# Zen Reader: Reading & Homework — Chinese homework, handled > Chinese homework, handled (iPhone/iPad app by DATGEL ASIA PTE. LTD..) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zen-reader-reading-and-homework/id6776902262 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [DATGEL ASIA PTE. LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/6776902384) - Category: Education, Books - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 325 MB - Languages: American English, Burmese, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Indonesian, Malay, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish, Thai and 1 more - Released: 2026-09-08 - Data updated: 2026-10-31 ## What is Zen Reader? Help with Chinese homework — even if you can't read a word of it. The homework comes home in characters you can't read. The spelling list means nothing to you. When your child reads aloud, you have no idea whether they got it right. Zen Reader listens, marks and explains — and reports back to you in plain English. You stay the parent, choosing the books, the word lists and the spelling lists. Zen Reader does the Chinese. "I CAN'T TELL IF THEY READ IT CORRECTLY." Your child reads a real Chinese book aloud. Zen Reader follows along and marks every character — correct, misread or skipped — checks their Mandarin tones, and gives a line-by-line report. Tap any line to replay what your child actually said, or hear how it should sound. "I CAN'T TEST THEM ON THIS WEEK'S 听写 LIST." Scan the school's spelling sheet and it becomes a term of weekly lists. Your child practises three ways — writing it out, saying and repeating, or a proper dictation test. Photograph the finished sheet and Zen Reader marks each word, flagging anything it isn't sure about for you to check. "I CAN'T EXPLAIN A WORKSHEET I CAN'T READ." Your child photographs a Chinese worksheet and gets a tutor that guides instead of answering. You choose how much it may reveal: hints only, hints then the answer, or explain the concept. "I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE ACTUALLY IMPROVING." Every score, tone note, trend and reading level — in English, on your phone, for each child. CHARACTERS AND SIGHT WORDS • Turn a character or sight-word list into flash cards with pinyin, English and audio. • A card game and a test for the same list, split by lesson. • A family leaderboard per lesson, for the children who like a race. YOUR BOOKS, NOT A FIXED COURSE • Add any book by importing a PDF or scanning the paper pages with your camera. • Zen Reader reads the text off each page, then adds pinyin and an English translation. • Every book is graded to an HSK level automatically, so you can finally answer "is this the right book?" • New families start with a set of graded example readers, so there's something to read on day one. • It reads along in clear Mandarin, highlighting each character karaoke-style. FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY • Up to six members with roles: family manager, parent and reader. • Each child signs in as themselves, so every score, badge and trend is theirs alone. • Reading reminders at a time you choose. • Practice mode saves nothing — your child can stumble, repeat and try again with no record kept. • Your library syncs across iPhone, iPad and Mac. PRIVACY • Your family's books, recordings and results stay private to your family. • Usage analytics are strictly opt-in and off by default. SUBSCRIPTION Zen Reader is a subscription service. The app is free to install; a Zen Reader account and an active subscription are required to use it. • Annual, auto-renewing plans: Individual (3 members) and Family (6 members), with 8- and 10-member options. • Each plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is purchased. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. • The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. • Manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://zenreader.co/terms-of-use End-User Licence Agreement (EULA): https://zenreader.co/eula Privacy Policy: https://zenreader.co/privacy-policy Questions? Email hello@zenreader.co ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Zen Reader Family | $119.99 | per year | | Zen Reader Individual | $55.99 | per year | | Zen Reader Family +2 seats | $149.99 | per year | | Zen Reader Family +4 seats | $179.99 | per year | ## Is Zen Reader safe? Not enough ratings yet to assess Zen Reader. ## Is Zen Reader legit? Zen Reader: Reading & Homework has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Zen Reader is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.316.74 — 2026-10-24 Version 1.316.74 New - A new Home page with a first-use quick-start video and checklist, with tiles to everything else - Oral Practice can now be led by a short video clip you record (including on Mac) or import - Recall-check runs can be viewed, moved, deleted and commented on - Rename your family at any time Improved - Spelling dictation now gives your child more time to finish writing each word - Every spelling word now has its own audio crop for review - Whole-book reading reports capture every page, even on longer recordings, and retried readings keep earlier scores - Reassigning a whole-book reading now moves every page together - Clearer wording for counts, like "1 word known" and "10 pages read" - Voice features (Oral Practice, Ask Jas, Explain Worksheet) now ask permission before switching on the microphone - Translation refinements across all supported languages Fixed - Several Windows crashes, including after installing updates and on the Home page, plus a smoother update progress bar - A crash opening Third-party licences on Android - An iOS crash when importing certain files - Charts that cut off score markers at the edges - The Mac title bar and share sheet now behave correctly in Dark mode - Numerous small layout, wording and accessibility polish fixes throughout the app - Better performance and fewer memory leaks when moving between Library, Editor and Reading Thanks for reading with us! ### 1.304.0 — 2026-10-08 Version 1.304.0 New - Try Zen Reader as a Family and see your child complete an example reading before any forms or plan choices. Improved - Longer battery life: oral reading pages now stop running in the background as soon as you leave them. - Clearer messages when an offline voice download can't complete, instead of a silent read. Fixed - German app-lock and account screens now use the polite "Sie" form. - Fixed an issue where some offline app launches after signing in could show the wrong setup screen. - Fixed a crash that could occur if a book had been removed. - Fixed an issue affecting some recording uploads. Happy reading! ### 1.303.65 — 2026-10-06 Version 1.303.65 New - Oral Practice now includes a scored read-aloud plus timed follow-up questions. - Roll back a book, or your whole family library, to an earlier point in time. - Start your free trial with no credit card needed. - Reminders to scan this term's spelling and word lists at the start of term, with the option to set your own term dates. - After saving a book read, Zen Reader can now offer to show you the reading report straight away. - A new Invite button makes it quicker to add family members. - Zen Reader is now available on the Mac App Store. Improved - A brighter, more welcoming splash screen, with a matching new look for sign-in. - The Listening picker now shows each book's English title and lets you filter by language. - Clearer explanations of microphone and speech permissions before your device asks. - Clearer wording when deleting a book — it can still be restored for 180 days. - Smoother layouts for reading, spelling and portfolio screens on phones. - Better support throughout the app for screen readers and keyboard navigation. Fixed - A bug that could flip AI consent settings across a family's devices. - A "network connection lost" message no longer appears when simply offline. - A crash when switching between reading report views. - Flash cards no longer invent a transcript when nothing was said. - Spelling and school test dates no longer change on their own. - A replaced book cover no longer shows the old picture. - Page pictures now load reliably on Mac. - Readings taken while offline are now safely queued instead of lost. - Licensed families are no longer shown "No active license" if the licence server is briefly unreachable. Thanks for reading with us! ### 1.291.0 — 2026-09-30 Version 1.291.0 New - Oral Practice has arrived: your child can talk with Jas about their own book, or describe a picture aloud (看图说话), with a feedback report and portfolio to track progress. Improved - Reading levels now shown on a simple ladder for easier tracking against your child's list. - Renamed "Oral" back to "Listening" for clarity. - Numerous translation improvements throughout the app. Fixed - Sign in with Apple works again on the latest iOS. - Loading spinners on reading report, Library and Homework help now resolve properly. - Permission descriptions are now consistent. - Undo re-score only appears when there's history to undo. - Teacher-shared book notifications now display and read correctly. - Ask Jas explains clearly when AI features are off. - Flash cards no longer auto-record; a recording indicator is always shown. - The PIN prompt no longer repeats on every sign-in. - Children no longer see parent-only tools. - Homework help shows a clear message if something goes wrong after the camera. - The Library opens on an age-appropriate book with clear level labels. - The parent menu is reorganised so Family members is easy to find. - The reading screen shows just Start until reading begins. - "Time to read" reminders no longer pile up unread. - Tapping a book cover works again; duplicate navigation buttons removed. - Ask Jas no longer double-greets or references a nonexistent past chat. - Fixed several small text and spacing errors. - The word-list picker sorts levels correctly. - The spelling portfolio now shows practised words correctly. Thanks for reading with us! ### 1.285.1 — 2026-09-22 Version 1.285.1 Fixed - Fixed an issue where Sign in with Apple could fail without an explanation, making sign-in more reliable. Under the hood - General stability and reliability improvements. 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User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-31.*