Monolingual Dictionary?
tinyrock
October 04, 2008, 01:42 PM posted in General DiscussionI'm looking for an inexpensive (i.e. <60$) monolingual Chinese dictionary. I already own a rather concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English dictionary (Berlitz, 40.000 entries), so I'm looking for something more extensive, preferably with example sentences and/or short explanations. It should contain both simplified and traditional forms. Any recommendations?
[The ones I found so far are "Liang'an Xiandai Hanyu Changyong Cidian" and "Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian". Do you have any information about them, concerning content, usefulness?)
changye
October 05, 2008, 02:50 AMHi tinyrock,
(A) If you select one dictionary, I just recommend you buy 现代汉语词典 (中国社会科学院语言研究所, 65000 entries), which is considered to be the de facto accepted standard and one of the most authentic dictionaries among native speakers, foreign learners, and researchers. In short, it is a dictionary edited and authorized by the leading national linguistic institute in China.
(B) 现代汉语规范词典 (68000 entries) is very good too. Basically, its content is similar to that of 现代汉语词典 and is better bound and designed than its competitors. But some researchers criticize this dictionary for having many errors and mistakes. Anyway, 现代规范词典 is NOT a national-sponsored dictionary, which might be one of the reasons why it easily gets stoned.
(C) I've never seen a copy of 两岸现代汉语常用词典 (46000 entries) myself, but as far as I know, it is a little "special" dictionary, which puts emphasis on comparing differences of words between mainland and Taiwan (= 两岸, two sides). If it meets your needs, it should be the best dictionary for you in the world. This dictionary has both "simplified" and "traditional" editions.
P/S. (A) and (B) are all in simplified characters, except that only entry characters (direction characters?) are accompanied by their traditional counterparts.
changye
October 05, 2008, 04:24 AMDouble postings. Deleted by ME.
changye
October 05, 2008, 04:26 AMDouble postings. Deleted by ME.
changye
October 05, 2008, 04:31 AMHi tinyrock,
I’ve found another option for you. I think that 现代汉语词典 (汉英双语) is very beneficial for western learners of Mandarin. It contains all the words, definition and examples in 现代汉语词典 plus English translations of them.
This bilingual version (61000 entries) was edited based on the 4th edition of 现代汉语词典 published in 1996 and its enlarged edition in 2002. FYI, the newest 现代汉语词典 (65000 entries) is the 5th edition published in 2005.
现代汉语词典 汉英双语 (sample pages)
http://www.amazon.cn/dp/zhbk003368
现代汉语规范词典 (sample pages)
http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?qid=1223178939&ref=SR&sr=13-6&uid=168-3277142-0175443&prodid=zhbk003450
tinyrock
October 05, 2008, 09:23 AM2600 pages? Uh-oh...That's not going to fit on my shelf.
Thank you, changye! I think I'll either get the 现代汉语词典 (+English) or (more likely that the bookstores here will have it) the 现代规范词典. Having read the Harry Potter translation, I'm a bit wary of the kind of stuff that gets official endorsement. ;)
tinyrock
October 05, 2008, 01:00 AMNo one?