TCB | Read Chinese to Learn 4+

The one Chinese learning app you need

I’m so happy with the new TCB app! The team has done a great job and I’m convinced that TCB is really the only app one would need to study Chinese. Maybe the part that could use some improvement is the flash card system. However, TCB has integration with Hack Chinese - which I haven’t used yet - so I imagine it’s not a priority to tinker with. Maybe I’m using that feature incorrectly, but I can’t seem to get cards to sort from oldest to newest. And there’s no notification like in an SRS style flash card system of what you should be reviewing when. I use a free app for that part of learning but there’s also a lot of debate whether flash cards are even helpful. TCB gives students the tools to take charge of their learning and that is what I appreciate most. The audio for the stories is exceptional and the content is so interesting compared to a textbook. I genuinely enjoy reading the articles that are published. Thanks!

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the 5* review, it's much appreciated! We have pre-made word groups in which the system assesses how well you perform on each word and you can test within these groups. We hope you also enjoy the Hack Chinese integration and we will be sure to keep you updated with any future flashcard updates! All the best in your Chinese studies. Team TCB.

Good content but poor UI/UX

100% hands good content for what I’m looking for. I think the content is a good value for the money for me personally — paid for a year.
The three star rating is due to the minor bugs and poor UI/UX. It looks like it was designed by an engineer and a poor testing process. There is no cohesive color palette for the design. While I do applaud the content of the app, every time I use the app itself I notice more flaws: sometimes it loses the session of my account and I have to kill the app, inconsistent animations, random colors used for buttons, some articles have excessive white space at the bottom of articles, it doesn’t appear to cache the state of the app so it needs to refetch the page when I switch between different sections making it feel unnecessarily slow. I was going to switch to use the website instead of the phone app but the “mark as read” button on the website didn’t work so I am now stuck using iPhone app. I think the problems I describe are all solvable and the app has potential but for now it is what it is.

Premium service not working

This app is amazing! Yes, there are small bugs that need to be fixed and it needs to have auto repeat(which it doesn’t have currently). Also sometimes there is problems with the subscription system , which sometimes will not allow access to content right away(when you first start your subscription)

Even with some small annoying bugs , the app is hands down the best study tool on the market! And completely worth the subscription cost! If you are serious about learning Chinese , your money is best spent here!

New content is added constantly, sometimes I’ll finish a lesson and then find that new articles have just been posted!

The ability to filter by HSK level is genius. It helps you maintain that all important “flow” , so that the articles are not too hard or too easy- this “sweet spot” will help you improve very quickly.

This app best pairs with formal study of the language and is not really for absolute beginners. If you are looking for some phrases to say while traveling in China - this is not the app for you.

The articles are from real current Chinese news and blog posts and such -rewritten to match hsk level. Plus the app includes blog posts written in English that will help “fill in the gaps” on your knowledge of culture and society.

The learning tools are great and easy to use, each article includes a vocabulary quiz and several learning activities!

Customer service is very fast!

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your feedback and sorry to learn of the trouble you are experiencing with the in-app purchases. Can you please send us an email to contact@thechairmansbao.com and we will have this rectified right away? Thanks - Team TCB.