Laowai
Laowai · Chinese in real context

An offline Chinese dictionary built for real learning

Look up Hanzi, pinyin, English or French, then meet each useful word in adaptive practice, grammar, recorded dialogue and reading context across your Apple devices.

Open in the App Store Try a short reading activity Privacy Policy

New in 5.3.7: iPhone Duo support.

Offline The dictionary works without a constant connection
EN + FR + 拼音 Search by meaning, Chinese, or pinyin
Study HSK words, grammar, reading, and review
学
Laowai offline search with a native recorded example on iPhone
Laowai Learn home with adaptive practice and grammar on iPad
Available in version 5.3.5

A clearer way to practice your words

Guided Practice starts with a short round. Choose a list, answer mostly by tapping, and take a moment to understand each answer.

  1. 01
    Choose what matters

    Start with an HSK collection or your own word list.

  2. 02
    Answer, then understand

    Tap through approachable questions with feedback and explanations.

  3. 03
    Keep going your way

    See progress, resume an unfinished round, or choose Custom, Focused, writing, listening, and speaking practice.

Guided Practice is available now. Update Laowai from the App Store to try it.

Laowai Learn screen showing HSK 3.0 Level 1 word practice and a clear practice button
Learn screen from the Guided Practice update.
Available in version 5.3.7

Laowai now supports iPhone Duo

Your Chinese dictionary and learning app, with layouts for Duo’s outer and inner displays.

Update Laowai from the App Store to use Duo support. See Duo support and reporting tips →

  • Outer display

    Use Laowai in a compact layout on the outer display.

  • Inner display

    Open Laowai on the inner display for a wider layout.

Laowai’s English dictionary entry for 学习, with pronunciation and an example on Duo’s outer display
Outer display · Dictionary. Select the image to view it at full size.
Laowai’s English search results beside the selected word’s definition in landscape on Duo’s inner display
Inner display · Search and definitions side by side. Screenshots from Laowai 5.3.7.

One flow from curiosity to recall

Search is only the beginning. Laowai keeps the word, its sound, its grammar, and the context where it belongs together.

搜

Offline dictionary

Search Hanzi, pinyin, English, or French. Read clear multi-line meanings, hear pronunciation, and explore examples, grammar, and stroke order.

课

Learn home

Adaptive practice, grammar reference, HSK collections, favourites, history, and personal lists live together without duplicate detours.

练

Adaptive rounds

Mix meaning, listening, speaking, sentences, tones, writing, and connected grammar—or focus the whole round on one skill.

文

Library

Read imported EPUB, TXT, and FB2 books, recorded dialogues, guided readers, stories, and classics with chapters and saved progress.

声

Real audio and TTS

Laowai prefers authentic sentence recordings when available. TTS highlights the current passage and exposes pause, stop, and speed.

忆

Recall everywhere

Widgets, Live Activity, and Apple Watch bring forgotten words back sooner while checked accuracy stays honest.

Start with a text you want to read

Follow the reading workflow or try a short original activity.

Common questions

What to know before you download

Laowai keeps the dictionary dependable offline while making cloud and paid boundaries clear.

Does Laowai work offline?

Yes. The core Chinese dictionary and search work offline after installation. Cloud sync, support, shared links and some media need a connection.

What can I search?

Simplified or traditional Chinese characters, pinyin, English meanings and French meanings.

Is Laowai free?

Laowai is free to download, and dictionary search stays free. Laowai Pro unlocks unlimited practice, unlimited widgets and Live Activity, and iCloud sync.

Can it help with HSK vocabulary?

Yes. HSK collections connect saved vocabulary to adaptive practice, grammar, examples and reading context.

Transparent sources

Real material, clearly credited

Dictionary entries, examples, recordings, readers, and classics retain source and licence details inside the app.

  • Dictionary: CC-CEDICT, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
  • French definitions: CFDICT, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • Examples: Tatoeba sentence pairs and the reviewed Laowai corpus.
  • Recorded material: reviewed licensed and first-party dialogue, reader, and example sources.
  • Grammar, HSK courses, topics, and book lists: reviewed Laowai learning content.
  • Character information: UNIHAN and Make Me a Hanzi.
  • Full notices and licenses are available in the app.