A minimalist, spaced-repetition pinyin learning app for mastering the 4,500 most common Chinese characters.
- 4,500 Characters — Covers the most frequently used Chinese characters from the CUHK Cantonese Frequency List
- Spaced Repetition — Master characters by answering correctly 5 times in a row
- Multiple Readings — Accepts all valid pinyin pronunciations for characters with multiple readings
- Progress Tracking — All progress is saved locally in your browser
- Hint System — Type
hintto reveal the answer (resets streak) - Mobile Friendly — Fully responsive design optimized for practice on any device
- Choose an exercise — Characters are grouped into sets of 100, ordered by frequency
- Type the pinyin — Enter the romanized pronunciation (without tones) and press Enter or Space
- Build your streak — Get 5 correct answers in a row to master a character
- Track your progress — Completed exercises are highlighted in green
Simply open index.html in your browser — no build step required.
The app is static HTML/CSS/JS and can be deployed to any static hosting service
pinyin/
├── index.html # Main HTML structure
├── app.js # Application logic and state management
├── characters.js # 4,500 character dataset
├── styles.css # Dark theme styling
└── README.md
- pinyin-pro — Accurate pinyin conversion library (loaded via CDN)
- Noto Sans SC — Chinese character font
- Space Mono — Monospace UI font
- Start with the first few exercises — Characters are ordered by frequency, so the first sets contain the most useful characters
- Practice daily — Short, consistent sessions are more effective than long, irregular ones
- Don't rely on hints — Using a hint resets your streak; try to recall before peeking
- Focus on recognition — The goal is to recognize the sound, not memorize stroke order
The character list is derived from the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Chinese Character Frequency List, representing the most commonly used characters in modern Chinese.
MIT