MDBG Chinese Reader

Overview

Maximize your learning experience by seeing and hearing Chinese read aloud to you. Chinese Reader supports a wide range of text-speech voices for the most powerful auditory experience. Enable AutoPronouce or choose Pronounce from the toolbar (New!) or right-click menu.

• AutoPronounce: Immediately pronounce the Chinese word in LiveScan and HighlightScan. In HighlightScan, pointing will also re-pronounce the word*
• Voice: Choose from Microsoft Simplified Chinese, Microsoft Lili (Windows 7/Vista Ultimate) and other SAPI text-speech voices. Bing voices require an Internet connection. Premium voices run locally and support rate control*
• Rate: Control the pronunciation rate and pauses. Slide LEFT to hear words pronounced slowly, tone by tone. Slide RIGHT to simulate the rapid pace of conversational Chinese

*Some settings are available only on Standard and Professional Editions.

Tips

• Microsoft Simplified Chinese is a free voice. Bing HuiHui and HanHan voices are higher-quality voices that require an Internet connection. (My favorite? MDBG Premium Voices: Microsoft Server HuiHui)
• Voice Rate Control is a powerful feature (but it's not supported on the Bing voices). When you're learning Chinese and you want to hear the nuance of every tone enunciated deliberately, adjust MDBG's rate control down to 20-30. You'll hear the tones pronounced slowly and with long pauses. As your proficiency improves, dial up the rate. When you want to practice listening to conversational Chinese at a rapid clip, move the slider all the way to the right (100)