Duolingo, the popular language learning application is witnessing a surge of American users who are signing up to learn Chinese amid the TikTok ban in the US. The short video-sharing platform is on the verge of getting removed from app stores in the country. Now, users from the app are migrating to a new alternative called RedNote.
Here is how the migration of American users to RedNote has led to an increase in Chinese language learners on Duolingo.
Language-learning app Duolingo sees surge of US users
Duolingo recently announced that it has recorded an increase in the number of Chinese language learners in the United States.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the company shared a chart showing a spike on the graph on January 13, 2025. Revealing the exact number of users recorded, Duolingo wrote, “Learning Mandarin out of spite? You’re not alone. We’ve seen a ~216% growth in new Chinese (Mandarin) learners in the US compared to this time last year.”
This growth comes when the chatter around TikTok getting banned in the United States is the most. The short video-sharing platform is slated to be removed from app stores across the country on January 19, as per a new law. According to Reuters, this has led to many American TikTok users moving to a new Chinese app called RedNote.
RedNote is also known as Xiaohongshu by Chinese users. Due to the default language of RedNote being Chinese, Americans are learning the language on Duolingo. Additionally, since the app took off in the US, Duolingo also saw a 36% increase in downloads. This brings it to number 22 in Top Apps. (via TechCrunch)
TikTok is getting banned in the US as lawmakers believe it poses a threat to the security of users. As per the new law signed by Joe Biden, China can extract user data from the application and misuse it.
