Far East Chinese-English Dictionary [Hardcover]

Liang Shih-Chiu (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: The Far East Book Co. (June 1992)
• ISBN-10: 9576122309
• ISBN-13: 978-9576122309
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 2.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsurpassed Chinese-English Dictionary, April 30, 2000

By 

"radagasty" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far East Chinese-English Dictionary (Hardcover)

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.

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.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great dictionary, October 12, 2000

By 

Sammy Swift "Sammy Swift" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Far East Chinese-English Dictionary (Hardcover)

This is the Chinese to English dictionary I have seen the most frequently used by ROC immigrants. Written in Traditional Chinese and primarily using Zhu4 Yin1 Fu3 Hao4 (bo po mo fo) (but having a GR romanization and hanyu pinyin index,) this dictionary is great for the user who wants to have a good reference. Has a total stroke count and radical index as well, creating 5 total indexes. Very comprehensive, including many literary phrases out of modern use. Far East book company also publishes an English-Chinese edition.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Chinese-English dictionaries around., July 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Far East Chinese-English Dictionary (Hardcover)

This is an excellent Chinese to English dictionaries containing over 7300 characters and 120,000 entries thereunder. The definitions are clear, concise and accurate; the print is sufficiently large, and, more importantly, clearly printed. The dictionary itself is not inordinately large, so as to be inconvenient to carry around. It is well bound, and the paper is of high quality; the book is surprisingly thin for one of some 2000 pages. The arrangement of the characters is by the traditional Kangxi radicals, by far the best method of arranging a dictionary; included is a table of characters whose radicals are difficult to identify, thereby making it easier to find these characters. In short, this is by far the best medium-sized Chinese-English dictionary available that I've seen.