小词典

About 小词典

小词典 (xiǎo cídiǎn) are a few a small Chinese to English dictionary applications that are powered by CC-CEDICT. There are currently three versions of the dictionary application: a Mac OS X system wide dictionary plugin, an Adobe Air version, and an iPhone / iPod touch version.

The dictionary applications are written by Rob Rohan; however, the CC-CEDICT dictionary itself is a community effort.  The dictionary currently has over 75,000 words and phrases. The 小词典 applications allow you to search that dictionary using Mandarin Pinyin, English, or Simplified Characters.

Note: Due to Apple’s AppStore policy, the iPhone / iPod Touch version of the dictionary has been discontinued. The application is currently still available on Apple’s AppStore; however, there can be no more updates to the application. Please see the following post for More Information.

The desktop version, which integrates with the Mac OS X built-in dictionary, is a fantastic resource when reading Chinese on your Mac. Since 小词典 installs into the Mac OS X Leopard system wide dictionary, you have access to Chinese character definition throughout your whole system. From Safari to TextEdit to Pages, you can control click (right click) on a character and choose “Lookup In Dictionary” to define the Chinese character or word. In addition, you can hover over a character use the hot key control+command+d to get an inline definition, and you can even use spotlight to define characters!

The Air version of the dictionary is very similar to the iPhone / iPod touch version and is a great resource if you are currently using Linux or Windows (it also works on Mac OS X).

If you are studying Chinese I hope you find the the family of 小词典 applications helpful in your study!