Learning new languages once you’re over the age of, say, 10, is difficult. There are the tried-and-true ways, of course: Taking classes at school; a summer immersion course; going to the country where they speak it and just doing your best; reading books; audio course tapes (or downloads). Yeah, all of that. I learned rudimentary French with the Berlitz tapes, for example. But we live in the computer age! So you know that some geek, somewhere, has been thinking deeply about this. And because my son is Taiwanese, and I play Words with Friends all the time, and this really caught my eye.
Some of the other key features include:
- The ability to chat with an opponent in both English and Chinese characters.
- The game is completely ad-free and there are no in-app purchases required to play.
- Word Finder will analyze the letters in your rack and teach you what pinyin words to play.
- Dictionary and Word Finder feature include audio pronunciations for each word.
- View the characters associated with the pinyin words played on the board at the tap of a button.
- Earn extra points by recalling the correct character and meaning of the word you just played.
- Brag on Facebook about your high scores and successful games.
The PinYinPal app is available for free from the App Store on the iPad. It will be available soon on iPhone and other iOS devices.
Sound intriguing? Well, surf on over and check it out, then! And if you do, be sure to let us know what you think below!






























