Akademik

dictionaries

Numerous comprehensive and specialized dictionaries have been published since 1980. The major ones are:

• (1986–90) Hanyu Da Zidian [Comprehensive Chinese Dictionary], 8 vols, Hubei Cishu and Sichuan Province Xinhua Bookstore. Good for single characters, with oracle bone and later variants.

• (1987–94) Hanyu Da Cidian (HDC) [Comprehensive Chinese Dictionary], 12 vols + Appendixes—Indexes vol., Shanghai: HDC; several supplementary dictionaries and a CD-ROM (1998). Good for Classical Chinese, older vernacular; also useful for Modern Chinese.

• (1991) Chen Xinwang, Han-Ying Yulin [A Dictionary of Chinese with English Translation]. Shanghai Jiaotong University Press. 34,643 idioms, proverbs and allusions, very large of its kind and useful for translating well-known expressions in Classical Chinese, inefficient indexes.

• (1995) Han-Ying Cidian [A Chinese-English Dictionary], rev. edn Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research. Widely used since 1978, with about 18,000 single-character and over 80,000 word entries.

• (1996) Xiandai Hanyu Cidian [Modern Chinese Dictionary].

Beijing: Commercial; supplement (2002). Authoritative dictionary for Modern Chinese. See also Xiandai Hanyu Da Cidian [Comprehensive Modern Chinese Dictionary], Shanghai, 2001.

• (1999) Cihai [Sea of Words], 4 vols, one abridged vol. (2000), CD-ROM (2000), Shanghai Cishu. Combination of dictionary and encyclopedia.

• (2000) Wu Jingrong and Cheng Zhenqiu (eds) Xin Shidai Han-Ying Da Cidian [NewAge Chinese-English Dictionary). Beijing: Commercial. Nearly 120,000 entries, very large of its kind.

• (2000) Yingyong Hanyu Cidian [Applied Chinese Dictionary]. Beijing: Commercial, Practical, with parts of speech.

• (2000) Yuhai [Sea of the Language], 2 vols, Shanghai wenyi. Over 100,000 entries of adages, code words, idioms, proverbs, sayings and set expressions.