Choosing a Chinese E-Dictionary: Approval First, Then Your Child’s Needs

Information checked: 16 October 2026

Buttons or a touchscreen? A monochrome or colour display? Do all Chinese e-dictionaries contain the same words and examples? These are useful questions, but the first step is to check approval. Then consider how your child will actually use the device, rather than comparing the number of features alone.

This article offers criteria to consider, not a recommendation to buy any particular brand or model. Three questions should guide the comparison: Will it help with lookups during an examination? Does it suit the student’s habits? Will it support understanding and using vocabulary in everyday learning?

1. Start with the official approved list

Open SEAB’s official approved dictionary list (PDF). ¹

As checked on 16 October 2026, the list linked from SEAB’s dictionary page is still labelled for the 2026 examinations. Families preparing for 2027 should check for updates before buying and confirm the applicable requirements with the teacher.²

Approved Chinese dictionaries in the list can be considered. Match the full model name, or the edition and ISBN for a printed dictionary. The PDF also allows previously approved dictionaries to remain in use unless approval is withdrawn following relevant changes. An older dictionary therefore does not automatically need replacing just because it is absent from the current list.¹

2. Compare four features, with the student trying them

Replaceable batteries or a built-in rechargeable lithium battery?

For a model with replaceable batteries, check the battery type, how easy replacement is and whether the student can do it independently. For a model with a built-in rechargeable lithium battery, check charging arrangements, usable battery life and servicing options as the battery ages. Consult the specific model’s manual; the type of power supply alone does not tell you which device will last longer.

For examination preparation, sufficient power and reliable operation matter. For everyday habits, consider whether your child is more likely to remember regular charging or checking and replacing batteries. Ask the teacher whether items such as spare batteries may be brought into the examination room, rather than assuming they are permitted.

Physical buttons or a touchscreen?

Have your child look up the same word on each device. Watch the full sequence: entering it, selecting characters, scrolling through the entry and returning to the previous screen. Are the buttons easy to press accurately? Does the touchscreen lead to accidental taps? If a model offers handwriting input, try its recognition and correction steps rather than relying on the feature being advertised.

Being comfortable with a smartphone does not necessarily mean being quick with an e-dictionary. During an examination, the aim is to find the information smoothly and reliably. For everyday use, the student should be able to operate it without repeatedly asking a parent for help.

A monochrome or colour display?

If colour separates entries, definitions or sections, see whether that distinction genuinely helps the student read. With a monochrome display, check character clarity and contrast too. A colour screen is not automatically a better learning tool.

Ask your child to read a longer definition. Is the text comfortably sized? How much fits on screen? How often is scrolling or moving to another page necessary? Trying the display under normal reading and writing conditions can reveal more than its colour specification alone.

Are the vocabulary, definitions and example sentences the same?

Approval establishes eligibility for use; it does not establish that every model contains identical material. Check the official product information for the dictionaries and editions included, vocabulary coverage and example sentences. Ask the supplier to clarify anything that is unclear.

Choose several words your child has recently learned or wanted to use in a composition, and look them up on the different devices. Are they available? Are the explanations understandable? Do the examples show which words go together and when the expression is appropriate?

In an examination, the student needs to find and understand the relevant information. For learning, a useful next step is to create an original sentence after reading the entry. The amount of content is worth checking, but it is not a direct measure of how much the student will learn.

3. After choosing, remember three things

Use it regularly, not just on examination day. Practise entering words, selecting characters and finding examples during reading and writing. Use it in timed practice when the teacher permits. Familiarity reduces time spent hunting for buttons or navigating menus during an examination.

Check it early before the examination. Check the battery level, charge the device or replace its batteries according to the instructions, and actually look up a few words. If it has been stored for a long time, test the power, buttons and screen. Working the last time it was used does not guarantee that it still works now. Checking early leaves time to deal with a problem.

Ask the teacher about the school’s inspection and approval-sticker requirements. Find out whether the dictionary must be checked and receive a school approval sticker, and when to arrange this. If it already has a sticker, ask whether another check is needed. Procedures can differ between schools, so do not leave this question until examination day.

A suitable dictionary is one the student can understand, operate comfortably and use regularly. Check the list, let your child try the device, and prepare it properly before the examination. These steps help turn an approved piece of equipment into a useful learning tool.

Official sources

Source notes

1. SEAB，获批词典名单 / List of Approved Dictionaries for Use in 2026 PSLE, GCE N(A), N(T), O & A-Level Examinations。 官方PDF / Official PDF。本次实际打开为六页PDF：第1页为当前华文词典及电子词典，第2–3页为以前获批的华文纸本词典，第4页为以前获批的华文电子词典；附注说明旧获批词典的继续使用条件。型号比较应限定对应语言，并核对完整名称。Opened and checked on 16 October 2026. ↩ ↩²

2. SEAB，Approved Dictionaries。 官方入口 / Official landing page。正文标示更新时间为9 April 2026；本次检查时所链接PDF仍题为2026年考试名单。网页页脚更新时间不是PDF适用年份。Opened and checked on 16 October 2026. ↩