What tools do you use in a real life conversation ?
ianb1974
April 23, 2009, 10:55 PM posted in General DiscussionHi, I've been studying Chinese for a while, But there is one part I find very difficult. When Im speaking with someone face to face (I often have meetings in China) and I dont understand a word. Or Im reading some documents without my computer. Or I need to find a specific word.
Obviously I need some sort of dictionary, that I can carry with me and is easy to use (quick) and not too bulky.
What do you think is the best tool in this situation ? Any recommendations ? Has any one tried the Iphone app ?
Whats your best on line source ? Mine is pin1yin1.com, perfect to translate to pin yin with literal meaninsg if I dont know a word. But If I get a Chinese Hanzi sms I can be stuck ... (Till I get the iphone)
Ian
ianb1974
April 23, 2009, 11:23 PMSfrrr thanks for the advice, what do you use online ?
Pleco looks good,
One thing I did find interesting is that it seems to have a whole stack more words, All the dictionarys I have only have limited amounts of words and when you try and look up anything a little technical your lost.
chanelle77
April 23, 2009, 11:49 PMRecently I also started using Pleco and it works like a charm! I used mdbg and nciku before as online tools, but I hardly use them any more now I have Pleco. I bought my new phone just to run this app.
When I do not understand a word in daily life, I ask the Chinese in question to write it in my phone, that is how I learnt the word for Yak bone ;-).
ianb1974
April 24, 2009, 12:28 AMummm now im torn, I was just about to get an iphone, But it seems Pleco doesnt work on iphone well , yet ....... pity ...
bababardwan
April 24, 2009, 01:53 AMsfrrr,
"so that I can look up the pronounciation of some word that comes to me at 3 a.m"
..wow,I'm impressed with your dedication.Are you trying subliminal sleep learning? If so,zenme yang?
Also,last I looked pleco wasn't yet available for the iphone.I take it that it has been released now?
ianb1974
April 24, 2009, 01:56 AMNot yet, but apparently soon, but its hard to tell from their web site / forums
ianb1974
April 24, 2009, 02:01 AMStrike that, Seems it may be a while, they won't say when.
ironfrost
April 24, 2009, 06:40 AMIf your phone has internet access, all the major online Chinese dictionaries have mobile versions. The best is nciku Mobile ( http://m.nciku.com ), because it includes example sentences (with pinyin) and a lot more entries than most other sites.
Obviously it's not as convenient as a downloadable app like Pleco, but it contains a lot more words than you can fit in a downloadable app, and is constantly updated (also, it's free).
Mobile internet is pretty cheap in China (5 RMB for up to 10 MB/month, or 20 RMB for 50MB, which is more than enough if you're just using mobile sites).
[disclaimer: I work for nciku, so I'm probably biased].
ianb1974
April 24, 2009, 09:25 AMThanks Iron frost, Do you use anything that can convert Hanzi to pin yin , for like a sentence ?
I use pin1yin1.com but it doesnt have a mobile version that I know of and its a little clunky sometimes. Any suggestions of a better alternative ?
I tried some others but they seem to only be able to handle small passages of text sometimes.
sfrrr
April 23, 2009, 11:06 PMI use PlecoDict, a Windows Mobile app that consists of several (8? 10?) dictionaries, flash cards, stroke order diagrams, and much more. It's beautifully designed to make everything logically accessible. I carry it with me everywhere and leave it at my bedside at night. (so that I can look up the pronounciation of some word that comes to me at 3 a.m.)
Costs a lot, but then, when you figure the cost of buying several paper dictionaries, or the cost of buying a few different learning programs, it doesn't seem that expensive. www.pleco.com.
IMHO, PlecoDict is the reason to buy a Win Mobile PPC. I couldn't possibly study without it.
They make an iphone version, but i believe it's a mere shadow of its Win Mobile version.