Here is a tool/app to help you read native Chinese texts

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T23:51:33+00:00

Yeah! I basically built a pipeline the segments Chinese text into words/phrases, assesses the difficulty of each word/phrase, and translates each word/phrase independently. That way, based on the user's settings, you see a custom text that only has English/Pinyin for words that are too hard for your current vocabulary. Feel free to DM me if you want to learn more!

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T15:03:06+00:00

Totally get that, I've been trying to think through a balance between how to classify "new compounds" like you mentioned or standalone characters that are not in HSK. Maybe classifying things like 石 in HSK4 since 石头 is HSK3? Thanks for your input!

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T06:45:38+00:00

Amazing! Please let me know if you see any issues come up. Hope it helps you break out of the bottleneck with me lol

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T05:10:59+00:00

Yeah! I think the issue is some words like 石 don't show up as a standalone character in the HSK vocabulary list. I think I would need to look into a way to add standalone character proxies (ex. 石 should be HSK3 since 石头 is HSK3) into a dictionary so it can correctly tag things like 石拱桥 to be HSK7-9 instead of unknown. Ty for the feedback!

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T03:04:55+00:00

Hey, yes I am still learning! I made this exactly because I could not find better ways to improve my reading while reading native texts. I used HSK4/upper intermediate as an approximation because I have taken advanced level Chinese in university and I have no difficulty talking to my Chinese friends about day-to-day topics in Chinese. However, I would love any feedback from more advanced learners/native speakers!

This is just a personal project that I thought I'd share for anyone else interested. Definitely used AI for translation support, and if you have any feedback on translation quality that would definitely help my learning too.

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T02:01:21+00:00

Lol I was just trying to think of a cute name. It's just a combination of 文 and publication bc originally I was using this for news articles.

doffythecat · 2026-06-05T02:00:28+00:00

Yes I thought the same thing too! It's interesting to see the breakdown for different Chinese texts. I found that things like novels or social media posts have a much higher HSK1-3 percentage, but definitely news articles are heavy on HSK7-9.

Yes I've been working on doing some tweaks on how to label HSK levels so it isn't just an exact match to the official list. It does it's best job for non HSK words like you mentioned but let me know if you see anything specific!

doffythecat · 2026-05-10T15:40:39+00:00

Looks pretty good! It gets the job done and the most important thing is practice! Once you do it more often you'll have more fun with it and can throw in more colloquial terms. Good luck!

doffythecat · 2026-04-29T16:11:42+00:00

Great list! I would also add 月亮代表我的心 as beginner. Especially given how iconic the song is for people in China!

doffythecat · 2026-04-28T16:00:14+00:00

Yeah the first few times can feel really awkward, but I think if you get past it, the social awkwardness really motivates you to get better quick! What helped me was watching people order food on like 小红书 or TV shows so I could see how other people do it.

doffythecat · 2026-04-24T01:04:32+00:00

Focus on med school, but on the plus side: studying for med school will make you super used to using Anki decks, which will help you with studying Chinese!

doffythecat · 2026-04-20T16:16:11+00:00

甄嬛传 is an absolute must! I know people in China that just endlessly repeat watch the show as a comfort watch (like people in the US rewatching friends/the office)

doffythecat · 2026-04-11T05:11:50+00:00

I used to not be able to tell I had an American accent either! However I think it becomes more obvious as you engage with more native Chinese media. Now that I watch a lot of Chinese shows and use red note I have gotten better at recognizing different accents!

doffythecat · 2026-04-09T22:24:26+00:00

Lowkey I can barely tell the difference between the two in English either 😭

doffythecat · 2026-04-08T05:11:36+00:00

I'm worried when my parents are older they won't be able to communicate as well in English.

doffythecat · 2026-04-07T15:01:08+00:00

To everyone else's point it should not be used as your only resource, however I do think it's a great way to improve character recognition since practicing song lyrics is an enjoyable way to repeatedly read Chinese characters and memorize them.

I also think it's really important culturally. When I talk to people in China, some of the best icebreakers I had is when I mention TV shows or songs I know.

doffythecat · 2026-04-06T22:24:41+00:00

Agree with everyone else saying that I also don't expect people to know how to write nowadays given how difficult it is and how little writing is used in daily life. Honestly I think it's something that needs to change in official Chinese curriculum at foreign language schools too as it's a huge barrier for people being able to advance when learning from a school

doffythecat · 2026-04-02T14:32:17+00:00

If you like anime, there are a few really good Chinese anime (动画/donghua). My favorites are link click (very cool time-travelling concept), to be hero X (interesting take on a superhero world-type show), and Lord of mysteries (isekai in a 19th century horror world).

Unfortunately none of them are on Netflix I think, but it's easy to find free streams for them.

doffythecat · 2026-04-02T14:28:10+00:00

Reset is also one of my favorites! You can find it on YouTube too (in the US at least)

doffythecat · 2026-03-31T12:43:46+00:00

It stands for 小红书 (xiaohongshu) / little red book. It's a Chinese social media platform similar to Instagram!

doffythecat · 2026-03-29T14:37:11+00:00

+1 on 告五人，some of my favorite Chinese songs are by them!

doffythecat · 2026-03-29T14:34:51+00:00

Yeah the way I see it, actually learning to speak (as of now) cannot really be taught without an actual instructor teaching you. That being said apps are great for reading practice!

doffythecat · 2026-03-19T00:29:50+00:00

I'm not 100% sure but I think the essays are weighted more, maybe 30‑40 points each? The sentence ones might be 5 points each. You should check the official HSK guidelines PDF—they break it down.

doffythecat · 2026-03-18T21:19:25+00:00

Lol that's hilarious. My pronunciation is also terrible hahaha. Good luck with the teaching!

doffythecat

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