Dive into Mandarin: The 10 Best Reference Tools to Explore Chinese Language & Culture

While most of your Mandarin immersion time should be spent chatting away and diving headfirst into interesting Chinese content, having a few trusty reference tools by your side can really boost your understanding (and save you from a few awkward translation mishaps).

I've tested hundreds of Chinese language-learning resources over the past two decades, and here are my all-time favorite ten dictionaries and encyclopedias.

Chinese Dictionary Apps & Browser Extensions

① Pleco: The Swiss Army Knife of Chinese Dictionaries

Imagine trying to learn Chinese in the year 2000 on a Palm OS in China... That's what Michael Love did! Those early efforts led him to develop Pleco, the most powerful Chinese dictionary app on the planet!

Pleco is free, but if you want to unlock some serious superpowers, check out these add-ons:

• Oxford Chinese Dictionary: 60,000 English-to-Chinese entries, 75,000 Chinese-to-English entries, and 150,000 example sentences.

• Optical Character Recognizer: Point your phone at any Chinese text, and—presto!—characters deciphered.

• Stroke Order Diagrams: Like watching Bob Ross paint, but for Chinese characters.

• Mandarin Audio: Get native speakers in your pocket with male or female pronunciation packs.

• Enhanced Flashcards: Turn study sessions into a spaced-repetition joyride.

• Document Reader: Save time by looking up words with a single tap, all while pretending you're just reading a casual text.

• Ebooks & Graded Readers: Access to Chinese e-books and graded readers at your fingertips—no more lugging around heavy books!

Price: Free with Paid Add-ons | Platforms: iOS, Android

💡 Fun fact: Pleco was a type of aquarium catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus) that Michael had as a child. As noted on their site: “We think it’s actually supposed to be pronounced pleck-o but he’s been saying it the other way [pleeko] since he was 10 and he’s not changing it now!” 🤣

② Outlier Chinese Character Dictionary: A Dictionary with Character

Outlier Linguistics, co-founded by Ash Henson and John Renfroe, is on a mission to create the world’s best tools for mastering Chinese characters. Their character dictionary add-on for Pleco is a game-changer—think of it as a Rosetta Stone for Chinese learners, minus the hieroglyphs.

It will help you understand the building blocks of Chinese characters, finally clear up the difference between pesky look-alike components (looking at you, 艮 vs. 良), and make educated guesses about new characters like a true language detective.

Price: Essentials - $29.99, Expert - $59.99 | Platforms: Pleco app on iOS & Android

💡 Pro Tip: Don’t miss my interview with Outlier co-founder Ash Henson, available as part of the Master Mandarin Digital Bundle.

③ Zhongwen Popup Dictionary

Do a lot of Chinese reading online? Tired of copying and pasting into another dictionary? The Zhongwen Popup Dictionary can save the day. The free Chrome extension is packed with useful features:

• Pop-ups display Hanyu Pinyin and both simplified and traditional characters.

• The definitions are drawn from the popular CC-CEDICT dictionary, boasting over 100,000 entries.

• Zhongwen integrates with Skritter so you can more systematically study words you look up.

Price: Free | Platforms: Web (Chrome browser)

Built-in Chinese Dictionaries: The Secret Weapons You Didn’t Know You Had

Did you know that you already have access to high-quality built-in Chinese dictionaries on your devices? Here's how to turn on Chinese dictionaries on your iPhone, Mac, and Kindle.

④ Built-in Chinese Dictionaries on iOS & macOS

Here's how to enable one or more of the built-in Chinese dictionaries on your iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > General > Dictionary.

2. Select the Chinese dictionaries you want. I suggest Simplified - English (牛津英汉汉英词典) and/or Chinese, Traditional - English (譯典通英漢雙向字典).

3. And boom—you can now look up any Chinese text on your device by long-holding a word and then selecting Look Up (you may first need to tap the right arrow to reveal more options).

And here's how to enable one or more of the built-in Chinese dictionaries on your Mac:

1. Open the Dictionary app (Finder > Applications > Dictionary).

2. Head to the settings and check the boxes for the Chinese dictionaries you want. I recommend Chinese, Simplified - English (牛津英汉汉英词典) and/or Chinese, Traditional - English (譯典通英漢雙向字典).

3. Et voilà! Now, you can look up words with a keyboard shortcut (⌃ Control + ⌘ Command + D) or a three-finger tap on the trackpad.

Note that the three-finger tap may need to be enabled first:

1. Open System Settings.

2. Scroll down to Trackpad.

3. Click the dropdown next to Lookup & Data Detectors.

4. Select Tap with Three Fingers.

⑤ Built-in Chinese Dictionaries on Kindle

Love reading Chinese books on your Kindle or in the Kindle app? Make sure you’ve got a Chinese-English dictionary enabled to look up new words. It’s like having a little language teacher living inside your e-reader! Here's how:

1. Turn on your Kindle or open the Kindle app.

2. Open a Chinese-language book.

3. Long-press on a Chinese word.

4. If a Chinese dictionary is not yet installed, you will be prompted to download one. The two default Chinese dictionaries on Kindle are the New Oxford Chinese Dictionary (for Chinese to English) and the 现代汉语词典 for Chinese to Chinese.

5. If you have multiple dictionaries, you can set your preferred Chinese dictionary as the default: Settings > Language and Dictionaries > Dictionaries > select your preferred Chinese dictionary as the default.

Unfortunately, the two default Chinese dictionaries only supports Simplified Chinese.

Print Chinese Dictionaries: Because Paper is Powerful

Though the digital dictionaries above are ideal for quick lookups, good old-fashioned paper books still have their allure. Whether it’s the feel of turning the pages, the weight of the book in your hands, or the smell of the paper, there’s just something about the tactile nature of print that digital counterparts can never match.

⑥ Tuttle Mandarin Chinese Picture Dictionary

Tuttle's beautiful Chinese picture dictionary makes learning feel like a stroll through a museum (minus the gaggle of whiny children)! The book includes:

• 1,500 high-frequency words and phrases

• Hundreds of color photographs to help improve retention.

• Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin, and English for all terms.

• Example sentences that show how the words are used in context.

• Companion audio recordings (available for free online) recorded by native Mandarin speakers.

• Brief introductions to Chinese pronunciation, grammar patterns, etc.

Format: Hardcover | Pages: 102 | Published: 2018

⑦ Pocket Oxford Chinese Dictionary

This pocket-sized powerhouse is perfect for keeping up with the latest lingo, including technology, business, and culture. It may be small, but it's mighty!

Format: Paperback | Pages: 530 | Published: 2022

⑧ Lonely Planet Phrasebook & Dictionary

A gem for travelers and language learners alike. For just $10, you get a handy little dictionary and a treasure trove of useful travel phrases. It’s like having a Mandarin-speaking tour guide right in your pocket!

Format: Paperback | Pages: 256 | Published: 2018

Chinese Encyclopedias: Because You Can Never Know Too Much

Online Chinese encyclopedias are like diving into a treasure chest of contextual reading on any topic under the sun. Whether you're into ancient history or the latest pop culture, there's something for every taste and interest.

⑨ Chinese Wikipedia

The Chinese version of Wikipedia, Wéij-ī Bǎi-kē (維基百科・维基百科), includes articles on everything from A to Z. Or rather, cóng tóu dào wěi (從頭到尾・从头到尾, "from head to tail") as they say in Mandarin.

Price: Free | Platforms: iOS, Android, Web

⑩ Baidu Encyclopedia

Think of Bǎi-dù Bǎi-kē (百度百科) as China’s answer to Wikipedia, but with some annoying censorship. It’s still a great resource—just remember to take everything your read there with a grain of salt.

Price: Free | Platform: Web

With these top-notch tools as your allies, you're well-equipped to tackle Chinese learning like a pro. Whether you're diving into apps, browsing with extensions, or going old-school with paper, mastering Mandarin just got a bit easier!

For more John-tested, John-approved Chinese resources, check out my detailed immersion guide Master Mandarin: How to Learn Mandarin Chinese Anywhere in the World.