Tova Learn Chinese

Write, speak & read Mandarin

Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.

Most apps invent a story for every character. This one tells you which part carries the meaning, which part is only a sound, and which parts mean nothing at all. Chinese characters are not random. Most apps still teach them as if they were. Tova Learn Chinese teaches one character a day — and tells you the truth about how it is built. WHAT MAKES A CHARACTER About half of all Chinese characters pair a meaning component with a sound component. 妈 is not "woman + horse" — it is a woman meaning-part beside a 马 that is there because it sounds like mā. You see which is which, every time. THE PARTS THAT MEAN NOTHING Some components are decorative. Most apps invent a story for them anyway, because a story is easier to sell than a gap. We name them: "人 here is shape only — it carries no meaning in 茶." HOW RELIABLE THE SOUND CUE ACTUALLY IS A shared component often predicts the syllable and almost never predicts the tone. 令 gives you "ling" 86% of the time and the right tone 4% of the time. We show both numbers and tell you when not to trust the pattern. Tap any character in a family and hear it. WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW Where a character's origin is uncertain, the app says so. Traditional memory stories are labelled as memory stories, not presented as history. Where the real origin is known and surprising — 我 was a bladed weapon, borrowed for its sound — you get the oracle-bone form to see it. THE DAILY LOOP Wake to one character. Trace it stroke by stroke. Say it, with tone feedback that tells you when the sounds were right and the tone was not. Spaced review brings it back and asks you to reconstruct the structure rather than re-read it. PROGRESS YOU CAN SPEND Not "90 characters learned". The building blocks you know, and how many characters each one still unlocks. WHAT THIS IS NOT Not a full course. It does not teach grammar or sentences, and it will not get you through HSK on its own. Pair it with a course app and a dictionary. This is the character layer — the one that does not make things up. Free to use. Pro unlocks unlimited daily drills. Terms of Use: https://tovatranslate.app/terms/

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Now in your language. The permission prompts and system text you see when Tova Learn asks to use your microphone are translated into Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German and French — no more English dialogue boxes in the middle of a lesson.

The developer, ZHUOER TANG, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Used to Track You

    The following data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies:

    • Identifiers
  • Data Not Linked to You

    The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

    • Location
    • User Content
    • Identifiers
    • Usage Data
    • Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Seller
ZHUOER TANG
Size
49.9 MB
Category
Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPhone
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPad
    Requires iPadOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPod touch
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • Mac
    Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
Languages
English and 5 more
  • English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
Age Rating
4+
In-App Purchases
Yes
Copyright
© 2026 Tova