Accessibility

Last reviewed October 26, 2026

We want anyone who would like to learn Mandarin to be able to use Mandarling and this website, including people who use a screen reader, magnification or large text, switch or voice control, or who find it hard to hear or to speak. We work to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, level AA, on this website and in the Android app.

In the app

• Screen readers. Buttons and controls have names that TalkBack reads, switches and chosen options say whether they are on, and Chinese text is read in a Chinese voice. During a review, the phone listening, what it heard and any problem are announced as they appear, and so are results elsewhere, such as a quiz answer.
• Text size and color. Text follows your phone’s font size, up to its largest setting, and keeps a contrast of at least 4.5 to 1 against its background in the light and the dark theme. A syllable that came out with the wrong tone or sound is shaded, underlined, and named in words (“Tone off”, “Sound off”), so color is never the only clue.
• Speaking is optional. Any card can be answered with Show the answer, without speaking, and the characters, pinyin and English are always on screen as text. Hands-free reviews go by ear, and how long you have to answer is yours to set.
• Sound and movement. Nothing flashes. The Mandarin voice plays an answer by itself unless you turn that off in Settings, under Play answers automatically.
• Touch and turning the phone. Every control is at least 24 dp square and buttons have a touch area of 48 dp or more, nothing needs a swipe or a drag, and the app works in either orientation.

On this website

Every page can be used with a keyboard, has a link to skip to the content, headings, a title, and a language, and reads in one column at 320 pixels wide and at 200% text size. Every screenshot has a description.

What is still hard

• The speaking check needs you to speak, and the Mandarin voice needs you to hear it. Without either, use Show the answer; nothing else in the app depends on them.
• The tone chart is a drawing. Its meaning is written out for a screen reader, but a few words can’t say all of what a line shows.
• The speech recognizer belongs to your phone, usually Google’s. It may not recognize every voice or accent, and we can’t change that.

Tell us about a barrier

If something in the app or on this website is hard to use, or you need what it says in another form, write to support@mandarling.app. Tell us what you tried, your phone and Android version or your browser, and any assistive technology you use. We read every message and fix what we find.