Chinese Zero to Hero Review 2024: Best App to Learn Chinese from Starting

Undoubtedly, Chinese is a tough language to learn. There are a lot of things to learn from it. I had never thought of learning it before I started searching for some good resources for one of my students. Honestly, it is the toughest language I have learned so far. However, one platform that made my journey easy was Chinese Zero to Hero. It has so much to offer. Want to know about it? I will give a Chinese Zero to Hero review in the guide below.

Quick Takeaways

• Chinese Zero to Hero is a platform that actually help in learning knowledge to the people who have zero knowledge of it.
• There are both free and paid courses on it. 
• Prices are nominal and the courses include English, Pinyin, and Radicals.
• You need to buy textbooks separately and also there are no vocabulary lists for the learners at higher level.

What is Chinese Zero to Hero?

Chinese Zero to Hero is an app that teaches Chinese to non-native speakers. The first thing that came to my mind was that it is designed to take us to the highest level of learning. Fortunately, my guess was right. The platform is created in a way that even a beginner can use it easily. The platform commits to giving the four main components of learning the language-

• Functional: Chinese Zero to Hero commits that there are no lengthy explanations and rather than that the main focus is on the practical implications.
• Engaging: If you have a similar style of learning, you are likely to get bored. Thus, to keep things engaging, the platform makes sure to include each aspect of multimedia learning.
• Standardization: There is no fun in learning the language if you cannot meet the standardized goals. Thus, the platform keeps the standards of the language in mind.
• Communicative: Communication is the key to learning the language successfully. Thus the courses are developed keeping it in mind.

Pricing of Chinese Zero to Hero

The prices you pay depend upon the course or the bundle you choose. Below I am discussing the prices of the bundles that are commonly chosen-

Types of Bundles	Pricing of the Bundle
Ultimate Bundle	$259
HSK 1-4 Bundle	$159
HSK 5-6 Bundle	$129

However, if you are interested in learning a single level,  the price is different. Below I am sharing the screenshot of the chart that covers the prices of each level-

However, to know more about the pricing details, click here.

Course Structure

Chinese Zero to Hero has free as well as paid courses. The free courses are limited and are basically to practice pronunciation and learn basic concepts in Chinese linguistics. However, the paid courses are based on different levels of the language. They are created based on HSK levels. Though the lessons are created in the bass of the topics related to the course, you will see some common features in most of the learning lessons. I have mentioned them below-

1. Warm-up videos

Every course starts with a warm-up video. It includes a video explaining some new words or the already learned words. To make things more interesting, they also add humor to most of the concepts. The vocabulary I got in this section was appropriate to the level of mine. Also, the amount of Chinese used is perfect.

The next section after it, ie the vocabulary. As the name suggests, it will cover vocabulary only. The host will cover a lot of vocabulary words by showing multiple pictures on the screen. As Chinese is a mixture of pinyin, characters, etc., the host makes sure to teach that too. For any visual learner, it can be the best way to learn the language. There were so many questions that helped me to think more about what I was learning. This helped me to understand how to use it.

There are multiple sentences for each word used. Watching the videos also improved my reading and listening exercises. It also helped to revise the previous concepts learned. In the next portion, there are words with Chinese characters, Pinyin, and English translations. Once the chart is completed, he focuses more on the Chinese Characters. There are multiple comments added on the platform using only Chinese. 

Note: HSK5 and HSK6 don’t have vocabulary lists. It was really sad to see. Getting on the HSK5 level means a higher amount of vocabulary from HSK4. HSK6 level even has a higher vocabulary than compared to all the other 5 levels. 

Of course, making videos at each level is tough. It could be the possible reason why Chinese Zero to Hero does not have so many videos on it. 

2. Grammar

One thing that most of the platforms are failing at is teaching the grammar of the language. The videos are created in a manner that gives a fantastic explanation of each grammatical point. There are multiple examples to ease the understanding of the language. As the videos are engaging it eliminates the point of getting bored. The videos seemed to be difficult in the starting phase. But once I was able to understand lots of grammar, there was nothing to stop me.

At the end of each video, three multiple-choice-based questions helped me to check my knowledge. This part was not up to the mark. My first impression of them was the questions were too easy to understand. The next thing that I felt wrong about was the number of questions. Even if the questions were hard, testing with three questions only might be a negative point. 

3. Homework 

For anyone who actually wants to test the knowledge, this feature is for you. It is basically the review section where the words and the grammar taught to use is tested. The main focus is on the textbooks and the workbooks. They will also recommend practicing it with language exchange partners. If you are unable to find one, take the help of the people around you.

There is an answer guide for the workbooks. Ask your loved one to ask the questions and check if you are answering correctly. In addition to that, there are grids to practice Hanzi and Vocabulary. There are a lot of links directly for the Quizlet decks. The textbook structure of Chinese Zero to Hero is also interesting. 

The above was the course style of the paid as well as main courses. But there are also free resources for specific topics. The courses built for them are slightly different from the paid courses. In starting, they will teach the basics of the topic chosen.

After the introduction, the whole course is divided into different sections. Each section covers a specific topic, making it a perfect way to develop the skills. The free course that I used on it was ‘Phonetics with Chinese Characteristics’. It covers everything from problems to tones. 

The way the course is created reminds me of SmarterGerman. It is the course that has lessons arranged similarly. 

Chinese Zero to Hero Review: Will it really help in reaching the highest level?

Surprisingly, it justifies the name given to it. The course teaches every aspect of the language. There are vocabulary lists, grammatical explanations, examples, etc to teach the language. Each aspect starts from basic and slowly shifts to a higher level. It also allows one to learn the language at a single level. The prices are also nominal, making it a nice deal.

However, two things may make it a bad choice. The first one is the unavailability of vocabulary lists at the higher levels. And the next one is the fewer opportunities to practice conversational skills. Below I have created a table to compare the good and bad things of using Chinese Zero to Hero –

Pros	Cons
Have multiple resources for everyone’s needs	Confusing interface
The prices are nominal	Need to buy the textbook separately
Has the content for HSK level 9	No vocabulary list for higher-level
Includes content based on English, Pinyin, etc.

Chinese Zero to Hero alternatives

Many apps teach Chinese to language learners. But not all apps are good. Though this app works amazingly, it is good to try some other apps as well. Thus, I am sharing some other platforms where you can boost up Chinese skills-

1. Tandem

Remember that the course itself asks you to get a language exchange partner. Tandem is a way to do that. It is an online community of language learners with whom you can practice the language. There are people from across the world. I used it for practicing different languages including Chinese. In starting it was tough for me to communicate with them. But slowly, I was able to do so. 

2. Arch Chinese

Arch Chinese is another app used by many students. Though it was created for K-12 students, that doesn’t mean the platform can’t be used by you. The platform offers multiple features to learn the language. From the different tools to different activities, everything is so useful. They taught the language by following an engaging approach. The interface might be the biggest downfall of the platform but the features are amazing.

3. Hello Chinese

Hello Chinese is the other platform that was created to teach Chinese only. The platform follows a particular path when it comes to the course. There are multiple exercises to teach the language effortlessly. In addition to that, different tabs help the students to develop their skills easily. The story tab is the most exciting part for me. It covers a lot of stories that have amazing twists and plots in them.

4. iTalki

If you are someone who wants to learn the language from a private tutor, iTalki is a perfect choice for you. I have used this platform several times. As Chinese is a language that is totally different from English, it was very difficult for me to cope with it. So, I thought why not take classes for it? The teachers I got were really helpful and friendly. They helped me even outside the classroom. If you are on a tight budget, you can always filter according to your budget.

Conclusion 

Chinese Zero to Hero is a platform that transforms a fresher into an advanced learner. It is a platform that has several courses for each level. All the courses follow a similar structure. To use the courses, one must take the subscription plan. I believe that the prices are nominal. In addition to the paid courses, there are some free courses too. However, there are fewer communicational practice exercises. Also, there are fewer vocabulary videos for intermediate and higher levels. Thus, you must choose more than one tool to learn the language in detail.

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