Chinese stories written from the words you know.
HanziTales writes books in Chinese for one reader at a time. Every chapter uses the words you know and the ones you're learning, plus as many new words as you choose, so you can read it without a dictionary. Tap any word for its pinyin and meaning, and the words you tap come back in short quizzes until they stick.
Free account. Save your progress whenever you like.
In short
- What
- A Chinese reading app that writes graded stories for each learner's own vocabulary, with quizzes for the words you meet.
- For
- Learners of Mandarin Chinese (simplified characters), from complete beginners to about 3,000 words. The app is in English, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, Japanese and Korean.
- Where
- In the browser, on a phone, tablet or computer, at hanzitales.com.
- Price
- Free to start, no card needed. Paid plans: Reader $9.99 a month, Writer $19.99 a month.
- Made by
- Rifta Studio LLC, Spokane, Washington, USA. Contact: support@hanzitales.com.
How it works
1. Find your level
Say roughly how many Chinese words you know: none yet, about 100, 500, 1,500, or 3,000 or more. Then read up to three short sample chapters and tap the words you don't know. That's the whole test.
2. Read books made for you
Each chapter is written from your words, plus a few new ones to learn, and you choose how long chapters are. Tap a word to see its pinyin and meaning; pinyin over the text can show for new words, for every word, or not at all. Every sentence has an English translation you can show, and chapters can be read aloud.
3. Words come back
The words you tap, and the new ones, return in quick quizzes for four skills: reading (characters to meaning), listening (sound to meaning), pronunciation (characters to pinyin) and writing (meaning to characters). Spaced repetition schedules each review right before you would forget the word.
How it differs from a graded reader
A graded reader is written for a level, such as HSK 2, so it still has words you don't know and leaves out some you do. HanziTales writes from your own word list, which grows as you read and quiz. Reading research finds that a text reads comfortably when you know about 98% of its words (Hu & Nation, 2000); writing from your words keeps every chapter near that.
See one story written for three levels, with the new words for each reader marked, or read our stories for HSK 1 and 2 and check your HSK level.
Questions
How much Chinese do I need?
None to about 3,000 words. The level question and the sample chapters place you. Books of your own start once you know or are learning about 100 words; until then, the shared library has books for beginners.
Does it follow HSK?
Your level is counted in words, not exam levels. When you say how many words you know, HanziTales counts the matching levels of the HSK 3.0 word lists as known, and the sample chapters and quizzes correct it from there.
Simplified or traditional characters?
Simplified characters, in three styles (handwritten, printed and plain), with pinyin you can show or hide.
Who writes the stories?
AI language models, from your vocabulary and the story so far. Like any AI writing, a chapter can contain mistakes; you can report a problem with a word from the reader.
Do I need an account?
No. You can start reading as a guest and create a free account later to keep your progress and use it on other devices.
Is it free? What do the plans include?
Starting is free and needs no card. Writing chapters costs credits, which every plan earns each day: at the current rate, a 500-character chapter costs 5 credits. Reading books you already have, the quizzes and the shared library never cost credits.
| Free | Reader | Writer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $9.99 a month | $19.99 a month |
| Credits a day | 1, plus 30 when you create an account | 3 | 6 |
| Longest chapter | 500 characters | 700 characters | 1,000 characters |
| Your own books | Chapters 1 and 2, one book at a time | 3 books in progress | 10 books in progress |
Prices are in US dollars; the store or the checkout shows your local price. The Subscription, Credits and Refund Terms have the details.
What do I need to use it?
A browser, on a phone, tablet or computer.
What about my data?
There is no advertising in HanziTales, no advertising cookies or trackers, and we don't sell your personal information. The Privacy Policy lists what we keep and why, including what we tell an ad network when one of its ads brought you.
Your level has a story waiting.
On Android? Get the app on Google Play.