Comparison

Write Chinese vs Learn Mandarin Words

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Write Chinese

Features
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Learn to write Chinese characters the right way: stroke by stroke. Watch each character's stroke order, then write it yourself with your finger. Every stroke is checked as you write: where it starts, which way it goes and its shape. Miss one and a gentle hint shows you the way. WHY LEARNERS LOVE IT • Real stroke-order feedback on every stroke • Write from memory to make characters stick • Smart review brings each character back just before you would forget it • Hear every character pronounced and practice saying it • Daily goal, streaks and stars keep you motivated • Unlock traditional Chinese artwork as you master characters WHAT YOU WILL LEARN 234 essential characters in 47 lessons: numbers, family, food, travel, places, emotions, business, technology, idioms and more. Each character comes with pinyin, meaning and audio. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Just 5 to 15 minutes a day • Write your first character in seconds, no account needed • Writing and review work offline • Available in 14 languages • Optional Plus: no ads and a weekly Streak Shield, one-time purchase PERFECT FOR Beginners, heritage learners, travelers, students and anyone taking a Chinese course who wants to finally learn to write the characters. Start today and write your first Chinese character in under a minute.

About

Learn Mandarin Words

Features
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Learn Mandarin Words — your pixel pet helps you learn Chinese. Words flow across the screen like music. No quizzes, no stress. Just watch, absorb, and swipe left to feed any word you want to review. Your word-eater swallows it and remembers for you. Fed words loop on your home screen widget 24/7. A quick glance when you unlock your phone — another review done. Turn on Marathon mode to keep the cycle going and hatch eggs. Your pet is alive. It has health points. Feed it words to keep it healthy. Stop feeding, and it fades away. The Revival Lantern can bring it back — buy one ahead of time as insurance, and it activates automatically. 3,500+ words across 4 levels: Basic (500 essential words), Elementary (600 everyday words), Intermediate (800 advanced words), Expert (1600+ mastery words). Each word shows the Chinese character, pinyin with tone colors, and English meaning. Swipe left to feed → Widget repeats your words → Marathon hatches eggs → Your pet evolves → Collect 12 badges → Forge the ultimate Cosmos badge. Features: - Pixel word-eater pet that grows with you - Home screen widget with 24/7 word cycling - Pinyin with tone colors (red, orange, green, blue) - 12 collectible badges in random order - Egg hatching through Marathon days - Revival Lantern — buy anytime, activates on its own - iCloud sync — switch devices, keep your progress - No ads. No subscriptions. Free to download.

Screenshots

Write Chinese4 screens
Learn Mandarin Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Write Chinese at none against Learn Mandarin Words's 1. Write Chinese also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Learn Mandarin Words's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 13 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Learn Mandarin Words sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Write Chinese asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Write Chinese ships an update every 13 months, Learn Mandarin Words every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 2 level
Write Chinese versus Learn Mandarin Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWrite ChineseLearn Mandarin Words
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkin wah Cheng兴 管

In-app purchases

None

Write Chinese

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Learn Mandarin Words

One-time1
  • Revival Lantern$19.99

Questions

Is Write Chinese free?
Write Chinese is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Learn Mandarin Words free?
Learn Mandarin Words is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Write Chinese or Learn Mandarin Words have ads?
Write Chinese shows ads; Learn Mandarin Words does not.
Which is updated more often, Write Chinese or Learn Mandarin Words?
Write Chinese ships an update every 13 months, and Learn Mandarin Words every 3 days. Most recently, Write Chinese was updated on October 30, 2026 and Learn Mandarin Words on November 5, 2026.

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