Start here

Where: the red "Study Now" button in the home banner.

1. Tap Study Now.
2. Choose an HSK level card (HSK 1 to HSK 6) and tap "Start Studying".
3. Studied before? Tap "Resume from Card N" or "Start from Beginning".

You get: flashcards for that level, with a % complete on each level card. After you tap Start, follow the prompts.

Tip: beginners start at HSK 1.

Where: the "Continue Studying" strip at the top of home ("Pick up where you left off").

1. Tap "Resume Studying" on a card.
2. On the level chooser, tap "Resume from Card N".

You get: back to where you left off.

Tip: the small icon on a card removes that bookmark.

Where: home tile "Test My Chinese" ("Find out what you really know").

1. For a starting level, tap "Find My Real Level — Adaptive Placement" (25, 45 or 60 adaptive questions).
2. For a timed mock exam, under "Full HSK Mock Paper", pick a level, choose "Full paper" or "Half paper", then tap "Sit the HSK paper". Open it and follow the prompts.

You get: an estimated HSK level and "How to Improve — Your Plan" with what to work on first.

Tip: take placement first. Mock papers are timed, and "Half paper" can look pre-selected, so check your choice.

Where: home tile "Conversation Survival".

1. Tap the tile.
2. Choose "Practice Mode" or "Challenge Mode".
3. Tap the "Today's Conversation" banner, or search and filter by category and pick a situation (such as Greetings 打招呼 or Family 家人). Open it and follow the prompts.

You get: your conversation level, conversations survived, and badges.

Tip: beginners use Practice Mode. In Challenge Mode, a fundamentally wrong answer ends the conversation. Uses your voice: you need a working microphone.

Where: home tile "Dictionary Search".

1. Type English (water), Chinese (水) or pinyin (shuǐ), or tap an example chip.
2. Switch between the "Our Dictionary" and "MDBG Dictionary" tabs.

You get: dictionary entries for your search.

Tip: if a word is missing, use "Add Word".

Where: home tile "Sentence Builder" (the page is called "Interactive Word Order Builder").

1. Under "Try It Yourself", type an English sentence, or use Voice Input.
2. Tap Build.
3. Toggle Pinyin and English as needed.

You get: the Chinese sentence with a colour-coded word breakdown (Subject, Verb, Time…).

Tip: read "Chinese Word Order is Different from English" first.

Where: home tile "Choose Your Topic".

1. Filter by category (Basics, Food & Drink…) or level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced).
2. Tap a topic card, such as Greetings 问候 or Numbers 数字.

You get: that topic's words.

Tip: "New Topic" and "Add Your Own Words" let you build your own.

Where: home tile "Character Clans", or "Enter Character Clans" lower on home.

1. Pick a clan card, such as The Water Clan 氵 or The Road Clan 辶.
2. Tap the button on the card (each card's button has its own label, such as "ENTER THE WATER").

You get: learned and mastered counts for each clan.

Tip: start with a clan whose radical you already know.

Where: home tile "Kangxi Radicals", or "Study Radicals" on home.

1. Filter: All, New, Learning, Mastered or Need Review.
2. Browse the meaning families.
3. Tap a radical tile.

You get: the radical's details and your New, Learning, Mastered and Review counts.

Tip: skip the "Reset" button in the filter row.

Where: home tile "Writing Practice".

1. Choose an HSK tab.
2. Tap a character.
3. Learn its pinyin and meaning, then practise writing it in stroke order. Follow the prompts.

You get: characters saved as Studied or Mastered, shown in My Progress.

Tip: use the "Not started" filter to find new characters.

Where: home tile "Browse HSK Levels".

It opens the same HSK level chooser as Study Now, so follow the Study Now steps.

Where: home tile "Pinyin Palace Deep Study" ("Auto-generated memory cards").

1. Open it with a card selected.
2. Use "Quick Build" or "Custom Build".
3. Tap the pencil on any block to edit it.

You get: a memory card built from pinyin rules: an actor for the initial, a set for the final, a tone room, props and a scene, to help you recall the sound and tone.

Tip: edits save automatically. Avoid "Clear All" unless you mean it.

Where: home tile "Study Now Review" ("Deep study selected cards").

1. Open it to see the cards you selected for deeper study.
2. Choose "Quick Practice", "Pinyin Palace Study", "Open in Translator" or "Send Back to Deck".

You get: a focused space for the cards you picked.

Tip: avoid "Clear All" unless you want to empty the list.

Where: home tile "Custom Decks" ("Create your own decks").

1. Tap "New Deck" (or "New Folder").
2. Add content with "Create Study Card", "Create Study Sentence" or "Import".
3. Tap "Study" on a deck. Drag decks onto folders to file them.

You get: your own word and sentence decks.

Tip: if the page is blank at first, wait a few seconds.

Where: home tile "Pinyin Palace Deck".

1. Add a card with "Upload Image", "Import JSON" or "Paste from Clipboard", or make one in the Build Card tab.
2. Use the Deck, Build Card and Rules tabs to manage your cards.

You get: a library where you build, edit and store your memory cards.

Tip: it starts empty, so add a card before you study.

Where: home tile "My Progress".

1. Tap "Edit" in "My Study Goals" to set daily goals (cards, minutes) and weekly goals (cards, days per week), plus a reminder time.
2. Tap Start on one of Today's Assignments, or use "Generate a week's plan".
3. Plan study days on the "Personal Study Calendar".

You get: your streak, cards today and this week, and your goals in one place.

Tip: the page is long, so scroll for the calendar.

Where: home tile "Friends & Social".

1. Use Discover to search the member directory for study buddies.
2. Use Connect to link Instagram, Facebook, WeChat or TikTok.

Good to know: your bio card is public by default; use "Hide my bio card" to hide it. The app doesn't have messaging; the Community tab points to the community website.

Tip: if the page is blank at first, wait a few seconds.

Where: home tile "Settings".

1. Check Audio Enabled and the Study Mode direction.
2. Turn on Progress Protection.
3. Use Cloud Account Backup ("Back up now") to back up your account.

You get: control of Dark Mode, audio, order, study direction, backups and Image AI Connections (link ChatGPT, Grok or Gemini for Pinyin Palace images).

Tip: turn on Progress Protection on day 1.

Where: your avatar (top right) → Subscription.

1. See your plan status and "Pricing & cancellation details".
2. To cancel: Account → Subscription → "Cancel subscription", then confirm.

You get: "10-day free trial, then $14.99/month, auto-renews monthly until you cancel."