I also appreciate all the feedback I’ve been getting from the application. I wanted to let everyone know that 1.2 is currently in the works with some mild improvements, bug fixes, and the newest CC-CEDICT dictionary. On top of the 1.2 update, I’ve branched the code and started working on some new features - I am going to keep what they are close to the vest for now though.

On top of the iPhone update, I’ve also updated the desktop versions to the newest CC-CEDICT (2008-12-12 currently). You can download them by clicking on the right side bar on this site. The versions are now 小词典 1.2 and 小词典－英文 1.2Beta.

For those who have asked, you can support this project by purchasing the iPhone application.

Thanks again and 学快乐！

It’s not available on the AppStore just yet, but will likely be available for purchase within a few days (fingers crossed).

(小词典 Desktop, by the way, is a plug in for Mac OS X dictionary that lets you use your Mac to look up simplified Chinese characters anywhere on the system).

The number one requested feature has been to add the ability to look up English words and get the Simplified / Mandarin equivalent.

The way the CC-CEDICT dictionary is put together, however, isn’t likely to work well going from English to Chinese. The main reason for this is an entry in the CC-CEDICT doesn’t have all the iterations for words (do, doing, did, etc).

On top of the dictionary limitations, often times a single Chinese word doesn’t equal a single English word. For example, 思 means “to think” but it’s more of a deep thought whereas 觉得 means “to think” but more of a “I feel like” kind of think. When you hover over “think” to get a definition the application would have to understand the whole sentence to know which word to show - it’s an interesting problem, and one I am not going to be tackling on Sunday, and surely not free.

Anyway, I decided to brute force the CC-CEDICT into an English to Chinese dictionary that you can use on your Mac. It works somewhat well, but be very weary of the words it suggests as translations.

Here is a movie of it in use:

You can download it from the 小词典 web site. It is based on the latest CC-CEDICT.

P.S. If you find it is not working after you install, launch the Dictionary applicatoin in your applications folder, go to preferences, and move 小词典 up the list (and turn it on if needed). Like so:

P.S.*2 For those of you who have asked, no, Apple has still not approved the iPhone application.

Unfortunately, earlier versions of Mac OS X don’t allow for dictionary plugins so 小词典 will not work on any version before Leopard.

If you are running Leopard, check that 小词典 plugin is enabled. You can do this by running the Dictionary application (in your Applications folder), and then opening preferences (applekey + ,). You should see a window like the following:

Scroll down and make sure the box is ticked next to 小词典. If the box was not ticked, after ticking the box the dictionary should work properly.

(If you are curious, our move went very well, and we are settling in to our new lives very well.)

This latest version is based on CC-CEDICT from 2008-11-14 10:51:11 GMT which is currently the latest release. Boasting a whopping 79,276 entries!

You can download the dictionary installer from the download page.

I’ve also added a torrent link to the download page for people who are on slower or intermittent connections, or who just prefer that method of download.

Thanks for using 小词典!

I hope to be able to do a new release by the end of September, but it depends on how fast my computer ships to my new house. For reference I am moving from the United States to Australia so the move is a bit more complicated than normal.

The new version of CC-CEDIT is up to 76,586 entries! I can’t wait to get it into 小词典 desktop.

In a slightly related note, the Android version of 小词典 is coming along nicely and I should have a working version ready about the time the HTC Dream phone is released (the first android phone). I sure hope I can get one in Australia!

I’ll post when the new version of the desktop app is finished.

A big thanks to all the beta testers! I hope you enjoy the application.

To learn more about this great resource, visit the CC-CEDICT web site.