Learn Mandarin
Mandarin, with a hook on every word.
Two mnemonics per word: one for the sound with its tone, one for the character built from its components.
猫
māo
mao1
cat
sounds like maow
A cat that only says MAO, one flat high tone, never miaow. Mao, first tone, level and high like a held note.
Sample hooks
What the first words look like
猫
māo
mao1
cat
sounds like maow
A cat that only says MAO, one flat high tone, never miaow. Mao, first tone, level and high like a held note.
狗
gǒu
gou3
dog
sounds like go
A dog that only moves when you say GO, and the word dips down and back up like the fourth step of a staircase. Gou, third tone, dipping.
水
shuǐ
shui3
water
sounds like shway
A river that SWAYS from bank to bank, dipping low in the middle. Shui, third tone.
书
shū
shu1
book
sounds like shoe
A book with a SHOE for a bookmark, sticking out flat and high. Shu, first tone.
家
jiā
jia1
home, family
sounds like jaw
A home you enter through a giant JAW that opens flat and holds the note. Jia, first tone.
钱
qián
qian2
money
sounds like chien
Money that rises up out of the wallet like a rising question. Qian, second tone, rising.
人
rén
ren2
person
sounds like ren
A person WRENching a door open, the word rising as they pull. Ren, second tone.
茶
chá
cha2
tea
sounds like chah
Tea served so hot the word rises as you inhale. Cha, second tone.
大
dà
da4
big
sounds like dah
Something so big you say DAH and your voice falls off a cliff. Da, fourth tone, falling.
A story in Mandarin
What you will be reading first.
书店的老人A1
Tap an underlined word. In the app the same tap also tells you whether that word is already in your collection and when it is next due.
Mandarin, specifically
What about tones?
Tone is part of the hook, not a separate fact bolted on afterwards. The shipped Mandarin hooks describe the tone as a movement inside the scene, so the word and its tone are learned as one thing.
How many words are loaded for Mandarin?
101 to start, chosen by frequency, each with a gloss, a part of speech, an example sentence and a hook. You can import your own list on top at any point.
Is the audio real Mandarin?
The audio uses the voices installed on your own device, picked for Mandarin and set per sentence. On a modern phone that is good. On some desktops it is only adequate, and recorded native audio is the next content investment.
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