Duolingo is not working for my Chinese. What next?
Wordbrush is a free app for iPhone, iPad, and Android that drills the complete Mandarin Chinese HSK 1-3 vocabulary, 2,199 words, into long-term memory. Every word arrives with native-speaker audio, an example sentence, and a breakdown of its characters into components, scheduled by FSRS so you review each word just before you would forget it. It works entirely offline, needs no account, and has no paid tier.
Short answer: if the complaint is "I do the lessons but I cannot remember any words," that is a retention problem, and it is a different problem from the one Duolingo is built to solve. Duolingo is very good at getting people to show up daily, which is genuinely the hardest part of language learning. It is not built as a spaced-repetition vocabulary trainer for Mandarin, and it publishes no HSK level for its Chinese course. Wordbrush is free and does that one job: all 2,199 words of HSK 1-3, native audio, scheduled by FSRS. If what you are missing is grammar and speaking instead, you want a Mandarin course, not us.
Duolingo details below were checked against duolingo.com and its app-store listing on 3 September 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm anything that matters to you at the source.
First, work out which thing is going wrong
"Duolingo is not working" usually means one of three different things, and they have different fixes. It is worth being honest about which one is yours before changing tools, because switching apps will not help if you have diagnosed it wrong.
- "I cannot remember the words." This is a retention problem. You need spaced repetition that tracks each word individually, which is what Wordbrush does.
- "I do not understand how sentences work." This is a grammar problem. You need a course with real explanations, or a tutor. Wordbrush teaches no grammar and will not help.
- "I cannot say anything out loud." This is a production problem. You need speaking practice with feedback, or a conversation partner. Wordbrush has no speaking practice at all.
Only the first of those is a problem we solve. We would rather tell you that than sell you the wrong tool.
Why Mandarin vocabulary is harder to retain than Spanish
There is a structural reason people who did fine on Duolingo's Spanish course stall on Chinese. A Spanish word is mostly one thing to remember: a spelling you can sound out and a meaning. A Mandarin word is at least three: the characters, the pronunciation including tone, and the meaning, and the characters give an English speaker almost no phonetic help. That is more to store per word, and more that can decay separately.
Recognising a word inside a multiple-choice lesson also does not prove much. Picking the right tile from four options is a far easier task than producing the word from nothing a week later, which is what you need when reading or speaking. Spaced repetition is specifically designed to test the harder thing, on a schedule tuned to when you are about to forget.
About the HSK question
If you are working toward an HSK exam, one thing is worth knowing plainly: Duolingo does not publish an HSK level for its Chinese course. On its public course pages as of 3 September 2026, the Mandarin course states no HSK level, no CEFR level, and no unit count, and Duolingo's published research on how much its courses teach is about French and Spanish, not Chinese. That is not a criticism of the course, which is free and reaches a very large number of people. It just means there is no official answer to "which HSK level does finishing Duolingo Chinese get me to," so if the exam is your goal, work from the HSK word list itself.
Side by side
| Wordbrush | Duolingo | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Memorising HSK 1-3 vocabulary | Gamified, bite-sized lessons across 40+ languages, plus chess, maths, and music |
| Price | Free, in full, no ads, no purchases | Duolingo says every course is free, with ads and in-app purchases. Super Duolingo listed on Google Play as a 14-day trial then $83.99/year |
| Chinese scope | The complete HSK 1, 2, and 3 word list, 2,199 words | Chinese (Simplified). No HSK or CEFR level is published for the course |
| Spaced repetition | FSRS, published and open, on by default and central | Describes personalised practice and mistakes review; no scheduling algorithm is named publicly |
| Native audio | Recorded native speakers on every word and every sentence | The course teaches listening and speaking; the audio source is not stated |
| Characters decoded | Every character split into components, radical marked | Not a described feature |
| Grammar teaching | None at all | Yes, a structured lesson path |
| Speaking practice | None at all | Yes, speaking is part of the course |
| Gamification | None. No points, streaks, hearts, or notifications | Central to the product: streaks, hearts, leagues, and gems |
| Ads | None | Yes on the free tier; removed by Super |
| Account | None, ever; no server exists | Sign-in based, with progress synced |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android, and web |
| Best for | Getting HSK vocabulary into long-term memory | Building a daily habit and getting started without friction |
Keep Duolingo if
- It is getting you to study every day. A habit you actually keep beats a better tool you abandon, and this is Duolingo's real strength.
- You want structure and sentence practice rather than raw vocabulary.
- You like the game. Wordbrush has no streaks, points, or leagues by design, and for some people that removes the very thing that was working.
- You want to study on a computer. Duolingo runs on the web; Wordbrush is phones and tablets only.
Add Wordbrush if
- Words are not sticking. Every word is scheduled individually by FSRS, which times each review for just before you would forget it.
- You want the actual HSK list. All 2,199 words of HSK 1-3, complete and in frequency order, under the 2021 HSK 3.0 standard.
- You want to hear real speakers. Every word and every example sentence is a native-speaker recording bundled in the app.
- You want characters to make sense. Each one is broken into its components with the semantic radical marked, which is the part that turns characters from arbitrary shapes into something learnable.
- You are tired of being nagged. No notifications, no streak guilt, no ads, no account. Open it, do ten minutes, close it.
- It costs nothing to try. Wordbrush is free in full, so keeping Duolingo and adding this changes nothing about what you spend.
Questions
Why is Duolingo not working for me for Chinese?
The most common complaint is that words do not stick: you recognise them inside the lesson and cannot recall them a week later. Mandarin makes this harder than Duolingo's European courses because each word is also a set of characters and a set of tones, which is more to hold in memory per item. A dedicated spaced-repetition tool attacks that specific problem by tracking every word separately and resurfacing each one just before you would forget it.
What should I use instead of Duolingo for Chinese?
It depends what you want. For vocabulary retention, Wordbrush is free and drills all 2,199 words of HSK 1-3 with native audio and FSRS scheduling. For structured teaching with speaking practice, a dedicated Mandarin course such as HelloChinese is closer to what Duolingo was doing for you. Many people keep Duolingo for the daily habit and add something else for the parts it is not covering.
Does Duolingo teach HSK vocabulary?
Duolingo does not publish an HSK level for its Mandarin course. As of 3 September 2026 its public course pages state no HSK level, no CEFR level, and no unit count for Chinese, and its published efficacy research covers French and Spanish rather than Chinese. So there is no official mapping between finishing Duolingo's Chinese course and any HSK level. If you are working toward an HSK exam, study the actual HSK word list.
Is Duolingo free for Chinese?
Yes, Duolingo says every course is free, with ads and optional purchases. Super Duolingo is the paid tier, listed on Google Play on 3 September 2026 as a 14-day trial then $83.99 per year; note that Duolingo's own website advertises a one-week trial instead, so the length depends which surface you sign up through.
Can I use Wordbrush and Duolingo together?
Yes. Wordbrush is free, so adding it costs nothing, and it does not overlap much: Duolingo gives you a daily habit and sentence practice, Wordbrush makes sure the vocabulary survives past the lesson. Wordbrush has no gamification, streaks, or notifications, so it will not compete with Duolingo for your attention.