You understand the question. Now learn to answer it.
Most apps train you to recognize Chinese. Speak trains the moment that makes people freeze: someone asks you something, and you have to answer. A character in a real Taiwan scene asks you one question out loud: the breakfast-shop auntie, a night-market stall owner, a taxi driver, the convenience-store clerk, a new coworker or a language-exchange partner. Tap the mic, answer, and tap again when you're done. Or type.
The bar is the real one: would a person understand you? The app shows what it heard, then either “They understood you” or one gentle fix and a shorter, more natural way to say it. The character reacts the way a person would.
- Stuck? Help shows what the question means and an answer pattern with examples. Or type what you want to say in English, see it in Chinese, and then say it yourself.
- New questions unlock as you finish lessons, and each one comes back a few days later, a little harder each time.
- My phrasebook keeps every sentence you managed to say, ready for real life.
Today's questions, every day: up to five.
Practice any scene whenever you like, and keep your whole phrasebook.
A look inside.
Real screens, not mockups. Swipe through the guided lesson path, how every word is taught, the story library, celebrations, and dark mode.
Every new word starts with a guess.
Before CiaoSpeak teaches you a word, it asks for your hunch — a quick, zero-stakes guess at what it means. That's not a quiz trick. Memory research calls it the pretesting effect: reaching for an answer before you're taught, even when you reach wrong, measurably helps the real one stick.
Hunches never cost you anything — no lost XP, no mistake on your record, warm feedback either way. And when you answer fast and get it wrong, CiaoSpeak treats it as a Surprise: the confident-error moment the research says is worth the most, celebrated instead of punished — then quietly brought back for review a week later, right when corrected errors tend to fade.
Most apps track one thing about your answers: right or wrong. Hunches let CiaoSpeak notice how sure you were — and teach you accordingly.
Read the research behind Hunches
A story library that grows with you.
Every story and chapter series is built entirely from words you've already learned — never above your level, always earned. Browse by TOCFL level, drop into a chat-style dialogue or a longer article, and hear every line spoken in a real Taiwanese accent.
Follow a serialized cast one chapter at a time, or read a stand-alone story front to back — either way, it's practice that reads like a book, not a drill.
A rotating free shelf to start reading — no subscription needed.
The complete library — every chapter series, unlocked as it grows.
Everything a phrasebook app leaves out.
Answer real questions, out loud
Someone in a real Taiwan scene, like the breakfast-shop auntie, a night-market stall owner or a taxi driver, asks you one question. Answer by voice or by typing. If a person would understand you, it counts. If not, you get one gentle fix and a shorter, more natural way to say it.
Questions that grow with your lessons
New Speak questions unlock as you finish lessons. Each one comes back a few days later, a little harder each time, until you can answer it without help.
A real Taiwanese accent, not textbook Mandarin
Every phrase is voiced the way it's actually spoken in Taiwan — natural accent and tone, not a generic mainland-standard voice.
Mistakes come back until they stick
One shared review queue tracks everything you miss in lessons and stories, and resurfaces it with spaced repetition until it's mastered.
Streaks, XP, and daily quests
Track real progress with streaks, badges, and rotating daily challenges — practice that feels like a game, not homework.
Feedback you can feel
Every right answer, streak, and badge earns a real moment — confetti, haptics, animated progress — never a silent number update.
Ready when you are.
CiaoSpeak is live now on iPhone and Android — every lesson free, no waiting.
The CiaoSpeak Loop
Three steps that repeat every session — not a straight line you finish once and forget.
Tell it where you're starting
A short placement flow finds your level and how much time you have — CiaoSpeak builds a plan around you, not the other way around.
Learn it, then say it
Lessons teach the words and patterns. Speak then asks you real questions out loud, with new ones unlocking as you finish lessons, and anything you couldn't say comes back in your next practice.
Watch it actually stick
Streaks, XP, and a spaced-review queue bring anything you missed back around until it's mastered — then the loop starts again with what's next.
Taiwan has its own accent, its own vocabulary, its own culture. Most apps teach Mandarin like it only comes from one place.
CiaoSpeak is built specifically for the Mandarin spoken in Taiwan — from the way greetings sound to the words people actually use. See what actually makes Taiwanese Mandarin different.
Language Café, a Discord for practicing Chinese, English and Japanese together.
Made by the same person behind CiaoSpeak, but its own thing. Practice your Chinese with people learning English, one topic at a time, and ask a question to get a real answer.
Questions, answered.
Where can I download CiaoSpeak?
CiaoSpeak is live now — download it free on the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android).
Is CiaoSpeak on iOS?
Yes — CiaoSpeak is on the App Store for iPhone, and every lesson is free there too.
What level do I need to start?
Any level. A short placement quiz finds your starting point, whether you're a complete beginner or already know some Chinese.
How is this different from other Chinese learning apps?
Two things. It's built specifically for Chinese as it's spoken in Taiwan, not a generic mainland-standard version. And it trains the moment most apps skip: someone asks you a question and you have to answer. In Speak, a character in a real Taiwan scene asks you one question and you answer out loud. If a person would understand you, it counts.
Do I have to speak out loud?
No. You can answer every Speak question by voice or by typing. Speaking out loud is the point, but a typed answer still counts when you can't talk.
Get CiaoSpeak for iPhone and Android.
Free to start — every lesson included, no waiting.
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