What is Skritter?

Skritter is a fresh, inventive way to master Chinese characters. If you’re not a current user, take the following steps to get hooked up immediately—trust us, your Chinese skills will thank you.

Because each platform offers its own study mode, the first move is to decide if you want to use the tool online or via your mobile device. Skritter for iPhone and iPad strongly emphasizes character writing and stroke order, which is perfect for those looking to solidify their handwriting techniques.

The app’s greatest advantage is that it provides extremely thorough feedback to help you improve quickly, all the while giving you a feeling like you’re playing an iPhone game.

https://youtu.be/Ay_zUGnreWQ

Want to study from a laptop or desktop computer? Head to www.skritter.com and sign up for a free week-long trial. Once you’re in, hit ‘Browse Lists’ to scroll through user contributed or textbook-based vocabulary decks, then add one to your queue.

Select a chapter or set to review, look over the new words in a convenient list-form, and then hit ‘study now’ to begin your session. You’ll see a Chinese character accompanied by its pinyin, an example sentence, an audio option and even the choice to see a mnemonic hint pop up on the screen.

Click the character once you’ve got it, and the definition will be revealed, followed by options for you to rate the word between 1 (forgot) to 4 (too easy). A few cards later, you’ll be asked to input the pinyin for the same character.

https://youtu.be/tH4OUolLRX4

One of our favorite things about Skritter is the ‘info’ button next to each word which provides a decomposition of the character and a useful list of related words. We’re also huge fans of its user-oriented model, which maximizes your ability to access and retain new information.

There are even more benefits, like its clean, appealing interface and a built-in feature which consults all online Mandarin dictionaries at your command. Skritter has truly changed the way that we study and write Chinese characters. Don’t take our word for it—go check out Skritter for yourself!

Study tools like Skitter can be a real game changer for those struggling to learn Chinese characters. Whether you're prepping for a standardized Chinese test like the HSK 4 or preparing to take an epic trip through China, finding the right study tools to support your Chinese learning is of utmost importance.

If you're looking for even more ways to take your Chinese skills to the next level, check out our reviews of two other awesome online Chinese learning platforms, Anki and Yoyo Chinese, along with our article on online Chinese dictionaries.

For more personalized guidance, consider hiring an online Chinese teacher to help you learn Chinese online over Skype, Zoom or WeChat or join us in Guilin for the ultimate Chinese language immersion experience. Hope to see you in China soon!