Launching today
Hanzio
Master Chinese characters with dictionary, flashcards & OCR
5 followers
Master Chinese characters with dictionary, flashcards & OCR
5 followers
Hanzio is a free Chinese dictionary and study app that turns characters into long-term memory. Every word comes back four ways: type its meaning, type its pinyin, draw it from memory, and recognize it by ear. No self-grading, and each mode is scheduled on its own. The dictionary has 150,000+ entries with stroke order, character breakdowns, and frequency data. Plus, an HSK grammar and stories course and an offline camera scanner.
Hey Product Hunt! 👋 I'm Andreu Puy, solo founder and developer of Hanzio. Today I'm launching Hanzio, a fast and efficient way to learn and remember Chinese characters, with an advanced dictionary, flashcards, grammar and stories in one app for iOS and Android.
The problem
A literate Chinese adult knows around 3,000–4,000 characters, and the top HSK level asks for 3,000. Each one has its own shape, pronunciation, tone and meaning. For a new learner starting from zero, that's a huge gap.
Most apps teach a handful of phrases, have you reorder sentences without teaching the characters in them, or hand you a deck of flashcards and leave the rest to you.
Why I built it
I finished my PhD in Physics at the start of 2025. Before that, I'd spent several years studying Chinese, so I knew firsthand where current apps fall short and what actually works. My PhD taught me to work independently and go deep on a problem, so I decided to build the app I wish I'd had: one that makes learning characters, pinyin and tones as efficient as possible.
How Hanzio closes the gap
Smart flashcards: Built on spaced repetition and active recall. Every word is practiced through its meaning, pinyin, writing and audio, and each one makes you produce the answer: type the meaning, pick the pinyin and tone, write the character, recognize it by ear.
An advanced dictionary: 150,000+ words in simplified or traditional characters. Search by typing characters, pinyin or meanings, by drawing a character, or by taking a photo of a menu or sign. Every entry has stroke order, example sentences and frequency data, and every character breaks down into its parts (菜 → 艹 + 采), so you see how characters connect instead of memorizing each one in isolation.
Grammar and stories: An HSK course that runs alongside your vocabulary. You get one grammar point at a time, then short stories that put it to use.
Where it is today
Hanzio is already used by over 10,000 learners and is rated 4.8 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store. It works offline, syncs across your devices, and is available in 11 languages.
Get Hanzio free 👉 hanzio.app/download/producthunt
The whole dictionary and 10 minutes of study a day are free, and words are never locked behind a paywall. Premium adds more study time and the grammar and stories course.
What I'd love from you 💬
Have you ever tried learning Chinese, or thought about it? What stopped you, or what kept you going?
I'll be here to answer every comment. Thanks for giving Hanzio a try!
Andreu
Founder, Hanzio