Read real Chinese, one page at a time.

Capture a page. Read it. Keep what you learn.

1. 1

   Capture

   Scan pages with the camera, pick up to 20 photos, choose pages from a PDF, or paste text. You can also send text, images or a PDF from another app with Send to Shuye. With no connection, pages wait on the phone and go when you’re back online.

   

2. 2

   Read

   Each page comes back split into sentences and words, with pinyin, dictionary entries and a translation for every sentence. Tap a word for its meaning here; press and drag to select a phrase.

   

3. 3

   Keep

   Save a word and it becomes flashcards, tied to the sentence you found it in. Review a few minutes a day and Shuye brings each word back just before you would forget it.

   

Features

Pinyin

Pinyin where you need it, and nowhere else.

Pinyin sits above the characters, the way it does in a good graded reader. Set it to All, Above my level or Off. Above my level uses the HSK level you choose, so words you already know stand on their own and new ones keep their reading.

Tone colours are there if you want them. The translation under each sentence can be hidden. Simplified or Traditional, whichever the page was printed in, at the flick of a switch.

In the app: Reader → Display

All

我wǒ每天měitiān早上zǎoshang去qù公园gōngyuán散步sànbù。

Above my level (HSK 2)

我wǒ每天měitiān早上zǎoshang去qù公园gōngyuán散步sànbù。

Off

我wǒ每天měitiān早上zǎoshang去qù公园gōngyuán散步sànbù。

The word panel and Look up

The meaning that fits this sentence, under the text.

Tap a word and a panel docks at the bottom of the screen: the word, its reading and HSK level, the sense that fits this sentence, a short note for words above your level, and the other senses if you want them. Listen, Save and Copy are right there. Swipe the panel to step through the sentence. On iPad it becomes a sidebar.

Look up is the full dictionary, on the phone: search by characters, by pinyin with or without tones (sanbu finds 散步), or in English. It works offline, and each entry shows sentences from your own pages where you met the word.

In the app: Reader → tap a word · Look up tab

Explain

Ask why, and get an answer about this sentence.

Select a word, a phrase or a whole sentence and tap Explain. For a word or phrase you get what it means here, why it’s used, short grammar notes, its register, two example sentences and related words. For a sentence: a natural translation, a literal one, and a chunk-by-chunk breakdown.

Then ask up to three follow-up questions in plain English. Explanations are saved, so reopening one costs nothing, and a small dot marks the sentence. Pinyin in an explanation comes from the same engine as the reader, not from the AI. The AI can still be wrong, so treat it as a well-read friend, not a final authority.

In the app: word panel → Explain · tap a translation → Explain this sentence

Listen

Hear the page read aloud, word by word.

Listen reads the lesson with your phone’s own Mandarin voice and underlines each word as it’s spoken. Go back a sentence, loop one, or set the speed from 0.5× to 1.5×. Tap any sentence to start there.

It runs entirely on the phone: it works offline, it has no daily limit, and the text never leaves the device. A Traditional page uses a Taiwan voice when you have one. (Voices that don’t report word timings get the sentence highlighted instead.)

In the app: Reader → Listen

Playing · 1×

那里nàlǐ有yǒu很hěn多duō老人lǎorén在zài打dǎ太极拳tàijíquán，空气kōngqì很hěn新鲜xīnxiān。

Illustration: the sentence being read is tinted and the word being spoken, 太极拳, is underlined.

PreviousPauseNextLoopSpeed 1×

Flashcards

Cards that come back just before you’d forget.

Every saved word gets a reading card and a recall card, both carrying the sentence you found it in. Scheduling uses FSRS, the open spaced-repetition algorithm, and each answer button tells you when you’ll see the card again. Turn on listening cards if you want to train your ear too.

Add a whole HSK 3.0 level, the new words from a lesson in one go, or import a CSV list or an Anki deck. Card backs show stroke order. Reviews work in airplane mode and sync later, and flashcards are unlimited on the free plan.

In the app: Review tab → Add a deck

HSK 3.0 starter decks

Level	Words
HSK 1	505
HSK 2	745
HSK 3	951
HSK 4	970
HSK 5	1,058
HSK 6	1,120
HSK 7–9	5,593
New cards arrive at your daily limit, 10 a day unless you change it.

Progress

A streak that forgives a missed day.

A day counts when you finish a review session, read for two minutes or finish a lesson. Each week forgives one missed day on its own; there is nothing to earn or buy, and no streak notifications.

Progress shows a heatmap of your study days, reading time, characters read, cards by stage, how often you remember, and HSK coverage: “You know 62% of HSK 2.” Each Monday a short report sums up your week. It’s all worked out on your phone.

In the app: Me → Progress

• No account to start

  Shuye begins without one. Sign in with Apple or Google when you want your lessons and cards on another phone or tablet. Sign in on a second phone that already has words, and they’re added to your account; where both have the same word, the longer review history is kept.

• Share a lesson or a deck

  Send a link to a friend or a class. A shared lesson carries the text, never your photos. You can turn any link off in Me → Shared links.

• Send to Shuye

  From another app’s share sheet, send text, images or a PDF straight into a new lesson.

What’s free, and what isn’t.

Most of Shuye is free for good. Premium is for the days you want to read more than a few pages.