# ToneBoard Keyboard — Learn Chinese tones by typing > Mandarin Chinese tone learning keyboard for Pinyin input practice. (iPhone/iPad app by Kevin Bell.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/toneboard-keyboard/id1602036971 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Kevin Bell](https://appshunter.io/developer/1602036973) - Category: Education, Utilities - Price: Free - Rating: 4.80/5 from 5 App Store ratings · 3 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 17 MB - Languages: English - Released: 2021-12-28 - Data updated: 2026-06-06 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/toneboard-keyboard/id1602036971/reviews.md ## What is ToneBoard Keyboard? It can be very difficult for language learners to remember Mandarin Chinese tones, especially when using language learning apps and typing with standard Pinyin keyboards. These keyboards don't require you to input tones, making it very easy to type the correct characters without knowing the correct tones. These keyboards also tend to remember your frequently used words or suggest complete phrases, which is not helpful for language learners. By requiring you to enter tones along with Pinyin spellings before displaying characters, ToneBoard lets you practice recalling the correct tone for each syllable whenever you type. ToneBoard works very similarly to the standard simplified Chinese QWERTY keyboard for iOS, except that it requires tones to be input while typing before displaying word and character choices. ## Key features - Mandarin tone practice - Pinyin input with tones - Character suggestion based on tones - Standard QWERTY layout - iOS compatible ## Recent user reviews (3 of 3) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/toneboard-keyboard/id1602036971/reviews.md ### 4/5 — Great concept! *2025-05-02* I've been learning Mandarin for a few years, and was primarily using 注音符号 due to the lack of tones on iOS 汉语拼音 keyboards. (I use both 繁体字 & 简体字.) This board is great, and I can type much faster than I could with 注音符号, haha! My one wish is that it supported for haptic feedback, but other than that, thumbs up :) ### 5/5 — The best way to learn Chinese character tones *2022-01-17* Using this app with Duo Lingo is the best way to truly learn the tones of Chinese characters. Using the standard pinyin keyboard tends to provide you with a false sense of confidence and makes it much harder to recall the tone of a character later on. I feel 10x more confident with my Chinese character reading and writing after using this app. ### 5/5 — Great app to learn Chinese tones *2022-01-04* I’ve been using Duolingo for learning Chinese and realizing that I have a hard time remembering the words. This helps a lot forcing me to actually learn how to write and the correct pronunciation. The developer is quick to implement some changes I suggested as well. ## Frequently asked questions about ToneBoard Keyboard ### How does ToneBoard help with learning Chinese tones? ToneBoard requires you to input Pinyin with the correct tones before suggesting characters. This forces you to actively recall and practice the tones for each syllable, unlike standard keyboards that omit tone input. ### Is ToneBoard free to use? Yes, ToneBoard is completely free to download and use. It does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements. ### What devices is ToneBoard compatible with? ToneBoard is available for iPhone and iPad devices. It is designed to work seamlessly on iOS. ### How often is ToneBoard updated? The latest version, 1.4, was released on February 25, 2023. Updates are released periodically to improve functionality and user experience. ### What is the age rating for ToneBoard? ToneBoard has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for young learners and users of all ages. ### Does ToneBoard support simplified or traditional Chinese characters? The description mentions it works with simplified Chinese QWERTY keyboards, implying it primarily supports simplified Chinese characters. ### Can I use ToneBoard offline? The provided description does not specify offline functionality. However, as a keyboard app, it likely requires an active internet connection for character suggestions. ### What do users like most about ToneBoard? While specific user sentiment data isn't provided, the app's high rating of 4.8 stars suggests users appreciate its effectiveness in practicing Chinese tones and its straightforward functionality. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.4 — 2023-02-25 Prevent Japanese character variants (e.g. 毎 instead of 每) from appearing as candidates. ### 1.3 — 2022-03-30 Added the ability to input full-width zero ("〇") in addition to the hanzi for 零/ling2. ### 1.2 — 2022-02-23 - Improved ranking of several characters - Added help documentation for the ability to indicate rare tones ### 1.1 — 2022-01-17 - A number of small fixes and changes were made to the tutorial text and order - There is now an option to display an asterisk next to candidates which are relatively rare choices for the given reading/tone - Heteronyms (e.g. 还 read as huan2 or hai2) are now ordered much more reasonably thanks to data from Unihan - The candidate scrollview now resets to the left when the candidates change - Better test coverage, particularly for the candidate dictionary - Add an entry in Settings.app, which simplifies enabling the keyboard - Make the keyboard UI more consistent with the system keyboard - Fixed a bug causing home-row keys to be too large with shift/capslock ### 1.0 — 2021-12-28 No release notes. ## Apps similar to ToneBoard Keyboard | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [ChineseSkill - Learn Chinese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chineseskill-learn-chinese/id777111034) | 4.7 (3,245) | Free | Education | | [Chinese Pinyin: Learn Mandarin](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-pinyin-learn-mandarin/id1076450419) | 4.3 (52) | $2.99 | Education | | [SuperChinese - Learn Chinese](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/superchinese-learn-chinese/id1462500984) | 4.9 (3,238) | Free | Education | | [HSK1 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk1-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1495963573) | 4.8 (302) | Free | Education | | [HSK4 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk4-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1501949646) | 4.5 (47) | Free | Education | | [HSK5 Learn Chinese Chinesimple](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hsk5-learn-chinese-chinesimple/id1501949465) | 3.8 (20) | Free | Education | --- *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 2026-06-06.*