Hi;
(if somebody already wrote a post about this, sorry - i used the search function but did not find anything useful)
Im learning Chinese - i would rank myself as being about B2-level (probably conservative guess, as i can speak fluently; i just severely lack vocabulary).
My problem: I often read books in order to expand my vocabulary. Of course, i encouter a hughe load of new words. Therefore, i have been searching for years in order to get good dictionaries. But: The dictionaries on the market all seem to be totally unusuable.
Dont get me wrong - Pleco is probably the best.
But even Pleco seems to be totally unusuable for me.
When i look up a word, in about 50% of the cases:
1. The dictionaries i consult all disagree whether it is a noun, verb, adjective... often i look in 3 dictionaries; one only lists it as a noun, one only as an adjective, one only as verb. Now, PLEASE dont tell me thats because "in Chinese, words can often be used as verb eben though also adjective" etc. - that is NOT true. If you can use that word in both respects, it simply means that technically it would be an adjective AND a Verb (e.g.: 红 means "red", but you can also say "他的脸红了"). I KNOW about that since im no total beginner in Chinese. But very often, a word will in Chinese only have one way it can be used - the dictionaries will still all disagree.
The dictionaries are always CLEARLY WRONG about it being also a verb etc. - i can find that out quickly when i ask a native speaker.
Very often, a dictionary will also say something like "to do (NOUN)" - what the fuck?!! Is it a noun or a verb now?!!
I think, the person who put together the dictionaries had NO concept what a verb EVEN IS.
2. The dictionaries almost always just throw a random word in the other language as translation at you. Which does NOT help, because there will always be about 10 very different ways in english how you can use that word, and normally only 1-2 work in Chinese also. Why not TELL people that? When you see "生活情调与豪华品位" in a tourist guide, and you wonder what the precise meaning of 情调 and 品位 would be here, you would get "sentimentality" and "grade (mining, ore grade)". So, if you would do a simple translation, it would come out as "life sentimentality and luxurious grade". Tell that to an english native speaker and ask him what that means... just rubbish (I understand what it means here, it was just an example).
---> Conclusion: I have the feeling that ALL the dictionaries out there have been put together by somebody who simply did not care at ALL about grammar, precise meaning etc.
So, either
- you already KNOW the meaning - than you can understand what mistake the person who created the dictionary made. But wtf, then you dont need the dictionary?
- you do NOT already know the meaning. Well, then youre just fucked.
You will get a result like "it could be only a noun, only a verb, only an adjective, or a mixture of all that. Since 2/5 dictionaries listed is as only a noun, there is a 60% chance that is is a noun. Oh, and the meaning has something to do with feelings".
Hooray!!!!
You just found a way of wasting shitloads of time and doint NOTHING for your Chinese.
Sorry i write so aggressively. I just cannot believe over 1 billion people speak this language, but the dictionaries all suck...
Any tips for me?
(if somebody already wrote a post about this, sorry - i used the search function but did not find anything useful)
Im learning Chinese - i would rank myself as being about B2-level (probably conservative guess, as i can speak fluently; i just severely lack vocabulary).
My problem: I often read books in order to expand my vocabulary. Of course, i encouter a hughe load of new words. Therefore, i have been searching for years in order to get good dictionaries. But: The dictionaries on the market all seem to be totally unusuable.
Dont get me wrong - Pleco is probably the best.
But even Pleco seems to be totally unusuable for me.
When i look up a word, in about 50% of the cases:
1. The dictionaries i consult all disagree whether it is a noun, verb, adjective... often i look in 3 dictionaries; one only lists it as a noun, one only as an adjective, one only as verb. Now, PLEASE dont tell me thats because "in Chinese, words can often be used as verb eben though also adjective" etc. - that is NOT true. If you can use that word in both respects, it simply means that technically it would be an adjective AND a Verb (e.g.: 红 means "red", but you can also say "他的脸红了"). I KNOW about that since im no total beginner in Chinese. But very often, a word will in Chinese only have one way it can be used - the dictionaries will still all disagree.
The dictionaries are always CLEARLY WRONG about it being also a verb etc. - i can find that out quickly when i ask a native speaker.
Very often, a dictionary will also say something like "to do (NOUN)" - what the fuck?!! Is it a noun or a verb now?!!
I think, the person who put together the dictionaries had NO concept what a verb EVEN IS.
2. The dictionaries almost always just throw a random word in the other language as translation at you. Which does NOT help, because there will always be about 10 very different ways in english how you can use that word, and normally only 1-2 work in Chinese also. Why not TELL people that? When you see "生活情调与豪华品位" in a tourist guide, and you wonder what the precise meaning of 情调 and 品位 would be here, you would get "sentimentality" and "grade (mining, ore grade)". So, if you would do a simple translation, it would come out as "life sentimentality and luxurious grade". Tell that to an english native speaker and ask him what that means... just rubbish (I understand what it means here, it was just an example).
---> Conclusion: I have the feeling that ALL the dictionaries out there have been put together by somebody who simply did not care at ALL about grammar, precise meaning etc.
So, either
- you already KNOW the meaning - than you can understand what mistake the person who created the dictionary made. But wtf, then you dont need the dictionary?
- you do NOT already know the meaning. Well, then youre just fucked.
You will get a result like "it could be only a noun, only a verb, only an adjective, or a mixture of all that. Since 2/5 dictionaries listed is as only a noun, there is a 60% chance that is is a noun. Oh, and the meaning has something to do with feelings".
Hooray!!!!
You just found a way of wasting shitloads of time and doint NOTHING for your Chinese.
Sorry i write so aggressively. I just cannot believe over 1 billion people speak this language, but the dictionaries all suck...
Any tips for me?