
Is Duolingo actually any good?
This is not to say that Duolingo should not be used at all. It is a good tool for language practice. Used in conjunction with a language course or a teacher, it’s all good. The problem is when people try to use Duolingo to learn a language to fluency.
What is the best way to use Duolingo?
- Some skills will have helpful tips. Tap on the skill, then the light bulb icon.
- While in a lesson, words will be marked with a dotted line. Tap on that word, and it will offer hints. ...
- Check out our forum! ...
Is Duolingo Really Useful?
Duolingo certainly seems reasonably good (and improving all the time) and involves innovative features which keep it relatively interesting and useful and which helps keep learners motivated. Recent reports have said that independent scientific research has shown it to be even more effective than traditional college courses.
How effective is Duolingo in learning a language?
While they’re similar in concept, they differ a lot in the specifics:
- Duolingo offers a skill tree of lessons that use listening exercises, flashcards, and multiple choice questions to drill you on new words, phrases, and sentences. ...
- Memrise offers similar lessons to Duolingo, introducing new words and phrases with flashcards, listening exercises, and more. ...
- Babbel is different from the other two. ...

Is Chinese on Duolingo good?
Duolingo Chinese really excels in terms of motivating learners to continue studying the language. As you complete each level you win gems that you can use in the store for extra lives, more points, and other game-related items.
Is there a Chinese version of Duolingo?
For now, Duolingo offers Beijing-style Mandarin in simplified Chinese, which is the most common writing system and dialect for the language. It doesn't have any other dialects available, so those eager to learn Cantonese won't have much luck.
Can Duolingo make you fluent in Chinese?
You can learn some Chinese with Duolingo, but you can't learn Chinese (in the way that you mean this question) with Duolingo. Neither is it likely you can obtain fluency learning Chinese with five minutes a day, even if you keep up your streak for over a year.
How can I learn Chinese podcast?
Here is our review!ChineseClass101.Learning Chinese Through Stories.ChinesePod.Everyday Easy Chinese Podcast.Maayot.Chinese Learn Online.Chinese Mandarin Cafe.Dimsum Mandarin.More items...•
Why did China remove Duolingo?
Users in China found the Pittsburg-based app unavailable for downloads last August amid the country's sweeping education crackdown, including restrictions on for-profit afterschool tutoring.
Is Duolingo blocked in China?
A handful of language learning apps mysteriously disappeared from popular Android app stores in China — the apps, including highly popular ones like Duolingo and Memrise, appear to be the target of a new education policy China has adopted, which bans students from learning from teachers based overseas.
How long does it take to complete Duolingo Chinese?
That's Around 147 Hours to Finish Chinese That means you'll spend 147 studying Chinese on Duolingo. Here's how many months (or years) it will take you to finish Chinese: 15 Minutes a Day: That's a year and a half if you practice every day.
Does Duolingo teach Cantonese or Mandarin?
The world's most popular way to learn Chinese (Cantonese) online. Learn Chinese (Cantonese) in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. Whether you're a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.
Which is the best app to learn Chinese?
Top Mobile Apps To Help You Learn Chinese Online For FreeLingbe (iOS/Android) ... Anki (iOS/PC) ... Duolingo (iOS/Android) ... Memrise (iOS/Android) ... Skritter (iOS/Android) ... Hello Chinese (iOS/Android) ... ChineseSkill (iOS/Android)
Is coffee break Chinese good?
Coffee Break Chinese excels at simplifying the Chinese learning process, providing well-designed content that is comfortable to use. Because the way the lessons are created, it feels like you're sitting in on a language lesson between friends. It's fairly relaxing and you'll learn alongside one of the hosts.
How can I improve my Chinese listening comprehension?
How to Improve your Listening in ChineseTip #1: Do as many listening exercises as you can stomach.Tip #2: Focus on listening content suitable to your level.Tip #3: Be selective on listening topics.Tip #4: Choose your listening environments in China wisely.More items...•
How can I learn Mandarin online?
The world's most popular way to learn Chinese online Whether you're a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.
The world's most popular way to learn Chinese online
Learn Chinese in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. Whether you’re a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.
Boost your learning with Duolingo Plus
Learning a language on Duolingo is completely free, but you can remove ads and make faster progress with Plus. Try it free for 14 days!
Learn on the go
Make your breaks and commutes more productive with our iPhone and Android apps. Download them and see why Apple and Google gave us their highest accolades.
Duolingo for Schools
Free teacher tools to help students learn languages through the Duolingo app, both in and out of the classroom.
More pinyin for learners of Chinese
One of the big things that sets Chinese apart from most other languages is that its writing system is not phonetic. Because of this, both new learners of Chinese and native speakers learning to read Chinese typically learn a phonetic system such as pinyin (拼音) to help learn the pronunciations of characters.
A new way to grade speaking exercises
In many languages, there's a relatively close correspondence between the sounds and the writing system; that is, if you know what a word sounds like, you can probably tell how to write it.
Letting learners switch input modes
In a number of our courses that teach non-Latin script languages, we only offer translation exercises with a word bank, as opposed to keyboard input. We do this so that learners aren't forced to install, set up, and learn to use a new keyboard or input method for an unfamiliar language.
Rebalancing exercises for character-teaching languages
While testing some of the changes to the Chinese course, I noticed that a lot of the lessons I was doing contained many repetitive "Tap the pairs" exercises.
The world's most popular way to learn Chinese (Cantonese) online
Learn Chinese (Cantonese) in just 5 minutes a day with our game-like lessons. Whether you’re a beginner starting with the basics or looking to practice your reading, writing, and speaking, Duolingo is scientifically proven to work.
Boost your learning with Duolingo Plus
Learning a language on Duolingo is completely free, but you can remove ads and make faster progress with Plus. Try it free for 14 days!
Learn on the go
Make your breaks and commutes more productive with our iPhone and Android apps. Download them and see why Apple and Google gave us their highest accolades.
Duolingo for Schools
Free teacher tools to help students learn languages through the Duolingo app, both in and out of the classroom.
What is the best podcast for learning Mandarin?
Talk Chineasy. Hosted by a popular Taiwanese entrepreneur named ShaoLan, Talk Chineasy is one of the best podcasts available for learning Mandarin Chinese. There are lots of lessons which are short, and straight to the point. Highly recommend.
How long is Melnyks Chinese?
This podcast is actually hosted by a non-native Chinese speaker but it’s still excellent, and suitable for higher levels. Each podcast lesson is around 20 minutes, which in my opinion is a little too long. The best part about this one is the high repetition of key vocab and dialogues.
How long are Mandarin monkey lessons?
In contrast to Talk Chineasy, Mandarin Monkey podcast lessons are very long (over an hour each) but there’s a lot and they’re very good. Lessons take the form of a conversation rather than a formal lesson.
Is podcasting good for learning Chinese?
If you’re learning Chinese, podcasts are an excellent resource to learn from. The good news is, there are so many great options available (in addition to plenty of excellent online Chinese courses ). Mandarin Chinese is one of the most important languages in the world for business and global trade. In addition to business ...
Is Dimsum Mandarin a good podcast?
Dimsum Mandarin. Dimsum hasn’t been updated in ages but it’s still an excellent podcast for learning Chinese . There are free and premium options (the premium option goes into greater detail of the dialogue content). Overall, it’s a really good Chinese language podcast despite its lack of updates.

More Pinyin For Learners of Chinese
A New Way to Grade Speaking Exercises
- In many languages, there's a relatively close correspondence between the sounds and the writing system; that is, if you know what a word sounds like, you can probably tell how to write it. English tends to be a little less well-behaved on this front than some languages, in that it has some very different-looking homophone pairs, like "sight" and "cite." Chinese has an especially high degree …
Letting Learners Switch Input Modes
- In a number of our courses that teach non-Latin script languages, we only offer translation exercises with a word bank, as opposed to keyboard input. We do this so that learners aren't forced to install, set up, and learn to use a new keyboard or input method for an unfamiliar language. However, we know that answering from a word bank and answering via keyboard inpu…
Rebalancing Exercises For Character-Teaching Languages
- While testing some of the changes to the Chinese course, I noticed that a lot of the lessons I was doing contained many repetitive "Tap the pairs" exercises. I learned that the way we distribute exercises of various types in a lesson was optimized for our courses that don’t teach a new writing system, which was the only kind of course we had for a long time. However, this same di…