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Using the Dictionary

Note: You are recommended to read Introducing Chinese (pp.vii–xiv) before using the dictionary.

1 Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Chinese words as transcribed in this dictionary uses the pinyin scheme, which is the official, internationally recognized Chinese romanization system. Every Chinese character in this dictionary is accompanied by its pinyin spelling so that you will know how to pronounce every word and say every sentence.

2 Word-formation

Word-formation methods of Chinese headwords are indicated, whenever it is practical to do so. The information is shown immediately after the headword, e.g.

爱护 àihù [comp: 爱 love + 护 protect]

3 Word class

The word class of each headword is indicated after the word-formation or immediately after the head word, e.g.

爱护 àihù [comp: 爱 love + 护 protect] v

阿姨 āyí n mother’s sister

When a headword may be used in different word classes, they are shown by I, II, and so on, e.g.

爱好 àihào I v like, be interested in, have as a hobby

II n hobby, interest

4 Traditional characters

If a character has a traditional version (传统字 chuántǒng zì, also known as 繁体字 fántǐzì “complicated character”), it is shown as part of the headword, preceded by Trad, e.g.:

爱 ài Trad 愛

5 Definitions

For Chinese headwords English equivalents or near equivalents are given, in most cases, as definitions, e.g.

高兴 gāoxìng adj joyful, delighted, willing

For grammatical words that have no English equivalents, concise explanations are given in brackets, e.g.

的 de particle (attached to a word, phrase or clause to indicate that it is an attribute. 的 de is normally followed by a noun.)

When a headword has more than one meaning under the same word class, the different meanings are indicated by 1, 2, etc. For example:

月 yuè n 1 month 2 the moon

Homonyms (words pronounced and written the same but with different, unrelated meanings) are treated as separate words, e.g.

代¹ dài n 1 generation

代² dài v take the place of, perform on behalf of

6 Measure Words

After the definition of a Chinese noun, the specific measure word used with the noun is shown, if it is one of the headwords in the dictionary, e.g.

书 shū book (本 běn)

When the specific measure word is not within the scope of this dictionary and therefore is not shown, you can often use the default measure word 个 ge.

7 Antonyms

Antonyms (words of opposite meaning) are shown after the definition of most Chinese adjec­tives and some nouns, if they are headwords of the Chinese-English dictionary, e.g.

短 duǎn adj (of length, time) short (antonym 长 cháng)

8 Common Collocations

Collocations are words habitually juxtaposed with each other. This dictionary shows common collocations related to the headwords, with clear definitions and necessary sample sentences. For example:

包 bāo n parcel, bag

钱包 qiánbāo wallet, purse

书包 shūbāo schoolbag

邮包 yóubāo mailbag, parcel for posting

9 Example Sentences

Words become really meaningful only when used in sentences. That is why a host of example sentences are supplied for almost each and every headword in the dictionary. All the sentences are carefully constructed to be idiomatic and communicatively useful. For example, the headword bàozhǐ 报纸 has two example sentences:

报纸 bàozhǐ □ 我很少看报纸。Wǒ hěn shǎo kàn bàozhǐ. I seldom read newspapers. □ 这份报纸广告比新闻多。Zhè fèn bàozhǐ guǎnggào bǐ xīnwén duō. There are more advertisements than news in this newspaper.

In the first example sentence the headword 报纸 bàozhǐ functions as an object after the common verb 看 kàn. In the second example sentence 报纸 bàozhǐ is used in the subject position and is collocated with the measure word 份 fèn.

Studying the sentences carefully will help you learn how to use Chinese words in everyday communication.

The example sentences in the Chinese-English sentences are all composed of the Chinese words that are treated as headwords in the dictionary. This means that this dictionary is self-contained.

10 English Translation of Chinese Sentences

All Chinese example sentences are accompanied by an English translation. In some cases a second translation is provided in brackets to aid comprehension and idiomatic expression. → indicates a freer, more idiomatic translation and ←, a more literal translation. For example:

让 ràng □ 你应该让那辆车先行。Nǐ yīnggāi ràng nà liàng chē xiānxíng. You should let that vehicle go first. (→You should give way to that vehicle.)

11 Note

The Note presented in a color box gives essential information on cultural context, pronunciation, grammar and usage. These help you use the language in a socially acceptable and idiomatic way. For example:

肥 féi…

NOTE: 肥 féi is normally used to describe animals. It is insulting to use it to describe humans.

12 How to find Chinese words

BY PINYIN SPELLING

Headwords are arranged alphabetically according to their pinyin spelling. So if you know how a word is pronounced, you can find it easily, just like the way you will look up an English word in an English dictionary.

If you do not know the pronunciation of a word you can find it either by its radical or the number of its strokes.

BY RADICALS

Radicals (部首bùshǒu) are certain component parts of characters that have been used in Chinese dictionary-making for nearly 2,000 years. Characters sharing a radical are grouped together under the heading of that radical. To find a character in a dictionary, follow these steps:

(i) In the List of Radicals, look up the character’s radical according to the number of strokes in the radical. This gives a Radical Index number.

(ii) Turn to the number in the Radical Index.

(iii) Locate the character according to the number of remaining strokes needed to write the character (i.e. number of total strokes minus radical strokes = remaining strokes). You will find the pinyin by the character.

For example, to find 活 by Radical Index:

(i) The radical group of 活 is 氵, which has three strokes. In the List of Radicals, look up 氵 in the section marked “3 strokes”:

3 strokes

氵 34

(ii) Turn to number 34 in the Radical Index.

(iii) As there are nine strokes in 活, and the radical has three strokes, six strokes remain to complete the character 活 (9 – 3 = 6). Look in the section “6 strokes” and locate 活:

6 strokes

活 huó

(iv) Turn to huó in the dictionary.

huó 活 …

BY STROKE NUMBERS

Unfortunately, looking for a character by its radical is not an entirely satisfactory method as learners may not always know which part of the character is the radical. Therefore, this section includes a Stroke Index to aid the learner further. Simply look for the character according to the number of its strokes, and then locate the character by its first stroke.

For example, to find 活 by Stroke Index:

(i) There are nine strokes in 活. Go to the section of nine strokes.

9 strokes

(ii) As the first stroke of 活 is “、”, locate 活 under “、”.

、

活 huó

(iii) Turn to huó in the dictionary.

huó 活 …