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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unsurpassed Chinese-English Dictionary, 5 May 2000
By A Customer
This dictionary is the best Chinese-English dictionary I have come across. I've yet to see anything that even comes close to the level of excellence that it attains. This dictionary is essential for any intermediate and advanced student of Chinese. In it are contained some 120,000 entries arranged under some 7330 characters, selected from vast wealth of sources ranging from Chinese classics to newspapers and colloquial language, emphasising wide application and current usage. Whilst not an encyclopaedic dictionary, the entries often contain cultural information. Many proper nouns are included, e.g., names of famous people, famous events, geographical names, etc.The characters in the dictionary are arranged according to the classical Kangxi radical method, and the common vulgar and corrupt forms of the characters are listed in addition to their standard form. A table of characters whose radical is difficult to identify is provided to aid users. Indices with the characters arranged according to their pronunciation are also very helpful for finding characters whose pronunciation one knows, but whose exact form one cannot remember. The definitions of the characters and phrases are clear and concise, often containing encyclopaedic information, particularly those words pertaining to classical Chinese culture. Pronunciation for the individual characters is given in Pinyin, Zhuyin and Gwoyeu Romatzyh, whilst the pronunciation of the phrases are given only in Zhuyin. Physically, the dictionary is of a very manageable size, containing some 2000 very thin pages, which are of quality paper. The print, whilst not large, is clean and clearly legible. The book itself is well-bound and not too unwieldy for frequent use. All in all, then, the Far East Chinese-English Dictionary is a great asset on any Chinese learner's bookshelf. It has everything in its favour: its price, its size, its quality and its content. I simply cannot go past this dictionary, being both comprehensive and concise, and would heartily recommend it to almost anyone who has need of a comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary that is not too large.
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