About us

Du Chinese started from a love story.

A few years ago I was living in Japan and studying Japanese. I loved learning Japanese. As I practiced reading in Japanese I became frustrated with the time spent looking up characters in the dictionary. It felt like I was spending more time looking things up than actually reading. My dictionary skills were improving faster than my reading skills! It was frustrating to be reading a story and then have to stop for 5 minutes just to look up a single character.

While in Japan, I met my wife, Yueyuan. We fell in love and I have studied Chinese ever since then (about 10 years now). The same frustrations I felt studying Japanese also apply to Chinese. There had to be a better way.

Yueyuan is originally from China and was working in Japan as an editor of Chinese language learning material and Chinese teacher. In her spare time she likes to write short stories. In my spare time I like to code apps. (I also enjoy other hobbies such as rock climbing, but those didn’t help us create Du Chinese). We realized that we could combine our skills and create a Chinese reading practice app!

Our family has grown. We now have a two year old son, Teo! He is adorable and we love spending time with him and watching him grow.

Du Chinese has also grown. Ever since the beginning we have been making improvements and adding more lessons. We appreciate everyone who uses the app and are working hard towards our mission of making literacy in Chinese attainable by all!

Product team

Yueyuan

Yueyuan is responsible for the content in Du Chinese and has written more than a thousand of our lessons. She holds a master degree in linguistics and has experince both as a long time language learner and as a teacher. She loves jazz dance and bubble tea. Her favorite TV drama is 琅琊榜 (Nirvana in Fire) which she has watched more than 10 times.

Peter

Peter takes care of the technical part of Du Chinese. He worked as a software engineer for a social gaming company in Tokyo for several years, then lived in China for a year, before finally returning to Sweden. In his free time, he enjoys bouldering, learning jazz piano and eating 黄飞红香脆椒 while watching Japanese TV shows.

Antonina

Antonina is a UX designer and researcher - always striving to understand users’ needs and turn them into useful and fun experiences. She has a master’s in Psychology and many years of learning Chinese under her belt. She took a gap year to learn and experience life in Taiwan and fell in love with people, food, and Chinese zither 古箏. Her free time is filled with learning about Chinese traditional music, cuisine, and costumes.

Lily

Lily leads our marketing initiatives and social media. She holds a dual degree in Strategic Communications and Chinese. To improve her mandarin, she lived in Yangshuo teaching English as a second language. It was in China that she discovered her love of language learning. She hopes to one day be fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean. Lily loves any type of art project including felting, knitting, painting, or sewing her own clothes. Her favorite Boba flavor is Taro, her favorite food is 鱼香茄龙, and her favorite Chinese TV show is 陈情令. A perfect Saturday afternoon includes eating, watching anime, and studying Chinese.

Writing team

Amy

Amy graduated from Guangxi University with a master's degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages . She has taught Chinese in Thailand and Indonesia, and worked in Confucius Institute of Thailand. Now she is a Chinese teacher for overseas students in China. Telling Chinese stories and sharing Chinese culture are her goals. We hope her words can help you to know more about China and love it!

Hannah

Hannah started to work as full-time Mandarin teacher and writer six years ago in Beijing, China. She enjoys working in the intercultural communication field. Some of her hobbies include rock music, Chinese calligraphy and jogging. Her favorite books are Eight Million Ways to Die, Dreams of Red Mansions and China: A Macro History.

Jane

Jane lives in Shenzhen and loves writing and Chinese culture. Her major is in Chinese Language & Literature with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She has more than 8 years of writing experience, and more than 10 years of work experience in international trade. She now teaches Chinese in Shenzhen to students aged 13 to 23 from various countries. She likes teaching Chinese and enjoys sharing Chinese culture with students.

Emma

As a Chinese teacher and a language leaner, Emma Cai is keen on storytelling. She graduated from Soochow University with a master degree in linguistics. She loves travelling, playing piano, and watching movies in her spare time. Swimming is her new hobby because she dreams of scuba-diving one day.

Translation team

Alvina

Alvina has ancestral roots in Hong Kong. Within her university major in Chinese Studies, she completed a winter intensive unit at Fudan University, Shanghai. She loves travel, art, food, and spending time with family and friends – separately, or all at once!

Emily

Emily is an undergraduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles, double majoring in Asian languages & linguistics and statistics. She grew up speaking Mandarin at home and going to Chinese school, but her passion for Chinese was initially sparked by interest in Chinese TV shows, music, and sports teams. Her hobbies include doing and watching gymnastics, playing board games, and eating good food. Her favourite Chinese TV show is The Rap of China, and her favourite food is hot pot.

Mark

Mark is our head translator and makes sure the translations are up to par. Originally from the UK, he first came to Taiwan to learn Chinese in 2005 and never went back. His hobbies include exploring Taiwan's beautiful mountains with his dog Wang Wang. His favorite Taiwanese meal is 刈包 (pork belly bun) washed down with a Taiwan beer.

Natalie

Natalie was the first translator and proofreader on the translation team. Her love of languages led her to begin studying Chinese in 2008, and she has never looked back. During exchange studies in Beijing, she first tasted her favorite Chinese dish Zhajiangmian (炸酱面). Natalie is also an avid reader, and has translated a novel from Chinese into Swedish.