Chinese Character Flashcards

If you can see this it means your browser cannot run Java applets. Please upgrade to a Java-capable browser like Netscape 3.01 or above. Also, Windows 3.1 will not work.

A Java applet to assist in the learning of Chinese characters. Currently the 1,000 most frequently used characters are in the database but I hope to add more as time goes on.

I have a new version of the flashcards with many improvements. It requires users to download the Java 2 Plug-In and a Chinese Unicode font. Information on how to do this is included in the page.

How to Use:

Levels: The table is divided into ten levels, with 100 characters in each level. When you click on "Random", the character shown will be in one of these levels. The levels go from 1 (most commonly used characters) to 10 (less commonly used characters).
Data Fields: For each character, you can see the pinyin romanization, English definition, total number of strokes, and Cantonese pronounciation in the Yale system. If you do not want a particular field to be shown, click on the check box next to the field.
Navigation buttons: You have the option of moving amonst the characters by moving directly up or down to the adjacent character in the table or to go to a random character somewhere in one of the levels selected. You can also type in an index number from 0 to 999 to go directly to a certain character.
Display Buttons: You have the option of having the character come up in its traditional or simplified form. Stroke counts for the simplified forms are not yet accurate but will be. You can also choose how you want data about the character displayed. For "Show All", all data (pinyin, English definition, etc.) will be shown for each character. "Delayed Show" will cause the applet to wait a few seconds before showing the data, giving the user time to quiz his or herself on the character. "Hide All" hides all the data fields. The buttons will override any changes you made directly to the fields using their own checkboxes.

The information table that this applet uses is 134K bytes large and may take a minute or two to load depending on the speed of you computer and modem connection. Also, many people have reported difficulty using the applet with Netscape 2.0. If you have the same trouble, upgrading to Netscape 3.01 or 4.01 should solve the problem.

Many people have written me inquiring if they could download this flashcard applet and run it locally. Unfortunately, this is not yet possible, but I am working on a newer version of the program which will run much faster and can be run while off-line. Check back for future developments.

Some other features that have been requested (and which I will try to include in upcoming releases) are:

Ability to hear the pinyin for the character pronounced.
Common example words using the character.
Ability to remember which characters have already been seen. User should be able to mark a character as known and not see it again, unless requested.
Indication of stroke order for writing the character.
Better control over selecting difficulty level of characters to display.
Ability for users to add in their own characters and phrases.
Various other bug fixes.

I'm interested in hearing your ideas and suggestions for this tool. Please visit my contact page to submit your comments. In your message, please describe the browser you are using along with your operating system (Windows 95, MacOS, UNIX, etc.). If you came to this page directly, you might also want to take a look at some of my other on-line Chinese tools.