10 Best Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese // Our Top 10

Learning Chinese these days is a lot easier than it was 20, 10, or even 5 years ago and one of the reasons is because there are some amazing Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese at our fingertips.

Couple that with new Chinese learning apps, websites, and media coming out almost every day, it’s now easier than ever to learn Chinese. 

Chrome extensions are a resource that can be easily overlooked and underestimated.

Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn in the world. Attaining fluency will undoubtedly require thousands of hours of focused study. 

As a Chinese student, one of the best things you can do is make sure that you are maximizing the efficiency of every one of these hours.

Chrome extensions for learning Chinese can help you do just that. Some will provide you with new study methods, and some will help you save a lot of time when doing things like reading or making flashcards. 

Regardless, there are many reasons to be using Chrome extensions for learning Chinese to aid your studies. 

Here are 10 of the best that will help you level up your Chinese. 

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Zhongwen ZH-EN Dictionary

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Zhongzhong Dictionary

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Liuchan Dictionary

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Language Learning with Netflix

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Youtube Playback Speed Control

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Copyfish

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || New TongWenTang

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Vocab Tracker

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Hanzisize

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || Chinese Words Separator

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese || FAQs

Chrome Extension #1 | Zhongwen Chinese-English Dictionary

Zhongwen is probably the most essential app for Chinese learners.

When enabled, the app will show you the translation and pinyin for each word and character that you hover over. 

It’s very easy to enable and disable the app, so we recommend keeping it disabled and just using it when you need to check the definition of a word. 

Chrome Extension #2 | Zhongzhong

Zhongzhong is another great dictionary app that works very similar to Zhongwen.

The main difference is that Zhongzhong allows you to disable the English translations and only show the pinyin when you hover over a word. 

This is great for those characters whose meaning you understand but just can’t seem to recall their pronunciation.

If this sounds like you, then Zhongwen is your best bet!

Chrome Extension #3 | LiuChan Dictionary

Another great dictionary plugin is LiuChan.

It is very similar to Zhongwen and Zhongzhong with an extra feature: text-to-speech. 

This dictionary can be a great choice for students who are looking to improve their listening skills as you can have the app read out loud any text you’d like.

BONUS (for Cantonese learners) – LiuChan’s text-to-speech works with Cantonese as well!

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Chrome Extension #4 | Language Learning with Netflix

Language Learning With Netflix is a great app that helps you turn leisure into language learning.

The app allows you to see two sets of subtitles on your favourite Netflix shows. 

With this app, you can watch some of our recommended best Chinese shows with both English and Chinese subtitles, so that you can enjoy the story and work on your listening skills.

However, we only recommend English subtitles for elementary and lower-intermediate learners.

As soon as you can, you should be watching with Chinese subtitles only! 

We actually wrote an in-depth review about LLN and also filmed this video guide so you can get to know it even better – it’s a genuinely superb Chrome extension for learning Chinese, or any language for that matter.

Chrome Extension #5 | Youtube Playback Speed Control

Watching YouTube videos in Chinese is a great way to work on your listening comprehension, test your grammar, and expand your vocab. 

However, most Chinese learners will run into the same issue: Chinese people speak too fast! 

While there is a lot of content made specifically for learners, this content is somewhat limited and may not be as entertaining as native content. 

YouTube Playback Speed Control allows you to slow down video playback to any speed you choose.

You can set the speed to .5x, .85x, or even .95x if your listening skills are more advanced.

Chrome Extension #6 | Copyfish

If you’ve watched Chinese YouTube videos before, you may have noticed that most come with built-in subtitles.

While this is great for comprehension, you will still find many unfamiliar words in these subtitles. 

Since the subtitles are hard-coded into the video, there won’t be a way for you to easily copy and paste the subtitle into a dictionary. Not unless you are using Copyfish. 

Copyfish is a free optical character recognition (OCR) software that can help you turn those built-in subtitles into text that you can quickly copy and paste into your dictionary. 

Copyfish works on any image or video, so you can use it beyond YouTube on any website you like.

Forget about having to pull up Pleco on your phone and handwriting each character thanks to Copyfish! 

Speaking of Pleco…

Chrome Extension #7 | New TongWenTang

New TongWenTang is an app that every Chinese learner needs.

Whether you’re studying Chinese in Beijing or studying Chinese in Taiwan, chances are you’re only working with either simplified or traditional characters—but not both. 

This app is a life-saver for all of those who struggle with one of the two sets of characters.

Just hover over any character and it will translate from traditional to simplified and vice-versa.

It also includes a feature that automatically translates every website you visit into your desired set of characters. 

Chrome Extension #8 | Vocab Tracker

Vocab Tracker is an extension that does exactly as its name suggests.

By scanning the words on the page, the app allows you to select any words that you struggle with and keep track of them. 

You can then use this same extension to make SRS flashcards of the words you’re having problems with. 

This is a very efficient way to make flashcards as you go without having to pull up a different SRS app like Hack Chinese or Pleco. 

Speaking of Hack Chinese and SRS Apps…

Chrome Extension #9 | Hanzisize

If you struggle with reading Chinese characters because of their size, Hanzisize is the Chrome extension for you.

Hanzisize will automatically enlarge any Chinese text on every website you visit, giving you a clearer view of each character and hopefully help with recognition.

With larger characters, you should have a better shot at figuring out what an unknown character means or what it sounds like before you look it up in a dictionary. 

If you haven’t already, check out our ultimate guide to Chinese radicals and unlock the power of Chinese character components!

Chrome Extension #10 | Chinese Words Separator

Chinese Words Separator is a great tool for beginners and lower-intermediate students who struggle with parsing. 

This neat Chrome extension will add spaces in between words, colour code according to HSK level, add pinyin, tones, and more. 

Students of intermediate level and above should be wary of using software that parses the language for you though.

One of the biggest benefits of extensive reading is the development of soft skills such as parsing.

Software like Chinese Words Separator can become a crutch for more advanced students, so we recommend caution for those above the elementary level. 

Learning Chinese is all about maximising two things: efficacy and efficiency.

If you already know how to learn Chinese, you need to make sure that you’re employing these strategies in the most efficient way to achieve your goals in the shortest time possible. 

Most of these Chrome extensions for learning Chinese can be incredibly helpful for a vast number of learners, and we hope that you can use them to level up your Chinese studies!

Got anymore? Drop them in the comments below.

Chrome Extensions for Learning Chinese | FAQs

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