If there is an included Chinese to Chinese dictionary the app would be much better. I used the free app, Pleco, before this, and it had almost the same functions, perhaps even better - for free. My electronic dictionary also has strokes, but using my iPod is more convenient. For the $7 that I paid, can you please add a Chinese to Chinese dictionary?
I purchased estroke at first version and I've really enjoyed its continued improvement. Lots of interface tweaking, additions of various ways to categorize and save stroke examples. The dictionary input and showcasing seem faster now. This seems to be a developer who is willing to keep at it, and keep improving. This is not your first choice if you are trying to learn the language (check out Pleco's excellent app), but if you are looking for a good way to study calligraphy with a cross-reference to standard Mandarin traditional and simplified characters, this is very very good. I have this open on my iPod Touch when I sit at my calligraphy table!
This is the most outstanding learning tool for Chinese available. I have most of the Chinese dictionaries, training apps, etc, and this is by far the best. I hesitate to call this a "dictionary" as it has tremendous facilities for reviewing 100, 200, 300, 500, 1000, etc, frequently used characters, plus complete 4 level HSK. This is amazing. You can view how characters are written while you are reviewing (your choice). You don't need to learn writing to use this tool, as full pinyin is provided. The developers update this tool on a regular basis, enhancing the tool and correcting minor errors. Other Chinese apps I have almost never improve their products. One provide of tools (no name mentioned) has the most apps for studying Chinese, and I have most of them. They are of limited use and they NEVER update them.
eStroke has no audio, but audio is only helpful for single characters, as all the apps I have that have audio for compounds and sentences just 'stitch' individual character sounds together with a very unnatural result. I have other dictionaries for single character sound. This "dictionary" is my main go-to studying tool. I look forward to even MORE enhancements, though it is so good, I wonder what they can do!
The thing that always amazes me about most of these Chinese learning programs is that none of them ever have
detailed instructions as to how to use them. This program is the worse when it comes to this. I still can't even figure
out how to write a character or to just type in a simple english word for that matter. I can only type in one letter at a time...
A lot good that does me ???????......What a total waste of money....and the worst part is that when you go their website it's just
as bad because they tell you this program can do this and that but they don't explain how to use it step by step......
I use eStroke every day. I bought the PC version about a year ago and was very satisfied. Now that it's available on the iPhone/iPod Touch it is much more handy and convenient to use. I recently updated to the new version and have noticed that the strokes are much FASTER than the last version. One thing this dictionary has that the PC version didn't is the dictionary. It's not a bad dictionary but be careful using it. Now, what this version seems to lack is the kanji on/kun reading that the PC version has. It would be nice if it came with it. That being said, eStoke is by far the BEST tool out there for learning chinese characters and for a real, real good price. [UPDATE] Thank you for providing measure words and for the improved word functionality. I'm especially thankful for your adding of the kun/on Japanese readings! The makers of this app are so awesome for listening to their customers and improving their product!
OVERALL: The latest update(s) have really improved this app, and I'm bumping up my rating. This is a really good dictionary for studying.
CON: This app is still never my first choice for conversation or translation. The buttons are confusing. And it doesn't return anything for partial matches. I vastly prefer DianHua's search engine, as it is very forgiving and thus more informative.
PRO: This dictionary is great for mastering individual characters. You can explore how they're used in (many) compound words. Also, when you find compound words in the dictionary, it breaks them down and gives you the meaning for each character.
This app is especially good for me because I study Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Japanese. I find this app very useful. I hope they improve this app and add
More updates and ancient Chinese characters and if possible make tge dictionary more better and fullnof more vocabulary. Also it would be great if they had the furigana for the characters too. Heck, if they had sound for each character in each language that is used it would turn this app into a super app. But the app is very good now but I really looking foward to more extras for this app.
It's a nice app, when writing characters it is essential to know the stroke order. The only problem I have with it is the lag. It also bothers me how you canseats pinyin to search for characters in the search engines. Another thing I don't like is the phrases in the main screen, they are really small. Enough being negative, it does exactly what it says. Really nice app to have when you are learning Chinese. If you need s dictionary is suggest using Qing Wen.
For a year, I studied Simplified Mandarin. I learned vocabulary and speaking skills using great programs like Rosetta Stone. Using the the international character palettes that are already included in the Mac OS, I learned to type using the pinyin system that translates Roman characters into Chinese characters. However, there was no useful tool to learn correct stroke order of Chinese characters until eStroke came along. Without the ability to write the strokes within the character in the correct order the input device on the iPhone (and apparently soon the trackpad in Snow Leopard) cannot recognize what you are writing. There is a definite internal structure to each character that must be followed. In my humble experience, there are no other products that are as simple to use as this one. Now I can speak, listen, recognize characters...and also write Chinese without relying on software interpretation programs. Thank you EON Media. You are the best.
I LOVE eStroke on my Mac and have been waiting for the iPhone version. It provides the proper stroke order and allows you to search phrases. Perfect for doing Chinese homework with my kids. My biggest gripe about the iPhone version is that the character is displayed on a smallish corner of the screen (less than 1/4 of the screen). Also, it is difficult to scroll through the phrases without using a stylus as the characters are packed tightly together. Nevertheless, I would still highly recommend this for the $4.99 price.
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