As of today (August 20, 2025)
Character Progression
2025-06-28
|
Unskipped |
Skipped |
Total |
| Learned |
1,028 |
47 |
1,075 |
| Non-learned |
- |
842 |
- |
| Total |
- |
889 |
- |
My HH learning total: 1,917 characters ([learned] union [skipped])
2025-08-19
|
Unskipped |
Skipped |
Total |
| Learned |
1,055 |
57 |
1,112 |
| Non-learned |
- |
851 |
- |
| Total |
- |
908 |
- |
My HH learning total: 1,963 characters ([learned] union [skipped])
HSK 4
I took the HSK 4 on Sunday, and it was the first HSK I’ve ever done. I also signed up for the HSKK Intermediate, which, online, I swear it says that it’s a requirement if you’re taking HSK 4, but I ended up being the only one who took it?? Lol.
But the teacher was suggesting to me to join some sort of speech competition (which is insane considering how terribly I feel that I did on the speaking exam lmao), but I’m also crazy for considering it…
Studying
SuperTest for the HSK
I absolutely 100% recommend SuperTest. Great app, uses previous exams as learning material, there’s even a “path” option in parallel to your picking and choosing of learning. Unfortunately, it is paid, but if you’re cramming, and using it at least 3 days a week, I think it’s totally worth it. At the very least, it gets you used to the feeling of the exam, so that you’re more prepared for taking the actual exam. BONUS! It comes with tons of mock exams AND tons of previous exams that you can use as practice.
8/10. -2 because the website version doesn’t have the “path” version, but still an excellent app.
Falou for “speaking”
I still don’t really like this app that much. It’s still good for getting your mouth used to saying relatively realistic sentences that you may not normally think to say (NOT in the same way that Duolingo has you saying “My cousin only plays piano on the pier on Saturdays”).
5/10. -5 because it’s relatively buggy. I also get suspicious when an app support more than 10 languages, because at that point, I think they’re just relying on AI to fill out the content. Ling supports like 80+ languages, but I think Ling is great for getting off the ground with a new language. It boosted my Cantonese when I was starting.
LingQ for listening and reading
I had a discussion here with you guys about LingQ. The overall comments I heard were that there’s not a ton of Mandarin content, and that you pretty much have to add a lot of your own content through links or files.
Personally, I actually really like that you build up your personal lexicon that you can see, and that it’s being used as a point of reference for unvisited videos! Sure, maybe it’s a little bit lame that you’d have to find your own videos to link back into the app, but I see LingQ as more of a tool as opposed to being a full-on teaching app.
I don’t like that the videos have to have subtitles already.
I do like that you can import any text (as opposed to videos!) and it’ll still help you with building up your lexicon.
Mixed feelings on choosing your own definition for vocabulary.
7/10. -3 because for Mandarin you do have to find a good amount of your own content if you’re HSK3+, and the videos need to already have subtitles.
LingoDeer
I loved this app when I was getting start with Mandarin!! To be fair, I haven’t used it heavily since 2018. So, I don’t know if it has changed too much since then. I think also because I got the app before it had subscriptions (when it only offered Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), I somehow lucked out and don’t have to pay a subscription today?
It is VERY slow paced BUT it really gets you to understand the grammatical structure of the sentences. I’d say this app is more focused on grammar and structure as opposed to vocabulary (though you still learn a great amount of foundational vocabulary).
One other major bonus about this app that Duolingo USED TO have is a notes section that is actually like a page out of a textbook, that simply explains how the grammar is used, and maybe adds in a cultural note or two.
7/10. -3 because it’s slow-paced, and the vocabulary is a tiny bit lacking. Overall, still love this app. It helped me skip two intro quarters of Mandarin when I was in college, so that has to count for something!
I genuinely think it’s super useful for folks that maybe aren’t spending the time to write too much by hand, or aren’t learning Chinese the formal way (stroke names, radical names and meanings, etc.).
