Chinese
A free Du Chinese alternative for your own texts
Read any Chinese text you choose with pinyin or Jyutping, tap words for English translations, and review them in context. Free, no card, no word cap.
If you want to read Chinese without a monthly subscription, taihaa lets you bring the text: an article, a class handout, a PDF, or an EPUB chapter. Mandarin and Cantonese are separate languages in taihaa, each with its own reading aid.
What you get in taihaa
- Cantonese with Jyutping, and Mandarin with pinyin.
- Tap a word for an English translation and save it with its sentence.
- Read any text you choose, plus a small starter library and news streams.
- Review saved words at the end of each lesson, with the sentence attached.
- Free, no card, with no cap on saved words or imported lessons.
Price, side by side
Free-plan limits and list prices as published by each company, checked October 2026. Prices change, so this is a snapshot, not a ranking.
| Tool | Price | Saved words | Imported lessons | Card to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| taihaa | Free | Unlimited | Unlimited | No card |
| Du Chinese | $14.99/month or $119.99/year | Full library needs a subscription; free lessons are limited | Its own lessons, no imports | Free lessons need no card |
| The Chairman’s Bao | $10/month or $80/year | Free sample lessons per level | Its own lessons, no imports | Samples need no card |
taihaa
- Price
- Free
- Saved words
- Unlimited
- Imported lessons
- Unlimited
- Card to start
- No card
Du Chinese
- Price
- $14.99/month or $119.99/year
- Saved words
- Full library needs a subscription; free lessons are limited
- Imported lessons
- Its own lessons, no imports
- Card to start
- Free lessons need no card
The Chairman’s Bao
- Price
- $10/month or $80/year
- Saved words
- Free sample lessons per level
- Imported lessons
- Its own lessons, no imports
- Card to start
- Samples need no card
Questions
Is there a free alternative to Du Chinese?
taihaa is free with no payment card. You read Chinese texts you choose, with pinyin for Mandarin or Jyutping for Cantonese, and save words without a cap. As of October 2026 Du Chinese is listed at $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year.
Is taihaa really free?
Yes. taihaa is free, with no payment card. There is no cap on saved words or imported lessons, and all 8 languages are included.
Keep reading
Cantonese
A free Cantonese reading app with Jyutping
Read Cantonese texts with Jyutping, tap any word for an English translation, and review saved words in context. Free, no card, unlimited saved words.
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, French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, or Japanese.
Comparison
LingQ alternatives for reading real texts
A free LingQ alternative as of October 2026: taihaa has no card, no cap on saved words or imports, and 8 languages with Jyutping, pinyin, and furigana.