Pleco
Pleco is a popular Chinese dictionary and language learning mobile app for iOS and Android. It provides dictionary lookups, stroke order diagrams, example sentences, pronunciation, and more for studying Chinese characters.
dictionary
translator
chinese
mandarin
cantonese
pinyin
stroke-order
language-learning
Pleco: Chinese Dictionary and Language Learning App
A popular mobile app for iOS and Android, offering dictionary lookups, stroke order diagrams, example sentences, pronunciation, and more for studying Chinese characters.
What is Pleco?
Pleco is a mobile app developed for learning Chinese and as a Chinese dictionary reference. First released in 2001, Pleco aims to provide comprehensive tools and content for intermediate to advanced Chinese language learners.
Key features of Pleco include:
- Dictionary with 300,000+ word entries including Pinyin, English definitions, stroke order, sample sentences, and audio pronunciations
- Optical character recognition (OCR) for identifying Chinese text from images
- Flashcard and quiz functions to reinforce memorization of vocabulary
- Handwriting recognition and feedback for practicing writing Chinese characters
- Document reader with popup dictionary definitions
- Support for integrating with other Chinese learning platforms like Skritter
Pleco offers some basic features for free, while advanced functionality requires a one-time payment to unlock. There is a selection of high-quality add-on Chinese dictionaries and content available for purchase within the app.
With a long history and extensive features focused on mastering Chinese vocabulary and characters, Pleco is regarded as one of the most fully-featured and versatile Chinese learning apps available.
Pleco Features
Features
- Comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary
- Stroke order animations for writing characters
- Example sentences with pinyin and English translations
- Flashcards for memorizing vocabulary
- Optical character recognition (OCR) for looking up characters by taking a photo
- Handwriting recognition for looking up characters by drawing them
- Pronunciation recordings by native speakers
- Text translator and text-to-speech capabilities
Pricing
- Freemium
Pros
Extensive dictionary and robust features for learning Chinese
Clean, intuitive interface
Available on both iOS and Android
OCR and handwriting recognition are very useful
Relatively affordable compared to paper dictionaries
Cons
The free version has limited content
Requires an internet connection for full functionality
Some more advanced features require in-app purchases
iOS version lacks support for third-party Chinese input methods
Official Links
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Top Education & Reference and Language Learning and other similar apps like Pleco
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