The Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters

A revolutionary new learners' dictionary for Pleco!

Developed by a team of linguists and expert teachers, our dictionary teaches you how Chinese characters ACTUALLY work, based on the latest research.

Learning the real underlying logic of the writing system will more than double your learning efficiency and allow you to see the real sound and meaning connections between characters.

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Note: our dictionary is an add-on for the free mobile (iOS and Android) dictionary app Pleco. It fully integrates with all of Pleco's other great features!

Essentials Edition

The Essentials Edition includes:
 
  • 4000+ characters (2000 so far + regular updates)
  • Simplified and Traditional characters
  • Detailed explanation for every character
  • Stroke order for all 4000 characters
  • Meaning tree for every character: how are all the meanings related to each other?
  • Ancient forms for all semantic components
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One time purchase, not a subscription!

Expert Edition

The Expert Edition includes everything in Essentials, plus extensive information about the origin, evolution, and other historical information for every character.
Note that this version hasn't been released yet. You'll get the current version of the Essentials Edition, plus all the Expert entries we've finished so far (currently 38, but a few hundred more will be added in the next few months). You'll also get regular updates until the Expert Edition is finished!
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One time purchase, not a subscription!

Check out the demo!

Step 1: Order

When you check out from our store, you'll get an order confirmation email and an email with an activation code and instructions.

Step 2: Get Pleco

If you don't already have Pleco installed on your iOS or Android device, install it! It's an amazing free Chinese dictionary app, and our dictionary is an add-on.

Step 3: Activate

Go to pleco.com/activate with your activation code, follow the instructions, and you'll be all set! Enjoy learning Chinese characters the Outlier way!

What our customers are saying:

"I bought this. It has helped me recognise and even pronounce characters I have never seen before thanks to my recognition of patterns from the explanations."
 

Soroush Torkian (Canada)

"After a lot (really a lot) of failed tests with different books, apps and methods, the only way that the hanzi sticks in my mind is ODCC's brief, concise and REAL explanation!"

Alessandro Agostinetti (Italy)

"This project is exactly what i was wishing for since i started learning Chinese with Pleco years ago."

 

Wieland Schultz (Germany)

Used and recommended at:

OUTLIER: THE EXPERTS TRUSTED BY EXPERTS

"Every so often a really good resource comes along. It's The Outlier Dictionary of Chinese Characters."

-Prof. Victor Mair
University of Pennsylvania

"I feel like I have a virtual 1-on-1 Chinese teacher, giving me a better sense of how the writing system functions."

-Dr. David Moser
Yenching Academy, Peking University

"They have put a lot of thought into how foreigners learn Chinese, and they’ve come up with a better way to learn characters."

-John Pasden
AllSet Learning & Mandarin Companion

Essentials Edition

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Expert Edition

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