Frequently Asked Questions
Account
Do I need an account to use HanTrace?
No. All lookups and reference pages — characters, words, measure words, polyphones, stroke order — are free and open, no registration required. An account is only needed to save words and use the member-only tone quiz bank.
How do I create an account?
Sign in with just your email address — we send you a one-time 6-digit code, no password to remember. A free account lets you save up to 100 words and use the full HSK tone quiz bank.
Saving words
How do I save a word?
Open any character or word page and tap the star (☆) button. Saved words appear in My Vocabulary, where you can organize them with tags and proficiency stars.
What is the difference between Free and Pro?
Free accounts can save up to 100 words. Pro raises the limit to 10,000 and unlocks quiz review, learning statistics, and tone practice on your own saved words. See the Pricing page for details.
What happens to my saved words if my Pro subscription ends?
Nothing is ever deleted. All your words stay visible, and you can keep removing tags or deleting entries. If you have more than 100 words, adding new ones is paused until you either delete down below the limit or subscribe again — resubscribing restores everything instantly.
What do the proficiency stars mean?
Stars (★1–★5) are your own mastery rating for each word: ★1 means just started, ★5 means fully mastered. They are set by you, and you can filter your vocabulary by star range — for example, pull up all your ★1–★2 words to review the ones you haven't mastered yet.
How are HSK levels assigned?
Characters and words follow the HSK 3.0 standard (levels 1–9). HSK levels are an objective property of each entry and are independent of your personal proficiency stars. Measure words and some entries without official HSK classification are ungraded. In My Vocabulary you can filter your saved words by HSK level range — for example, everything from HSK 3 to 4.
Can I export my vocabulary?
Yes. Every logged-in user can export their saved words to CSV or plain text from My Vocabulary — including everything above the free limit. Your data is always yours to take.
Practice
Is tone practice free?
Yes. Every signed-in member can practice with the full HSK 1–9 tone quiz bank at no cost — pick your levels and load a fresh set of questions any time. Guest visitors can try a short sample without signing in.
What Pro practice features are there?
Pro members can run tone practice and quiz review on their own saved words (from My Vocabulary), plus view learning statistics such as mastery distribution and daily adding trends.
Billing
Who processes the payments?
Subscriptions are handled by an external merchant of record — a payment provider that processes checkout, taxes and refunds for us. You can pay by card, choose monthly or yearly billing, and cancel any time from your account or receipt emails.
Where can I manage or cancel my Pro subscription?
You can manage your subscription via the customer portal link in the account menu (top-right profile dropdown), or use the link inside your purchase-receipt emails.
Can I cancel whenever I want?
Yes. Cancelling stops future charges, and you keep Pro access until the end of the current billing period. After that your account returns to Free — and your saved words all stay (see above).
Can I get a refund?
Yes — there is a 30-day money-back guarantee on your first billing cycle: contact us within 30 days of your first purchase for a full refund. One refund per customer. Renewal payments are not eligible for the money-back guarantee, and cancelling your subscription will not refund unused time in your current billing period. Full details are in our Refund Policy.
I have a question about a charge.
Reach us via the contact page and we'll help you sort it out.
Privacy & data
What data do you store?
Just the essentials: your email address, your saved words, tags, proficiency stars, and basic account records. We don't sell personal data. Details in the Privacy Policy.
Can I request a copy of all my personal data?
Yes. You can export your vocabulary data any time from My Vocabulary. To request a full copy of all account-related personal data, please reach out via the contact page and we will provide it.
How do I delete my account and data?
Contact us via the contact page and we will delete your account and all associated data. You can export everything first if you wish.