Learn Chinese by reading what you love
Otto swaps a share of the words you read into Chinese: on any website, in books and in podcasts. You still follow everything, and the Chinese you understand grows a little every day, without setting aside time to study.
The same sentence at all seven levels
This is the sentence Otto uses to show its levels, taken straight from the app. At A few words only the most common words are Chinese; at Confident the sentence takes Chinese word order too; at Native it is all Chinese.
city council 将 repair old bridge 今年 winter, mayor promised pedestrians 和 cyclists 可以 still cross footbridge.
city council 将 repair old bridge 今年 winter, mayor promised pedestrians 和 cyclists 可以仍然 cross footbridge.
市议会将 repair 旧 bridge 今年冬天, mayor promised pedestrians 和 cyclists 可以仍然 cross footbridge.
市议会将修复旧桥今年冬天, mayor 承诺 pedestrians 和 cyclists 可以仍然过 footbridge.
市议会今年冬天将修复旧桥, 市长承诺行人和 cyclists 仍然可以过 footbridge.
市议会今年冬天将修复旧桥, 市长承诺行人和骑行者仍然可以过 footbridge.
市议会将在今年冬天修复旧桥，市长承诺行人和骑行者仍然可以通过人行天桥。
The most common words come first
A few hundred words make up most of what anyone reads, so that is where Otto starts. In this sentence, the first Chinese you would meet is:
Chinese words appear in Chinese characters, as a Chinese speaker would write them. Tap one and Otto shows what it means and says it aloud, so the script comes to you word by word, in sentences you can already follow.
How you learn Chinese with Otto
- Pick your level. Start with a few everyday words, or most of the page.
- Read as you normally would. A book in the app, a podcast, or any website in Chrome, Safari or the app's own browser.
- Tap any word you don't know. See what it means and hear it. Save it with one tap.
- Practise and move up. Short games in Learn use the words you saved, and as you learn more, Otto shows you more Chinese.
Everything you read, in Chinese at your level
Any website
News, blogs, Wikipedia, recipes: Otto weaves Chinese into the page in Chrome, in Safari and in the app.
Books and podcasts
A library of classic books, and podcasts in which some of the words you hear are Chinese, both at your level.
Your word bank
Every word you save goes to Learn, where quick games bring it back until it sticks.
Your tutor
Working with a tutor? They can set your reading and see the words you looked up.
Questions
Can you learn Chinese just by reading?
Reading things you can mostly understand, with a few new words each time, is one of the best-supported ways to build vocabulary. Otto keeps your reading at that point, and pairs it with short practice games for the Chinese words you save.
What level of Chinese do I need to start?
None. At the first level Otto swaps only a handful of the most common words into Chinese, and it adds more as you learn them, all the way to reading entirely in Chinese.
Is Otto free?
Yes. Everything Otto does is free, with a daily limit. Otto Pro (£3.99 a month) lets you read five times more and work with a tutor; Otto Max (£9.99 a month) five times more again.
Where does Otto work?
On iPhone, iPad and Mac, and as an extension for Chrome and Safari, so it works on the websites you already read.
Do I need to read Chinese characters before I start?
No. Words appear in Chinese characters, and a tap shows the meaning and plays the sound, so you learn to recognise them as you go.