Practice now opens promptly when App Store prices are slow to load. Beginners now start with HSK 3.0 Level 1 in normal Study. Learn each new word before trying it from memory, and continue your saved round when you return. The coloured word-practice card is restored for returning learners. This update also improves dictionary reading selection and reliability when opening Profile.

New words in Guided practice now show their pronunciation and meaning before your first recall question. Your place is saved when you return to the round. Choosing a study list is more accessible, and lesson progress reporting is more accurate.

Controls now adapt to iPhone Duo: actions sit along the right edge on the outer display and in landscape on the inner display. Reader details also fit more clearly on the outer display.

• Choose a study reminder after practice, with controls to pause it or turn it off. • Return to Learn from reminders and the word widget. • Improved dictionary navigation, example paging and layouts at different screen widths. • More reliable word selection, keyboard focus and switching between word and example search. • Easier navigation with large text.

• Clearer practice feedback and fairer listening choices. • Repeat a round directly from your results and keep your progress when returning to practice. • More reliable lesson navigation, keyboard focus and History. • Library now uses the same native search as Learn, with an easy way to close it on iPad.

Guided practice for word lists now starts with short, tap-to-answer rounds. Read clear explanations at your own pace, see your progress, and pick up an interrupted round. Custom settings and writing practice remain available.

Fixes here and there... New stuff on characters decomposition, check it out:)

Improved stability when importing shared lists and reading text with emoji. Added product analytics controls in Settings.

Laowai 5.3 brings HSK courses and word practice closer together. • Follow HSK 3.0 courses for levels 1–4. • Review difficult activities from across your course. • Continue your course or your word lists from a clearer, more colorful Learn screen. • Explore grammar patterns with explanations, examples and spaced review. • Read Chinese with pinyin above individual words. • Reach Live Activity and widget controls more easily. Also includes improvements to scrolling, large text, dark mode and French study controls.

Meet Laowai 5.2 — a major upgrade built around real Chinese and a clearer daily learning flow. • Learn now brings adaptive practice, grammar reference, and your word lists together. • Practice rounds can mix meaning, sentences, listening, speaking, tones, writing, and connected grammar — with controls for the skills you want today. • Recorded dialogues, readers, stories, and native examples bring words into authentic context. • Library is now the home for books, texts, dialogues, readers, classics, and saved reading. • EPUB import, chapter navigation, auto-continuation, complete-phrase selection, and text-to-speech controls make long-form reading much smoother. • Real sentence audio is preferred when available; text-to-speech highlights the passage it is currently reading. • Apple Watch, widgets, and Live Activity now use one honest recall model: forgotten words return sooner, checked accuracy stays untouched, and delayed signals never roll back newer progress. • New study reminders, richer deep links, clearer progress reporting, refreshed tips, and extensive accessibility, UI, and stability improvements.

Laowai 5.1 brings a faster, smarter way to learn Chinese: • Search pinyin with tone numbers and see common words first. • Character variants are grouped into cleaner results. • Learn now brings lists, texts, grammar, and scanning together. • Word cards now include grammar, measure words, related words, synonyms, and antonyms. • Full French interface, dictionary definitions, and Chinese–French examples with English fallback. • Faster lists, HSK-personalized onboarding, clearer free practice, and a new Lifetime Pro option.

A clearer path from lookup to learning: • Free offline Chinese-English dictionary with 124,000+ entries • Search by characters, pinyin, or English • 106,000+ Chinese-English example sentences • Save words to personal, HSK, and topic lists • Short adaptive practice for translation, tones, listening, and writing • Tap any word while reading to see pinyin and meaning • Laowai Pro adds unlimited practice, widgets, Live Activity, and iCloud sync

Bug fixes

A clearer path from lookup to learning: • Free offline Chinese-English dictionary with 124,000+ entries • Search by characters, pinyin, or English • 106,000+ Chinese-English example sentences • Save words to personal, HSK, and topic lists • Short adaptive practice for translation, tones, listening, and writing • Tap any word while reading to see pinyin and meaning • Laowai Pro adds unlimited practice, widgets, Live Activity, and iCloud sync

Laowai is now redesigned for English-speaking Chinese learners. • Chinese-English dictionary powered by CC-CEDICT • English, pinyin, and character search • Chinese-English example sentences • HSK, topic, book, and personal word lists • Updated study, texts, widgets, sync, and subscriptions • Your existing lists, progress, texts, and eligible subscriptions are carried forward

- UI tweaks

- new study module - visual tweaks

system lists updated

- bugs desinsected

- critical fix for subscription popup

- we fixed settings bug on iPad

- critical fix for Texts

Made several cosmetic changes to Library.

We changed everything, Laowai is totally rewritten. - New study module - Text module added - Fancy pinyin - Settings Oh, by the way, we removed all tracking from the app.

- object detection optimised - audio playback optimised