Lookup

Quickly find the right Chinese words and phrases.

Finding the right Chinese words and phrases has never been easier. Written Chinese Reader's  dictionary Lookup works with any combination of English, Chinese and Pinyin to find words from teh 113,000 entry Chinese-English dictionary.

With optional dictionaries, you may also search in German, French or specialized dictionaries, too.*

Dictionary Lookup

Find words and phrases in the Chinese-English dictionary

From the Main window, confirm that you're on the Lookup tab (see bottom of the window).

1. Start with an English word, like money. You'll see about 314 entries. L By default the list is sorted with the popular entries (with HSK numbers) at the top. Next, shorter words (single character). Longer words and phrases are at the end of the list.

2. Lookup money idiom and see that list narrowed down to just 25 entries. Refine your search by adding terms and operators.

  • "money idiom" matches only entries containing both "money" and "idiom"
  • "NOT idiom" excludes entries with "idiom" in the usage notes and definition
  • "- business" excludes entries with "business"
  • "money OR idiom" includes all entries with "money" plus all entries with "idiom"

arentheses ( ) may also be used to clarify your lookup request.

3. You may also search using any combination of English, Chinese or Pinyin. See sample screen, above.

  • Chinese shows you both the original and alternate (simplified or traditional). For example if you point to simplified Chinese text, then traditional Chinese (if different) will appear next.
  • Pronounce - click speaker icon to hear the word read aloud
  • Phonetics - see how to pronounce the word in Pinyin or Bopomofo
  • Definition - meaning in English (or other languages)

Right-Click

Explore Chinese with a right-click

Explore the subtle beauty and historical depth of the Chinese culture by seeing how Chinese is used in music, images, videos and more.

  • Lookup: find related words
  • Breakdown: see components of compound words
  • WebTranslate: use Google and Microsoft web services to translate text (ad-supported)
  • Search: find news, videos, images, music, etc. from popular Chinese websites
  • Pronounce: hear words read aloud in Mandarin Chinese (optional Cantonese)
  • Copy+: create a studysheet using selected words and pasting into Microsoft Word or Excel
  • Copy from...: copy only the selected Chinese text, phonetics (Pinyin, Bopomofo) or definition
  • Add/Remove to/from Favorites: tag word as a Favorite
  • Add/Remove to/from History: log word into History list*
  • Word: add/edit definition of selected Chinese words*
  • Export: save Chinese text, definitions and pronunciations into Anki flashcard or other format
*Some settings are available only on Professional and Ultimate Editions.

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