好好说好/ Different uses of 好

:-) !

Yes, much more than I expected. Thank you Changye for sharing that one. 24 different uses? You are kidding me!

Would you mind telling me the name of that dictionary? I am still looking for a good Chinese dictionary, mine are pretty basic and "only" has 11 different uses :-).

I might be leaving China by the end of this year so I need to stuck up on study material.

That's a Chinese character dictionary titled "汉字源流字典", which shows you an etymology, the original and secondary meanings of about 11,000 characters. I think it's one of the best dictionaries of this kind. The price is only 88 yuan at 当当网.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20279091&ref=search-0-A

And don't forget to get a copy of "现代汉语八百词" and "现代汉语词典". They are a sort of Bible for foreign learners of Mandarin. I recommend you get Chinese reference books/dictionaries/study guides AS MANY AS POSSIBLE before you leave China!!!

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=450460&ref=search-1-D

Again thank you Changye, i just ordered them! I agree with you on getting as many material as possible, but it is quite difficult for me to decide and think ahead. I have a lot of study material for HSK and integrated courses from beginner to advanced, but not so much ref. material or literature for example.

We have a container when we move so I can take quite some books with me. Do you think it would be wise to buy the 2008 汉语大词典(套装全22册) ? ( I have a study budget so I do not have to pay everything myself and I will continue studying Chinese wherever I will end up in the world). If you have any other suggestions I would be grateful to hear them.

Thank you for sharing your knwoledge! :-)

Hi chanelle77

《汉语大词典》 is really a good buy not for learning Chinese but for decorating your study room, hehe. Joking aside, they can really make a nice decorative, which I think is a good reason (or excuse?) to buy it. If I were you, I would defenitely get it before leaving China. Otherwise, I won't have another chance to get it in the future. It's only 1600 yuan at 当当网.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20399475&ref=search-0-A

Please be noted that although the 《汉语大词典》 shown in the webpage was published in 2008, actually it was edited more than twenty years ago, so you can't find a word such as 因特网, for example, in the dictionary. Unfortunately, paper dictionaries can't beat online ones in some ways.

You have anoterh choice. There is three-volume compressed version of 《汉语大词典》, which costs you ONLY 600 yuan. Which do you like better?

http://www.wl.cn/3482355

Lastly, here is the largest Chinese character dictionay in the world, i.e. 《汉语大字典》(nine volumes), and the price is 1400 yuan. It can also make a good decorative in your reception room, which is much better than other ordinary Chinese things such as scrolls and antiques.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20833793&ref=search-recobar-dp

Just for your information, actually the largest Chinese dicionary in the world is 《大汉和辞典》, which was edited and published in Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Kan-Wa_jiten

The publication of 《汉语大词典》 was a national project of the PRC, and it was edited by a lot of scholars, who were "mobilized" by the Chinese government, in a short period of time. On the other hand, 《大汉和辞典》 was basically edited by one Japanese scholar, Mr. Morohashi, and it took thirty-five years to edit the first edition of the dictionary, which was published in 1960. Its latest version was published in 2000.

HI chanelle77

Below are some highly-recommended books for learning Chinese.

《图释古汉字》

This wonderful book shows you etymologies and the transition of shapes of about 1,000 Chinese characters. You can see a sample page in the webpage below.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9202396&ref=search-1-A

《汉字知识与汉字问题》

This 200-page book gives you comprehensive knowledge about Chinese characters, from its histyory to modern issues surrounding hanzi. Reading this book enables you to become a "know-it-all" of Chinese characters, hehe.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20618393&ref=search-1-A

《新华同义词词典》

To use synonyms properly is very impoirtant when speaking/writing in foreign languages. I always find this compact book very useful.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9129499&ref=search-1-A

The two books below belong to the category of so-called "frequently made mistakes by foreign learners". I think reading this kind of books is a quick and effective way to understand Chinese grammar. The first one is titled 《日本人学汉语～》, but I'm sure the book is really useful even for Western people.

《日本人学汉语常见语法错误释疑》

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20420608&ref=search-1-A

《汉语病句辨析九百例》

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20653501&ref=search-1-A

If you'd like to get a recently-edited large Chinese dictionary, I would recommend you consider buying this one. The dictionary contains 127,200 words and 16,000 pictures.

《辞海》 （第六版 彩图本） the sixth edition, 2009, four volumes. 777 yuan

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20689067&ref=product-0-H

Changye your replies are much appreciated! Thanks a lot for sharing this. I just ordered the "现代汉语八百词" the other 2 were not available (also checked Amazon.cn).

I might have one of your other suggestions already but will get the other ones for sure. I hate to be outside of China and being unable to buy or paying way too much. I checked prices in Holland and US and you pay easily 10X the price you pay in China, but you know this for sure already.

You are right about the looks, I already have too much antiques anyway :-) It is tempting, but I will go with you recommendation and not the biggest one hahaha. Would look great though :-).

Thanks a lot! :-)

Hi chanelle77

Here is a piece of good news for you that I've just seen in the news today. A new Chinese dictionary, 《现代汉语学习词典》 （商务印书馆）, is going to be published next month. This dictionary is aimed at users who want to learn proper Chinese, and it shows not only words and characters, but also grammatical tips and the proper usage of synomyms. Please click on the link below to see a video of the news.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTkyOTc3NTQ4.html

Thank you Changye, that is some good news! Cannot wait! Have ordered all your suggestion except the error sentences, that one I had already :-)

Nice to have some good news: have been getting some less good news today. Was drinking coffee when a blast nearly blew our windows out. I thought something was off and was right: http://news.qq.com/a/20100728/002028.htm My cat is currently in the animal hospital (well 5 weeks already, but that is a different story) and one window broke because of the explosion, but he is fine, the glass just missed him! Only in China :-)

Oh my god I just saw a brief clip on the news, and wondered how near/far from that you are. It's terrible. I hear there were houses that could not withstand the force from the blast. I'm glad you and cats are fine. Hope none of the patients in the animal hospital got hurt.

Hi chanelle77

I saw the news on TV yesterday, but I didn't expect at all the accident site would be so close to your house. Incidentally, are you going to take your cat to the Netherlands? Probably quarantine procedures are rather complicated and would take a long time on both sides.

Here's a link to a WSJ article that mentions the blast. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703977004575394262825550830.html 187 workers die each day in China in work-related accidents! Definitely “不好" no matter the usage!

BTW, the same article, only in Chinese. http://cn.wsj.com/gb/20100729/bch094000.asp?source=whatnews

Hi Changye,

It is not next to our house but still relatively close. Our driver lives within a few 100 meters of the site and his parents and his kid luckily went early to the Suguo, otherwise would have been hurt or worse (the Suguo was badly damaged). The plant is located in the same district where we live. But all is well, just scary :-). Interestingly the government says only 10 people did, I heard a completely different number: around 70 - 80, which makes more sense if I see how many houses are destroyed.

Yes I brought my 2 cats to China, had them quarantined and kept up with the rabies shots. We gave them everything they needed already in Holland. So there should be no major issues to get them out of the country. Of course I do expect many useless visits to many different departments and offices :-)

Hi Zhen, thank you for your concern!

Glad you are okay! Thanks for letting us know.

Changye, that book was also advised by my Nanda teacher and indeed is a very good book! I bought it a few months ago on Amazon :-). But, if anything else comes to mind, I am all ears!