Train Chinese?

[Melanie1989]

Does anyone have any experiences with the Train Chinese app they'd like to share? I have been using it for the past few weeks since i stepped out of the dark ages to join the rest of the kids these days (insert pretentious LOL here) and bought my first tablet. I am currently only using the free version and am considering upgrading to premium as the app already is far superior to most others i have tried. I would appreciate some opinions, if you have used the premium version?

 

It has many, many, many, many word lists and sentence examples in all different areas, stroke order and pronunciation (unfortunately, it doesn't let you write the character out, but i just use pen and paper, unless i am trying to appear "cool" and sophisticated, in which case i have a paint pad app too -another LOL). It has word lists for HSK , new and old, TOCFL, abbreviations, conjunctions, words and vocabulary organised by radical, frequency etc etc.

 

Basically lots and lots of fun and i would highly recommend it if you haven't checked it out yet, even if you just stick to the free version it is not at all stingy. But if you are familiar with it and would like to share your experiences, pros and cons, or even just let us know if the premium upgrade is worth it, as it is already so helpful, please do share!

 

 

*Genuinely no way affiliated with train chinese, i just really love it!

 

 

EDIT: HEAVILY edited for the overuse of the word "app"

[Shelley]

I used to use Train Chinese on my old tablet which was too old to run Pleco, I have had Pleco on my phone (windows and android) for years.

 

i found Train Chinese quite good. I never paid for premium version, i just used the free one and found it ok.

 

You can practice writing characters when you go in to the flash card section.

 

If you are thing of spending money on this I would think twice. Now I have the option i went for Pleco and I would recommend it. If you only spend money on one Chinese learning app then it has to be Pleco in my opinion (and no I don't get paid by them).

 

I am lucky enough to have been awarded 3 months Skritter and I feel that between Pleco and Skritter all my Chinese learning apps are satisfied. this is of course a minimum, there are loads of other apps out there, I obviously haven't tried them all and if you feel the need you can have loads more.

[Melanie1989]

Yeah, i bloody love Pleco! I just found train chinese a nice little addition. I will have to check out the flashcards section, i had no idea you could actually write out the character, i must be blind. Thanks for sharing.

[hedwards]

Clavis Sinica has a few that involve writing. There's also Monkey Write which has packs of characters that you can practice writing.

[trainchinese]

Hi,

 

thank you for the nice feedback, as already mentioned by Shelley the "Dictionary and Flashcards" app includes a full featured Flashcard functionality specially designed for Chinese (that is "Flashcards" can be tested for Reading, translating, hearing and Writing so that you can adjust for what you like to learn)

 

To use the flashcards  - and the Writing functionality:

1) Add a card (or several) to any of your lists. Without paying you can create up to 2 lists which you can fill with your own vocabulary. Be careful becasue as a free member you can only add a limited number of words each week.

2) Select "training" and then "train all" and now "Honest Mode". In that mode you will be seeing the flashcards in a traditional way. Each word will be shown randomly in one of the modes (to test reading, translation, hearing or writing). And in Writing (called also "Dictation" mode)  you will be asked to write each character into a field and then you can compare what you have written with the way it should have been done.

 

In addition to using the "Dictionary and Flashcards" app for training, you also can directly link form there into our Writer app, which will get you the individual characters of all of your words to write them in a nice game (Select training and then choose the Writer).

 

Finally, before leaving, as you are so keen and have written a very nice report regarding trainchinese we can offer you a three months free subscription (this is only for this special case! please others refrain from copying it! ). To be able to do this, pllease email us your trainchinese account name so that we can activate the upgrade.

 

Best regards

 

Klaus

Form the trainchinese team

[imron]

Finally, before leaving, as you are so keen and have written a very nice report regarding trainchinese we can offer you a three months free subscription

Hi Klaus,

 

Perhaps you might also be interested offering a number of free subscriptions as part of a Chinese Forums giveaway.  See here for more info, and also here, here, here and here for examples of existing giveaways.

 

You get reviews written by your target audience and potential sales, members get free stuff, and the site gets useful articles and more potential traffic.  It's a win for everyone.

[Melanie1989]

Hi Klaus!

That was a very nice surprise, thank you! I would love to try out the premium upgrade. In that case, can i keep everyone updated through the forums? Thank you so much for this, it is very kind of you! How do i get in touch with you, is it ok to message you through your account here?

[trainchinese]

Melanie1989,

 

please let me know the user-name you are using with trainchinese. That will  be suffcient asn we then will contact you form there.

[trainchinese]

Hi Imron,

 

Think is a good idea for a giveaway for Chinese forum users. We will think it over and then come back!

[Luxi]

I'm reviving this thread because the Trainchinese app seems to have gone through big updates lately, especially on the Desktop option, and deserves a mention - and another look if you haven't used it for some time.

https://www.trainchinese.com

It's not my first option for writing practice (which requires an iOS or Android tablet/phone and using the associated, game-like Chinese Writer App) but I very much like all the additional information on characters and words that I can access through this app, like the animations, breaking characters down into components and listings of similar characters or of characters sharing components. I also like the human audio and the example sentences...and many other options and utilities that I haven't quite explored yet --- using the app is a bit like entering a labyrinth, once you start you may never get out of it.

The Vocabulary lists seem great,  the HSK/TOCFL Vocabulary options are very useful for revisions before an exam, but there are also several other lists by book or by topics. I also like the links to the YouTube videos, with more explanation of characters. 

It's not a free app, but can be used for free with some limitations and there's a lot included at least in the desktop version without a subscription - including the Vocabulary Lists. 

 

Declaration: I have no  links to this app's developers whatsoever and stand to no gains since I already have a lifetime subscription purchased a few years ago (turns out it was a good investment).