Zimu: Chinese Dictionary

Zimu is a Mandarin Chinese dictionary and camera translator for the page in front of you. Point your phone at printed Chinese and read it: the pinyin appears over the characters and every word is tappable for its meaning. Look up anything by hanzi, pinyin, or English. Save what you learn and review it with Chinese flashcards. No ads, no account, and the core features work offline.

It is built to help you read real Chinese (menus, signs, books, subtitles), not just look up words you already know.

SCAN CHINESE WITH YOUR CAMERA
• On-device text recognition reads printed Chinese, simplified and traditional
• A live overlay shows the pinyin right over the characters
• Every word in a scan becomes tappable for its pinyin and meaning
• Running text is separated into individual words you can tap one by one
• Photo translate from your gallery: import a screenshot or a saved picture and read it the same way
• A Chinese text scanner for menus, signs, labels, textbooks, and homework
• Vertical columns are read as well as ordinary lines

TRANSLATE WHAT YOU READ
• Translate the whole passage on your device, not one word at a time
• Language packs download once, then work offline

A REAL DICTIONARY
• Search 120,000 entries by hanzi, pinyin, or English
• Draw a character you cannot type and search by handwriting
• HSK 1-9 levels on 11,000+ core words, and part of speech on every entry
• Word detail with definitions, a character breakdown, and related words
• Example sentences in context, and grammar points explained plainly
• Hear any word or sentence read aloud in Mandarin
• Simplified and traditional forms, plus animated stroke order

A NOTEBOOK THAT REMEMBERS FOR YOU
• Save words as you read and build a vocabulary list that keeps the source sentence with each one
• Organize with tags, notes, saved views, and recent searches
• Review everything with modern FSRS spaced-repetition flashcards
• Your notebook is carried by Android backup, so a new phone picks up where you left off

NINE-LANGUAGE INTERFACE
• The app interface is available in nine languages

PRIVATE BY DEFAULT
• No account and no sign-up; the app never asks for your email
• The dictionary, the camera, and your notebook run on your device
• No ads at any tier, and your data is never sold
• Only anonymous usage analytics, which you can turn off in Settings

BUILT TO READ
• A modern, native Android interface made for long reading sessions
• Several light and dark theme palettes

Zimu carries 180,000+ example sentences. The free tier includes the whole dictionary, the camera, and flashcards, with 3 example sentences per sense, 300 saved words, and grammar points through HSK 2. Zimu Pro, either as a subscription or as a one-time lifetime purchase, unlocks every example sentence, unlimited saved words, all grammar points, deeper word insights, and every theme.