Learning Chinese and more with apps

Learning Chinese and more with apps

Learning Chinese and more with apps

Apps are your best friend if you’re heading to China and learning Chinese.

Whether you’re heading to China for work, for a start-up, as a student or intern or simply because you want to be there, learning at least some Standard Chinese will help you have the experience of a lifetime. For those on a limited budget and even less time to study, apps are the answer as they concentrate on the most-needed phrases and words you’ll need in everyday life as an expat. The advantage of using apps rather than books is that you’ll have frequently needed phrases literally at your fingertips to point to or even attempt to say.

There are a good number of apps covering Standard Chinese, with beginners advised to use ‘Learn Chinese –Mandarin Phrases’ as it’s especially suitable for newbies to the notoriously difficult language. Once you’ve mastered the basics, an online Chinese dictionary is useful for finding specific words when you need them, and will be a great help. There are several recommended apps including Dianhua Dictionary, Pleco and Chinese English Dictionary. Using these two basic steps should give you the confidence to identify words and phrases in basic conversation and join in without too much embarrassment.

The third level is where it gets very tricky – deciphering the written language with its pictogram characters. Using an app, you can scan in a word via your phone’s camera or copy it on your touch screen, with WayGo the best scanning app. Apps aren’t only useful for language learning, they’re also a must for getting around by taxi. Hailing a cab in China can be awkward for expats, but Uber is in China and ready to serve. Its interface is in English, but you’ll still need to memorise two or three phrases.

For getting around, Google Maps doesn’t work well in China, but the Baidu Maps app can be of use for copying and pasting addresses and getting directions via public transport. GPSMYCity covers Beijing and Shanghai, and China Metro Maps has its uses. If you’re feeling homesick and lonely, WeChat is your friend and is number one for its extra services and user friendly format including the ability to pay for purchases and meet new friends as well as making video calls and leaving voice messages. Another communication app popular with both expats and English-speaking Chinese is Tinder.

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