Best of Chinese Study Tools, Studying Chinese Online and Off

[gato]

Java-based jMemorize is the best free flashcard software I've seen for the desktop. It's easy to use, has a pretty interface, and supports the popular space-repetition method. One can easily convert any of the freely available HSK vocab cards to use with it.

I've tried mnemosyne. It looks unfinished and has a poor user interface. KVocTrain is probably better than mnemosyne in terms of usability, but it doesn't seem to support space repetition.

[flameproof]

I hope I made no enemies, but I did:

Change the Wakan definition to "Free mouse-over pop-up dictionary for all windows applications." because the MouseOver function is really what makes Wakan different.

I also added a new dictionary category:

Online Dictionaries that support screen (mouse) character writing

Because they are hard to find.

[cdn_in_bj]

Is Pablo (offline dictionary for PC with pinyin/English/Chinese entry and character stroke recognition) considered good enough to be added to the list? It's what I use, but I haven't had a chance to compare it with the other offerings.

[shibole]

I tried Wakan and when I activate the screen popup function my machine crashes, assumably when it tries to patch the DrawText system call. (And I'm just using normal XP )

[haton]

For those who tried the Pablo Chinese-English dictionary, it has just gotten better!

On top of handwriting recognition and a collection of 2,100+ stroke animations, new version includes a new "multi-radical" search feature. It means you can click on several radicals and find characters that contain them all. It is inspired by a similar search engine for kanji developed by Jim Breen.

Pablo's web site:

http://ehaton.blogspot.com

[gato]

Haton, blogspot is blocked in China. Would it be possible for you to upload Pablo to another site? MSN Live is accessible, though I hate their format. Typepad is openly accessible here (for now), but I think you may have to pay for their account.

[cdn_in_bj]

For those who tried the Pablo Chinese-English dictionary, it has just gotten better!

On top of handwriting recognition and a collection of 2,100+ stroke animations, new version includes a new "multi-radical" search feature.

Thanks Haton! I'm downloading it now and I look forward to trying out the new feature!

[haton]

Apart from Pablo's home page (http://ehaton.blogspot.com), the direct download link for Pablo is:

http://haton.free.fr/chino/Pablo.zip

I hope it works from China

[gato]

Unfortunately, free.fr is not loading from mainland, either. Any other possibilities? I guess if it's not too big of a file, you might ask Roddy to host it on chinese-forums for you.

[flameproof]

Pablo has 4.9Mb and can't be uploaded here. However, I uploaded PINGRID, the vocabulary training game. Haven't tried it yet.

Pingrid.zip

[roddy]

I can host stuff if necessary, but you might need to wait to get any updates made, etc. Email it to admin@ if you want.

[flameproof]

I can upload it to megaupload.com after lunch.... That can be reached in China.

[roddy]

I'm assuming you have the creator's permission to do this?

[flameproof]

You are right. Why should I care anyway, really not my problem.

[haton]

The megaupload idea is great. I have just uploaded Pablo. Get it at:

http://www.megaupload.com/es/?d=M6CANIVX

Have fun!

[dporter1465]

Clavis Sinica has just added a large collection of ready-made Chinese flashcard sets to its website. The sets contain 25 items each, and are thematically arranged on topics like "academic subjects," "shopping," "Chinese dynasties," and so on. There's also a free Vocabulary List Converter tool that can be used to create printable vocabulary review sheets (showing characters, pinyin, and English) for each item.

The flashcard sets and converter tool can be accessed from:

http://www.clavisinica.com/fs-resources.html

[skk06]

This is a good post with may useful resources. It is excellent to have a variety of different types of learning tools as everyone learns differently. Some people are more visual than others and some needs more interactive resources.

As to some of the other posts, remember just to include links and give full recognition to where the link is from or any blurbs so that you are not infringing on copyright materials.

[hanzigame]

I made a flashcard game for myself which I update as I progress through my class with the New Practical Chinese Reader. I am up to chapter 11 and this game has words and phrases up to that chapter:

Here is the URL if you are interested in checking it out:

http://www.freewebs.com/hanzigame/

[Sam Addington]

Did I miss something or does Wakan only translate single characters on the mouse-over? I downloaded it today and quickly removed it. I later downloaded Dimsum and was somewhat happier. It isn't as slick as Wakan, but it does translate compound words (mostly). It also pasted quite nicely onto Excel.

The best by far is popjisyo.com, but of course you can only use it online.

[trevelyan]

@Sam Addington -- do you have a negative impression of http://www.adsotrans.com for some reason, or do you not know about it? Curious...