DianHua Dictionary
A Chinese-English dictionary for iPhone and iPad.
Look up words and study Chinese with both Traditional and Simplified characters in this fully offline-capable Chinese-English dictionary for iOS.
Search
Search in English, Pinyin, Pin1Yin1, Simplified, or Traditional characters. Every search feature works without an Internet connection.
Bookmarks
Use Bookmarks to organize word lists into your own folders and subfolders. Online sync provides backup and keeps multiple devices in step.
Study
Study Bookmarks with Flashcards and Typing/Writing tools, using a Spaced Repetition algorithm to make the most of your study time.
Search in English
DianHua Dictionary searches CC-CEDICT English definitions using root words and corrects for some spelling errors. Results are ordered by both match quality and usage frequency.
Search in Pinyin
The most common Pinyin search format is “pin yin”. Dropping the tones makes Pinyin quick to type, but a single-syllable search can return a lot of results. Add tone numbers to narrow them down: use 1–5, with 5 as the neutral tone, and separate syllables with a space, for example ni3 hao3. Proper Pinyin with tone marks also works, though it is cumbersome to type on a phone.
Search in Characters
Search using Simplified or Traditional characters. iOS includes Chinese keyboards for Handwriting, Pinyin, and Stroke input; enable them under Settings › General › Keyboard.
Combination Searches
Know the Pinyin and roughly what it means? Combine search types for more accurate results. For instance, “hao hello” finds “ni hao” and “nin hao”.
Create Word Lists
Bookmarks let you build word lists from dictionary entries in any combination of folders and subfolders. Organize them to fit your study plan, or simply keep lists grouped by topic.
Create Custom Bookmarks
If an entry you need isn’t in the dictionary, or you want to study longer phrases or whole sentences, you can create Custom Bookmarks.
Sync Your Bookmarks
Working with DianHuaDictionary.com, Sync keeps your Bookmarks, study progress, and search history in step across devices. You can also edit your Bookmarks from a desktop browser, which is handy for copying and pasting characters from documents or an online lesson.
Export Your Bookmarks
Want your Bookmarks in a spreadsheet, or prefer Anki for flashcards? DianHuaDictionary.com can export all of your Bookmarks in a format that spreadsheets and apps like Anki can import.
Study with Flashcards
Front and back fields alone are often not enough when studying Chinese. You may want characters on the front and both English and Pinyin on the back. DianHua lets you choose which fields appear on each side of the card.
Practice Writing
The Writing tool may be the least used, but it is possibly the most effective at locking words into memory. Using any of the built-in Chinese keyboards, practice writing characters from their English and Pinyin.
Screenshots are from an earlier version of DianHua Dictionary on iOS.
Get DianHua Dictionary
Download it from the App Store, and visit DianHuaDictionary.com for sync, exports, and online search.