What to use after finishing HelloChinese
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: these two apps are not substitutes, and if you are looking for a "free HelloChinese alternative" you should know that up front. HelloChinese is a course: it teaches grammar, listens to you speak, and walks a beginner from nothing to conversational. Wordbrush teaches no grammar and has no speaking practice at all. What Wordbrush does is make vocabulary stick, free, for the whole of HSK 1-3. The natural pairing is HelloChinese (or any course) for how the language works, and Wordbrush so the words you meet stop leaking away.
HelloChinese details below were checked against hellochinese.cc and its app-store listing on 3 September 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm anything that matters to you at the source.
The two questions that bring people here are "what do I do after HelloChinese" and "is there a free version of this." They have different answers, so take them one at a time.
Side by side
| Wordbrush | HelloChinese | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Memorising HSK 1-3 vocabulary | Learning Mandarin from scratch to a conversational level |
| Price | Free, in full, with no paid tier | Free to start; Premium listed at $11.99/month, $25.99/3 months, or $69.99/year for US customers |
| Grammar lessons | None at all | Yes, a structured path; the current main course advertises 430+ grammar points |
| Speaking practice | None at all | Yes, with speech recognition to correct pronunciation |
| Vocabulary | All 2,199 words of HSK 1-3, drilled to long-term memory | The main course advertises 2,500+ words taught across its path |
| Spaced repetition | FSRS, published and open, on by default and central | A spaced-repetition system is a listed feature; no algorithm name is published |
| Audio | Native-speaker recordings on every word and every sentence | Over 2,000 videos featuring authentic Chinese speakers |
| Handwriting | Optional card, off by default, a few hundred words | A listed feature for learning characters |
| Character set | Simplified only | Simplified and traditional |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android. No web version |
| Offline | Fully offline, no network calls in a session | Once a course is downloaded, no internet connection is required |
| Best for | Making vocabulary stick, for free | Being taught the language as a beginner |
If you have finished, or nearly finished, HelloChinese
The usual experience at the end of a beginner course is that you understand more grammar than you have words to use it on. The course taught you patterns; what it could not do is keep several thousand individual words alive in your head at once, because that is a different job with a different shape. It needs volume and it needs a review schedule.
That is the gap Wordbrush is built for. All 2,199 words of HSK 1, 2, and 3 are already loaded, each with a native-speaker recording of the word and of a full example sentence, each character broken into its components, and each one scheduled by FSRS to come back just before you would have forgotten it. It costs nothing, so it is not competing with whatever you spend on a course.
What it will not do is take you further into grammar, give you conversation practice, or correct your tones. For those, keep a course, find a tutor, or move into graded reading and listening. Wordbrush is one part of a stack, not the whole thing.
If you are looking for a free HelloChinese alternative
Be clear with yourself about which part you want for free. If it is the teaching, the honest answer is that we do not know of a free app that matches HelloChinese's combination of grammar instruction, speech recognition, and handwriting practice, and Wordbrush is certainly not it. HelloChinese is free to start, so trying its free portion before paying is a reasonable move.
If what you want for free is the drilling, that we can do. Wordbrush's entire HSK 1-3 vocabulary, audio, sentences, stories, and character breakdowns are free with nothing locked and no account to create. And if you do not want an app at all, the HSK word lists, example sentences, and Anki decks on this site are open to everyone.
Choose HelloChinese if
- You are starting from zero and want to be taught, not drilled.
- You want to practise speaking and have your pronunciation corrected. Wordbrush has nothing of the kind.
- You want grammar explained in a structured order.
- You are learning traditional characters. HelloChinese supports both; Wordbrush is simplified only.
- You want video of real speakers rather than audio alone.
Choose Wordbrush if
- Your problem is forgetting, not understanding. A scheduler that tracks every word individually is the tool for that, and it is what Wordbrush is.
- You want the complete HSK 1-3 list, not a selection chosen to fit a course path.
- Budget matters. Wordbrush is free in full and always has a free tier, because it is only a free tier.
- You want to know how your reviews are scheduled. Wordbrush uses FSRS, which is open source and publicly benchmarked.
- You want no account and no data leaving your phone.
Questions
What should I use after finishing HelloChinese?
Two things tend to be missing once a beginner course ends: vocabulary volume and a review schedule that keeps old words alive. Wordbrush is free and does exactly that for HSK 1-3, drilling 2,199 words with native audio and FSRS scheduling. For grammar and speaking beyond the beginner stage you will want a course, a tutor, or graded reading, none of which Wordbrush provides.
Is there a free alternative to HelloChinese?
Not a like-for-like one. HelloChinese is a full course with grammar lessons, speaking practice with speech recognition, and handwriting, and there is no free app that replaces all of that. Wordbrush is free and replaces only the vocabulary-drilling part, for HSK 1-3. HelloChinese itself is free to start, with a subscription for full access.
Is HelloChinese free?
HelloChinese is free to download and free to start, with a subscription for full access. As listed in its App Store description on 3 September 2026, HelloChinese Premium is $11.99 for one month, $25.99 for three months, or $69.99 for twelve months for US customers, and the listing notes that pricing in other countries may vary.
Can I use Wordbrush and HelloChinese together?
Yes, and this is the pairing we would actually recommend. Use HelloChinese to learn how the language works, and Wordbrush to make sure the words stay learned. Wordbrush is free, so running both costs no more than HelloChinese alone.
Does Wordbrush teach grammar or speaking like HelloChinese?
No, neither. Wordbrush has no grammar lessons and no speaking practice at all: no speech recognition, no pronunciation scoring, no conversation practice. It is a vocabulary tool. If you want to be taught the language rather than drilled on words, HelloChinese is the right kind of app and Wordbrush is not.