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WordSwing

@WordSwing

WordSwing is a web/iOS/Android app for practicing Mandarin Chinese, aimed at Intermediate students, and includes text adventure game, comics, and much more.

 Philadelphia, PA
wordswing.com
Joined April 2012
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  • Followers727
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Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)Photo by WordSwing (@WordSwing)
船外面没有空气，望城外面也没有。 Chuán wàimiàn méiyǒu kōngqì, Wàngchéng wàimiàn yě méiyǒu. There's no air outside the ship, and none outside Wangcheng either. Meet Xiaoxing in A Ship That Never Leaves—a Chinese practice episode from WordSwing’s Life on the Moon. 1/3
Image from WordSwing (@WordSwing)
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Warm walls. No air outside. A city that never leaves. Watch Xiaoxing tell the story in Chinese. If the city is a ship, where is it going? 2/3
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Find out why a warm corridor makes Xiaoxing think of her brother's ship. Read and practice the full episode with pinyin and English, then explore more Life on the Moon stories. 3/3 monologues.wordswing.com/sto…
A Ship That Never Leaves · Life on the Moon

A Ship That Never Leaves · Life on the Moon

Why a small indoor job might still help her understand ships: a city is already a ship that never leaves.

monologues.wordswing.com
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第一天上班，兔子就丢了。 Dì yī tiān shàngbān, Tùzi jiù diū le. On my first day at work, Rabbit went missing. Meet Xiaoxing in The Missing Robot—a Chinese practice episode from WordSwing’s Life on the Moon. 1/3
Image from WordSwing (@WordSwing)
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A missing “Rabbit.” A new corridor. One first day at work. Watch Xiaoxing tell the story in Chinese. What do you think Rabbit is? 2/3
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Find out what happened to Rabbit. Read and practice the full episode with pinyin and English, then explore more Life on the Moon stories. 3/3 monologues.wordswing.com/sto…
The Missing Robot · Life on the Moon

The Missing Robot · Life on the Moon

It is Xiaoxing's first shift, and Rabbit has already gone missing. A new corridor turns a simple delivery into a small adventure.

monologues.wordswing.com
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Completely new, built from the ground up, native iOS app for Word Swing apps.apple.com/us/app/wordsw…
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Working adding illustrations to all of our text adventure games
Image from WordSwing (@WordSwing)
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New article and podcast episode: How to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Chinese: hackingchinese.com/how-to-st… #learnchinese #speaking #translation #listening
How to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Chinese

How to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Chinese

Translating everything in your head makes speaking and listening to Chinese slow and difficult. Here’s why it happens, and how to stop doing it and start thinking in Chinese instead.

hackingchinese.com
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My storytelling game is now on Amazon! Nostalgia is a storytelling game for 2+ players. Play old, retired heroes who have lost much of their greatness, and some of their wits, but still remember the thrilling adventures and epic journeys of their youth. link.amazon/B06GxrfJ7
Image from Olle Linge (凌雲龍) (@HackingChinese)
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Hacking Chinese contains over a million words about how to learn Mandarin better. I’ve distilled the most useful information and advice into four courses. Get $31 off any course or $128 off when buying 3, through September 9! hackingchinese.com/courses/ #learnchinese #discount
Courses on Hacking Chinese

Courses on Hacking Chinese

This page lists all available courses on Hacking Chinese.

hackingchinese.com
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New podcast episode: Why you should listen to the Hacking Chinese Podcast: hackingchinese.com/podcast/ This also means The Hacking Chinese Podcast is in its 7th year of weekly episodes! #learnchinese #podcast #hackingchinese
Hacking Chinese Podcast

Hacking Chinese Podcast

This page contains a list of all episodes of the Hacking Chinese Podcast.

hackingchinese.com
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New book: Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection: hackingchinese.com/new-book-… #learnchinese #anthology #hackingchinese #snake
New book: Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection

New book: Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection

I have published a book! It's called Hacking Chinese: The Snake Collection and contains articles I wrote in 2025, the Year of the Snake. The articles cover a wide variety of topics, but characters,...

hackingchinese.com
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New podcast episode: Dealing with Chinese characters you keep mixing up: hackingchinese.com/dealing-w… #learnchinese #characters #vocabulary #forgetting
Dealing with Chinese characters you keep mixing up

Dealing with Chinese characters you keep mixing up

The more Chinese characters you learn, the harder it becomes to keep similar characters distinct. If you're not careful, a pair or group of characters can generate a lot of extra work and frustrati...

hackingchinese.com
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New article and podcast episode on Hacking Chinese; share and enjoy: How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques: hackingchinese.com/memory-ai… #learnchinese #mnemonics #memory #vocabulary

How to make Chinese easier by using mnemonics and memory techniques

Mnemonics are clever memory techniques that can be used to memorise everything from decks of cards to speeches, but how do you use them to learn Chinese?

hackingchinese.com
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Interesting thread about AI in language learning
Will Manidis (@WillManidis) profile pictureWill Manidis
@WillManidisMay 29
its genuinely shocking to me that we haven't made giant strides in language acquisition due to ai. it doesn't feel dramatically easier/faster to learn a new language than it was 24-36 months ago. why?
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New article and podcast episode: Learn Chinese by playing Chinese chess (象棋, xiàngqí): hackingchinese.com/learn-chi… #learnchinese #xiangqi #chinesechess
Learn Chinese by playing Chinese chess (象棋, xiàngqí)

Learn Chinese by playing Chinese chess (象棋, xiàngqí)

Chinese chess, or 象棋 (xiàngqí), is more than a classic strategy game. It’s a fun, practical way into Chinese language and culture.

hackingchinese.com
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Some Chinese characters don’t explain more. They just add more.🔥🔥 A second piece feels like a clue. A third piece starts to feel like a crowd.🌲🌲🌲 Chinese can be surprisingly visual once you stop treating every character like a random drawing.✨ [Word List] • 林 (lín) — Tree ×2 → Grove • 炎 (yán) — Fire ×2 → Flames / heat • 从 (cóng) — Person ×2 → To follow • 竝 (bìng) — Standing ×2 → Side by side • 森 (sēn) — Tree ×3 → Forest • 众 (zhòng) — Person ×3 → The masses • 鑫 (xīn) — Gold ×3 → Prosperous wealth • 蟲 (chóng) — Insect ×3 → Insects / bugs • 燚 (yì) — Fire ×4 → Blazing fire
Image from Chinese Short Dialogue (@chinese_s_d)
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Learn how to confirm a plan: 所以我们明天下午三点见？ Suǒyǐ wǒmen míngtiān xiàwǔ sān diǎn jiàn? So we are meeting tomorrow afternoon at three?
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Chinese tones are not as “fixed” as they look on paper 🤯 Put words together, and the melody starts adjusting itself: 你好 gets smoother, 一 changes outfits, 不 dodges another falling tone. It is less about memorizing exceptions and more about noticing how Chinese protects the rhythm.🎵 Your mouth will thank you later.✨ [Word List] • 你好 (nǐ hǎo) — Hello • 很好 (hěn hǎo) — Very good • 很忙 (hěn máng) — Very busy • 老师 (lǎo shī) — Teacher • 我们 (wǒ men) — We / us • 一 (yī) — One • 一样 (yí yàng) — Same • 一定 (yí dìng) — Definitely • 一天 (yì tiān) — One day • 一年 (yì nián) — One year • 一起 (yì qǐ) — Together • 不 (bù) — No / not • 不去 (bú qù) — Not go • 不是 (bú shì) — Is not • 不忙 (bù máng) — Not busy • 不好 (bù hǎo) — Not good
Image from Chinese Short Dialogue (@chinese_s_d)
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