Zhúzi
竹子 · Mandarin, learned through real stories

Learn Chinese the way a good class teaches it — not the way an app usually does.

Eight illustrated stories with native-speed audio, an AI tutor that remembers your lessons, real pronunciation scoring, and beginner lessons that actually explain what each word means — not just quiz you on it.

Get notified at launch Coming soon to the App Store — no spam, one email.
Zhúzi home screen, showing today's story and streak
Zhúzi listening mode, playing a real Mandarin dialogue
What's actually in it

Every screen does something real.

No fake streaks, no placeholder stats, no locked features waiting on a subscription that doesn't exist yet. If a number is on screen, it's yours.

Library

Eight stories, HSK 1 through 6

Real folklore, negotiations, campus life, ordering coffee — each one fully translated sentence-by-sentence, with pinyin, traditional and simplified script, and native-speed narration generated for every single line. Comprehension quizzes test the actual vocabulary from the story, not just plot recall.

Zhúzi library screen with story categories and an 8-story grid
AI Tutor

A tutor that remembers your lessons

Ask it to explain a grammar point, quiz you on words you've actually studied, simplify a tricky sentence, or roleplay ordering food — it's Claude, grounded in what you've actually read, not a scripted FAQ bot.

Live preview — watch it converse
Hi! Ask me to explain a word, or quiz you on recent vocab.
What does 麻煩 mean?
麻煩 (máfan) — "trouble" or "sorry to bother you." You'll hear it a lot when asking for something politely.
Learn

Built for people starting from zero

A placement quiz and a structured beginner path — tones explained with real examples, not just abstract shapes, so you actually understand what mā, má, mǎ, and mà mean before you're quizzed on which is which.

Zhúzi Learn tab with beginner course cards
Listening

Real audio, two ways to use it

Listen mode plays native-speed narration with a tappable transcript that jumps straight to any line. Dictation mode masks the text and grades what you type back — tone-mark aware, typo-tolerant.

Tap the circle to try the play state
Zhúzi listening mode with real transcript and playback controls
Native speed · Female voice
Speaking

Real pronunciation scoring, not a guess

Record yourself reading a line aloud and get back a real accuracy score with color-coded per-word feedback, powered by Azure's speech pronunciation model. Currently iOS only — Android needs a transcoding step we haven't built yet.

一半辣，一半不辣，謝謝。
一半 辣 一半 不辣 謝謝
87/100
Vocabulary

Every word you save, in one place

Add words from any story or write your own — browse by HSK level, filter to just what you've personally saved, and flip through them as real flashcards. No fake spaced-repetition scheduling pretending to be smarter than it is: it's an honest "next card" button until a real algorithm ships.

旗袍
Tap to flip
qípáo
a fitted Chinese dress
Also inside

The rest of the app, briefly.

Streaks, XP & quests

A real day-streak counter, XP from actual reading/speaking/listening activity, and 8 quest templates tied to what you've actually done — not fake progress bars.

Friends & leaderboard

Add friends by email, see their activity, and rank against them by real current streak.

Challenges & study groups

1:1 races to complete the most stories over 3, 7, or 14 days, plus named study groups with their own group leaderboard.

Cloud backup

Back up and restore your settings, bookmarks, and progress to your account, or export/import a local file — your call.

Reader, your way

Font size, line height, pinyin and translation toggles, traditional vs. simplified script, and per-session playback speed.

Three themes

Light, dark, and a true black AMOLED mode — all system-aware, all repainting the whole app live.

Your theme, your call

Light or dark — it's a real toggle, not just a filter.

Every surface, every accent color, repaints across the whole app. Tap the toggle in the top corner of this page to see it happen here too.

Zhúzi vocabulary screen in light theme
Light
Zhúzi vocabulary screen in dark theme
Dark

Zhúzi is finishing up in the App Store review queue.

Leave your email and we'll let you know the moment it's live — or reach out directly if you have questions before then.

Prefer email? Write to support@getzhuzi.com instead.