Comparison
Best apps for learning a language by reading
A practical look at reading-first language apps, including taihaa, LingQ, Readlang, graded readers, and flashcard tools, and which job each one is good at.
If you want to learn from articles and stories, the useful question is which app matches the text you already want to read. A high rating on an unrelated course app does not answer that.
This page is a fit comparison. There are no scores. A tool can be excellent at a job taihaa does not try to do.
What a reading app has to do
A reading loop needs four things: a text you can finish, a way to look up a word without leaving the sentence, a place to save that word with context, and a reason to meet it again. Apps differ in which of those they take seriously.
- Some apps are libraries. You read what they publish.
- Some apps are importers. You bring an article, a file, or a web page.
- Some apps are dictionaries or flashcard boxes. Reading happens somewhere else.
- Course apps write the lesson. They are a different kind of practice.
A fair comparison
What each kind of app is for. This is not a ranking, and features change, so check the current product before you commit to one.
| Tool | Best when | Material | While you read | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| taihaa | You want your own texts in Mandarin, Cantonese, German, or French | Paste, .txt, EPUB, public article URLs, sample lessons, a small library | Tap a word, check a suggestion, with pinyin or Jyutping where it applies | Short spaced review that keeps the original sentence |
| LingQ | You want a large lesson library and imports across many languages | Shared lessons, plus text and media you import | Save words and phrases as LingQs and track what you already know | Review is part of the reading and listening flow |
| Readlang | You mostly read web pages and want a light lookup | Web pages and texts you add | Click a word for a translation | Flashcards from the words you saved |
| Graded-reader apps | You want texts written or edited down to a level | That product’s catalog, often Mandarin-first | In-app lookup or a parallel translation, depending on the app | Quizzes or flashcards in some apps; not the point of every reader |
| Pleco | You are reading Chinese and the dictionary is the main tool | Documents and Pleco’s reader | A deep Chinese dictionary | Pleco flashcards, if you send words there |
| Anki | You already know which words to drill | Not a reader | You make the cards, often from another tool | Strong spaced repetition |
| Duolingo | You want a short daily course | Lessons and stories the app writes | Hints inside those lessons | The course path, not an article you chose |
taihaa
- Best when
- You want your own texts in Mandarin, Cantonese, German, or French
- Material
- Paste, .txt, EPUB, public article URLs, sample lessons, a small library
- While you read
- Tap a word, check a suggestion, with pinyin or Jyutping where it applies
- Review
- Short spaced review that keeps the original sentence
LingQ
- Best when
- You want a large lesson library and imports across many languages
- Material
- Shared lessons, plus text and media you import
- While you read
- Save words and phrases as LingQs and track what you already know
- Review
- Review is part of the reading and listening flow
Readlang
- Best when
- You mostly read web pages and want a light lookup
- Material
- Web pages and texts you add
- While you read
- Click a word for a translation
- Review
- Flashcards from the words you saved
Graded-reader apps
- Best when
- You want texts written or edited down to a level
- Material
- That product’s catalog, often Mandarin-first
- While you read
- In-app lookup or a parallel translation, depending on the app
- Review
- Quizzes or flashcards in some apps; not the point of every reader
Pleco
- Best when
- You are reading Chinese and the dictionary is the main tool
- Material
- Documents and Pleco’s reader
- While you read
- A deep Chinese dictionary
- Review
- Pleco flashcards, if you send words there
Anki
- Best when
- You already know which words to drill
- Material
- Not a reader
- While you read
- You make the cards, often from another tool
- Review
- Strong spaced repetition
Duolingo
- Best when
- You want a short daily course
- Material
- Lessons and stories the app writes
- While you read
- Hints inside those lessons
- Review
- The course path, not an article you chose
taihaa: a narrow reading loop
taihaa is a public beta for reading Mandarin, Cantonese, German, and French. English is the base language for meanings. You paste a text, upload a .txt or EPUB, import a public article when extraction works, or start from a sample lesson or the small library.
In the reader you tap a word, check the suggestion, and save it with the sentence still attached. Mandarin can show pinyin. Cantonese stays a separate language and can show Jyutping, which is the point of the Cantonese reading guide. Review is intentionally simple: Again, Learning, Known, Easy, and Ignore. It is not a full course, and dictionary lines are suggestions, not a finished translation.
LingQ: library plus imports
LingQ is the app most people mean when they say “learn from real content.” You import texts and other media, save words and phrases as LingQs, and track how much of a text you already know. The shared library is large, and the language list is much wider than taihaa’s.
That breadth is the reason to pick it, and also the reason some people look elsewhere. The reader tracks a lot. It is a subscription product. If you only want a quieter loop in one of the four languages taihaa supports, the LingQ alternatives note is the more specific comparison.
Readlang, graded readers, and flashcards
Readlang is a lighter way to click a word on a web page and turn it into a flashcard. It is a good fit when the browser is already where you read, and you do not need a separate lesson library.
Graded-reader apps, including Mandarin products such as Du Chinese and The Chairman’s Bao, publish texts that have been written or edited to a level. Book series such as Mandarin Companion do the same on paper. They solve the “this newspaper is too hard” problem. They do not solve “I already have the article.” See graded readers versus authentic texts for when to use each.
Pleco is a serious Chinese dictionary that also reads documents and can make flashcards. Anki is the stronger review box if you want to design your own cards. Neither one is trying to be the place you import a German article and a French story in the same account. Duolingo is a course. Its stories are useful practice. They are not your textbook chapter.
How to choose
- Name the text you will actually open this week. A catalog you will not read loses to a short article you will.
- Check the language, not the logo. Cantonese needs Jyutping or another Cantonese reading, not Mandarin pinyin reused on the same characters.
- Decide whether review has to keep the sentence. A bare translation card forgets why you saved the word.
- Prefer a tool you can try on one page. If the first session is mostly setup, you will not find out whether reading works for you.
Keep reading
Comparison
LingQ alternatives for reading real texts
Looking for a LingQ alternative? Compare reading tools for imported texts, including taihaa’s beta for Mandarin, Cantonese, German, and French.
Method
How to learn vocabulary while reading
How to save useful words while you read, keep the sentence, and review them later without looking up every word on the page.
Method
Graded readers vs authentic texts
When to use graded readers, when to use authentic articles, and how to learn from both in Mandarin, Cantonese, German, or French.