Dictionary for the office:
Dr Eye 8.0, dreye.com, US$99, Windows
Dr Eye is the most popular dictionary for native speakers of Chinese and it is often the standard software installed in Taiwanese offices. As such, it is less tailored to the needs of foreign learners, but it is worth getting to grips with if you work in that environment. It’s probably to blame for much of the hilarious translation results that we have come to love and are featured on Web sites such as engrish.com (in the interest of fairness, poor application of Chinese characters by Westerners can be found at hanzismatter.com).
Basic dictionaries:
WordLookup: lindesay.co.nz, US$14, Mac OS
Pablo: ehaton.blogspot.com, free, Windows
The CEDICT project (mandarintools.com/cedict) is a collaborative project that aims to provide a complete English/Chinese dictionary for free in the form of a text file, and other programs then access this and make it searchable. Because of its “open” nature, the word list is continually evolving.
WordLookup is a simple dictionary for the Mac that can read this vocabulary list and is elegantly designed for quickly checking meanings without much fuss. It also has the advantage of being able to load multiple-language dictionaries from other projects that are similar to CEDICT, such as the highly regarded HanDeDict German-Chinese dictionary.
Pablo is a CEDICT reader for Windows that is set-up for learners of Chinese. For many of the most popular characters, it also includes animated strokes — a boon to those choosing to undertake learning to write the language, as well as type.
It must be said that while these tools have helped me build a strong vocabulary and ability to recognize characters, they probably have not assisted with everyday spoken fluency and ability to form complex sentences. For these elements, there has been no substitute for hitting the books and working with an experienced language teacher.
Next week: We take a look at mobile devices that help with Chinese study.
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