Mandarin learning
Mingdao
I designed and built Mingdao to connect Mandarin speaking practice, reading and vocabulary review through one learning history.
- My role
- End-to-end product design and engineering
- Status
- Live
My Mandarin tools never talked to each other
As a Mandarin learner, my tutor knew what I could say, my dictionary knew which words I looked up, and my flashcards knew what I forgot. None of them knew what happened in the others.
Real-time corrections without stopping the conversation
Learners practise everyday conversations in Mandarin, from ordering a meal to buying train tickets. Corrections to grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation arrive in parallel with the conversation, so getting feedback does not mean interrupting the dialogue.
Spoken answers receive character-by-character feedback on tones and sounds, with clips to replay. Learners can hear and practise the part that needs work, rather than chase a better overall score.
Read without leaving the passage
Reading offers another way to work with the language. Passages match the learner’s HSK level, with pinyin, meanings and sentence translations available in the text. Looking up an unfamiliar word does not mean leaving the passage; saving it brings it into spaced-repetition review.
Keep one learning history
Conversation, lookups and reviews feed the same learner model. Grammar and pronunciation progress help shape future exercises, so the next session can build on what the learner has already practised and where they still struggle.
Review cards bring the meaning, pronunciation, character components and usage examples back together, alongside the learner’s progress with the word.
Presented in Lisbon, covered by Hoje Macau
I presented Mingdao at the Spring Conferences of the Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau in Lisbon. Hoje Macau covered the presentation and the project on 27 March 2026.
Lesson packs cover HSK 1–4. Try Mingdao →