Internet Vocabulary

[yifu2009]

Hi, I was wondering if someone knows where to find internet vocabulary ( like for instance to understand the menus on chinese homepages ) or if there is already some Thread about it.

Oh yes, another question : What is the best offline dictionnary that I can download from the internet for free ?

Many thanks in advance !!

[SeekerOfPeace]

Hello Yifu,

I know you mentioned a free dictionary but I would still like to suggest:

H&H Software LLC

It's not free, but I believe it's really worth it. It's the best I could find on the Internet.

It only provides English->Chinese however. Also, notice that it doesn't which Chinese means which exact English term.

Here's some screen shots I took to give you an idea:

EDIT:

Check out this thread:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/8195-best-of-chinese-study-tools-studying-chinese-online-and-off

You have a list of off line Chinese dictionaries there.

[gougou]

I think that dictionary would hardly be useful to anybody except native Chinese speakers. If you're looking for the translation of abandon, how would you know which one to choose? If it had a Chinese > English section, at least you could look up the meaning of the Chinese words.

I am using 金山, which is not free, but freely available...

[SeekerOfPeace]

Yes, I know. It's an irritating flaw.

I'll definitely look into the one you suggest and will give feedback soon.

EDIT: I've finally gotten hold of the dictionary you talked about.

It's pretty good as it goes both from Chinese->English and English->Chinese but is there a way to see the Pinyin pronunciation of the 汉字? Otherwise it's pretty hard for beginner to know to pronounce the 汉字。

I know you can right click on a character to hear the pronunciation but I can't find a way to see the pinyin.

Here's another screen shot:

[yifu2009]

Thanks for the replies,

I think this dictionnary is to complicated for me ( I'm only beginner ), however I already got another. But do you guys also know where I can find the vocabulary that is written in every website ? like 首页 or different menus or connections ?

Thanks !!

[gougou]

is there a way to see the Pinyin pronunciation of the 汉字?

The version I have comes with several dictionaries. The most basic one is the "C-E Concise Dictionary", same as in the screenshot you posted, I think. But there is a more advanced one, fittingly called "Advanced Chinese Dictionary", which gives much more info on characters and words, including pinyin.

I can choose which dictionaries to use under Configuration -> Dictionaries -> Lookup-Dictionaries.

Here, as a sample, is the entry for 放任:

放任

fàngrèn

[let alone]∶不加约束,听其自然

放任自流

[not interfere]∶不干涉

放任政策

[SeekerOfPeace]

Could you post a screenshot so I know where to activate this dictionary? This is exactly what I'm looking for.

My version is completely in Chinese and I can't seem to find "Configuration" anywhere.

I've checked the meaning of "configuration" and got this:

结构

But I can't find it anywhere...

Thanks for your help.

[gougou]

I have a different version than you, so I'm not sure a screenshot would help (read: I don't have a screenshooting program at hand and am too lazy to download one).

But I can access the main menu through a drop-down button in the top right corner (EDIT: just saw on your screenshot that your button is there as well; it's the rightmost one) The second entry is "设置" (Configuration). In the new window, I have four tabs on the left: 界面设置, 取词设置, 词典设置 and 系统设置, respectively. The first line in 系统设置 is 常规, where you can change the display language. The second line under 词典设置 is 查词词典，where you can select different dictionaries.

If that sounds very complicated, just try to find the drop down button and the Configurations panel, then click around until you find a field that says Chinese (PRC) and switch that to English (United States). After that, everything should come easy!

[SeekerOfPeace]

I know exactly what you're talking about.

You're meaning this right:

For some reason, my 设置 is grayed out and I can't click it!

[gougou]

Hmm, that's strange. Do you have something like a lite version? Mine is called 金山词霸2005。

[SeekerOfPeace]

Mine is 2007. (金山词霸2007)

A window pops up when I start the program, giving me three choices.

I don't actually understand what it means. Maybe it has something to do with the whole thing.

Here it is:

[gougou]

It is asking you to activate the program. You will need a registration code for that. The third option is a free version, which will give you limited access (which apparently means, no setting settings)

[SeekerOfPeace]

Ok, that's why, I'm using an unactivated version.

Oh well, guess I'll stick with that. It's much better than nothing.

Thanks for your help Gougou, really appreciate it.

EDIT: Ok, I've dumped 2007 and got your version instead (2005)

I've managed to select the configuration panel.

Here it is:

Yipee! I've successfully changed the language!

[SeekerOfPeace]

When I look up for the dictionary you've mentioned before, I can't find it in my configuration.

Am I looking at the wrong place?

As you can see, the Advanced Chinese Dictionary is selected.

And yet, when I look up a word I get his result:

What am I doing wrong?

[gougou]

First of all, you might want to consider deselecting some of the dictionaries. At least on my (crappy) computer, it makes a significant difference, speedwise.

You're in the right place already. So what happens when you type in a word in the search box in the program window, is that the program only checks the most basic dictionary (whose translations are not always very useful, try looking up 水). What you need to do is hit ENTER after typing in your query, then it will check all dictionaries.

If results without pinyin are useless to you, you might also want to consider disabling the E-C Concise dictionary.

[gougou]

Oh yeah, and a little plug for the OP: we're still looking for internet-related vocabulary lists, guys!

[SeekerOfPeace]

Ok, I've done what you suggested.

I can't get the pinyin to show up however. I think I'm missing dictionaries.

I need to find a dictionary to put in the "dic" folder and load it up.

I realize I've kind of hijacked your thread, Yufi.

I do want to help you though.

I'm assuming you are looking for Chines words related to the Internet like:

下载 (download)

比赛(game)

and so on?

I think everything related to the Internet can be found in a good dictionary (like the one Gougou mentioned).

I know that's how I learned all of my Internet vocab.

[gougou]

I realize I haven't been clear. When you look up from English to Chinese, it will not give you the pinyin. But you can then look up the Chinese word (which you should be doing anyway when looking up words from your native language), which will confirm the meaning (or, in some cases, make you aware that the word is not suitable for your purpose) and supply the pinyin.

[yifu2009]

OK, thanks for the many replies !! I heard wenlin is a good dictionnary, what do you think ?

[SeekerOfPeace]

I'll look into it and give you some feedback. I hope it's worth it for 130 bucks!