In need of help to choose my electronic dictionary

[Jeka]

Hi all! I am a new user to the forum! ;) I am an Italian girl studying chinese at university and I was thinking about buying an electronic dictionary to speed up my searches about word's meaning... I've tried to surf the net looking for it but I found only a few proposals and nothing to compare them u.u 

 

That way I've decided to try my luck asking you an advice ;) I don't need a Chinese-Italian dictionary, I speak English quite well and moreover I already have a really good "paper-version" chinese-italian dictionary so no need of it XD I need a Chinese-English + English-Chinese electronic dictionary, better if it has that little touchscreen part you can use to write unknown words in to look them up... Anybody can help? =) Thanks a lot!

[Jaxx Morton]

Best way to go is to get an android or iOS device and download pleco. I dont think that the kind of electronic dictionaries that ppl use in Asia are very popular in the west, so i imagine youll have a hard time finding one. Go with pleco its awesome, if you have android then the writing is built into the app, if you have iOS then enable the writing chinese function in the settings and just switch to it when u wanna write. If you get the iOS one i also reccomend downloading some of the extra little bits you can get, for example synonyms and a extension to one of the dictionaries.

[Lu]

I think electronic dictionaries are becoming obsolete (already). There are quite a few good online dictionaries and dictionary apps, of which Pleco is probably the most famous. I'd start with that, I don't think electronic dictionaries are all that useful anymore (although I've never owned or used one, so who knows).

[Ruben von Zwack]

Install a Chinese dictionary with writing function to your phone. Pleco and Hanping are famous and widely used among students of Chinese. The basic dictionary functions are free. You can purchase extra functions on top of that. I'm not sure if handwriting recognition is included in the free basic bundle. If it's not, go ahead and purchase it anyway, it will save years of your lifetime

 

And welcome!

[Jeka]

I already use those apps (both on my Android phone and on my iPod touch), but having to rely heavily on a phone or an mp3 player results not to be the best solution to me since I have battery problems if I use them heavily for study and most of the times the meanings the apps give are quite different from what dictionary says... Moreover at uni, teachers want me to buy one since they won't let us use any phone/mp3 player during class translations and paper dictionaries take ages to check the meaning of a word! 

 

I've read something about some Casio dictionaries and another chinese brand I can't exactly remember right now and I was just wondering which of the two was the best since it's gonna cost me really a lot! I don't want it to be just a waste of money XD

[tooironic]

The Casio electronic dictionaries are usually considered the best (and most expensive) on the market. I've got a Casio E-B200, and it comes with 32 complete and authoritative dictionaries (including C-E, E-C, C-C and E-E dictionaries). If you're really interested in buying one you should be able to get a second hand one at a decent price relatively easily as they are steadily being replaced by smart phones.

 

Edit: And yes my Casio does have the hand-writing input function with stylus.

[skylee]

Re #5 and #6, I don't understand this - on the one hand Casio electronic dictionaries are steadily being replaced by smart phones, on the other hand at universities, teachers want students to buy e-dictionaries since they don't let them use any phones/mp3 players during class translation. So who are replacing those e-dictionaries with smart phones?

 

Sorry if the above is irrelevant.

 

Battery problems should be a non-issue.  External power packs are cheap and getting more and more light-weight.  The latest model of xiaomi charger of 10400 mAh costs RMB69 only.

[tooironic]

I'm not aware of this rule the OP was talking about. The only time phones were not allowed in my translation class was during the NAATI translation examination. But then again electronic dictionaries weren't allowed either (only paper ones). AFAIK, most learners nowadays tend to go for smart phones because it's more convenient than having to carry an additional item (on top of your phone, mp3 player, laptop, tablet, etc.). Not to mention the cost savings involved.

[Lu]

 

Re #5 and #6, I don't understand this - on the one hand Casio electronic dictionaries are steadily being replaced by smart phones, on the other hand at universities, teachers want students to buy e-dictionaries since they don't let them use any phones/mp3 players during class translation. So who are replacing those e-dictionaries with smart phones?

I can't comment on current teaching practice, but when I was a student we rarely if ever used dictionaries in class. Because they were too heavy, sure, but also because most translation was homework not classwork. The users of phone dictionaries may well be students, other learners and people who are perhaps not studying very hard but are living in China and use dictionaries to navigate their way through their life there.

[lechuan]

For the price of an electronic dictionary, you would be better off buying the paid dictionaries in Pleco.

The definitions of the paid dictionaries are not going to be different from the paper versions, because they are the same as the paper versions (or sometimes better).

[陳德聰]

Phones are completely kosher in my classes, but when it comes to classical translation, most of my professors prefer/require the use of specific text dictionaries. Another vote for Pleco here.

[imron]

you would be better off buying the paid dictionaries in Pleco.

This holds true in general regardless of whether you were planning on buying an electronic dictionary or not.

[Jeka]

Thank you all for your replies... Well, @skylee I got an external battery pack, and I can assure you my phone doesn't last 12 hours even using it, and I don't have one of the biggest smarthpones, I have a medium one so even its battery consume is not hte highest I've seen... I work in the phone industry and well, phones cannot replace evrything, I know it would be a great depense of money buying an electronic dictionary but they want us to, and they even made us buy papaer dictionaries that costed a lot u.u

 

I constantly use Pleco for a quick lookup of a word or two so I know how it works and which ones are the functions it has, and I also used a friend's electronic dictionary, I assure you there' s no comparison between them... She bought hers when she went to china and paid it around 150 euros, so not that much compared to what I've read on the internet..We are not allowed either to use dictionaries during exams, nor electronic nor paper ones, but probably they want us to have it for a better and quicker lookup during exercises in class, I don't really know...

 

Anyway thanks all again!