Chineasy
Chineasy is a company that publishes Chinese language-learning material, using illustrations to help memorize Chinese characters. It was created by entrepreneur Shaolan Hsueh, with offices based in the UK and Taiwan. The 2014 book Chineasy: The New Way to Read Chinese contains about 400 characters. It was based on her 2013 TED talk and funded via a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter.
While the book introduces common Chinese characters, it does not teach pronunciation or grammar, and thus does not teach how to read or use the language, although it does use voice recordings for the users to mimic.
Chineasy's first app, Chineasy, launched in 2018, provides interactive flashcards and quizzes. Recognized as an Apple App Store Editor's Choice, the app reached #2 in the UK and #6 in the US in the education category. Chineasy was also featured during the keynote address at Apple’s 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. In 2022, the app was a finalist in the Apple Design Awards for its emphasis on Delight & Fun.
In 2024, Chineasy released the Talk Chineasy app.
Set of characters
Chineasy teaches sometimes traditional and sometimes simplified forms. Hsueh argued that traditional and simplified forms of Chinese still share a great number of characters, and in real life – just as in the case of British English and American English – one will come across both forms. Where they differ, she shows the other version as well.Reception
Chineasy has been featured in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time magazine, and National Public Radio. It won Wallpaper’s 2014 Design Award. Hsueh's book uses illustrations and storytelling. Characters are illustrated by various illustrators including Noma Bar.According to sinologist and linguist Victor H. Mair, "anyone who deceives him/herself into thinking that using Chineasy is a magic bullet for learning Chinese will simply be wasting his/her time." He wrote: