Top 5 Online Dictionaries

1. dict.cn
http://dict.cn/en

+plus+
- extremely fast
- gives heaps of example sentences
- comes with a very handy online input tool
- can output as image for computers who do not have Asian-language support
- saves look-up history
- Chinese version has a few extra goodies, including forums and tools

-minus-
- English can be choppy at times
- Chinese sometimes too formal/outdated
- not exactly pretty to look at

2. niciku
http://www.nciku.com

+plus+
- handwrite input means you can look up characters by writing it with your mouse or tablet pen (very handy!)
- very dyanamic and innovative in both look and features
- includes examples and word lists
- Q&A/forums are quite helpful
- entries include both pictures and audio clips
- look-up system includes an auto-complete feature
- can also search by radical

-minus-
- usually very (!) slow
- still a bit choppy/buggy at times

3. YellowBridge Chinese-English Learner’s Dictionary
http://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/chinese-dictionary.php

+plus+
- individual characters can be referenced in conjunction with head and tail words
- most nouns will give you their corresponding measure words
- entries include helpful stroke order animations
- comes with flashcards and memory games
- provides audio clips for pronunciation
- character entries provide Mandarin, Cantonese, Tang Dynasty, Korean, Vietnamese and multiple Japanese pronunciations
- input method codes, computer encoding and statistics (character ranks, Hong Kong Grade Levels, etc) are also included
- etymology tool allows you to explore the different phonetic and non-phonetic components of any given character
- YellowTip annotation tool
- links to other external references which might be helpful to users

-minus-
- awkward design really needs an overhaul
- navigation could be simplified
- annotation tool not extended to beyond the site itself

4. Zhongwen.com
http://zhongwen.com

+plus+
- unique design allows the viewer to navigate through complex character genealogies
- supports both traditional and simplified, with a preference toward traditional
- great for academics or the more advanced Chinese learner, who wishes to search for synonyms, suffix variations, etc
- pinyin liaotian (Pinyin chat) is an interesting way for beginners to learn the language, by conducting chat entirely in pinyin (with the hanzi equivalents readily available)
- comes with canonical Chinese readings such as Art of War, The Analects and Mao’s sayings
- includes character frequency tables, index of common Chinese names and dynasties

-minus-
- no sentence examples whatsoever and context is rarely given
- Taiwanese and traditional Chinese character preferences might put off beginners or simplified Chinese learners

Honourable mentions:

MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary
http://www.xuezhongwen.net/chindict/chindict.php

POPjisyo – Web-based pop-up dictionary
http://www.popjisyo.com/WebHint/Portal_e.aspx

Learn to Write Characters – Stroke Order Dictionary
http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/azi/page1.htm

Chinese-tools.com Chinese English Dictionary
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/dictionary.html

Mandarin-tools.com Chinese-English Dictionary
http://www.mandarintools.com/worddict.html

Chinese-dictionary.org
http://www.chinese-dictionary.org

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