Inkido helps you practise writing Mandarin Chinese characters. Add the words you’re learning, then practise them until they stick.
Getting started
1. Profiles
Each learner has their own profile. Switch between them from the top-right menu.
2. Spellings
Create a spelling for whatever you’re studying — a week’s vocabulary, a topic, a chapter.
Add words by typing them in, or use Photo Scan to photograph a worksheet and let Inkido extract the characters automatically.
3. Practice
Open a spelling and tap Practice →.
- Tap a character to watch the stroke order animation — stroke order is tested in school, so practising it correctly matters
- Use ♪ Listen to hear the pronunciation
- In tone practice, press 1–5 to select a tone and ← → to navigate
- Navigate flashcards with the arrow keys or on-screen buttons
4. Dictionary
Search ~94,000 characters and ~145,000 words by meaning, pinyin, or the character itself. See stroke count, components, and traditional variants.
5. Homework (Work in Progress)
Photograph a worksheet to get an instant breakdown of the tasks.
- Translation: See the worksheet instructions in English.
- Sample answers: Get AI-generated sample answers in Chinese and English.
- Interactive: Tap any character in the original text to see its meaning and stroke order.
6. Character color-coding
Inkido highlights the structure of characters using specific colors for their components:
- Green strokes represent one component used to build the character.
- Blue strokes represent another component used to build the character.
Seeing these parts separately helps you break down complex characters and remember them more easily.
AI-generated content
The ✦ symbol marks pinyin or translations generated by AI rather than looked up in the dictionary. CC-CEDICT dictionary data always takes priority; AI fills in words the dictionary doesn’t cover and provides example sentences.
AI results may contain mistakes — always compare with the original textbook or paper.
Data & Attribution
- Dictionary data: Compiled from CC-CEDICT and the Unicode Unihan Database.
- Character metadata: Stroke counts, components, and definitions provided by the Chinese Character Wiki.
- Handwriting: Stroke order animations and SVG data by Hanzi Writer.
Built with
- SvelteKit — frontend framework
- Supabase — database, authentication, and edge functions
- OpenRouter — AI model routing for worksheet analysis
- OpenProps — CSS design tokens
FAQ
What is pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese. It uses Latin letters and tone marks (ā á ǎ à) to show how a character is pronounced. Inkido uses pinyin throughout to help you learn pronunciation alongside writing.
What are the four tones? Every syllable in Mandarin has a tone that changes its meaning. Tone 1 is high and flat (ā), Tone 2 rises (á), Tone 3 dips and rises (ǎ), Tone 4 falls sharply (à). There is also a Tone 5 (neutral, unstressed). Inkido’s tone practice helps you recognise each one by ear.
Why is there an AI limit? Each word you add uses one AI enrichment to look up pinyin, translation, and an example sentence. The daily limit (10 per account) keeps running costs manageable for a free personal project. Dictionary words cost nothing — AI is only used for words not found in CC-CEDICT.
Can I export my words? Not yet — this is on the backlog. For now you can view all your words on the My Words page.
Is my data private? Your spellings, profiles, and homework scans are stored in Supabase. No data is sold or shared. See the Privacy page for details.
Disclaimer
Inkido is a personal project, created by Miguel Vieira to help his own children learn Chinese. It is free to use “as is”, with no guarantees of accuracy or uptime.
If you have feedback or need to report a bug, you can reach me at: inkido.foyer772@passinbox.com
Your spellings and profiles are stored in Supabase. We don’t sell or share your data.