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Using a Dictionary

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 0220 Intermediate
With 80,000 total characters (and the majority of words needing at least 2), you might enlist some help along the way. Yes, ChinesePod will be with you (always), but for those times that we’re enjoying the Shanghai life and can’t be reached, a dictionary might come in handy. So handy, in fact, that we made a lesson on it. In this podcast, you will learn about the different parts of the Chinese character, and how to talk about them in Mandarin Chinese.
Jenny, John
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Detailed Vocabulary
Each lesson has it's unique vocabulary and will provide you with definitions and recordings so you can practice the pronunciation. You will also be able to grasp the core material of a lesson at a glance. Here we're showing you the Simplified Chinese version.
SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
查 chá to look up
字典 zìdiǎn dictionary
根据 gēnjù according to
部首 bùshǒu character radical
我现在正在学习查中文字典可是我觉得好难
wǒ 我xiànzài 现在zhèngzài 正在xuéxí 学习chá 查zhōngwén 中文zìdiǎn 字典kěshì 可是wǒ 我juéde 觉得hǎo 好nán 难
I am learning how to look up Chinese characters in a dictionary, but it's really tough.
担心根据字的部首来查字典一定要先弄清楚字的结构和部首
dānxīn 担心gēnjù 根据zì 字de 的bùshǒu 部首lái 来chá 查zìdiǎn 字典yīdìng 一定yào 要xiān 先nòng qīngchu 弄清楚zì 字de 的jiégòu 结构hé 和bùshǒu 部首
Don't worry. You look up a character according to its radical, but first you have to be clear about the character's structure and radical.
我就是这样做的呀我首先分析这个字是左右结构还是上下结构然后再查找它的部首可还是经常找不到
wǒ 我jiùshì 就是zhèyàng 这样zuò 做de 的yā 呀wǒ 我shǒuxiān 首先fēnxī 分析zhège 这个zì 字shì 是zuǒyòu 左右jiégòu 结构háishi 还是shàngxià 上下jiégòu 结构ránhòu 然后zài 再cházhǎo 查找tā de 它的bùshǒu 部首kě 可hái shì 还是jīngcháng 经常zhǎobudào 找不到
That's exactly the way I do it. I start by analyzing whether a character is structured left/right or top/bottom, then look for its radical. Still, I often can't find the character.
是吗你一定要先确定正确的部首数清部首的笔画数如果笔画数错了就找不到了
shì 是ma 吗nǐ 你yīdìng 一定yào 要xiān 先quèdìng 确定zhèngquè 正确de 的bùshǒu 部首shǔ 数qīng 清bùshǒu 部首de 的bǐhuà 笔画shù 数rúguǒ 如果bǐhuà 笔画shǔ cuò 数错le 了jiù 就zhǎobudào le 找不到了
Really? You have to determine the correct radical, and count the number of strokes in the radical. If the number of the strokes is wrong, you won’t be able to find it.
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