyin, one-tap flashcard creation, asking AI questions about the text, and listening to text pronunciation. It supports various text inputs like textbooks, novels, and social media posts.

### Is Novli free to use?

The app is free to download and use with in-app purchases available. This means you can access core functionalities, but certain advanced features or unlimited usage might require a purchase.

### What kind of Chinese text can Novli scan?

Novli can scan virtually any Chinese text you encounter. This includes images from textbooks, novels, social media posts, lecture notes, or any other source where Chinese characters are present.

### Who would benefit from using Novli?

Novli is ideal for anyone learning to read Chinese, especially those who find traditional methods of looking up words and creating flashcards time-consuming. It streamlines the learning process by making these tasks quick and accessible.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0.4 — 2026-08-20

Fixed a bug with iPad text scan

### 2.0.3 — 2026-08-18

Minor bug fixes and improvements

### 2.0.2 — 2026-08-15

Minor bug fixes and improvements

### 2.0.1 — 2026-08-11

Improved tutorial.

### 2.0.0 — 2026-08-08

Minor bug fixes and improvements.

## Apps similar to Novli

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Tenmin - Language Learning](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tenmin-language-learning/id6742799082) | 4.6 (609) | Free | Education |
| [HSK3 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk3-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1501949624) | 4.7 (48) | Free | Education |
| [Speak Chinese: Learn Mandarin](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/speak-chinese-learn-mandarin/id6468914724) | 4.6 (254) | Free | Education |
| [HSK2 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk2-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1501949498) | 4.8 (57) | Free | Education |
| [HSK Study and Exam - SuperTest](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk-study-and-exam-supertest/id1335503360) | 4.7 (1,034) | Free | Education |
| [HSK1 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk1-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1495963573) | 4.8 (354) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Alexander Simpson

- [be her - vision board widget](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/be-her-vision-board-widget/id6680180134)

All apps by Alexander Simpson: https://appshunter.io/developer/1768207932

---

*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 2026-08-23.*