drıllyDrilly
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Chinese, drilled
until it sticks.

Master Mandarin characters and words on the HSK list and actually keep them in your head.

Grab a free spot

99 of 100 free spots left. Free forever. No credit card, no ads.

Apprentice II
好
Reading
hao3
18 left94% accuracy

So what is Drilly?

Learn Mandarin characters and words with a spaced repetition system, presented as bite-size quizzes and lessons that fit into your coffee break. Each one comes back right before you would have forgotten it, and that is the trick that makes it stay.

Learn at your own pace. What matters is making it easy to turn into a habit.

What's actually in it

  • The whole HSK 3.0

    2,970 characters and 10,969 words, grouped by level to follow the new HSK 3.0 list.

  • Learn in context

    You learn characters together with real vocabulary that uses them. Understand how single characters form compound words so everything clicks naturally.

  • You'll review before you forget

    Drilly's spaced repetition system brings words back just before you forget them. Four hours, then eight, then a day, then two, then a week, stretching further out every time you get it right. No mindless cramming.

  • Create custom lists for your unique goals

    Add whatever you like. Words from your tutor, something off a menu, that one phrase the latest C-drama would not stop using. It works for Japanese and Korean too, which was not the plan, but we won't stop you.

Lessons are capped on purpose

Fifteen at a time. When your reviews start piling up, Drilly pauses new lessons until you catch up. Coming back is already an achievement, so we won't make it difficult for you.

How it goes

01

Pick your level

Start where you actually are. Set your daily limit and decide how picky Drilly should be about tones while you're in there.

02

Learn

Meet new characters and words. What they mean, how they sound, and which words each character shows up in.

03

Bite-size quizzes

Test yourself on what characters mean and how they sound. Type the meaning, type the reading, hao3 becomes hǎo as you go. No peeking.

04

Review

Drilly works out when you are about to forget a word and brings it back right then, so it sticks.

Know enough of a level and you level up, unlocking the next one.

Questions you might have

What is HSK 3.0?

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HSK is the official Mandarin proficiency test. HSK 3.0 is the new version of its word list, with nine levels instead of six. Drilly covers levels 1 to 7, where 7 to 9 share one list.

Is Drilly free?

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Yes. The first 100 people who sign up get it free, forever. No credit card. Once those spots are gone, new people go on the waitlist.

Want to give it a try?

99 free spots left. After that, you go on the waitlist.

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13,939 things to learn, one cat cheering you from the sideline.

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How is this different from Anki or regular flashcards?

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You don’t have to build or hunt for a deck. The whole HSK 3.0 list is already in, sorted by level. And you type your answers instead of grading yourself, so Drilly checks both the meaning and the pinyin.

Do I need a special keyboard for tones?

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No. Type pinyin with numbers, like hao3, and Drilly turns it into hǎo. If tones aren’t your focus yet, you can tell it to be less picky about them in settings.