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Rapid Fire
Turn a collection into a hands-free listening session with configurable repeats, delays, and playback order.
Stories built from the Mandarin words you’re learning.
Turn the vocabulary you know into comprehensible stories and sentences, then reinforce it with audio and smart spaced repetition.
Get Started Free
Free forever: the HSK 1–3 starter library with 600 words, 600 sentences, and 80 pre-made stories. No credit card.
机场的坏消息
HSK 3Bad News at the Airport
李伟(Li Wei)
王美，你看大屏幕，我们的航班怎么还没开始登机？
Wáng Měi, nǐ kàn dà píng mù, wǒ men de háng bān zěn me hái méi kāi shǐ dēng jī?
Wang Mei, look at the big screen, why hasn't our flight started boarding yet?
王美(Wang Mei)
天哪，上面写着航班晚点了，要推迟三个小时。
Tiān na, shàng miàn xiě zhe háng bān wǎn diǎn le, yào tuī chí sān gè xiǎo shí.
Oh my god, it says the flight is delayed and will be postponed for three hours.
李伟(Li Wei)
三个小时？那我们到上海的时候已经是半夜了。
Sān gè xiǎo shí? Nà wǒ men dào Shàng hǎi de shí hou yǐ jīng shì bàn yè le.
Three hours? Then it will already be midnight when we arrive in Shanghai.
王美(Wang Mei)
听说是因为天气不好，刚才突然下了一场大雨。
Tīng shuō shì yīn wèi tiān qì bù hǎo, gāng cái tū rán xià le yì chǎng dà yǔ.
I heard it's because the weather is bad; it suddenly rained heavily just now.
李伟(Li Wei)
真倒霉，我们只能在这里等了。你饿不饿？
Zhēn dǎo méi, wǒ men zhǐ néng zài zhè lǐ děng le. Nǐ è bú è?
What bad luck, we can only wait here. Are you hungry?
王美(Wang Mei)
有一点儿。我们去那边的咖啡馆坐一会儿，顺便吃点东西吧。
Yǒu yì diǎnr. Wǒ men qù nà biān de kā fēi guǎn zuò yí huìr, shùn biàn chī diǎn dōng xi ba.
A little bit. Let's go sit in that cafe over there and have something to eat while we're at it.
Your ratings:EasyGoodHardAgainNew
Live demo — press play, tap or hover any word. A real story from the app, highlighted with one learner's review history.
How Mandarin Forge Works
The words you're learning shape what you read, what you read feeds what you review, and what you review unlocks harder content.
1
Start with your vocabulary
Import HSK lists, your own words, or your review progress from Anki. Mandarin Forge tracks every word you know and every word you're working on.
2
Generate content you can read
Stories and sentences are written from your vocabulary, at your level, on topics you pick.
3
Listen while you read
Mandarin audio on every phrase, sentence, and story, at full speed or slowed down. Read along, or go hands-free with Rapid Fire.
4
Review what you met in context
FSRS spaced repetition schedules each word at the moment you'd otherwise forget it.
Every review grows your vocabulary. Every new word makes the next story possible.
Generate content you can actually read
Build sentences and full stories around the Mandarin words you are actively learning. Choose a topic, length, and format, then get comprehensible material that uses familiar vocabulary with enough new language to keep you moving.
- Generate examples for any phrase in your collection
- Create stories from a custom mix of known and new vocabulary
- Choose the topic, length, and dialogue or monologue format
- Draw from HSK levels, saved terms, or your own phrases
See and hear every word in context
Read curated and generated material with pinyin, translations, and audio close at hand — play any line at full speed or slowed down. Known vocabulary is highlighted as it appears, so every story shows how the words you study work together.
- Browse sentences and stories organized by HSK level
- See known and unfamiliar vocabulary as you read
- Listen to phrases, sentences, and complete stories
- Save useful words into unlimited custom collections
Remember what you encounter
Review phrases, sentences, and stories with FSRS spaced repetition. The schedule adapts to your recall, bringing material back before it fades and leaving well-known content alone.
- Personalized review intervals based on your performance
- Review vocabulary inside the context where you met it
- Spend less time repeating what you already know
- Track phrases, sentences, and stories in one queue
More ways to study
Useful tools, without another learning system to manage
Bring your own material
Translation and importing
Translate outside text, inspect unfamiliar words, and save useful material directly to your study collections.
Get unstuck
Contextual AI explanations
Ask about grammar, word choice, or usage without leaving the phrase, sentence, story, or translation you are studying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mostly: how is this different from what you're already using?
How is this different from Anki?
Plenty of people study from a premade Anki deck, and that works — our HSK collections cover much the same ground. The difference is what surrounds the cards. Here every word is attached to sentences and stories you can actually read, with audio throughout, and your review state travels with it: open a story and you can see at a glance which words you know cold and which are about to lapse. Anki shows you a card. This shows you the word doing its job. You don't have to start over either — import a word-level deck and we replay your Anki review history.
How is this different from graded readers?
Graded readers are a fixed shelf pitched at broad levels. Mandarin Forge generates stories at exactly your level from your specific words, and the content keeps growing as your vocabulary does — so you're never stuck between books that are too easy or too hard.
Is this a course?
No. There are no lessons and no curriculum, and it won't tell you what to study next. It's a set of sharp tools for self-directed learners who already know how they want to learn and just want better instruments.
What do I get for free?
The full HSK 1–3 library (600 words, 600 sentences, and 80 stories), unlimited spaced-repetition reviews and vocabulary tracking, and Mandarin audio on every item — no credit card required. You also get a starter generation allowance: 8 stories, 20 sentences, 40 translations, and 20 AI chat messages.
What is Rapid Fire?
Rapid Fire is a passive listening mode. It auto-plays Mandarin audio for up to 500 phrases, sentences, or stories and advances on its own — no rating, no tapping. Loops, plays per card, and delays are all configurable, so you can listen on a commute or read along hands-free.
What levels does it cover?
HSK 1–6+ on the paid plans. All content is tagged by level, and generated content adapts between levels so it stays comprehensible as you progress.
Can I use it as a complete beginner?
Yes — the HSK 1 library is a fine starting point. But Mandarin Forge assumes you drive your own learning. If you want structured hand-holding, a beginner course is a better fit; you can always come here once you're ready to read and listen widely.
Does it teach speaking and writing?
No. Mandarin Forge is deliberately input-focused: reading, listening, and vocabulary. For output practice, pair it with tutors, conversation partners, or language exchanges.
Built by a learner, not a language company
Mandarin Forge exists because I couldn't find the tools I wanted. Apps either held my hand through beginner lessons or handed me raw flashcards with no real content. What was missing was efficient, input-based tooling: spaced repetition, vocabulary tracking, and a steady supply of comprehensible reading, built for adults.
It's not a course and it won't tell you what to study next. It's a set of sharp tools for self-directed learners, and I use it every day for my own studying.
Ben, founder
Read more about the project →Ready to Start Learning?
Stories from your words, audio built in, and reviews that stick. The HSK 1–3 starter library (600 words, 600 sentences, and 80 pre-made stories) is free forever. No credit card.