Terms of Service
The short version: the learning content here is free to use for your own studies. If you buy Pro, it is one purchase, yours forever. Be fair to us, and we will be fair to you.
About us (that is, me and a bird)
A myna bird learns to talk the way no textbook teaches: it listens, copies, gets it wrong, and tries again until the sounds come out right. That is also exactly how people learn Mandarin. Which is why a myna is the mascot here, and why every single word on this site can be heard out loud, slow and clear, for free.
Behind the bird there is one person: a native speaker in Shanghai who got tired of watching learners pay for something as basic as hearing the language, and decided to build the alternative.
Using the free content
All words, audio, stories, and practice tools on the site are free for your personal learning, in class or on your own. Teachers are welcome to use pages with their students. What is not allowed: copying large parts of the site or its audio to republish, resell, or build a competing product. If you want to use our material in a bigger way, just write to us and ask.
About accuracy
We work hard to keep everything correct and clearly dated, and when official word lists change, we update. Still, we cannot promise the site is free of mistakes, and we are not responsible for exam results or decisions made based on the site. HearMandarin is an independent project. We are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the organizers of the HSK exam or any government body.
Buying Pro
Pro is a one-time purchase. Orders are handled by our payment partner, who acts as the seller of record: they process your payment, handle sales tax or VAT, and send you a receipt. We never see your card details.
Our pricing promises, in writing:
- One purchase, yours forever. We will never quietly turn your purchase into a subscription.
- If prices go up later, your past purchase is untouched.
- If we ever change these terms, changes will not take away what you already bought.
Pro is for your personal use on your own devices. Please do not share your unlock key publicly; if a key is shared widely, we may have to switch it off and issue you a fresh one.
The legal lines
The site is provided as is, without warranties of any kind. To the extent the law allows, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the past twelve months. If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands.
Changes
If we update these terms, we will change the date at the top of this page. Meaningful changes to paid features will also be announced on the site.