Open-sourcing HànBǎoBāo (Android dictionary app)

[ReubenBond]

 

I wrote this Android app to help myself learn Mandarin & am now releasing it on GitHub so it may benefit others: https://github.com/ReubenBond/HanBaoBao

 

The repository consists of two parts:

• A floating dictionary Android app which segments, transliterates, and provides dictionary definitions for Chinese text (simplified & traditional)
• A C# program for building the database used by that app

Features:

• Text Segmentation - split sentences into individual words. Tap a word multiple times to re-split.
• Transliteration - transliterate words into their Pinyin representation.
• Dictionary - tapping a word opens a list of dictionary definitions (CCEDict, NTI Buddhist Dictionary, ADSO, others).
• Tone Markings - words are marked with their tone using both glyphs over the pinyin and colorization.
• Tap to Read - tap on text in your chat app to load it into HanBaoBao.
• Hide by HSK Level - optionally hide transliteration for all words below a given HSK level.
• Part of Speech Tags - many words have part-of-speech and ontology tags.
• Translation Tool - drag the icon into the translation tool to translate the sentence using Microsoft Translator or Google Translate (if installed)
• Writing Assist - type '#' followed by some English word into your chat app and HanBaoBao will find Chinese words matching that (eg "#swimming" might show "游泳")

 

The database building program compiles data from many sources and outputs a SQLite db which is read by the Android app. I wrote a post about some of the sources the app uses: https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseLanguage/comments/7jxe5h/any_pointers_on_how_to_license_a_chineseenglish/draa29w/
The database is likely useful for creating other apps and services.

The app definitely needs work, for example, it doesn't work on many devices for reasons I never debugged, and it wont work on Android 8.0 because of some breaking changes.

If you do end up making something with it, please let me know on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reubenbond