A syllable-pair explorer for kids learning Chinese pinyin that lists the words each pair makes
Asked for by a poster on Software Recommendations Stack Exchange · original source · more from Software Recommendations
Young Chinese learners could use a toy where they pick two pinyin syllables and see every word those syllables can form, with tones, meanings and pictures. A switch would let the child search with or without tones, since in films the tones are often hard to hear. It could be built on a free, open Chinese dictionary as a simple website, helping kids look up words they hear in subtitled videos.
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The weekend plan
A rough weekend-sized plan to help you start. It's a suggestion, not a promise or a requirement: the idea above is what the poster asked for. Change anything. About the steward
- Done for one weekend
- A child picks two pinyin syllables and sees the words they make, with tones and meanings, plus a switch to match tones or ignore them.
- Suggested shape
- Simple website that works on a tablet
- In scope
- Load a free, open Chinese dictionary such as CC-CEDICT (follow its license and credit it) and index its two-syllable words by pinyin.
- Two big pickers, one per syllable, that only offer real pinyin syllables.
- A tones switch: with tones off, ma + ma finds every tone combination.
- Show each matching word with its characters, pinyin with tone marks, and a short meaning.
- Kid-friendly layout: big tap targets, simple words, no sign-in.
- Optional, if there's time
- Pictures for common words, using only images you have the rights to use.
- Read a word aloud with the browser's built-in speech.
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Open — nobody's building this yet