Frequently asked questions
Pre-launch draft
What is Hanzi Constellation?
A visual map of Chinese characters. Characters are broken into their components and connected three ways: what they contain (structure), how they sound (phonetic families), and the words they build. Instead of memorizing 3,000 isolated characters, you learn the network — see 青 once and you hold the key to 清, 晴, 請, 情, 精, and 睛.
Is it a subscription?
No. You pay once and own it. The free web version includes the most common characters; a single one-time purchase unlocks the full 3,000-character map. Optional expansion packs (advanced levels, vocabulary decks, audio) are also one-time purchases — buy the ones you want, skip the ones you don’t.
Does it work offline?
Yes — that’s the point. The mobile app ships with all of its data on the device: no account, no server, no connection needed. It works on a plane, in the MRT, anywhere.
Do I need an account?
No. There are no accounts. Your progress is stored on your own device, and purchases are restored through the App Store, Google Play, or your purchase license key on the web.
Traditional or simplified characters?
Traditional first (with zhuyin and pinyin, and TOCFL levels alongside HSK). Simplified-character support is on the roadmap and the data is already structured for it.
Is this a flashcard / SRS app?
No. Excellent SRS apps already exist. Hanzi Constellation is the map those apps don’t give you: the reference you return to when you want to know why a character looks and sounds the way it does. You mark characters as learned at your own pace, and the map keeps score — characters known, and the words those characters unlock.
What is a “star chart”?
The built-in learning plan. The full map is divided into sixteen charts, ordered so that every new character maximizes the number of new words you can read with the characters you already know. Finish all sixteen and you have covered about 99% of everyday text.
Can teachers use it?
Yes — study sets can be built from any level, component, or pasted text, free and without an account. Exporting them as printable PDF handouts for the classroom comes with the full map.
Where does the data come from?
Open data: the Unihan database, CC-CEDICT, and open character decomposition projects, with attributions listed in the app. Example sentences are AI-generated and labeled with a small “AI” tag; audio, when it arrives, will be a clearly labeled Taiwan-Mandarin AI voice, tone-checked against reference readings. We won’t call something a native speaker unless it is one.
Is the vocabulary suitable for children?
Mostly, but not entirely. The map is built from real-world Chinese, so a small number of words are crude, sexual, or insulting — the kind of language you would meet in a film or on the street, defined here the way a dictionary defines it. A family-friendly filter that hides those entries is on the way. Until then, teachers and parents should give material a look before putting it in front of a class.
Taiwan or mainland Chinese?
Traditional characters, with vocabulary drawn from a Taiwan corpus — so you get 計程車 and 腳踏車 rather than 出租車 and 自行車. Two honest caveats while we finish the job: a handful of readings still follow the mainland standard where Taiwan differs (期 qí, 危 wéi), and some mainland-flavored vocabulary is still in the mix. Correcting both, and adding TOCFL and HSK level labels, is active work.
When does it launch?
Soon. The free web map opens first, followed by the one-time unlock and the mobile app.