Chety: Chinese Characters

Ian Blas

About this app

This dictionary app is an interactive adaptation of the landmark volume "Chinese Characters: An Easy Learning Based on Their Etymology and Evolution", the result of nearly three decades of research by the renowned Spanish sinologist Pedro Ceinos-Arcones.

It features etymology-based explanations for over 5,000 individual Chinese characters, covering most characters in modern use, including all HSK exam levels.

It also includes a full words dictionary with morphological analysis, original historical-etymological explanations, and linguistic notes, as well as a variety of interactive tools to facilitate the learning process.

The aim of this app is to help readers train their eyes to recognize and understand Chinese writing at both the individual character and full-word levels.

Far from being a static project, this app is a dynamic, living work. Pedro Ceinos-Arcones and the development team continue to actively expand and update its content, making this platform the definitive, evolving hub for his lifelong research.

What You Will Find in This App:

• Individual Character Entries:
- Core Fundamentals: View character shapes, check Pinyin, listen to high-quality audio pronunciations, and learn primary meanings.
- Etymological Insight: Access unique etymological and mnemonic concepts from Ceinos’ research to ease your comprehension and study.
- Visual Evolution: Track the history of characters through visual illustrations showing their evolution over time (where available).
- Scientific Classification: Explore three levels of semantic grouping leading to the character family (picto-semantic series) based on the original book's framework.
- Contextual Vocabulary: Practice and contextualize every character with one or two target vocabulary words.

• Comprehensive Word Entries:
- CC-Cedic Dictionary: Built-in integration for robust, reliable word definitions.
- Essential Functions: Clear presentation of shapes, Pinyin, audio pronunciation, and primary meanings.
- Morphological Analysis: Master compound words through detailed explanations that clarify the logic behind character combinations.

• Smart Study System:
- Built-in Flashcards: Optimize, track, and accelerate your learning process with an integrated review system designed for efficient memorization.
- Interactive Reader: Paste full phrases or texts and tap to see word definitions or listen to their pronunciation.

What’s new

Version 2.5 improves:
- Curated morphology for multi-character words related to Pedro Ceinos-Arcones’ book Chinese Characters: An Easy Learning Based on Their Etymology and Evolution.
- Improved CC-CEDICT definitions so multiple meanings are shown together at the same level, separated by “/”.
- Fixed display of rare and historical Chinese characters in etymology explanations.
- The morphology dictionary will continue to expand over the coming weeks until it covers all words in the app.