Support

You can purchase dictionaries and add-ons directly on our website. Please visit our Purchase Portal.

Please read this

If you need to download our retired apps, you can download the APKs directly here:

• Hanping Chinese Dictionary Lite (retired January 2025)
• Hanping Chinese Classic (retired February 2014)

Here's a good article on the gizchina website.

No. Purchases belong to the account you bought them with, not to the device:

• Google Play (Android): make sure the Play Store app is signed in to the same Google account.

• App Store (iPhone/iPad): use the same Apple ID, then open Add-ons and tap Restore Purchases.

• Our website: sign in to your Hanping account in the app.

Moving between Android and iPhone/iPad? Sign in to your Hanping account on the old device first, so its purchases are linked to your account, then sign in on the new device.

Changed Google account? Purchases stay with the account you bought them with. If that account was linked to your Hanping account, just sign in to your Hanping account. Otherwise, please contact us with your Google Play order numbers.

Your starred and tagged words aren't purchases, so they don't come back by themselves: use cloud backup, or the Backup/Restore screen in Settings.

If you are in China, please read this.

Please read this

Please read this

Please read this

Please read this

The search box hint starts with 汉字 in Simplified mode, or 漢字 in Traditional mode. Note, regardless of the mode, searching can be done with either Simplified or Traditional characters.

In the Nav Drawer: Settings / Chinese Settings tap the first item and select either simplified, simp [trad], traditional, or trad [simp]

For Chinese handwriting recognition, tap the paintbrush icon in the search box. To find the character by radical, tap the 部 icon. Alternatively, for Pinyin/Jyutping-based input, try Gboard – the Google Keyboard

Tap the 部 icon in the search box

Tap the microphone icon in Hanping's search box. Long-press on this icon to show the configuration dialog. From here you can choose whether to recognize Chinese (Mandarin), English or simply use the System Default. If you click on the System Default you will be taken to the System Settings screen for Voice Recognition. The next time you click on the microphone icon, the latest configuration will be used.

The colouring represents the tone of each character. There are different colouring-schemes available. To cycle through them: Menu (within app) > Settings > Colouring by Tones

If you enter a long phrase (which is not in the dictionary) then Hanping will break down the phrase into words. This works really well when combined with voice recognition in Chinese mode!

However, sometimes its useful to do so. For example, searching for xi an will not include any of the xian results

Hanping supports these wildcard characters:

* - Multiple syllables (Hanzi & Pinyin). For example, 中*国 & zhong*guo (matches 中立国 zhong1li4guo2 & 中华民国 zhong1hua2min2guo2 etc)

@ - Single syllable (Hanzi & Pinyin). For example, 中@国 & zhong@guo (matches 中立国 zhong1li4guo2 only)

# - Tone number (Pinyin only). For example,. xi#an will match xi1an1 & xi1an4 but not xian1 etc

Long-tap on any history item (or any date label). This will bring up an Action Menu at the top of the screen where you will see three icons on the right hand side:

1. Select All
2. Delete

Sign in to your Hanping account in the app, then use Back up to cloud on the Backup/Restore screen (in Settings). Please read this for details, including restoring on a new device and on-device backup files.

Your starrings and custom tags appear as labels above every headword and next to every word in all search results.

However, some people also want to know if a word is in a Predefined List like HSK 1? No problem! Just import the Predefined List as a new Custom Tag!

If you want to import all HSK levels as Custom Tags then do this:

1. Tap on the Tags tab so that you can see all Predefined Lists
2. Long-tap on HSK 2.0 exam... or HSK 3.0 exam... (according to which version of the exam you want) and this will show a dialog giving a brief description of the exam
3. Tap on IMPORT TAGS. You will then see a dialog to create a new Custom Tag category
4. Tap OK (you may also edit the category name if you wish). The import will then proceed and may take several seconds to complete. When done, you should see a new hsk... category in the Custom Tags section (in the Tags tab)

That's it!

🔍 1. Filter by Tag in the Browser

To browse cards with specific tags:

1. Open AnkiDroid.
2. Tap the ≡ menu icon (top-left).
3. Tap "Browse".
4. Tap the filter icon (🔍) at the top.
5. Tap the tag icon next to the search bar.
6. Select one or more tags from the list.
7. Tap Apply to see matching cards.

You can also manually type tag filters in the search bar using queries like:

• tag:grammar — Cards tagged grammar.
• tag:grammar AND tag:verb — Cards tagged with both grammar and verb.
• tag:grammar OR tag:verb — Cards tagged with either grammar or verb.
• -tag:grammar — Cards without the grammar tag.

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🗂️ 2. Create a Filtered Deck Using Tags

To study only cards with certain tags:

1. From the main screen, tap "Custom Study" at the bottom.
2. Select "Study by card state or tag".
3. Choose "Cards with a specific tag".
4. Select the tag(s) you want to review.
5. Set the number of cards.
6. Tap "Build".

This will create a temporary filtered deck. You can rebuild or delete it at any time.

For this, you need to edit the AnkiDroid template. The easiest way to do this is when viewing a flashcard in AnkiDroid:

• Tap the three vertical dots icon in the top-right / Edit Note

• Scroll to the bottom and tap the last item to bring up the 'Card Types' editor

• Make sure the correct template is selected in the tab (probably Hanzi Question)

• Make sure the Front side is selected in the bottom bar

• Scroll to the bottom and enter the following just before the </script> tag:

document.querySelector('.play_button').click();

• Tap the tick button in the top bar and again in the Edit note screen

Sometimes Hanping is unable to reset the Anki card templates directly. This is because Anki does not allow third party apps to make changes that would force the user to do a full sync.

The most common situation here is that the Hanping Chinese Type (Note Type) does not have all of the expected Card Templates. For example, if the only card type is Hanzi Question then that will be the only type of card that can be exported. To see the Card Templates, (in AnkiDroid) go to Manage Note Types, long tap on Hanping Chinese Type and tap Edit Cards.

How to recover from this (assumes you have an Ankiweb account and have already synced the problematic note type):

WARNING - you will probably lose your study progress if you do this.

• Delete the Hanping Chinese Deck from https://ankiweb.net/decks/

• Install Anki Desktop (Windows, MacOS, Linux)

• Launch Anki Desktop

• Delete Hanping Chinese Type (Browse / right click on Note Types / Manage Note Types)

• Back on the main Anki Desktop screen, tap Sync, and select "Upload to AnkiWeb"

• Now that AnkiWeb no longer has the corrupt note type, launch AnkiDroid and tap the Sync icon. Select AnkiWeb as the collection you want to keep

Sometimes Hanping is unable to export words to AnkiDroid. This only affects Android 13+ devices (predominantly Samsung and Xiaomi) and it looks like it's an AnkiDroid bug. Please let us know if the solution here helps you.

TLDR: Use the Quick Settings Tile to show/hide the Popup Cursor.

Android 14 places extra restrictions on screen reading, so as a consequence we've had to remove the hide/show functionality from the persistent notification.

Instead, please use the Quick Settings Tile.

Another side-effect is that the permission dialog will show whenever you rotate the device or enter full screen mode.

Note - From Android 14, we've removed the 'Trigger On System Startup' functionality because the Quick Settings Tile is a more convenient way to control the cursor.

All permissions are optional for core functionality. However some non-core features will not work properly (or not at all) if the appropriate permissions are not granted.

• Read and write to the AnkiDroid database - exporting words as flashcards to AnkiDroid

• Google Play license check - check whether the user has purchased the app. Note: even though Hanping Chinese Dictionary is free, it used to be paid and so this permission is needed for checking old purchases.

• Google Play billing service - in-app purchases

• run foreground service - Voice Playback from 3rd party apps (e.g. AnkiDroid)

• show notifications - When running foreground services, Android requires apps to show a notification (see run foreground service above)

• view network connections, have full network access & prevent phone from sleeping - Analytics (this can be opted-in/opted-out in the Settings)

• Advertising ID permission - Analytics only. Note: there are no Ads in any Hanping apps

• Play Install Referrer API - Analytics to track where the installs originate from

• take pictures and videos - using the camera in Live mode

• Google Play license check - check at least one Google account (added to the device) has purchased the app

• view network connections, have full network access & prevent phone from sleeping - Analytics (this can be opted-in/opted-out in the Settings)

• Advertising ID permission - Analytics only. Note: there are no Ads in any Hanping apps

• Play Install Referrer API - Analytics to track where the installs originate from

• Display over other apps - Show the cursor on top of all other apps

• Start recording or casting with Hanping Popup? - Allow the app to read your screen. Note, the app only reads your screen as you move the cursor, even though the status bar icon shows for as long as the cursor is visible. This is because it is faster to hold on to the screen recording ability than to reestablish each time you touch the cursor

• Google Play license check - check at least one Google account (added to the device) has purchased the app

• run foreground service & ask to ignore battery optimisations - for the cursor to appear while other apps are running, we need to tell Android not to kill our app

• show notifications (Android 13+) - Persistent notification allowing you to start/stop the app. Note: the app should still work if you Deny this permission, in which case you can control start/stop using the Quick Settings Tile

• run at startup - app settings allow you to choose whether to launch the app on system startup

• view network connections, have full network access & prevent phone from sleeping - Analytics (this can be opted-in/opted-out in the Settings)

• Advertising ID permission - Analytics only. Note: there are no Ads in any Hanping apps

• Play Install Referrer API - Analytics to track where the installs originate from

• Display over other apps - Show the cursor on top of all other apps

• Start recording or casting with Pixolor? - Allow the app to read your screen. Note, the app only reads your screen as you move the wheel, even though the status bar icon shows for as long as the cursor is visible. This is because it is faster to hold on to the screen recording ability than to reestablish each time you touch the wheel

• Google Play billing service - in-app purchases

• run foreground service & ask to ignore battery optimisations - for the wheel to appear while other apps are running, we need to tell Android not to kill our app

• show notifications (Android 13+) - Persistent notification allowing you to start/stop the app. Note: the app should still work if you Deny this permission, in which case you can control start/stop using the Quick Settings Tile

• view network connections, have full network access & prevent phone from sleeping - Analytics (this can be opted-in/opted-out in the Settings)

• Advertising ID permission - Analytics & Ads

• Play Install Referrer API - Analytics to track where the installs originate from

Please read this

Blog & Forum (Archived 2022)

Google, Facebook, YouTube etc are unavailable from within mainland China. Nor can you purchase apps (or in-app purchases) from Google Play Store. To overcome this, sign up to a VPN provider (preferably before) you travel, and for that we currently (as of mid 2023) suggest trying ExpressVPN (affiliate link) and LetsVPN (non-affiliate).

Note: VPN provider quality is often changing and it's often a game of cat-and-mouse, so please check before leaving for China.

This message comes from the Google Play license check in our paid Android apps (Hanping Cantonese Dictionary, Hanping Chinese Camera and Hanping Chinese Popup). First, please make sure you are running the latest version of the app.

Being offline is fine: the check waits until you're back online, and the app keeps working in the meantime.

The usual cause is that the Play Store isn't using the Google account you bought the app with. To check:

1. Open the Play Store app and tap your profile icon (top right)

2. Tap Payments and subscriptions, then Budget and history

3. Look for the app in the list

If the app isn't listed, add the Google account you bought it with to your device, or find your order number.

If the app is listed, restart your device. If that doesn't help, clear the Play Store app's data, open the Play Store and accept its terms, check it is using the right Google account, then open the Hanping app again.

Still stuck? Please contact us with your order number and the Google account you bought with.

Now and again, Google Play Store doesn't quite work as it is supposed to. General Google Play Store technical support can be found here and the official page of Known Issues can be found here.

If the problem is regarding payment, try here.

In particular, worth mentioning:

Hanping Chinese Dictionary could not be downloaded due to an error. (403)

From the Android Homescreen, press the Menu button and go to Settings > Manage Applications. On that screen, locate the Play Store app and click on it. Then, Clear data.

Then try again.

Hanping Chinese Dictionary could not be downloaded due to an error. (-101)

Try removing your gmail account (from your Android device!) and then adding it back again:

Settings > Accounts & sync > [select Google account] > Menu button/icon > Remove account (you may want to sync everything first)

Please email us your purchase details so we can check your license.

If you are having problems purchasing the app or making an in-app payment (e.g. payment declined), please have a look here.

Please post here any solutions you have to Google Play Store problems.

Google Play:

• Open the Play Store app, tap your profile icon (top right), then Payments and subscriptions and Budget and history

• Or search your email for Your Google Play Order Receipt. The order number starts with GPA.

App Store: search your email for Apple's receipt, which has an Order ID. Or, on your iPhone/iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then Media & Purchases and View Account, and look in Purchase History.

Our website: the receipt we emailed you when you bought.

Please include the order number when you contact us about a purchase.

A Hanping account keeps your purchases and your cloud backup in one place, so they follow you to any device, Android or iPhone/iPad.

• Purchases: while you're signed in, purchases from the device's store account (Google Play or App Store) are linked to your Hanping account. Sign in on another device and they're available there too. Purchases made on our website are always tied to your Hanping account.

• Cloud backup: back up your starred and tagged words online, and restore them on any device. See cloud backup.

Signing in: open Add-ons and tap the account at the top. Sign in with Google, or with your email address (we email you a 6-digit code).

Notes:

• Without a Hanping account, the app uses the device's store account on its own, as before.

• A store account can only be linked to one Hanping account.

• Hanping Chinese Camera and Hanping Chinese Popup purchases aren't included, because those apps don't support Hanping accounts.

• Lost access to the account you bought with? Please contact us with your order numbers.