Can you use Pleco on PC?
Pleco is the go-to Chinese dictionary app for many Chinese learners. It has been around for a long time and has a lot of features that make it a great tool for studying Chinese. I have personally spent hundreds of hours with Pleco and although it's not perfect, my Chinese would not be the same without it.
Unfortunately, it only provides apps for iOS and Android. There is no official Pleco app for Windows, macOS, Linux, or web. Let's see how you might still be able to use Pleco on your computer. We'll also discuss some alternatives that you might want to consider.
How to run Pleco on PC
There is currently really only one way to run Pleco on your computer: With an Android emulator.
An Android emulator is a program that simulates an Android device on your computer. So you can install an Android emulator on your computer and then install the Pleco app inside the emulator. This way, you can use Pleco on your computer just like you would on your phone.
You can install a popular Android emulator like BlueStacks on a Windows or MacOS computer. On Linux, you can try Genymotion or go straight for Android Studio.
After setting up the emulator, you can install Pleco from the Play Store (if your emulator supports it) or directly download and install the Pleco APK.
Alternatives to Pleco
Considering the hassle of setting up an Android emulator, you might want to look into some alternatives. There are other Chinese dictionary apps, like Hanping or Hanzii, but they also don't have desktop versions. So all you are left with is a web-based dictionary.
MDBG
The most famous one is probably MDBG. It provides a lot of information, but comes with a slightly retro and rather overloaded UI. Furthermore, the search experience is not as smooth as you might be used to if you usually use Pleco.
Chill Chinese
If all you want is something like Pleco that you can use while on your computer, this is what you are looking for. It's super smooth, super pretty, and we are constantly adding features to close the gap to existing mobile apps.
