Chinese, fine tuned to your brain.
In one minute tongtong finds the edge of what you know. From then on, every word comes back the moment before you would forget it. No time spent on what you already own, none on what you can't reach yet.
- No card needed
- No ads
- On the web, iPhone and Android
You don't start at zero. You start at your edge.
These are the most common words in spoken Chinese, in the order you will meet them. tongtong learns where your knowledge thins out and teaches right there: never the words you already own, never the ones you can't reach yet.
It already knows what to ask you next.
No lists to build and no level to guess. Open the app and the right card is waiting.
One minute, one level
Tap the words you recognise. A few dozen answers place you on a scale of 43,000 words, from first lesson to near-native.
Always the right difficulty
Each card sits where you still have to reach, but rarely miss. That is where memory grows fastest.
Back just before you forget
Every word keeps its own clock. Reviews arrive as recall starts to slip, and each one buys a longer break.
Past HSK 6. All the way to fluent.
Most courses stop where the textbook stops. tongtong keeps going: all nine HSK levels, then the thirty-two thousand words fluent speakers meet in films, the news and novels. Always the most useful first.
43,127words
From village candidate to top scholar.
For thirteen centuries, China's imperial exams ranked scholars from 童生 to 状元. tongtong borrows the ladder: every review earns XP, each week you compete with learners at your pace, and the best move up.
童生Novice
秀才Scholar
举人Graduate
贡士Tribute Scholar
进士Imperial Scholar
探花Laureate
榜眼High Laureate
状元Imperial Champion
Free every day. Plus when you want more.
The free plan is a real daily session with the same algorithm. Plus lifts the limits.
Free
$0no card needed
- A real session every dayup to 60 cards in any 24 hours
- One story a weekchosen from the whole library
- The full algorithmplacement, scheduling and weekly leagues
- Dictionary and grammaropen to everyone
tongtong
$59.99a year · $5.00 a month
- Sessionsno daily item limit
- Storiesthe whole library, today
Also included
- Streak recoveryfrozen 48h away, recoverable 48h after
- 15% more XPon every graded review
- Plus profilering on your avatar, badge on every board, new app icon
- Early access to new featuresbefore everyone else
Cancel before the 7 days end and you pay nothing.
Questions, answered.
Anything else? Write to us at contact@tongtong.app.
Is tongtong free?
Yes, to start, and the free plan is a real daily session: up to 60 cards in any 24 hours and one story a week, with the same algorithm as Plus. Plus removes both limits.
I'm a complete beginner. Is that fine?
Completely. The first minute works out what you already recognise, even if that is nothing, and starts from there. It works the same way if you're well past HSK 6.
Does it follow HSK 3.0?
Yes, all nine levels, plus thirty-two thousand more words beyond them, ranked by how often people actually use them.
Simplified or Traditional?
Either. Switch in Settings whenever you like; every word, sentence and story follows.
Which devices and languages?
The web, iPhone and Android, with one account and your progress in sync. The app speaks English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian.
How does it decide what I study?
Two models work together. One tracks your memory of every word you have met (spaced repetition, FSRS). The other keeps a running estimate of your level (item response theory). Together they pick the card that helps you most right now.