辞典

• Pinyin: cí diǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 辞 (words, expressions) + 典 (canon, standard text)

Meaning

Dictionary.

A reference book listing words with definitions, pronunciations, and usage. Synonymous with 词典. Can refer to monolingual or bilingual dictionaries. Types include 汉语辞典 (Chinese dictionary) and 成语辞典 (idiom dictionary).

Examples

1. 学中文的时候，一本好辞典非常重要。 When learning Chinese, a good dictionary is very important.
2. 这本辞典收录了两万多个词条。 This dictionary contains over 20,000 entries.
3. 我查了辞典，还是不太理解这个词的用法。 I looked it up in the dictionary but still don't quite understand how to use this word.

Usage Guide

Context: learning, reference, language study

Tone: academic

Do Say

• 你查过辞典了吗？(Have you checked the dictionary?)
• 这本辞典很权威。(This dictionary is very authoritative.)

Don't Say

• '辞典'和'词典'基本可以互换，但'词典'现在更常用——不必纠结用哪个 (辞典 and 词典 are interchangeable, but 词典 is more common now — don't worry about which to use)

Origin & History

Compound of 辞 (words, expressions) + 典 (canon, standard text), meaning a standard reference for words.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal