Proper Strokes vs Xiaoman Dictation

Forgotten how to write characters after years of typing? Proper Strokes pairs deliberate handwriting practice with spaced reviews to keep your Traditional Chinese muscle memory alive. Write one stroke at a time—quick cursive swipes won’t register—so every session reinforces the real form. Built from a stroke-level input engine, Proper Strokes rewards careful writing with instant guidance and a review schedule that respects your time. You choose the phrases, the app handles the review timing, and the progress bar only fills when each stroke lands in place. How Proper Strokes supports your practice: - Stroke-by-stroke feedback that reveals form issues before you move on. - Personal phrase library with optional Zhuyin hints so you practice the words that matter. - Spaced review planner that surfaces due characters right when you need them. - Explore Mode drawn from a 3,000-character library for guided discovery beyond your list. - Privacy-first design: no accounts, no ads. No internet required—your handwriting and phrase lists stay on your device. Write with Apple Pencil, a stylus, or your finger—whatever helps you focus on each stroke. Terms of Service: https://properstrokes.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://properstrokes.com/privacy.html

Xiaoman ("not yet full", a little more every day) is a dictation helper for parents. Instead of leafing through the textbook and reading words out one by one, you take a photo. PHOTOGRAPH THE TEXTBOOK Mark the words to dictate with a highlighter and photograph the whole page. Xiaoman finds the highlighted words on the device, fixes misread characters with a dictionary and the pinyin printed above them, and joins sentences that were split across lines. Every word comes with a crop of the original text, so anything misread is easy to fix. Chinese by character, English by word; sideways or upside-down photos are straightened automatically. DICTATE Tap Start and Xiaoman reads each word aloud (one to three times, adjustable speed). The child writes, taps Next, or taps the speaker to hear it again. The word itself is never shown and there are no hints, just like a teacher reading out loud. CHECK BY PHOTO When the child is done, photograph the notebook. Xiaoman crops each word's handwriting and places it next to the word: exact matches are marked correct, close-but-different ones show what was read together with the crop so the parent decides. Three checking standards (strict, balanced, lenient) suit different handwriting. The crops are saved with the dictation, so parents and teachers can look back any time. REVIEW WHAT WENT WRONG Each word tracks attempts and streaks across four levels. Words that were wrong come back after 1, 2, 4, 7, 15 and 30 days; weak words can be practiced in one tap. The Records tab shows mastery per subject, the last 14 days, and the details of every dictation. A GROWING WORD BANK Photograph every day and record every lesson; Chinese and English build up separately, grouped by date, searchable, editable, with multi-select delete and duplicate merging. LANGUAGE The interface follows the device language (English and Simplified Chinese). Families abroad can use it to dictate Chinese words too. PRICING The free version holds up to 30 words with every feature available: photographing, dictation, photo checking and review. A single one-time purchase removes the limit. No subscription, no ads, Family Sharing supported. PRIVACY All data stays on the device. No account, no sign-in, no personal information about your child. Photos are recognized on the device and never uploaded. Terms of Use: https://ericwu.xyz/xiaoman-dictation/terms Privacy Policy: https://ericwu.xyz/xiaoman-dictation/privacy