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Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Handwriting, OCR, flashcards

1.9K ratings
1200 reviews
#167 in free Reference
📚 Education
🔍 Reference
Free
In-App Purchases

Details

Released
December 17, 2009
Updated
August 12, 2026

Developer

Pleco Inc.
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iphone
ipad
🧾Free - $59.99
In-App Purchase↘︎
📈no. 167
Charts↘︎
📌Ready
Reviews summary↘︎
⭐1.2K
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📝40+ tags
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🔄1+ apps
Alternatives↘︎
❓5 answered
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📦~ in 2 months
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About

This app is a comprehensive tool for learning Chinese, offering integrated dictionaries, document reading, and flashcard features. It supports various input methods including handwriting and OCR, with extensive dictionary options and pronunciation guides.

✓Integrated dictionaries with over 110,000 entries
✓Full-screen handwriting input
✓Live OCR for word lookup
✓Document reader for various file types
✓Flashcard system with SRS
✓Stroke order diagrams
✓Mandarin and Cantonese audio
Show original description

What users say about Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Reviews of Pleco Chinese Dictionary are mostly positive: the Reference app is rated 4.7/5 from 1.9K App Store ratings. What users like most: extremely helpful and useful, comprehensive and detailed dictionary. Top complaints: expensive add-ons and bundles, occasional bugs and freezing issues. Summarized from real user reviews.

Positive things

  • 🚀Extremely helpful and useful
  • 👍Comprehensive and detailed dictionary
  • 🔍Excellent search and lookup features
  • 💡Customizable and personalized experience
  • 🎓Essential tool for learning Chinese
  • 🔊Clear audio pronunciations

Negative things

  • 💰Expensive add-ons and bundles
  • 🐛Occasional bugs and freezing issues
  • 🔍Cluttered interface and navigation
  • 🌐Lack of cloud sync and backup
See all reviews

What's New in Pleco Chinese Dictionary

3.2.83

August 12, 2026

Fix for a crashing bug in forthcoming version of iPadOS.

10

Subscriptions & In-App Purchases

$4.99

Mandarin Audio (male)

Recordings of single Mandarin syllables from a male speaker. After purchasing this item, you'll be able to download the (very large) extended version, with individual recordings for about 34,000 words, as a free add-on.

More

Charts

Top Free

📈 167+3

Reference

This app rose +3 positions in Reference chart.

Last updated on November 3, 2026.

User reviews

Most RecentHighest RatedLowest Rated

Indispensable

All great - except for the broken garbage OCR - that aside this is THE app for learners of Chinese
TTrez_boss

Useless

I found Pleco difficult to use and not very helpful when travelling around China. The app was not user-friendly, and translating words and sentences was not as easy or straightforward as I expected. For tourists who need quick translations for everyday conversations, menus, signs and asking for directions, I would not recommend it. It may be useful for people learning Chinese, but in my experience, it was not a practical travel translation app.
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…….na

Chinese master

I speak hsk 7-9 level mandarin now and i owe a lot of it to this app.
Ccatz_9718

insanely useful

very useful app, the response time is incredibly fast and you are not bombarded with ads!!!
高高文中

Все замечательно

Прекрасное приложение, главное что очень удобное и бесплатное, огромное уважение разработчику
KKORoL1n
See 1195 more reviews

Developer apps

Pleco Chinese (Legacy)
Pleco Chinese (Legacy)

by Pleco Inc.

🔍 Reference
Free
See developer apps

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

3 issues

Handwriting recognition not always accurate

Bug

Inconsistent performance on older devices

Bug

Occasional issues with iCloud sync and backup

Bug
✨

Requested Features

4 requests

Improved flashcard management and organization

Feature

More language options beyond Mandarin and Cantonese

Feature

Better integration with other learning apps and platforms

Feature

Ability to filter and prioritize common/essential vocabulary

Feature

FAQ

What does Pleco Chinese Dictionary do?

Pleco is an all-in-one Chinese learning application that combines a powerful dictionary, a document reader, and a flashcard system. It allows users to look up words, read Chinese texts, and create study cards for memorization, supporting both simplified and traditional characters.

What are the key features of Pleco?

Key features include extensive dictionaries with over 110,000 entries, full-screen handwriting input, live Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for instant word lookup, a document reader that supports various file formats, and a flashcard system with Spaced Repetition System (SRS) for effective memorization. It also offers stroke order diagrams and audio pronunciations.

Is Pleco Chinese Dictionary free?

The core functionality of Pleco, including two built-in dictionaries and basic features, is free. However, many advanced features, such as additional dictionaries, enhanced document reader capabilities, native-speaker audio recordings, and advanced flashcard options, are available as paid add-ons.

What devices is Pleco compatible with?

Pleco is designed for mobile devices. The description mentions features like using the device's camera for OCR and the device's screen for handwriting, indicating compatibility with smartphones and tablets that support these functions, likely iOS and Android.

How can Pleco help me learn Chinese?

Pleco aids Chinese learning by providing instant access to definitions, pronunciations, and example sentences for a vast number of words. Its handwriting and OCR features help with character recognition, while the flashcard system and document reader support vocabulary acquisition and reading practice.