HSK 3 · Education, Work

词典 cídiǎn “dictionary” in Chinese

Traditional 詞典

What 词典 means

  1. dictionary

Measure word 本 běn or 部 bù · 一本词典 yì běn cídiǎn

How to say 词典

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale词cí2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale典diǎn3rd tone, dipping

词典 in a sentence

  1. 请在词典里查这个词。

    Qǐng zài cídiǎn lǐ chá zhè ge cí.

    Please look up this word in a dictionary.

    Sentence #9953328 from Tatoeba

  2. 我想买这本词典。

    Wǒ xiǎng mǎi zhè běn cídiǎn.

    I want to buy this dictionary.

    Sentence #1372906 from Tatoeba

  3. 书桌上的词典是我的。

    Shūzhuō shàng de cídiǎn shì wǒ de.

    The dictionary on the desk is mine.

    Sentence #408844 from Tatoeba

How 词典 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 词 (cí) with each of its parts in a different colour
词cíword
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 司to take charge of · sīSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 司 (sī) hints at the sound. Compare it with cí.

The character 典 (diǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
典diǎncanon
  • 曲crooked · qū
  • 八eight · bā

Memory aidThe top was once 册, a bundle of bamboo books, resting on a stand: important books, as in 词典 (cídiǎn) “dictionary”.

How to write 词典

词 7 strokes · 典 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

词典 (cídiǎn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 词典 (cídiǎn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 词典

Words with 词

词cí · word词语cíyǔ · words and expressions词汇cíhuì · vocabulary

Words with 典

字典zìdiǎn · dictionary (of characters)经典jīngdiǎn · classic古典gǔdiǎn · classical典型diǎnxíng · typical典礼diǎnlǐ · ceremony

More words: School, Work & Culture

班bān · team办法bànfǎ · method笔记本bǐjìběn · notebook成绩chéngjì · achievement故事gùshi · story黑板hēibǎn · blackboard会议huìyì · meeting节目jiémù · programme

FAQs

词典 (cídiǎn) means “dictionary”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it cídiǎn: cí with a 2nd tone, then diǎn with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 词典 is written 詞典. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 本 (běn) or 部 (bù). For example, one dictionary is 一本词典 (yì běn cídiǎn).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type cidian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 词典 from the suggestions. Typing cidian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
词典 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.