Learn 汉字 by the card. Read to earn them.
One short Chinese text at a time. Tap the words you don’t know, and they come back as flashcards the same day.
COMING SOON
A story worth finishing, not a streak to protect.
Graded texts written for your level, where you already know most of the words. Pinyin sits over each character until you don’t need it. Tap any word for its reading, meaning, sound and an example, and save it with one tap.
- 1,000+short graded texts, with audio
- 2 a daynew texts, so reading stays a habit, not a binge
- 1 tapfrom a word you don’t know to a card in tonight’s review
The deck is the product. Reading is how it grows.
A card shows the hanzi and nothing else. Recall it, turn it, then say honestly how it came back. FSRS, an open memory model, brings it back just before you’d forget.
- Forgotback soon
- Harda little later
- Goodlater
- Easymuch later
One shelf, seven levels.
Texts and words share one scale, from LV 1 to 7+. Today suggests what to read next by how many of a text’s words you already know.
- LV 1First words and greetings
- LV 2Everyday situations
- LV 3Plans, habits, opinions
- LV 4Articles and stories
- LV 5News and essays
- LV 6Most written Chinese
- 7+Literary and specialist
Everything stays on your phone.
- 01Fully offlineTexts, cards and the dictionary live on the phone. Read on a plane, in the metro, anywhere.
- 02No accountNothing to sign up for. Anonymous usage reports stay off unless you turn them on.
- 03A real dictionaryCC-CEDICT, 120,000+ entries, for any word in any text or search.
- 04Bring your AnkiImport an .apkg on the phone; its review history comes with it.
- 05Your own wordsPaste a word list into My words and it joins your deck.
- 06One-file backupEverything you’ve done fits in one file you keep, and restores on a new phone.
Every word, where you left it.
Asked often.
What is Ember?+
An offline Chinese vocabulary app: a graded reader joined to spaced-repetition flashcards. Words you save while reading become cards the same day.
Does it work offline?+
Yes. Texts, cards and the dictionary are on your phone. Ember only goes online to fetch a newer dictionary when you ask, or to send usage reports if you turned them on.
Do I need an account?+
No. Your data stays on the device, and you can back it all up to a single file.
Can I import my Anki decks?+
Yes. Ember imports .apkg files directly on the phone. You can also paste your own word lists into My words.
What is FSRS?+
An open-source scheduling algorithm. It estimates how stable each memory is and how hard each word is, then brings a card back just before you’d forget it.
How is Ember different from Duolingo?+
Ember is built around reading real graded texts and spaced repetition, not lesson paths, streaks and XP.
What level is it for?+
One scale from LV 1 to 7+ covers texts and words. Ember ships with 1,000+ graded texts and the LV 1 and LV 2 word decks.
Why two new texts a day?+
It keeps reading a short daily habit. When today’s two are used, new texts open again tomorrow; anything you’ve started stays open.
When can I download it?+
Google Play first, the App Store after. Until then, try a text in your browser.
Notes on learning to read.
One short text today. A word you keep tomorrow.
COMING SOON