The old method for learning a new language usually consisted of boring vocabulary lessons, complex grammar studies, and diving into dictionaries. With Chinese, this was especially difficult, making the learning process that much longer for those who bothered to stick with it. Today, however, there are many fantastic apps you can get on your iPad to make learning Chinese at least a little bit easier than sticking to the traditional ways. The following five apps are great for both beginning and intermediate learners of Chinese to get started on the road to fluency.
Chinese Essentials (AccelaStudy)
This is one of the most popular Chinese learning apps in the App Store, with both free and $9.99 versions available. Offering over 2,000 translations to help you get started, along with an audio trainer, dictionary for easy look-ups, digitalized flashcards, and quizzes to help track your progress. With Chinese Essentials, you not only learn the translations for each word, but the Chinese symbols and pronunciations are taught as well. You only learn words that are actually relevant in everyday conversations, such as colors, numbers, questions, transportation, etc. If you’re not sure if you want to pay $9.99 upfront, then try out the free version first.
KTdict Chinese-English Dictionary
A must for any digital-age learner hoping to cut their word-searching time in half, KTdict is a fabulous tool when trying to learn individual words and symbol meanings. It has over 70,000 entries in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. There are free and $3.99 versions available (only difference is the paid one doesn’t have ads). To top it all off, it doesn’t require an internet connection, ensuring easy translations whenever and wherever you are.
Pleco Chinese Dictionary
This app is undoubtedly one of the best language learning apps out there. Its full scale dictionary with over 20,000 sample sentences is only a portion of the overall package. Paid options include: touchscreen character handwriting, flashcard creation, character recognition (useful for the iPad 2, where you can import a picture and have the app analyze its meaning for you), audio tutor with over 39,000 different pronunciations, and more. If you’re looking for an all-in-one Chinese language learning system, then look no further because Pleco ranks the best in this list.
iCED Chinese Dictionary
Another great addition to the list, iCED has both free and $29.99 versions (the paid version is ad free and contains more entries). There are thousands of different entries in iCED’s Chinese Dictionary, with numerous options for character display (choose from several different writing systems and text sizes for optimal search results). It also features a sentence break-down, where you can single out individual characters and examine their meanings.
My Chinese Library: Mandarin Phrase Books
For those looking just to pick up a few new words in Chinese, this is a fantastic free app, offering over 200 simple words and phrases that are essential to getting by in China. It offers audio pronunciation of Pinyin characters, too. For a more extensive listing of phrases, there are additional paid options you can buy while using the app. Definitely a must for anyone just looking to get by in China!
Ultimately, learning Chinese will take a lot of time and patience, but with the above apps, you will be able to accelerate the learning process and have fun while doing so.
Comment on this story | Read comments (1)
Very nice overview of apps available to learn Chinese, I really think it would be hard to learn though!