The C-Pen is a Chinese reading pen made in Taiwan. The products are available in Traditional Chinese. We purchased the Chinese reading pen along with the C-pen Chinese flashcards with 400 character cards. The pen is designed to be used with stickers that play customized audio, turning any book into an audio book with your own voice, or any loved one. The flashcards work right out of the box do not require any additional programming or stickers.
The C-pen Chinese flashcards are a great resource for parents that do not speak Chinese, or like me are not fluent Chinese speakers. With just one tap of the C-pen your child can learn the proper pronunciation of Chinese characters. On the back of the card is the definition of the character, an example phrase, and the stroke order for writing practice.
While I have found the stickers to be time consuming, we do use the C-pen flashcards almost everyday to review characters before each Sagebooks lesson, for learning games like our night market shooting game, and this simple but fun flashcard activity. Tip: here’s how I protect our flashcards from getting damaged or lost.
C-Pen Chinese Flashcards Pros
- Nice quality. The cards are printed on thick stock and finished with a protective coating
- Traditional Chinese characters. Audio is available in Mandarin and Cantonese audio.
- Instant feedback. Just tap to play with no delay or lag.
- Independent learning. Children can learn Chinese characters on their own using the Chinese reading pen.
C-Pen Chinese Flashcards Cons
- Pen required for audio. Without the C-pen these are just regular flashcards.
- Cost. The cost is high considering you have to buy the reading pen.
- Chinese instructions. Instructions are in Chinese only. There is an English instruction manual for the pen but I found it to be incomplete. I created a post with instructions on how to load audio files on the C-pen.
Where to purchase C-Pen Flashcards
- If you are in the US you can order C-Pen products from Gloria’s Bookstore.
- If you are in Asia you can order C-Pen products from Books.com.tw.