Hacking Chinese Challenges

Welcome to Hacking Chinese Challenges – building language skills through daily practice and friendly competition!

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Hacking Chinese Challenges is meant to stimulate and encourage language learning by allowing you to set personal goals and strive to achieve them alongside fellow students. With a clear goal in sight and a defined period of time, procrastination is kept to a minimum and focus remains high. The challenges here are meant to be cooperative where we strive towards similar goals together, giving each other moral support, helpful suggestions and inspiration. Any competitive element should be friendly in nature!

Create a new account or log in using Facebook or Twitter. You can then enroll in challenges and report progress for the current challenge. Read more about Hacking Chinese Challenges here here.

The Challenge Engine was created for Hacking Chinese by:

Stefan Wienert
coding + maintenance
Olle Linge
product development and testing
Julien Leyre
product development and testing


Inspiration from Andre Smith

Current challenge

Chinese reading challenge, March 2024

10 March, 2024 – 31 March, 2024 12 Days left

Running 36人 82h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! [More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/)

Upcoming challenges

Chinese speaking challenge, April 2024

10 April, 2024 – 30 April, 2024

Upcoming

Focus on improving your speaking ability, including fluency, pronunciation and much more. [See the challenge article for more information and inspiration! ](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-speaking-challenge/)

Challenge archive

Chinese writing challenge, February 2024

10 February, 2024 – 29 February, 2024

29人 46h

This month's challenge is all about writing ability! Set a goal and write as much as you can, but remember that quality also matters. Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. [Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-writing-challenge/)

Chinese listening challenge, January 2024

10 January, 2024 – 31 January, 2024

74人 765h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. [Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/).

Chinese vocabulary challenge, December 2023

10 December, 2023 – 31 December, 2023

34人 102h

This is a vocabulary challenge meant to help you boost your learning of characters and words! Set your own goal, report progress and participate along with other students. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Chinese reading challenge, November 2023

10 November, 2023 – 30 November, 2023

49人 245h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! [More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/)

Chinese pronunciation challenge, October 2023

10 October, 2023 – 31 October, 2023

20人 56h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese pronunciation. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Chinese listening challenge, September 2023

10 September, 2023 – 30 September, 2023

38人 453h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. [Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/).

Chinese translation challenge, August 2023

10 August, 2023 – 31 August, 2023

14人 41h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Chinese reading challenge, July 2023

10 July, 2023 – 31 July, 2023

37人 189h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! [More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/)

Chinese vocabulary challenge, June 2023

10 June, 2023 – 30 June, 2023

43人 176h

This is a vocabulary challenge meant to help you boost your learning of characters and words! Set your own goal, report progress and participate along with other students. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Chinese listening challenge, May 2023

10 May, 2023 – 31 May, 2023

64人 663h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. [Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/).

Chinese speaking challenge, April 2023

10 April, 2023 – 30 April, 2023

33人 101h

Focus on improving your speaking ability, including fluency, pronunciation and much more. [See the challenge article for more information and inspiration! ](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-speaking-challenge/)

Chinese reading challenge, March 2023

10 March, 2023 – 31 March, 2023

60人 192h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! [More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/)

Chinese writing challenge, February 2023

10 February, 2023 – 28 February, 2023

39人 60h

This month's challenge is all about writing ability! Set a goal and write as much as you can, but remember that quality also matters. Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. [Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-writing-challenge/)

Chinese listening challenge, January 2023

10 January, 2023 – 31 January, 2023

93人 902h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. [Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/).

Vocabulary challenge, December 2022

10 December, 2022 – 31 December, 2022

53人 262h

This is a vocabulary challenge meant to help you boost your learning of characters and words! Set your own goal, report progress and participate along with other students. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, November 2022

10 November, 2022 – 30 November, 2022

31人 182h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Pronunciation challenge, October 2022

10 October, 2022 – 31 October, 2022

31人 29h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese pronunciation. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, September 2022

10 September, 2022 – 30 September, 2022

36人 358h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Translation challenge, August 2022

10 August, 2022 – 31 August, 2022

31人 55h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, July 2022

10 July, 2022 – 31 July, 2022

57人 138h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Vocabulary challenge, June 2022

10 June, 2022 – 30 June, 2022

129人 463h

This is a vocabulary challenge meant to help you boost your learning of characters and words! Set your own goal, report progress and participate along with other students. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, May 2022

10 May, 2022 – 31 May, 2022

57人 461h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Speaking challenge, April 2022

10 April, 2022 – 30 April, 2022

27人 74h

Focus on improving your speaking ability, including fluency, pronunciation and much more. [See the challenge article for more information and inspiration! ](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-speaking-challenge/)

Reading challenge, March 2022

10 March, 2022 – 31 March, 2022

56人 313h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! [More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-reading-challenge/)

Writing challenge, February 2022

10 February, 2022 – 28 February, 2022

34人 43h

This month's challenge is all about writing ability! Set a goal and write as much as you can, but remember that quality also maters. Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. [Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-writing-challenge/)

Listening challenge, January 2022

10 January, 2022 – 31 January, 2022

60人 587h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. [Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.](https://www.hackingchinese.com/chinese-listening-challenge/)

Vocabulary challenge, December 2021

10 December, 2021 – 31 December, 2021

52人 230h

This is a vocabulary challenge meant to help you boost your learning of characters and words! Set your own goal, report progress and participate along with other students. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, November 2021

10 November, 2021 – 30 November, 2021

49人 300h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Translation challenge, October 2021

10 October, 2021 – 31 October, 2021

46人 69h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, September 2021

10 September, 2021 – 30 September, 2021

62人 443h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Pronunciation challenge, August 2021

10 August, 2021 – 31 August, 2021

39人 79h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese pronunciation. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, July 2021

10 July, 2021 – 31 July, 2021

76人 427h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Vocabulary challenge, June 2021

10 June, 2021 – 30 June, 2021

80人 465h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, May 2021

10 May, 2021 – 31 May, 2021

76人 710h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Speaking challenge, April 2021

10 April, 2021 – 30 April, 2021

88人 179h

Focus on improving your speaking ability, including fluency, pronunciation and much more. See the challenge article for more information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, March 2021

10 March, 2021 – 31 March, 2021

144人 758h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Writing challenge, February 2021

10 February, 2021 – 28 February, 2021

114人 281h

Focus on improving your writing ability in February! Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.

Listening challenge, January 2021

10 January, 2021 – 31 January, 2021

167人 1069h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of January. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Pronunciation challenge, December 2020

10 December, 2020 – 31 December, 2020

127人 263h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese pronunciation. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, November 2020

10 November, 2020 – 30 November, 2020

167人 733h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Vocabulary challenge, October 2020

10 October, 2020 – 31 October, 2020

120人 1060h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, September 2020

10 September, 2020 – 30 September, 2020

52人 187h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of May. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Translation challenge, August 2020

10 August, 2020 – 31 August, 2020

33人 73h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, July 2020

10 July, 2020 – 31 July, 2020

46人 144h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of July! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Mimicking challenge, June 2020

10 June, 2020 – 30 June, 2020

22人 33h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese speaking ability by mimicking native speakers. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, May 2020

10 May, 2020 – 31 May, 2020

51人 343h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of May. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Vocabulary challenge, April 2020

10 April, 2020 – 30 April, 2020

36人 160h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, March 2020

10 March, 2020 – 31 March, 2020

24人 108h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of March! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Writing challenge, February 2020

10 February, 2020 – 29 February, 2020

19人 42h

Focus on improving your writing ability in February! Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.

Listening challenge, January 2020

10 January, 2020 – 31 January, 2020

49人 177h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of January. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Reading challenge, December 2019

10 December, 2019 – 31 December, 2019

41人 128h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of December! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Habit challenge, November 2019

10 November, 2019 – 30 November, 2019

20人 104

Form a new learning habit in November by doing some learning activity at least once per day until the end of the month. If your goal is to do something once per day, select "30 units" as your goal, then report one unit every time you perform the task! See the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Listening challenge, September 2019

10 September, 2019 – 30 September, 2019

33人 153h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of September. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Reading challenge, August 2019

10 August, 2019 – 31 August, 2019

41人 190h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of August! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Vocabulary challenge, July 2019

10 July, 2019 – 31 July, 2019

39人 87h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, June 2019

10 June, 2019 – 30 June, 2019

60人 314h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of June. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Translation challenge, May 2019

10 May, 2019 – 31 May, 2019

28人 25h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, April 2019

10 April, 2019 – 30 April, 2019

65人 148h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of April! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Writing challenge, March 2019

11 March, 2019 – 31 March, 2019

19人 17h

Focus on improving your writing ability in March! Make sure you get feedback so you know what you should improve. Please read the attached article for more information and inspiration.

Listening challenge, February 2019

01 February, 2019 – 28 February, 2019

63人 381h

This is a listening challenge! Listen to as much Chinese as you can before the end of February. Please refer to the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Translation challenge, December 2018

10 December, 2018 – 31 December, 2018

26人 64h

This challenge is about practising translation, either from your native language to Chinese, or from Chinese to your native language. Please read the linked article for more information and inspiration!

Handwriting challenge, November 2018

12 November, 2018 – 30 November, 2018

39人 99h

Practise to improve your handwriting! Please read the linked article for information and inspiration.

Speaking challenge, October 2018

15 October, 2018 – 31 October, 2018

29人 14h

Focus on improving your speaking ability, including fluency, pronunciation and much more. See the challenge article for more information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, September 2018

10 September, 2018 – 30 September, 2018

54人 145h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of October! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Vocabulary challenge, August 2018

16 August, 2018 – 31 August, 2018

41人 74h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Open challenge, August 2018

01 August, 2018 – 15 August, 2018

36人 115h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, July 2018

16 July, 2018 – 31 July, 2018

38人 33h

This is a focused challenge intended to help you improve your listening skills. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Open challenge, July 2018

01 July, 2018 – 15 July, 2018

14人 50h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Pronunciation challenge, June 2018

16 June, 2018 – 30 June, 2018

15人 29h

This is a challenge where your goal is to improve your Chinese pronunciation. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Open challenge, June 2018

01 June, 2018 – 15 June, 2018

14人 22h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Writing challenge, May 2018

15 May, 2018 – 31 May, 2018

21人 26h

Write as much Chinese as you can before the end of the month! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Open challenge, May 2018

01 May, 2018 – 14 May, 2018

24人 42h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Reading challenge, April 2018

15 April, 2018 – 30 April, 2018

27人 57h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of October! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Open challenge, April 2018

01 April, 2018 – 14 April, 2018

27人 74h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Vocabulary challenge, March 2018

15 March, 2018 – 31 March, 2018

34人 91h

This is a vocabulary challenge (characters and words). Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Open challenge, March 2018

01 March, 2018 – 14 March, 2018

14人 77h

This is an open challenge where you choose your own focus. Please read the linked article for information and inspiration!

Listening challenge, February 2018

15 February, 2018 – 28 February, 2018

29人 31h

This is a focused challenge intended to help you improve your listening skills. Please read the attached article for information and inspiration!

Open challenge, February 2018

01 February, 2018 – 14 February, 2018

26人 13h

This is an open challenge, which means you choose your own topic and set your own goal. For inspiration and motivation, please share your goal in a comment to the linked article.

Speaking Challenge, December 2017

01 December, 2017 – 31 December, 2017

44人 69h

Improve your speaking ability! Read more in the linked article.

Reading challange, October 2017

01 October, 2017 – 31 October, 2017

96人 210h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of October! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Listening challenge, August 2017

01 August, 2017 – 31 August, 2017

75人 457h

Listen as much as you can in August to improve your Chinese listening comprehension! Read more why and how in the linked article.

Writing challenge, June 2017

01 June, 2017 – 30 June, 2017

34人 70h

Practise your Chinese writing ability, report progress and stay on track! See the linked article for more information and inspiration.

Reading challenge, April 2017

01 April, 2017 – 30 April, 2017

77人 206h

Read as much Chinese as you can before the end of April! More details and suggestions for what (and how) to read can be found in the attached article.

Listening challenge, February 2017

01 February, 2017 – 28 February, 2017

83人 332h

Listening is perhaps the most important skill of all. See how many hours of listening practice you can accumulate in February! Everything counts. Read the related article for more about how to practise and further advice in general.

Translation challenge, December 2016

10 December, 2016 – 31 December, 2016

32人 37h

The focus for this month's challenge is translation from Chinese to a language you feel more comfortable with.

Mimicking challenge, November 2016

11 November, 2016 – 30 November, 2016

22人 110h

Choose an audio recording of a native speaker and try to reproduce an exact copy of what what the person says and how he or she does it, including pronunciation, pacing, intonation and so on. Read the attached article for more information.

Character challenge, October 2016

10 October, 2016 – 31 October, 2016

33人 123h

Learn new components/characters, deepen the knowledge you already have, fight a large review queue or strengthen your knowledge web.

Translation challenge, September 2016

10 September, 2016 – 30 September, 2016

27人 35h

This month's challenge is about translating to Chinese from your native language. Read more about the challenge, including why translation can be a useful way of improving your writing skill in Chinese, in the linked to blog post!

Benchmarking challenge, June 2016

10 June, 2016 – 30 June, 2016

16人 18h

Try to measure your progress, including identifying strength and weaknesses. More information in the linked article!

Writing challenge, May 2016

10 May, 2016 – 31 May, 2016

29人 31h

Improve your Chinese by writing as much as you can, as well as working with the feedback you receive.

Reading challenge, April 2016

10 April, 2016 – 30 April, 2016

45人 201h

Read as much as you can before the end of April! See the linked article for more about how and what to read.

Vocabulary challenge, March 2016

10 March, 2016 – 31 March, 2016

63人 232h

Vocabulary learning or reviewing, passive or active; see the linked to article!

Listening challenge, February 2016

10 February, 2016 – 29 February, 2016

75人 366h

It's time for a Chinese listening challenge! Enrol, set your goal and listen as much as you can before the end of the month. This article contains more information about the challenge, some important things to keep in mind as well as suggestions for what to listen to.

New Year Challenge, January 2016

10 January, 2016 – 31 January, 2016

21人 45h

Clear up unfinished projects from last year or establish good learning habits for the year ahead!

Extensive reading challenge, December 2015

10 December, 2015 – 31 December, 2015

38人 125h

See linked article.

Writing challenge, November 2015

10 November, 2015 – 30 November, 2015

39人 38h

Please refer to the linked blog post!

Extensive listening challenge, October 2015

10 October, 2015 – 31 October, 2015

71人 419h

Listen as much as you can! For further suggestions about what and how to listen, check the attached link.

Character learning challenge, September 2015

10 September, 2015 – 30 September, 2015

79人 252h

Learn new characters and/or review old ones, read more about the challenge in the related article.

Extensive reading challenge, August 2015

10 August, 2015 – 31 August, 2015

64人 194h

Read in order to read a lot, quantity matters more than quality. It's okay to skip words, it's even desirable. You read to understand most of what's going on, but not everything. It should be fun to read and using dictionaries to look up unknown words typically isn't all that fun.

Speaking challenge, July 2015

10 July, 2015 – 31 July, 2015

33人 74h

More information later, will focus on quantity (speaking more) and quality (including pronunciation).

Extensive listening challenge, June 2015

10 June, 2015 – 30 June, 2015

58人 350h

Listen as much as you can. More information soon.

Writing challenge, May 2015

10 May, 2015 – 31 May, 2015

29人 97h

See the linked blog post for more information and inspiration!

Extensive reading challenge, April 2015

10 April, 2015 – 30 April, 2015

76人 409h

Extensive reading challenge, read as much as you can before the end of April. Read the related article for suggestions on what to read and more inspiration and information!

Extensive listening challenge, March 2015

10 March, 2015 – 31 March, 2015

87人 1255h

Listen as much as you can to audio at or slightly below your current proficiency level. Please check the link for more information and inspiration!

Pronunciation challenge, February 2015

10 February, 2015 – 28 February, 2015

58人 91h

Spend as much high-quality time as you can, doing various exercises to improve your pronunciation in Chinese (or other languages if you feel like it). Please read the challenge article for more information and inspiration!

Character learning challenge, January 2015

10 January, 2015 – 31 January, 2015

83人 444h

Take this opportunity to catch up with character and word learning! Please read the article linked to below for more information about prizes and challenge details.

Translation challenge, December 2014

11 December, 2014 – 31 December, 2014

60人 150h

Learn Chinese through translation, either English-Chinese (writing practice), Chinese-English (reading practice) or both!

Extensive reading challenge, November 2014

10 November, 2014 – 30 November, 2014

108人 424h

Read as much as you can before the end of November! Check the link for inspiration and information.

Extensive listening challenge, October 2014

10 October, 2014 – 31 October, 2014

138人 867h

Extensive listening is one of the most important activities when learning a foreign language. In this sense, extensive means that you should listen as much as possible, covering as much material as you can, rather than digging deep into each audio clip. Try to listen to Chinese at or below your level and try to listen a lot! Read the article that will be published on Thursday for more informati...

Vocabulary catch-up challenge

21 September, 2014 – 30 September, 2014

10人 32h

If you've spent too little time reviewing recently, this challenge is for you. I haven't spent much time reviewing lately and I'm more than 1000 reviews behind. The best way to kill a review queue is by persistent and regular time boxing, so let's do that! This challenge is a final test before the challenge engine goes public early next month, so it will only last until September 30th. If you h...