How Hanziway works

Hanziway is a platform for learning Chinese words and characters. You can look up a word, explore its meaning, pronunciation, structure, and stroke order, practice a specific skill, save it to your personal study system, create your own learning material, or choose a ready-made resource.

Everything is connected around the word you are studying, while you remain in control of what to learn and which tool to use next.

No. Hanziway does not provide a step-by-step lesson program, and it is not a replacement for a teacher or a study plan. It is a practical workspace for exploring words in depth, practicing individual skills, organizing your vocabulary, and creating learning materials.

You can use it alongside a course, textbook, lessons with a teacher, or your own study plan.

Hanziway is primarily for people learning Chinese at any stage, whether independently or as part of a course. It is especially useful if you work with HSK or YCT vocabulary, want to understand how Chinese characters are built and written, collect vocabulary of your own, or get more practice with specific words.

Teachers can also use the tools to prepare learning materials. Separate terms apply to sharing, publishing, and commercial use of those materials.

Start with a word you are learning now. Look it up in the dictionary, listen to its pronunciation, and explore its meanings, structure, and stroke order. You can then set a status for the word, add it to a list, open an exercise, or create a resource for writing and review.

If you are studying toward a specific level, begin with the HSK or YCT catalog and mark the levels you already know under “My Level”.

The current version of Hanziway runs in a browser on computers, tablets, and phones. The Hanziway mobile app with smart reviews has not launched yet and is marked COMING SOON.

You can search for individual Chinese characters, Chinese words, Pinyin, or a translation. Translation search follows the current site language: Russian meanings on the Russian site and English meanings on the English site.

You can open a matching word straight away or view a broader list of results.

Yes. The search recognizes Pinyin with tone marks, numbered tones, or no tone information at all. Common input forms for ü - ü, v, and u: - are supported, and you can type syllables either together or separated by spaces.

Draw one Chinese character on the canvas and Hanziway will suggest several likely matches. Select the correct character; it will be added to the search field, and the dictionary will run a standard search.

You can undo the most recent stroke or clear the canvas completely.

These sections organize vocabulary by HSK and YCT level. Within each level, you can view the Chinese characters, Pinyin, and translation, listen to the pronunciation, and open the full word page.

Once signed in, you can also set a personal status and add words to your lists. If a word appears in more than one level or program, it keeps the same personal status everywhere.

A word page brings all available information together: Chinese characters, Pinyin, translation, audio, HSK and YCT levels, traditional form, stroke count, and radical. Depending on the word, it may also show its components, similar characters, other words containing the same character, stroke order, interactive writing practice, exercises, and example sentences.

If a particular type of information is not available for that word, the corresponding section is simply not shown.

Yes, when stroke data is available for the character. You can watch and pause the stroke-order animation, then complete an interactive writing exercise that checks the stroke sequence.

This lets you practice the character during the current session, but your mistakes and result are not yet saved to your account and do not change the word’s status automatically.

Yes. After signing in, you can create a ready-to-print PDF writing worksheet directly from the word page without entering the characters again. This counts toward the shared worksheet-generator quota; the current remaining allowance and reset time are shown in the interface.

The reference contains all 214 Kangxi radicals. Each entry shows its number, main form, written variants, Pinyin, meaning, and audio where available.

At present, it is a reference list only: there is no dedicated search, filter, or individual radical page.

A word can have one of three statuses: “Learning”, “Learned”, or “Review”. The status applies across your account, so changing it in the dictionary also updates it in HSK and YCT, your lists, and “My Progress”.

You choose the status yourself. Current exercises do not update it automatically.

Yes. Once a word has a status, you can add a short personal note. The note belongs to the word itself, so it remains the same across all your lists and in your progress view.

Your note is not shown when a list is shared publicly.

“My Level” is a manual setting, not a test or an automatic assessment. You select the HSK and YCT levels whose vocabulary you already consider familiar.

This is a quick way to include a large body of known vocabulary in your personal overview without assigning a status to every word individually.

Words from the levels you select are treated as learned in your personal overview. If you manually mark a particular word as “Learning”, “Learned”, or “Review”, that choice takes priority over the status inherited from the level.

This lets you treat a level as familiar overall while still marking individual words that need more attention.

“My Progress” combines three sources: your personal word statuses, the HSK and YCT levels you have marked as familiar, and selected lists. You can browse words by level, status, or list, search within the current selection, and open the page for a specific word.

It is a visual overview of how you have organized your vocabulary. It is not currently calculated from game results or an automatic review schedule.

Not yet. Mistakes made in trainers, matched pairs, interactive writing practice, and generated PDFs remain within the current activity and do not change a word’s status.

An automatic study history and a personal review queue are planned for the future Hanziway mobile app.

Lists let you build your own vocabulary sets for a topic, lesson, exam, or personal study plan. Within a list, you can reorder words and edit the saved Pinyin and translation to suit that particular purpose.

Each list has a name, tags, and a visibility setting. A word’s status and personal note still belong to that word across your account, rather than to a separate copy within the list.

Free lets you get started with one small list. PRO gives you more lists and room for larger vocabulary sets. You can always check the current limits in the Free and PRO comparison.

Yes. You can make your own list public and share its link with a student, teacher, or friend. The public version shows learning content - the title, author, Chinese characters, Pinyin, and translation - but never the owner’s personal statuses, notes, or tags.

A signed-in user can copy a public list to their own account if their current limits allow it. The copy is private by default and retains the Pinyin and translations prepared by the original author.

Hanziway currently has four online exercises:

• “Find Hanzi” - find words and character sequences hidden in a grid;
• “Tone Trainer” - practice the connection between pronunciation, tones, Pinyin, and Chinese characters;
• “Lost Stroke” - restore missing strokes;
• “Memo” - match pairs of cards.

The basic online modes are available after you sign in. PRO adds advanced settings and PDF options where those are supported.

“Coloring” is not a fifth online game. It is a separate PRO PDF generator.

You enter words or sequences of Chinese characters, and Hanziway hides them in a grid among other characters. Your task is to select every target sequence. Incorrect selections increase the error count, while found words are marked in the exercise.

The basic online game is included with Free. PRO adds a PDF version and lets you save supported configurations.

In Tone mode, the trainer plays a Chinese syllable or word and asks you to identify its tone. In Pinyin mode, you see the written form and choose the matching audio or Chinese characters. Mixed mode alternates between different task types. You see the result immediately after each answer.

Free includes basic practice. PRO supports longer words, more task options, and Mixed mode. The trainer itself shows which settings are available with your current access.

Hanziway hides either an individual stroke or the strokes that form a radical, and you restore them in the correct order. If you make repeated mistakes, a hint appears to help you continue.

The online mode is included with Free. PRO lets you create a printable PDF of the exercises, with optional answer pages.

Turn over two cards at a time and look for matching pairs: Chinese character ↔ Chinese character or Chinese character ↔ Pinyin. The game tracks moves, mistakes, and time. Larger word sets are split into several rounds.

The online mode is included with Free. PRO also lets you create printable PDF cards.

No. Coloring is currently a PRO PDF generator. It creates printable sheets with large outlined Chinese characters for tracing and coloring.

You can customize the grid, lines and colors, the way strokes are displayed and numbered, and the available page design. Characters keep the order in which you entered them.

With Hanziway, you can create:

• writing worksheets using your own Chinese characters, words, and phrases;
• visual Chinese character + Pinyin sheets;
• FlashCards;
• printable “Find Hanzi” exercises;
• printable “Lost Stroke” exercises;
• Memo cards for printing;
• “Coloring” sheets.

Available settings, material size, PDF options, and saved configurations depend on the tool and your current Free or PRO access.

The generator creates an A4 PDF writing worksheet from your own characters, words, or phrases. You can choose the page orientation, grid, cell size, font, colors, and how the model text is displayed. Advanced mode adds more control over text, Pinyin and translations, images, ready-made and custom designs, stroke order, and saved configurations.

Free is suitable for a basic worksheet and exploring the generator. PRO unlocks more advanced material design. Current restrictions are shown alongside the relevant settings and in the plan comparison.

The converter turns Chinese text into a clear Chinese character and Pinyin layout for on-screen viewing or a PDF. You can choose the tone format, Pinyin position, sizing, font, tone color scheme, text segmentation, paper size, and orientation.

Punctuation and line breaks are preserved. Characters for which no reading is found remain in the text without Pinyin. The amount of text you can process depends on whether you are using the tool as a guest, with Free, or with PRO; the current allowance is shown beside the input field.

The FlashCards generator creates printable cards from your own Chinese characters. For each side, you can choose Chinese characters, Pinyin, a translation, an image, or stroke order, then customize the grid, font, colors, borders, and printing layout.

The generator requires an active paid PRO period. The tool page shows the current card allowance and the number of generations remaining.

Supported PRO tools let you save a configuration under your own name and reopen it later. A personal configuration library is currently available for the writing worksheet generator, Find Hanzi, and FlashCards.

A saved configuration is a set of material settings, not a learning history. Generator and exercise results are not recorded as study activity.

Yes. Some generators limit the amount of input and the number of generations within a configurable quota window. Free and PRO use different allowances. A commercial license removes the standard quota only for supported PDF workflows.

Each tool shows your current remaining allowance and reset time. The current Free and PRO limits are also available in the plan comparison.

No. Generators create learning materials, but they do not automatically add the words you enter to your statuses, lists, or “My Progress”. To save a word to your personal study system, add it separately through the dictionary, HSK or YCT, or one of your lists.

Use a generator when you want to choose the words yourself and customize the material in detail. A ready-made material from the catalog is already assembled as a complete learning resource. Its product page shows the cover, description, price, and any completed attributes, such as level, skill, and contents.

They offer two different ways to get a useful result: tailor a resource to your needs, or save time with one that is already prepared.

No. PRO expands Hanziway’s tools, generators, and personal features. Ready-made digital materials in the catalog are one-time purchases sold separately.

Buying a material does not change your plan and does not require active PRO access.

Open the product page and sign in. Before paying, you must accept three required documents: the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Consent to Personal Data Processing. Hanziway will then send you to a secure payment page.

Each payment purchases one digital material. This flow does not use a shopping cart, delivery address, or shipping method.

Once payment is confirmed, the material becomes available on its product page and under “My Purchases”, provided the associated file is available. If the bank confirms the payment but the file is temporarily unavailable, the page shows a separate status and directs you to support.

You can return to the material’s product page or find it under “My Purchases”. The download starts from a page where Hanziway checks your account and confirms that you are entitled to access the file.

You do not need to buy the same product again. You can download it again while the file remains available through Hanziway; we recommend keeping your own copy once downloaded.

Without an account, you can use the public dictionary, handwriting search, word pages, HSK and YCT catalogs, the radicals reference, the ready-made materials catalog, plan information, and help pages.

The Pinyin converter also provides a small separate guest allowance, including its PDF option. Personal actions - statuses, notes, lists, progress, online exercises, other generators, and purchases - require you to sign in.

Free is a genuine way to get started, with no bank card required. An account gives you basic online exercises, personal word statuses, a starter list, and the core writing worksheet and Pinyin modes within the current limits.

The dictionary and public learning reference remain available without payment. The Free and PRO comparison shows the current numerical limits.

PRO expands the learning features of the current Hanziway web platform. It increases the number of words and the amount of text you can work with and unlocks more lists and settings, advanced exercise modes, PDFs, FlashCards, additional material options, and saved configurations.

There is one PRO access level for the current platform. Ready-made catalog products and commercial rights are not included.

No. Monthly and annual are two billing periods for the same Hanziway PRO access and include the same features. They differ only in duration, price, and the calculated saving.

Current prices and terms are shown in the plan card and again before you proceed to payment.

No. PRO substantially increases what you can do, but some generators still limit input size and the number of generations within each quota window. Current values and reset times are shown in the tools and in the Free and PRO comparison.

Removing standard quotas from supported PDF generators requires a separate active commercial license; it is not part of regular PRO access.

Your account returns to Free access. Extra lists and manually assigned word statuses are not deleted, but data and actions beyond the Free limits may become unavailable or hidden.

They become available again when PRO is active on your account. Ready-made materials you have purchased are handled separately and are not tied to the end of your PRO access.

Hanziway redirects you to a secure payment page to complete your purchase. The exact billing period, price, and terms are shown before payment.

You can find your current PRO status, end date, and successful payment history under “Payments”.

You need a commercial license if you want to sell PDFs created with Hanziway, include them in paid courses or products, or publish supported materials under your own brand instead of Hanziway.

The license adds white-label output and removes the standard quota from supported PDF generators. It is a separate B2B product, not a third learning plan. It does not include source code or create a separate copy of the online service.

Commercial licenses are arranged manually through Hanziway.

No. Hanziway currently runs as a browser-based platform. A Hanziway mobile app is planned. The intention is to move platform features into it gradually and bring personal practice, study history, and reviews together in one place.

No launch date has been announced.

Smart reviews are intended to answer a simple question: which words would be most useful to review today? The planned Hanziway mobile app is expected to use your answer history to choose an appropriate next review time for each word.

FSRS is the algorithm planned for calculating those intervals. A personal review queue and automatic answer history are not available yet.

We do not plan to introduce a separate learning plan for the Hanziway mobile app. Once launched, its PRO features and smart reviews are intended to be included with the same active Hanziway PRO access.

This describes the current product plan, not a promise that the feature is already available or that it will launch on a particular date.

Your account connects your word statuses, notes, level, lists, progress, purchases, and payments. It is also required for online exercises, most PDF generators, and PRO access. The only exception is the Pinyin converter’s small guest allowance.

To register, enter your name, email address, and password, then confirm your address using the link in the email. A new account remains inactive until its email address is confirmed.

First check your spam and promotions folders. If the activation link is invalid, expired, or has already been used, contact support.

To recover your password, enter your email address on the password recovery page. Hanziway will first send you a secure link. When you open it, a new password is generated and sent in a separate email.

If the email still does not arrive, contact support and provide the email address linked to your account. Never send your current or new password.

Yes. You can update personal details in your profile. Sensitive changes require your current password, and a new password must be entered twice for confirmation.

Your newsletter preference is also available in the profile.

The current interface does not include a self-service option for fully deleting an account. To request a correction to your personal data, withdraw consent, or ask Hanziway to stop processing it, contact support using the procedure set out in the current Privacy Policy.

“My Purchases” contains ready-made materials you have bought and access to their files. “Payments” shows your Hanziway PRO status, end date, and history of successful PRO payments.

Buying a material does not include PRO, and paying for PRO does not add catalog products to “My Purchases”.

For a PRO issue, first check the status and history under “Payments”. For a ready-made material, open “My Purchases” and the product page. A newly confirmed payment may occasionally take a short time to appear.

If access still does not appear or the file is unavailable, message the official Hanziway Telegram account, which is open to everyone. You can view the contact form without an account, but you need to sign in before you can submit it. Include your account email, the material name or PRO period, and the approximate payment time, but never send your full card number, an SMS code, or any other payment credentials.