Comparisons/vs Du Chinese

LinZi vs Du Chinese.

the polished graded reader - Du Chinese is the best-produced graded reader in the niche: professionally narrated audio on thousands of readings. It is also priced like a premium single-purpose app - and it is only a reader.

FeatureDu ChineseLinZi
Narrated story audio✓ human narrators~ natural TTS, zh-CN + zh-TW accents
Reading catalog✓ 3,000+ readings, weekly adds~ 1,750 curated texts
Flashcards / spaced review~ saved words from readings✓ dual-direction FSRS decks
Dictionary— tap-to-gloss only✓ 50,000 entries, free on web
Characters · strokes · radicals—✓ stroke order + writing practice
Traditional · zhuyin · zh-TW~ Traditional display✓ full Taiwan track
Courses / curriculum~ some HSK-aligned sets✓ HSK + TOCFL syllabus decks
Price— $14.99/mo · $119.99/yr✓ free tier · $39.99/yr · $79.99 once

✓ full support · ~ partial or paid add-on · — not offered. Pricing is approximate and region-dependent.

Where Du Chinese wins

  • Human-recorded narration - the best audio in the niche
  • A larger, frequently-updated reading catalog
  • A very polished tap-to-read UX

Where LinZi wins

  • Flashcards, dictionary, strokes and tone tools in the same app
  • About a third of the price
  • The Taiwan track: Traditional + zhuyin + zh-TW audio
  • A free tier that covers real study

Pick Du Chinese if: Reading is your main practice and human narration matters to you.

Pick LinZi if: You want reading plus the rest of the toolkit - decks, dictionary, strokes - for less money.

Common questions

Is Du Chinese worth the price?
If graded reading is your core habit and you value recorded narration, it is the category leader. If you also need decks, a dictionary and writing practice, LinZi bundles all of that for ~$40/yr.
Does Du Chinese support Traditional characters?
It can display Traditional text. What it lacks is the Taiwan stack: zhuyin readings, zh-TW audio, and the TOCFL vocabulary list - that is LinZi's home turf.

Compare with your own deck

The free tier covers 600 syllabus words, beginner stories and the full dictionary - no account, no card.

Download LinZi