My favorite app for kids learning Chinese characters is the iHuman Chinese Literacy App for ages 4+. I supervise my son’s screen time and I actually enjoy using this app with him. iHuman Chinese is a highly polished, extremely well designed app that teaches 1200 Chinese characters through game based lessons. The illustrations and animations are modern and the main characters are space heroes. The content is not too babyish and suitable for a wider age group.
Free Trial
iHuman Chinese offers a free trial to learn the first 20 characters. The games are fun and most importantly, my son likes the app and learned the first 20 characters in just a couple sessions. To use the app your child must be able to understand Mandarin as the verbal instructions are all in Mandarin. The entire app is in Simplified Chinese with Mandarin Audio only.
Why It Works
Each character lesson is split into 4 units. There is a lot of repetition which helps with character recognition, and the variety of games prevent learning fatigue. First an animation introduces the character and it’s meaning. Second is a matching game. Third is a character selection game. And fourth is writing practice. During the writing portion the names of the strokes are repeated as you draw the character with your finger.
The spaceships, burping bears eating burgers, dancing penguins, a pooping goat are just a few animations that keep the lessons entertaining for little ones and adults alike. These designers really understand kids! iHuman Chinese even has a built-in 3 minute rest time so your child has to take a break. Genius!
What’s Included
Four-step Learning Path
Short Cartoons Under 60 Seconds
Audio Stories
Bonus Game Rewards
Additional Character Animations and Games
Guided Reading Stories
Progress Tracker
Subscription Options
Monthly $2.99/month
Quarterly $7.99 ($2.66/month)
Annually $25.99 ($2.16/month)
Lifetime $37.99
Pros
Vibrant illustrations
Engaging animations
Fun and interactive games
Music and sound affects are not unpleasant
Free trial allows you to learn 20 characters
Built in break time
Bonus games as a reward
Cons
The interface is in entirely in Chinese
Only teaches Simplified characters
Payment system is buggy
Screenshots
Character Introduction Animation
Character Matching Game
Character Selection Game
Character Writing Practice
Character Animation
Character Selection Game
Character Selection Game
Progress Tracker
Guided Reading
Advanced Storybooks
Also check out the rest of iHuman’s learning apps which include a storybook reading app, Math, and audio bedtime stories.
Do you have an English contact for this app?
Hi! I do not have an English contact but I have heard their customer service is very responsive.
We have received some very suspicious emails from iHuman Chinese right after our annual subscription that said they will be collecting our children’s information through using the app. This raised a lot of concerns, as an App can potentially have access to a lot more information on anything else that is stored on the device. We reached out to iHuman more than a week ago, and never heard back. Please check with iHuman before recommending this to other moms.