East · 东
青龙Azure Dragon
Story Mode
The narrative spine. New hanzi arrive as scenes in an unfolding scroll, one character at a time.
“The dragon learns by unfurling the scroll. One character at a time, until the page is full.”— Guardian of the East
博雅 · 一字一世界
Where curiosity
writes its first hanzi.
The Mandarin app your kid actually finishes before Fortnite calls. Real-time duels, a live 老师 Lin tutor, and HSK 1–5 in 30 minutes a day. Ages 6 to 13.
HSK 1 free forever · See plans · No ads
Daily quest completed · +80 XP·14-day streak still alive·Duel challenge accepted·Badge unlocked: 一百天·Story finished · +30 XP·4th tone · 3 for 3·18 jade coins earned·Duel victory · 8 : 6·Weekly champion · 1,240 XP·Epic hero drawn: 龙王·Sentence builder streak · 5 correct·New character mastered: 朋友·Daily quest completed · +80 XP·14-day streak still alive·Duel challenge accepted·Badge unlocked: 一百天·Story finished · +30 XP·4th tone · 3 for 3·18 jade coins earned·Duel victory · 8 : 6·Weekly champion · 1,240 XP·Epic hero drawn: 龙王·Sentence builder streak · 5 correct·New character mastered: 朋友·
试一试 · No login required
The first win, right now.
This is the actual game loop — not a screenshot, not a video. Hand your phone to your kid and watch what happens.
0
You
0
老师 Lin
Beat 老师 Lin to the answer.
Five real HSK words. Fastest correct tap scores. No login, no download — exactly what your kid plays on day one.
Six paths to mastery · 六条修炼之路
Every skill covered.
Reading, listening, speaking, writing, grammar, and vocab — each wrapped in a game loop that earns XP, coins, and leaderboard points.
每日任务
Daily Quest
Smart flashcards that automatically focus on the words you forget most. 5 new words a day. Hundreds mastered before you notice.
实时对决
Duel Mode
Real-time vocab battles against friends or family. 10 questions, fastest finger wins. Push notifications so no one can dodge.
故事时间
Story + Listening
Short Chinese stories with full audio narration. Tap any word for its meaning and pronunciation. Real sentences, not textbook filler.
声调训练
Tone Trainer
Record yourself, get instant AI feedback on your four tones. The skill everyone skips — until it embarrasses them.
汉字书写
Writing Practice
Stroke-order guidance for every character. Write it, check it, own it. Muscle memory beats flashcards alone.
造句练习
Sentence Builder
Drag words into the correct order to build real Chinese sentences. Grammar intuition without drilling grammar rules.
三步开始 · Three steps
How to get started.
No complicated setup. A parent creates the household — kids are learning in under five minutes.
Step 01
Your kid duels first
No setup, no login — they tap "Try a duel" right here and beat 老师 Lin in under a minute. The hook lands before any account exists.
Step 02
They pick a warrior name
Once they're in, they choose a character name and Chinese level, and meet 老师 Lin — the dopamine hits before setup is even finished.
Step 03
A parent locks it in
You create the family account from a one-tap invite — no app store, runs in the browser. The 14-day streak challenge starts that day.
AI Tutor · 老师
Meet
老师 Lin.
A real AI tutor who answers in Chinese and folds the fix into the reply. When your kid drops in English, Lin doesn't scold — he confirms what they got right and nudges:
「对！危险 (wēixiǎn) — danger. 小提示: try to keep it in Chinese. 我学了“危险”这个词 ✓」
✓Corrects in-line — never with red ink or a lecture
✓Responds in natural Chinese — explains in English
✓Available 24/7 — no appointment, no awkwardness
你好！我今天学了很多新词。
师
太好了！你学了什么？说给我听听。
我学了... 危险 means danger, right?
师
对！危险 (wēixiǎn) — danger. 小提示: try to keep it in Chinese. 我学了"危险"这个词 ✓
Daily rhythm · 每日修炼
Thirty minutes a day.
No two-hour death marches. A sharp, sustainable practice that actually builds toward fluency.
Quest · 10mDuel · 8mRead · 12m
≈ 30 minutes, then the app says “see you tomorrow.”
~10 min
Morning Quest
5 new words plus a smart review of everything you haven't fully mastered yet. XP banked, streak protected, coins earned.
~8 min
Challenge a Rival
Send a duel to a friend or sibling. 10 vocab questions, real-time. Loser studies harder tomorrow.
~12 min
Read & Listen
A short story from 老师 Lin, fully narrated. Tap any word you don't know. Audio on every sentence.
实时对决 · Live Duel Mode
The loser
studies harder.
10 vocabulary questions. Real-time. First to answer scores. Challenge anyone in your household — or anyone in your league across multiple families.
8
Player 1
WINNER
VS
6
Player 2
better luck next time
Same household duels
Cross-family league duels
Push notification challenges
Weekly champion reward
联赛 · Multi-family leagues
Private family data.
Public bragging rights.
Leagues let two or more families share one leaderboard and duel each other. Every family's account stays completely separate — kids compete, parents only ever see their own.
How leagues work
1One parent creates a League — this generates a short join code to share with other families.
2Every family that wants to compete enters that code once in their settings. That's it.
3Kids see a shared leaderboard across all families and can challenge anyone in the league to a duel.
4Parents only ever see their own children's data — never another family's.
League leaderboard · sample
🥇
Maya
The Garcias · HSK 4
5,120 XP
🥈
Luca
The Rossis · HSK 4
4,880 XP
🥉
Alexyou
Your family · HSK 3
3,840 XP
4
Priya
The Patels · HSK 3
3,210 XP
4 families · 11 learners · this week
Privacy by design
League members share only their display name, level, XP, and duel scores. No emails, no real names, no full learning history visible to other families. Each family's account is completely separate and secure.
For parents · 家长专区
You see everything.
A dedicated parent dashboard shows real progress — not just streaks, but which words are mastered, which categories are weak, and how each child ranks.
Vocabulary Breakdown
See exactly how many words are fresh, being learned, or mastered — for each child.
Streak & XP Tracking
Daily activity history, current streak, and total XP earned per learner.
Leaderboard View
Weekly XP rankings across your household and any connected families in your league.
Weak Spots Report
See which vocabulary categories need the most work so you can encourage the right practice.
Parent Dashboard · Sample Preview
龙
Alex · HSK 3
22-day streak3,840 XP
Rank
#2
Vocabulary breakdown · 600 words
52% mastered28% learning20% new
Needs work
Time expressions38%
Location words51%
Measure words44%
This week
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
Leaderboard · this week
🥇
Jordan
4,210 XP
HSK 4
🥈
Alexyou
3,840 XP
HSK 3
🥉
Sam
2,960 XP
HSK 2
Privacy · data stays in your family
Each family has their own private, secure account. Parents only ever see their own children's progress. No data is shared with third parties.
The full path · 征途
Start anywhere. Go further.
HSK is China's official Mandarin proficiency scale. Bóyǎ covers levels 1 through 5 — from your very first words to confident, advanced conversation.
✓
HSK 1
150 words
✓
HSK 2
300 words
✓
HSK 3
600 words
★
HSK 4
1200 words
Goal level
5
HSK 5
2500 words
少即是多 · The anti-guilt promise
Screen time other
parents are jealous of.
Every other kids' app optimizes for minutes. We measure mastery, not minutes — and we built the guardrails to prove it.
✓A daily cap that is actually enforced — after it, the app says "see you tomorrow" and won't unlock.
✓Zero push, email, or SMS to a kid account. Ever. Streak reminders go to the parent, not the 9-year-old.
✓No infinite feed, no autoplay-next, no "just one more." Every screen ends.
✓Streaks need 5 minutes, not 30 — easy to keep on a busy day, so it never becomes a chore.
四象 · The Four Guardians
One myth, four faces.
Every part of Bóyǎ is watched over by a Guardian of the compass — Story, Duels, Tone and the Parent watch. Old cosmology, quietly running a learning app.
South · 南
朱雀Vermilion Bird
Sibling Duels
Live head-to-head recall. The loser studies harder — and comes back faster.
“The loser studies harder. That is the whole game.”— Guardian of the South
West · 西
白虎White Tiger
Tone Trainer
The ear and the edge. Four tones, drilled until the difference is instinct, not effort.
“A tone is not nearly right. It is right, or it is another word.”— Guardian of the West
North · 北
玄武Black Tortoise
Parent Dashboard
The quiet watch. Progress, streaks and time — visible to the parent, never a pressure on the child.
“The tortoise does not hurry the river. It outlasts it.”— Guardian of the North
常见问题 · FAQ
Questions answered.
Q
What is Bóyǎ?
Bóyǎ (博雅) is a Mandarin Chinese learning app for kids ages 6–13, built like a game. It teaches the official HSK 1–6 vocabulary with spaced repetition, explicit tone training, stroke-order writing practice, real-time duels, and a live AI tutor — plus a dashboard so parents can see real progress.
Q
What ages is Bóyǎ for?
Bóyǎ is designed for children ages 6 to 13, from a first 你好 through HSK 5. Sign-up suggests a starting level based on age, school grade, and prior Mandarin exposure, and families can adjust it anytime from the parent dashboard.
Q
Is Bóyǎ safe for kids?
Yes. Bóyǎ is COPPA-aligned by default: no public profiles, no DMs to strangers, no ad networks, no third-party analytics on children, and encrypted voice and video. Duels are sibling-only by default and the AI tutor is scoped to Mandarin learning. The full policy is published at boyapp.io/trust/safety.
Q
How is Bóyǎ different from other language apps?
Three things. FSRS spaced repetition schedules each word right before your child would forget it. Tones and character writing are taught explicitly from day one, not skipped. And progress is measured in words retained, not minutes spent — in short, finite daily sessions with no infinite scroll.
Q
Can schools use Bóyǎ?
Yes. Bóyǎ School supports Mandarin-immersion classrooms with roster import, within-classroom duels gated by the teacher, and mastery dashboards. Details and pilot enquiries at boyapp.io/schools.
Q
What HSK level should my child start at?
Start at HSK 1 if your child has little or no prior Mandarin. During sign-up we ask their age, school grade, and how much Chinese they already study at school, then suggest a starting level your family can confirm or change. You can always adjust it later from the parent dashboard.
Q
What devices does it work on?
Any modern smartphone, tablet, or desktop with a browser. No app download required. Works best on Chrome or Safari. Audio and tone recording require microphone access.
Q
Does it work without internet?
Not currently — Bóyǎ requires an active connection for real-time duels, AI tutor responses, and saving progress. Some content is kept on your device so a brief drop won't interrupt a quest mid-session.
Q
How do leagues work?
A league lets multiple families share the same leaderboard and challenge each other to duels. Each family still has its own private, separate account — parents only ever see their own children's data. Other families only see your child's display name, level, and XP.
Q
Is there a daily time requirement?
We recommend about 30 minutes a day split across the three activities. Streaks track daily logins, but there's no minimum minute requirement enforced by the app. Consistency matters more than marathon sessions.
Q
What Chinese does the app actually teach?
The official HSK vocabulary lists (HSK is China's standard Mandarin proficiency scale, from beginner to advanced). All words include pinyin pronunciation, audio, stroke-by-stroke writing guides, and example sentences.
The dojo is open · 道场已开
Your path to
fluency starts now.
Claim your daily quest, challenge a rival to a duel, and let 老师 Lin correct your tones. Thirty minutes. Every day. That's all it takes.
Claim today's quest →Free to try · No login · No app download
Ready to make it daily?
Create your free family account →HSK 1 free forever · already a member? sign in