Reading Chinese Characters
Like Duolingo, but for Reading Chinese Characters. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
79 levels across 9 sections, about 158 minutes end to end, roughly 32 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Visual Foundation, The Radical System, Numbers and Time, People and Places, Describing the World, Daily Survival, Food and Drink, Modern Navigation, and Advanced Recognition Patterns. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Reading Chinese Characters
- Characters are not just random lines but evolved from pictures
- The character 人 consists of two strokes representing legs
- The visual shape of a character often hints at its original meaning
- The shape mimics a person in profile or walking
- The vertical stroke is the central trunk
- The horizontal cross represents the spread of branches
- The pictographic origin of basic Chinese characters
- The bottom strokes represent the root system for stability
- The sun (日) represents a day
- Visual recognition of the 'Person' character based on its shape
- The moon (月) represents a month
- Celestial cycles are the basis for time-keeping characters
- Identifying the components of the 'Tree' character
- The conceptual link between celestial bodies and time
- Simple characters like 人 (Person) and 木 (Tree) act as 'radicals' or building blocks
- Complex characters are often just combinations of these simpler shapes
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Reading Chinese Characters the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When you look at the character 人, what body part do the two main strokes represent?
Get it right to open this lesson and 78 more in the app.
Where Reading Chinese Characters takes you
Unlock the visual logic of Mandarin. Learn to recognize high-frequency characters through patterns, radicals, and storytelling rather than rote memorization.
- 1
The Visual Foundation
- Your First Five Characters
- The Magic of Combining Ideas
- 2
The Radical System
- The Water Radical
- The Fire and Earth Radicals
- The Hand and Mouth Radicals
- 3
Numbers and Time
- Counting and Logic
- Reading the Calendar
- 4
People and Places
- Pronouns and People
- Navigating Directions
- 5
Describing the World
- Sizes and Qualities
- Colors and Feelings
- 6
Daily Survival
- Reading Signs and Labels
- Money and Shopping
- 7
Food and Drink
- The Menu Essentials
- Drinks and Flavors
- 8
Modern Navigation
- Digital and App Reading
- Public Transport
- 9
Advanced Recognition Patterns
- Phonetic Hints
- The Logic of Stroke Order
- Context and Fluency
9 sections · 20 units · 79 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Reading Chinese Characters is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Language on Tomo
Writing Mandarin Characters
A structured, logic-based approach to mastering Chinese characters. Designed specifically for learners who benefit from clear patterns, visual systems, and memory-anchoring techniques.
German for Real Life
Go from zero to confident conversation. This mastery course covers the logic, the sounds, and the essential structures of the German language through practical, everyday scenarios.
Speak and Live Japanese
Start speaking useful Japanese immediately while unlocking the secrets of the writing system. Go from ordering ramen to navigating Tokyo like a local pro.
Speak Chinese from Day One
Skip the boring grammar drills and start talking immediately. Master the tones, survive your first trip to China, and unlock the secrets of the world's most spoken language.
Natural English Fluency
Move beyond textbook grammar and start speaking like a local. Master the subtle rhythms, cultural shortcuts, and social nuances that make English feel like your own language.
Italian for Real Conversations
Skip the dry grammar drills and start speaking Italian with confidence. This course focuses on the rhythms, gestures, and essential phrases you need to navigate daily life and sound like a local.
Start Reading Chinese Characters today.
Download Tomo, search Reading Chinese Characters, and play your first lesson in under a minute.