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Dictionaries, Tools, and Resources for Learning Chinese
Chinese Character Dictionary and Etymology Explorer >
Unlike the word dictionary above, this character dictionary focuses on individual characters and how they are formed. Understanding this character-level etymology will give you a leg up on remembering the characters and appreciating the beauty of the Chinese language. Our Etymology Explorer (sample) is the first web tool to allow you to visually drill down to the components, one level at a time. Conversely, you can find any character simply by identifying one or more of its components.
Chinese Flashcards >
Our online flashcards function just like traditional cardboard flashcards where a front side provides the prompt while a back side provides the correct answer plus many additional features that are only possible online. Most of our flashcards are keyed to specific book series, such as those for Integrated Chinese and New Practical Chinese Reader, to match your study programs. We also have flashcards for popular word lists, such as those for the HSK proficiency test, most commonly used characters, etc.
Chinese Memory Game >
A fun alternative to Chinese flashcards that uses the same word lists. The rules of the game is somewhat similar to the Memory or Concentration games you probably played as a kid, except that instead of matching two identical figures, your task is to match a Chinese character with its pronunciation or its translation by clicking one after the other. Have fun trying to beat the clock while giving your vocabulary a workout.
YellowTip Popup Translator >
YellowTip is our unobtrusive popup translator. It helps you read complete sentences even when you don't know all of the words. When you encounter a word you do not know, simply use your mouse to hover over the word (or touch it if on a mobile device) and an instant translation of the word will pop up. YellowTip is enabled on many pages (e.g. in our dictionary example sentences) and all of the text in our Chinese Reading Center. You can also annotate any text using our Yellowtip Annotator.
All About Pinyin
- Introduction to Pinyin.
- Pinyin Rules: Initials, Finals, and Tones.
- Valid Pinyin Combinations.
- Zhuyin to Pinyin Converter. Already know Bopomofo? Quickly learn Pinyin.
- Alternate Phonetic Systems Table. Compare romanizations for every possible syllable.
- Pinyin Text Editor. Allows quick entry of Pinyin.
Popular Word Lists
While most students learn Chinese via textbook, supplementing a textbook via standard word lists ensures coverage of all the words or characters one should know for a given level of proficiency.- HSK Proficiency Test
- Learning the Most Commonly Used Chinese Characters
- Topical Word Lists. Word lists organized around specific themes.
- Grammatical Parts of Speech.
- Idiomatic Expressions: Idioms
Miscellaneous Resources
- List of Chinese Character Radicals
- Similar Looking Chinese Character Radicals
- Chinese Character Stroke Order Rules With Animated Examples
- Mandarin Tone Changes (Tone Sandhi)
- Differences Between Mainland and Taiwanese Mandarin
