Write by hand
Practise with your finger or Apple Pencil. Stroke order and direction are checked against real stroke data for 13,000+ entries — with hints that fade as you improve: guided, traced, then from memory.
写 Chinese, written by hand
Learn Chinese characters by writing them
Meaning, reading, tone and stroke order — one word at a time. Hanzilla checks every stroke you draw against real calligraphic data and brings each word back exactly when you are about to forget it.
- 13 000+
- characters & words
- 51
- textbook decks
- HSK 1–6
- HSK levels
- 6
- steps per word
能 Features
Everything a word needs to stick
Hanzilla teaches a word as a whole: what it means, how it sounds, which tone it carries and how it is written — stroke by stroke.
Draw the tone
Sketch the tone contour with a gesture. Hanzilla recognises it, snaps it to the canonical curve — and shows you exactly where your second tone became a third.
Reviews that arrive on time
Spaced repetition runs on the server, so your schedule survives reinstalls and syncs across devices. Answered offline? Everything is queued and delivered later.
Real textbooks
HSK Standard Course 1–6, Integrated Chinese, New Practical Chinese Reader, Boya and more — 51 decks laid out like books, with covers and tables of contents.
A dictionary that understands you
Search 13,000+ characters and words by hanzi, pinyin — “ni”, “nǐ”, “ni3”, “nihao” — or meaning. Every entry animates its stroke order.
Streaks and daily goals
One session a day keeps the flame alive. Set goals for new words, cards or minutes of writing — and watch the streak grow.
法 Method
Six steps, one word
Every word passes through the same six-step session, modelled on how calligraphy is actually taught.
- 1 / 6
Meet the word
A new word introduces itself — you decide: teach me, or I already know it.
- 2 / 6
Meaning
Recall the translation, tap to reveal, grade yourself honestly.
- 3 / 6
Reading
Connect the characters to their pinyin and neural-voice pronunciation.
- 4 / 6
Tone
Draw the tone contour with one gesture. It has to be the right one.
- 5 / 6
Trace
Write with hints: first guided by the outline, then over a fading trace.
- 6 / 6
From memory
A blank 米字格 cell. Just you, the brush and the character.
书 Library
Your textbooks are already here
Decks in Hanzilla look like the books on your desk — covers, chapters, tables of contents. Add one and start from lesson one.
文 Insights
Insights
Stroke order rules: how Chinese characters are actually written
The eight rules that govern how every Chinese character is written, why they exist, and why writing by hand beats flashcards for memorising hanzi.
HSK levels explained: what to learn at each stage
What HSK 1–6 actually test, how many words and characters each level needs, and a realistic study plan for each stage.
问 FAQ
Questions people ask
Do I need to know any Chinese to start?
No. The first HSK 1 lessons assume zero knowledge: you will meet your first characters, learn the four tones and write your first strokes in the first session.
Does handwriting really help memorise characters?
Yes — writing by hand engages motor memory that recognition-only apps never touch. Research on character learning consistently shows better recall when learners write characters instead of only reading them.
Which textbooks does Hanzilla cover?
HSK Standard Course 1–6, Integrated Chinese, New Practical Chinese Reader, Boya Chinese, Ni Hao, Heisig and more — 51 decks, around 40,000 cards, all with stroke data for handwriting practice.
Do I need an Apple Pencil?
No. Hanzilla is designed for writing with a finger on iPhone — the canvas sits at the bottom of the screen, reachable with one hand. Apple Pencil works great on iPad.
Does it work offline?
Lessons you have added work offline. Answers are queued and synced to your account when the connection returns, so your review schedule stays correct.
Meet your first character today
Free to start. Your progress syncs across devices.
Download on the App Store