MaiSay
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Learn Mandarin Chinese

Speak Mandarin.
Graded like a teacher.

Your private Mandarin speaking coach, inside a complete Chinese course.

MaiSay grading the answer 我学中文 syllable by syllable, with zhōng marked to fix Every syllable Your take, scored 89%

We will email you once, the day MaiSay opens. Nothing else.

  • Download on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play
  • HSK 3.0 · levels 1–6
  • 13 exercise types
  • Explained in English
  • Speaking from day one
Every syllable Mai, MaiSay's guide, reading a study card

Speaking feedback

Every syllable. The fix.

Say a sentence out loud. Mai checks each syllable's initial, final and tone, then shows the one fix to make.

你学中文吗？ Nǐ xué Zhōngwén ma? “Are you learning Chinese?”

  1. 我
  2. 学
  3. 中
  4. 文

Initial · zh → z

The fix The fix: aim for zh, not z. The model heard zōng (宗) instead of zhōng (中).
  • See each syllable scored on its initial, final and tone
  • Get one named fix at a time, like “Move s back to sh”
  • Shadowing built in: hear the model, say it back, hear your own take
  • At least half of every lesson is speaking, from your first day

Conversations

Talk back. Get scored.

An everyday scene, scored turn by turn.

The practice scene: Chen Yu’s tea-house order, with its picture of Mai and Chen Yu reading menus Scored turn by turn A scored turn: Chen Yu asks if you would like to pay now, and your reply, asking where the bill is, scores 88% Mai at a low tea table, holding a cup
  • Step into scenes like ordering at a tea house with Chen Yu
  • Pick your reply, say it out loud, and get scored turn by turn

Your route

Learn your way

Real-Life Chinese, the HSK 3.0 exam or travel first. Start from zero or from your level.

Real Life
Real-Life Chinese, Mai's complete course: where it takes you, your stage and a line to hear
HSK 3.0
The HSK 3.0 route: the syllabus words, level by level
Traveling
The Traveling route: taxi, counter and bill first
Mai reading a map
  • Real-Life Chinese, Mai's complete course: speak, read and write with confidence, on almost any topic
  • Traveling: greet and shop, eat out, find your way, then check in and get help
  • Real-life goals with the culture behind each phrase

HSK 3.0 · ready for 2027

HSK 3.0, levels 1 to 6

Built on the new HSK 3.0 syllabus, not the old HSK, and ready for the 2027 exams. Climb level by level, from your first words to HSK 6.

HSK 3.0: exam-ordered practice 考 · 2027
  1. HSK1
  2. HSK2
  3. HSK3
  4. HSK4
  5. HSK5
  6. HSK6
Mai walking up the levels
  • HSK 3.0 route: levels 1 to 6 in exam order, ready for the 2027 exams
  • Three routes, one progress: switch any time, and your words and your streak come with you

Write and speak with Mai

Write or speak. Mai coaches.

Write a few lines or say them out loud. Mai marks each fix and says why.

Your text
A short text in Chinese about a trip to Yunnan, with two words marked to fix
Your voice
Recording a spoken answer: 11 seconds of a minute
→ every fix, explained
Mai's result: each fix with its reason, a tapped word's meaning, and a question where the meaning is unclear
Mai writing in a notebook
  • Write with Mai checks a short text and gives each fix its reason
  • Speak with Mai turns your spoken answer into text, scores it and coaches it the same way
  • When a sentence could mean two things, Mai asks which you meant
  • Your first try of each coach is free

Study sets

Your words. 13 lesson types.

Paste a flashcard list or an article, or open an official HSK set. Every word becomes real practice.

Your words A study set of your words: 茶, 一壶茶, 服务员, 不要辣, 我想点这个菜
→ up to 13 exercise types
Match: pair up six tiles, three words Fill it in: which word fills the gap in 我不想__啤酒 Which tone? Listen, then pick the tone
Mai sitting with a stack of flashcards
  • Build a Study Set from the dictionary, or paste the word list from your class or textbook
  • Each set runs the course's own exercises: listening, matching, tracing, typing and speaking
  • Phrases stay whole, so you learn them the way people say them
  • Keep a set private or share it with a link

13 exercise types

Built on science

Spaced repetition brings each word back over days, weeks and months.

Spaced repetition

  1. 1
  2. 3
  3. 7
  4. 16
  5. 35
  6. 90
days
  • Say it exercise Say it
  • Which tone? exercise Which tone?
  • Match exercise Match
  • Which one? exercise Which one?
  • Build & say exercise Build & say
  • Fill it in exercise Fill it in
  • Word check exercise Word check
  • Type it exercise Type it
  • Read the character exercise Read the character
  • Conversation exercise Conversation
  • Catch it exercise Catch it
  • Type & say exercise Type & say
  • Trace it exercise Trace it
Explained in plain English Missed words come back
  • Spaced repetition: 1 · 3 · 7 · 16 · 35 · 90 days
  • Words you miss come back later in the same lesson
  • Every lesson is explained in English, from your first word
  • Short lessons of about 5 to 10 minutes

Memory

Help fades. Words come back.

Pinyin and meaning step back as your recall grows, until the hanzi stands on its own.

Rung by rung
  1. 你好 on its own: no pinyin, no translation
  2. 你好 later: the meaning has stepped away
  3. 你好 first: pinyin nǐ hǎo and the meaning “hello”
Mai looking up from her book
  • Pinyin and meaning step back as you recall a word cleanly, until the hanzi stands on its own
  • The word you recognize today comes back in sentences you say out loud

Characters

Read, type and write

Trace every stroke in order, read characters by sound, and type them with pinyin.

Write it Trace it: writing 国 stroke by stroke
Read it Read the character 是
Type it Type it: 我学中 typed with pinyin
Mai writing a character with a brush
  • Words, characters, listening, reading, typing and conversation, in one course

Arcade

Practice like a game

Type Keep, Sound Snap and Gatekeeper turn the words you are learning into quick rounds.

Type Keep
Type Keep, one of MaiSay's word games
Sound Snap
Sound Snap, one of MaiSay's word games
Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper, one of MaiSay's word games
Mai listening with headphones
  • Play your words: quick rounds built from the words you are learning

Plans

Free or MaiSay Pro

Free

  • 5 tickets to start, topped up to 3 every night
  • A ticket opens a lesson, a text for Mai or a spoken answer for Mai
  • Speaking inside a lesson is unlimited

MaiSay Pro

  • No ticket meter: lessons and coaching without limits
  • Monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime purchase

Pro removes the ticket meter. Every learner gets the same speaking feedback and the same content.

Mai waiting calmly, eyes closed

MaiSay is coming to iPhone and Android. Leave your email and we will tell you the day it opens.

We will email you once, the day MaiSay opens. Nothing else.

  • Download on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play

Questions, answered

What is MaiSay?

MaiSay is a Mandarin Chinese learning app for iPhone and Android. It is a private speaking coach inside a complete course: words, characters, listening, reading, typing and conversation, in short lessons of about 5 to 10 minutes.

How does MaiSay grade my speaking?

Say a word or a whole sentence. MaiSay grades every syllable on its initial, final and tone, then shows the one sound to fix next, like “Move s back to sh”. Try again while it is fresh and hear the difference.

Does MaiSay teach HSK 3.0?

Yes. The HSK 3.0 route covers levels 1 to 6 in exam order, ready for the 2027 exams. You can switch between it, Real-Life Chinese and the short Traveling and Work routes at any time, and your words and your streak come with you.

Will it help me with Mandarin tones?

Every syllable you say is scored on its tone as well as its initial and final, and the Which tone? exercise trains your ear. Shadowing lets you hear the model, say it back and hear your own take.

Can I study my own word lists?

Yes. Build a Study Set from the dictionary, or paste the flashcard list from your class or textbook, and MaiSay turns it into lessons with up to 13 exercise types. Keep a set private or share it with a link.

Can I learn Chinese characters with MaiSay?

Yes. Trace every stroke in order, read characters by sound, and type them with pinyin. Pinyin and meaning step back as your recall grows, until the hanzi stands on its own.

Which language are lessons explained in?

English, from your very first lesson. Meanings, hints and your speaking feedback are all in English, so you can start from zero.

Is MaiSay free?

Yes. MaiSay Free starts you with 5 tickets and tops you up to 3 every night, and tickets you don't spend carry over. A ticket opens a lesson or has Mai check a text or a spoken answer, and your first try of each coach is free. Speaking inside a lesson is unlimited. MaiSay Pro removes the ticket meter, as a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Every learner gets the same speaking feedback and the same content.

Where can I download MaiSay?

MaiSay is on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android. Use the buttons on this page, or search for MaiSay.

MaiSay: Learn Mandarin Chinese. MaiSay is a Mandarin Chinese learning app that grades every syllable you say on its initial, final and tone, then shows the one fix to make. A complete course with HSK 3.0 levels 1 to 6, real-life goals, conversations, flashcard study sets, characters and games.

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