Comparisons/vs Pleco
the reference dictionary - Pleco is the Chinese-English dictionary almost every serious learner owns. LinZi is a learning app with a strong free dictionary attached - the overlap is smaller than people assume, and most serious students end up running both.
| Feature | Pleco | LinZi |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese → English dictionary | ✓ the standard | ✓ 50,000 entries, free |
| Licensed dictionaries (ABC, Oxford…) | ✓ paid add-ons | — |
| OCR camera lookup | ✓ | — |
| Handwriting input | ✓ | — |
| Guided HSK + TOCFL curriculum | — community lists only | ✓ both syllabi built in |
| Graded stories with audio | — | ✓ 1,750 texts |
| Traditional · zhuyin · zh-TW audio | ~ partial | ✓ a full Taiwan track |
| Free dictionary on the web | — | ✓ |
| Offline-first | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ full support · ~ partial or paid add-on · — not offered. Pricing is approximate and region-dependent.
Pick Pleco if: You need the deepest dictionary, OCR or handwriting input.
Pick LinZi if: You want a syllabus to follow, graded reading, or the Taiwan/TOCFL track.