Xiaolu is a voice partner in the Talkhao app for practising Mandarin out loud with the words you are learning. You speak, she answers in Mandarin at your level, and she explains in English when you get stuck, so you can try a sentence, get it wrong and try again with nobody listening.

A talk starts with a few easy questions. From your answers she works out roughly where you are on the HSK scale, with no test and no level to pick. Then she talks with you about a picture, such as a street with a shop and a bank. New phrases come with pinyin and English, and at the end of the talk you get the phrases you used, with audio.

She is a conversation partner, not a pronunciation grader. She says back what you said the natural way, tones included, but she doesn't score your tones. Your recordings aren't kept.

You need a microphone and a free account (sign in with Apple or Google). The first 10-minute talk is free; after that, talk time is paid, from $12.99 a month for 60 minutes. The HSK word lists and the practice in the same app stay free. It runs in the browser on a phone or a computer, and as an Android app. Talk is in beta.

Disclosure: we build Talkhao.