[Android] I built a Singapore P1–P6 Chinese app. The most useful feature, weekly 听写, is free!
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Hi parents! I’m the developer behind Little Orchid (小兰华文). Having 4 kids myself, I find it difficult to keep up with the weekly 听写 with for all my kids. I’m sharing it openly as the maker, not as a parent pretending to recommend someone else’s app.
I built it around a very Singapore-parent problem: a child’s actual 听写 list often arrives through the school chat, class dojo or on a worksheet, but most learning apps only practise their own fixed word list.
In Little Orchid, parents can type, take photo, paste or speak the school’s weekly spelling list into the app. The child can then:
- rely on space repetition technics to encode the wording into long term memory.
- hear each word and a teacher-style 听写 prompt.
- tap any Chinese character to practise writing it in a 田字格.
- run through the list as a spelling practice.
- revisit mistakes instead of starting from zero each week.
- archive finished lists without losing the child’s practice history.
That core spelling-list workflow is free. You do not need Little Orchid Plus to type, paste or speak a list, listen to it, practise its characters, or run the spelling exercise. . Photo import includes 2 free pages each month.
The AI photo feature is a cost that I have to bear, I opted for paid plan so that the photos we uploaded to Google will not be trained on.
Text to speech is another cost, I decided to go for the neural text to speech engine by Microsoft as it gives a much natural sounding voice.
Thus, I created a Plus subscription option at 2.99 per month if you decide to support me. “Plus” option raises the photo allowance to 100, support multiple profile and allows more configurable settings.
The rest of the app is built for Singapore Primary Chinese from P1–P6, using the published MOE character lists. It includes listening, reading aloud, vocabulary, tones, handwriting and spaced review.
The free tier includes the first four lessons of every level and all six practice modes.
There is no account, no advertising and no tracking. Most curriculum content and recordings are kept on the device so practice can continue without a connection. Little Orchid is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by MOE.
It is available for Android. iOS will depend on demand as it is costly to get a developer account with Apple. You can see exactly what it teaches, how the free spelling-list feature works, and the privacy details here:
If your child has a weekly school 听写 list, I would genuinely value feedback on whether the setup and practice flow make the week easier.
I’m also happy to answer questions about what is free, the curriculum coverage, privacy, or how the handwriting practice works.
Thank you!
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.littleorchid&hl=en_SG
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