I'm learning Chinese and grew tired of rote memorization and the contrived examples found in many language-learning apps. I wanted to learn in a more natural context by reading content I was already interested in, such as articles on Hacker News.
So I built a tool that takes any article and partially translates it based on your self-reported HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) level. The goal is for you to be able to read and understand the article while actively using the Chinese you already know.
If you forget a character, simply double-click or select it to get an instant definition. After finishing an article, click "done reading" and the tool tracks the words you knew and those you needed to look up over time.
My aim is to make language learning feel less like a chore and more like a natural extension of your existing reading habits.
I have plans to develop this into a Chrome extension for automatic translations as you browse. I also intend to introduce smarter vocabulary progression, for example, by sprinkling in HSK 4 words once you are comfortable with HSK 3.
The project is still in its early stages, so any feedback or questions would be greatly appreciated.
You can try it out here: https://trylinden.com/chinese/
No comments yet.
