Hi,

I’ve made it to 4 months—1/3rd of a year—in the ultimate challenge! My daily study average on the app is still just over 30 minutes a day. In addition to these 30 mins, I spent some time chatting with support about feature ideas and reporting issues. I also spent a lot of time reading carefully through the Chinese version of the cards' text, thanks to the new feature that lets you get word definitions.

The new Discovery lessons are really nice, and being able to still access the old ones is wonderful.

My focus on writing continues to pay off, and this proves it was the right decision to make. I am now restarting the course from the beginning, but without pinyin or translation. While the start feels a bit boring, it helps build confidence.

A month ago I completed the card collection, and I'm still waiting for new ones while stacking draw tickets—and also using the cards I have to practice reading! Any plans for a true native recording of these texts?

Thank you to the team. I’m really curious to see what new features you release next. I didn't even list all the new features added this month in this post; the team was really on fire, and taking user feedback into account so quickly is awesome. 加油！

#SuperChineseUltimateChallenge

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience as a long-time user of ChineseSkill. For context, I previously bought a lifetime subscription for LingoDeer/DeerPlus back when I was studying Korean, so I came into ChineseSkill with those expectations.

I recently finished the main course, ending at around 614 learned words (roughly equivalent to HSK 2.0 Level 3). I haven't completed all the vocab expansion lessons yet and am not sure if they count toward that 614-word total, so the actual count might be higher with those included.

⚠️ A Word of Warning for New Users

When taking quizzes, you have access to both Pinyin and course notes. It’s easy to cheat yourself by over-relying on Pinyin to coast through the course without genuinely learning the characters. Make sure you actively use the built-in review tools and varied practice modes to retain what you learn!

🔒 Booster & Extra Content

I haven't used the Booster section extensively because it seems identical to the content available on LingoDeer (and is reserved for Premium+ users). However, the accessible portions do act as a solid booster. While you can learn the basics without it, having extra practice and categorized vocabulary in one place is very convenient. On a personal note, I wasn't a huge fan of the games/practice zone, but I felt the same way about DeerPlus.

🛠️ Suggestions for Improvement

1. Course Expansion: The app advertises a "structured path to HSK 4," but finishing the main course leaves you closer to HSK 3 and starting HSK 4 rather than being exam-ready. However, you might get closer to HSK 4 vocabulary levels if you complete all the vocab expansion lessons.
2. Speaking Practice: I'd love to see more "graded" speaking exercises instead of self-rated ones. It would also be great if voice recognition could run locally on the phone so speaking exercises work offline!
3. Reading Content: Adding dedicated reading modules/lessons would be a huge plus.
4. End-of-Course Refresher: A daily refresher setup at the end of the course (similar to the "Green Owl" app) would be fantastic—e.g., 5 review lessons that each pull random questions from 20% of the course.
5. LingoDeer Overlap: The overlap between LingoDeer and ChineseSkill can feel a bit odd if you already own a lifetime subscription to LingoDeer.

💡 What I Liked

• Grammar Explanations: Just like LingoDeer, this isn't just a matching game with images. It provides actual grammar explanations, which are essential if you want to understand the language rather than just maintain a daily streak.
• Video Lessons: They offer video lessons complete with slides for each unit. While optional, they are a great addition.
• Academic Feel: The combination of quizzes, course notes, and structured lessons gives it a slight "school-like" feel that I really enjoy—it reminds me that I'm here to actively learn, not just play games.
• Tone Features: I love the "tone-only" practice option (which I saw here first before other apps started adopting it) and the updated tone practice tools.
• Responsive Team: The development team is amazing. They actively listen—if you send a reasonable feature request, you might see it implemented in an update two weeks later. Since the recent app revamps, they have been continuously making improvements.

Overall, it’s a great app with a lot of solid features, especially if you like structure! Hope this review helps anyone deciding whether to give it a try.

Hi,

Month 2 of the Ultimate Challenge!

I was able to stay consistent enough to have a mean daily study time of 70 minutes per day for these 30 days. Reached the 30 000 minutes mark and 997 days streak.

I am still focusing on:

Pronunciation — fixing the bad habits I already have is quite challenging.

Writing — I realized that while I am able to recognize characters and type them on a computer, I can't write them by hand.

So, this back to the basics started last month help a lot, the speaking exercises now feel like a normal exercise and no more like something that is frustrating me due to my bad pronunciation. The focus on writing characters has a huge positive impact on my character recognition.

There are so many lessons outside of the main course, it's really nice to review the vocabulary this way.

I really enjoyed this app, the team is really doing a great job even though I am not a huge fan of the new animations like the combo counter. But I'm here for the content and it's great 👍

So thank you to the team, I am really curious about the new features you will release. 加油！

#SuperChineseChallenge