What if I can't buy paid apps on Google Play?

Unfortunately, neither Google nor Amazon supports paid apps in China, so a lot of nciku users won't be able to download the nciku dictionary in this way. But don't worry, because we've set up our own system that's only slightly more complicated. As long as you're a registered nciku user and have a PayPal or AliPay (支付宝 / Zhīfùbǎo) account, you can be up and running with the nciku Android app in minutes.

The first thing to do is to download the nciku Android dictionary and install it on your phone.

After you've installed the app, you'll see a screen that says you need to pay do download the dictionary data files. You can either pay on our website, by going to www.nciku.com/android, or on your phone by tapping the top blue link.

On the website, you have a choice between paying with PayPal or AliPay, while if you pay within the mobile application you can only use PayPal. If you're paying on the website, you need to copy the nciku Device ID from your application onto the appropriate box on the website, click "continue" to proceed, then press the "confirm" button after making sure the Device ID is correct.

After pressing this button, you will be taken to the PayPal or Zhifubao site in a new window to complete the transaction. After making the payment, close this window and click the "I have completed the payment process" link to complete the purchase.

Once the purchase has succeeded, you can close and re-start the nciku application on your phone. The application will automatically detect that your device is now authorized to download the data files, and you can start to use the nciku dictionary after installing these files from our server.

I've already bought the dictionary from the nciku site, but I've changed my phone or entered the wrong device ID. Can I transfer the app?

Yes - just install the application on your new phone and go to www.nciku.com/android in your web browser. Click the "Change my device ID" link at the top of the page, enter the new device ID into the form, and press "Change Device ID".

You can change the Device ID up to five times - if you need more than 5 changes, please get in touch with us and we can reset this counter. You can only use the nciku Android dictionary on one phone at a time, so please delete the dictionary from your old phone after changing the ID.

What features does the nciku Android Dictionary support?

The nciku Android Dictionary lets you search through over 163,000 English and Chinese entries, plus over 95,000 matched examples, using Words, Meanings, Pinyin and Examples search modes.

 

The latest update (version 3.3) added automatic search for pinyin when there are no matching ‘words’ results, and vice versa (so you can see results for “nihao” without having to switch to pinyin mode), automatic search for selected text in your clipboard, split-screen view for tablet mode, Theme Words and Conversations sections, while the previous major update (version 3.0) added many new features:

• Stroke order animations, to show you how to write over 5000 Chinese characters
• nciku's handwriting recognition tool, to help you enter hanzi you don't know how to pronounce
• Example search, to give you more insight about how a word is used in Chinese
• Fall-back to nciku's online database, in case the word you're looking for isn't one of the 163,000 entries in the app's database
• Memorization tests, to help you study words you've looked up in the dictionary
• Flashcards, to help you learn Chinese (or English) at your own pace

 

Please note:

• The handwriting tool, audio pronunciation and fall-back to nciku's online database require an internet connection. All of the other features work completely offline, as with the previous version of the app
• The handwriting tool and stroke order animations are only supported on Android versions 2.2 and above. If you're running Android 2.1 or below, you can still download the app and use all the other features, but the animations and handwriting tool will not work - if you want these features, please check your manufacturer's website to see if an upgraded version of the OS is available.

 

In addition, the app still supports all the features of the previous version:

• Over 163,000 entries, including 76,000 Chinese and 77,000 English words and phrases, with over 95,000 matched examples, all included in the app and available offline.
• Words, Meanings and Pinyin search modes to easily find any English or Chinese word
• Over 35,000 of our Chinese definitions for English words also have matching English definitions, to help you see which translation corresponds to which meaning of a word.
• Single-character Chinese entries show a list of longer words containing that character. Multi-character words have a list of all the characters in that word, along with their meanings, while English entries have lists of common phrases or component words as appropriate.

 

Like what you see? You can download the app today for $7.99 USD from the Android Market. If you're in China or another country where paid Android Market apps aren't available (or even if you're not), you can also buy the app through our website using Paypal or AliPay (支付宝 / Zhīfùbǎo).