Youdao’s Dictionary Pen 3 is the most modern iteration of a smart way to increase your Mandarin learning. When I started this article a few days ago, the Dictionary Pen 2 was the only one you could actually get in the US without specially importing it. That said, either way, you can run a “pen” across a page and have a modern translation of text as well as dive into each character, word, and phrase in the block of text. Youdao’s dictionary pen is the kind of thing I’ve dreamed of since I first started learning Chinese and learning about how technology was revolutionizing linguistics.
I started with a paper dictionary and moved on to a PDA for written input. It was awful, but it saved more time than not across enough characters or words. Clamshell dictionaries and character based IME’s made it a bit harder for unknown characters, but easier for close guesses. There were continual trade-offs between convenience and efficiency for (partially) known and unknown characters in each solution. I had spent years trading off with character and word dictionaries, computerized dictionaries, and digital input methods to make things easier. Cell phones changed everything, but this pen changes even more.
We need to address what this pen can do, what it does well, where it lacks, and who it’s for. We’ll also touch on the 2 versus the 3, and further considerations. The pen is a net win for most people who need to work with Chinese either in professional or academic fields. There’s a further dichotomy between the 2 and the 3 since the 2 has a professional edition as well.
What to Expect
Youdao’s pen allows you to quickly scan a block of text and interpret it or search on a character by character, or word by word basis (which can be adjusted on the fly). The pro edition (2 only as of writing) adds Korean and Japanese as well as extra dictionaries. It probably won’t add much for most users unless you need the extra dictionaries (near fluent to native level language users) or are a Chinese native needing Japanese or Korean.
This pen supports traditional characters, but it’s hit or miss. Literary Chinese hit a quick limitation, but Taiwanese editions of books were okay more often than not. It still works out faster than using a text dictionary more often than not though.
This pen is either substantially faster than a paper dictionary, or fast enough to make a notable difference. Every scenario I used it for resulted in an improvement except for esoteric, older works. This pen is a self-contained, dictionary system for the vast majority of use cases. This is one of the most surprising technical purchases I’ve made in years.
Technical Features
The website offers the RAM and storage space (all modern versions have a 16GB flash chip, but the OS eats some of that) as a difference between the versions, but these stats ultimately have no real impact on the device in any way I used it. What is different is that the standard 2 supports ~2.3 million entries, the 2 Pro supports ~2.4 million, and the 3 supports around 2.75 million entries.
Each version of the pen has WiFi and Bluetooth support (alternatives may or may not have this). You also get a speaker which is good enough for listening to pronunciation or reading of various materials. I had no issues dealing with the audio of this device however I wanted.
To scan, you just drag the pen across words and it effectively scans, OCR’s, and tries to figure out what it has scanned. Barring really weird fonts, poor quality prints, and otherwise damaged pages, I experienced very few issues actually scanning a word. You might have to adjust the angle you scan at depending on the page, the text, and the lighting, but this is a minor concern. It just plain worked for me as long as I made some effort to work with it.
It works offline and you can even sync it with a dictionary on your phone. You can save word lists, go through the history of what you’ve learned, and similar. This isn’t just a boring plain pen dictionary, it’s a way to gamify certain aspects of learning should you be inclined. The newer version (the 3) offers far more learning materials which can help for certain use cases.
Limitations
I always include the limitations of a product review as early as possible to temper expectations. I’d rather know what may go wrong before investing time being excited. While this pen has overwhelmingly exceeded my expectations, like any product, there are certain limitations to be aware of for more advanced or invested users.
The Youdao Dictionary Pen 2 provides a great experience looking up 98% of characters (per the marketing materials). While it simplifies Chinese learning, it doesn’t replace 100% of other solutions since that 2% works its way into the enough scenarios to be notable. You still want to have a character dictionary or a phone to resolve the weird stuff or confusing stuff.
A big limitation is its interpretation of traditional characters. It might get the character right, but it can’t find an entry (even though if you can guess the simplification and it’s in the definition). Some books are printed poorly which means this pen is near useless. This isn’t idle complaining, just setting expectations; it did far better than I ever imagined.
The dictionaries are rather limited all things considered. I got the pro, but even it hit its limitations sooner than later for obscure works. Delving too far in any field’s jargon will quickly leave you referencing something else unless you’re in a specialized dictionary. Subject 101 is fine, but hitting the more advanced materials may leave you a bit lost. That being said, using the pen to get the pronunciation of the word can be enough to look it up elsewhere still saving you time.
Who It’s For
This pen is targeted for professionals in China who work with translation (or foreign companies), or reference in a more academic setting. It’s good for Chinese or English learners as well (assuming they speak either Chinese or English). There is an English interface version as well in case your Mandarin isn’t good enough to work the interface.
If you’re working with translation tasks, the actual machine learning based translations are frighteningly accurate. This isn’t just early 2000’s Babel Fish in a pen or something (like most translation apps or dictionaries feel). There were very few sentences where the pen was just straight wrong about what it was translating (unless I missed characters).
If you’re researching historical documents or obscure works, this pen is hit or miss. That being said, most contemporary works and many literary works which have been put into simplified characters are fine. It technically supports traditional characters, but I saw more than a few not link up as expected. For everything else though, this pen was good enough.
The professional version adds several dictionaries (which the 3 doesn’t have) and support for Chinese to and from Japanese or Korean. I would look elsewhere for Japanese and Korean unless you are truly fluent in Chinese. While it supports Japanese or Korean, there is no pathway to get them to English sanely.
Basically, if you’re a language student, a foreign learner in China or an English speaking nation, or an office worker dealing with multiple languages, this pen is indispensable. If you’re a translator, this pen is an amazing tool if you work with paper copies or need a second opinion sometimes. Even academics will get a lot of use out of it so long as they keep in mind the limitations. This pen has at worst wasted a few seconds, but more often than not, I don’t even bother with a dictionary for most things.
Which Version Is Right?
When I first got this pen, the 3 wasn’t available. The Youdao Pen 3 is basically an iterative improvement of the 2. It isn’t quite a replacement for the 2 pro, though it may touch on some of what the 2 pro has.
If you were planning on getting the 2 by itself, this is probably a worthwhile upgrade. The screen is larger, it has more entries, and there are more features for learning. Unfortunately, there isn’t a 3 pro quite yet, but I’m sure there will be one sooner than later.
Diving Into the 2, the 2 Pro, and the 3
While the 3 costs more than the regular 2, it offers a bigger screen and arguably better features all around. The 2 pro offers more dictionaries than the 3, but the 3 also has the newer generation of translation and similar. If you’re using the pen to look up characters or words for learning or more specific translation of individual terms, all three options have their merits.
The Youdao Dictionary Pen 2 is the cheapest option as of writing. It offers the easiest options for a Chinese interface or an English interface (though not both). The upgrade to the 3 is probably worth it unless you’re really stretching money and won’t use any of the extra features.
The Youdao Dictionary Pen 2 Pro is the best option as of writing if you need access to more dictionaries, or want to work with Korean or Japanese as a Chinese speaker. I found it the best option from the bunch for what materials I’m reading. The next generation may beat it, but as of writing, this is the best of the three for more technical translation on a per word basis. The one issue is there isn’t an English interface.
I’ve only gotten a taste of the Youdao Dictionary Pen 3, but it is basically the same as the regular 2 but with a nicer (and larger) interface and more learning materials. It has more characters and entries, and will have more support than the 2 sooner than later. It costs a bit more, but it has more to offer than the 2 and arguably the 2 pro minus the other languages and extended dictionaries with a more robust base.
Conclusion
This is the evolution of smart dictionaries in a specialized, hardware format. The Youdao Dictionary Pen is an amazing piece of technology which can improve your speed of working through learning materials. It’s made for native Chinese speakers primarily so you know you won’t hit a wall for a while. Paper dictionaries can get you far, but this just saves you time and effort.
I expected a lot less than I got out of this device. Even if it doesn’t help me with a specific term or set of characters, it has enough that I’m still saving time. A paper dictionary or even a handwriting based digital dictionary on a smart phone or similar takes much longer than this pen. I don’t need follow up on all but the most esoteric or obscure words in obscure works.
If you’re learning Chinese or using it regularly, this pen can and will save you time and effort. From translation to research, it will get you far enough that even if you need a paper dictionary, you’ve still saved time and effort looking up individual characters. I look forward to future iterations of this pen to see how they handle some of its current limitations, but the technology is mature enough you aren’t an early adopter either. It has its warts, but it is an amazing tool to have in your toolkit.
Get a Dictionary Pen 3 or Dictionary Pen 2 now.