cí diǎn
dictionary
我需要一本汉语词典。
wǒ xūyào yī běn hànyǔ cídiǎn.
I need a Chinese dictionary.
这本书是本词典。
zhè běn shū shì běn cídiǎn.
This book is a dictionary.
请把词典给我。
qǐng bǎ cídiǎn gěi wǒ.
Please give me the dictionary.
字典 (zìdiǎn)
dictionary
词典 (cídiǎn)
lexicon
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The Chinese word 词典 (cídiǎn) is a compound of two characters: 词 (cí), meaning "word", and 典 (diǎn), meaning "dictionary". The word 词典 literally means "word dictionary", and it refers to a book that contains a list of words and their meanings.The character 词 (cí) is a pictograph that depicts a person speaking. The character 典 (diǎn) is a pictograph that depicts a book. The combination of these two characters creates a word that means "dictionary".The word 词典 was first used in the 17th century. It was originally used to refer to a dictionary of Chinese characters. However, over time, the meaning of the word has expanded to include dictionaries of other languages as well.Today, 词典 is the most common word for "dictionary" in Chinese. It is used in both formal and informal settings.
