RedNote Users Flock to Duolingo to Learn Mandarin: The New TikTok Refugee Exodus

TikTok users, now dubbed "TikTok refugees," are flocking to Duolingo to learn Mandarin as they prepare to transition to RedNote, a new Chinese social media platform.

TikTok’s Uncertain Future in the U.S.

TikTok’s time in the U.S. may be dwindling, with the app possibly becoming unusable and removed from download platforms. Amid this uncertainty, users are shifting to a closer alternative, the Chinese social media app “RedNote” or Xiaohongshu, meaning “little red book.”

RedNote: The New Social Media Darling

In a short span, RedNote has soared to the top of Apple’s App Store download charts, according to Reuters, attracting over 700,000 sign-ups in just a few days. However, RedNote isn’t the only app benefiting from TikTok’s looming ban. The language-learning app Duolingo reported a “216% increase in new U.S. learners of Mandarin Chinese compared to the same period last year.”

The Surge in Chinese Learning on Duolingo

While RedNote has an English interface, most of its content is in Chinese. U.S. users are likely hoping to engage more with its videos. As noted by TechCrunch, a graph released by Duolingo clearly shows a significant rise in new learners coinciding with RedNote’s growing popularity.

Linguistic Interaction on RedNote

Meanwhile, native Chinese users of RedNote are learning American Gen Alpha slang and TikTok trends like “my shayla” and “Raw. Next question” from the new American users. They also playfully introduce themselves as their “Chinese spy,” jokingly asking for data to send to the Chinese government.

As a reminder, ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, has until January 19 to sell the app’s American assets to avoid a shutdown.