趟 for trips
tào 套 a set of
tiáo 条 for things with a long, narrow shape
tóu 头 for cattle or sheep
wèi 位 a polite measure word for people
xià 下 used with certain verbs to indicate the number of times the action is done
xiàng 项 item, component
yè 页 for pages (of a book)
yīngchǐ 英尺 foot (as a measurement of length)
yīngcùn 英寸 inch
yuán 元 the basic unit of Chinese currency (1 元 yuán = 10 角 jiǎo/毛 máo = 100 分 fēn), dollar
zhāng 张 for paper, beds, tables, desks
zhèn 阵 for an action or event that lasts for some time
zhī 支 for stick-like things
zhī 只 for animals, utensils, or objects
zhǒng 种 kind, sort
zuò 座 for large and solid objects, such as a large building
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
