Synonym Dictionary

[muyongshi]

Is there a 汉语同义词词典 or something similar? Or better yet an online one or downloadable for pleco (I know I'm dreaming)? I am tired of having homework that says write the word that is similar in meaning to... and then sitting there racking my brain and when the teacher says the answer it was something I used just 5 minutes earlier

真是踏破铁鞋无觅处...

[gato]

See these:

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9326504

学生同义词反义词辨析词典

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9019577

现代汉语同义词词典

http://search.dangdang.com/search.aspx?key=%CD%AC%D2%E5%B4%CA&selbook=0&selmusic=0&selmovie=0&key1=&key2=&key3=&key4=&key5=&catalog=

[youpii]

Yes, you can find many synonyms dictionaries in Chinese bookshops.

But I never saw any as a software.

[carlo]

A Chinese 同义词词典 is not the same thing as an English thesaurus though. The Chinese synonym dictionary will help you choose the most appropriate word among a small set of easily confused entries. A thesaurus on the other hand helps you brainstorm a large number of words and phrases having a similar meaning. Not sure which one you are looking for.

[muyongshi]

Oooh that is important to know. Good thing I haven't bought yet....

I was thinking thesaurus...any of those laying around??

[gato]

The Chinese synonym dictionary will help you choose the most appropriate word among a small set of easily confused entries. A thesaurus on the other hand helps you brainstorm a large number of words and phrases having a similar meaning

They are really the same thing since no two words are exactly like. Knowing the differences between words given a thesaurus entry is important, too. Though a basic thesaurus may not tell you the differences, you can't just take the words and use them interchangeably.

It's best to just browse through a few dictionaries at a bookstore and see which one fits your needs.

[muyongshi]

But there in lies my problem....

I don't use the words interchangeably because I was explained the differences but recently one of my teachers is continually asking what is this words synonym and because I already think of them in a specific 范围 all my "synonyms" do not please her because I can't think of a good way to describe it. To me it is what it is.... oh well.... I'll figure something out...

[gato]

Go look at one of the dictionaries I recommended in a bookstore. If it's good enough for Chinese students, it's probably good enough for you.

[muyongshi]

Thanks gato...I will do that

[carlo]

They are really the same thing since no two words are exactly like.

Maybe I'm not explaining myself clearly. A 同义词词典 may have a few thousand entries (the larger ones) that look like this:

希望 - 渴望 - 巴望 - 指望 - 仰望

and then a page or so explaining the difference in usage and meaning of each of these words (typically 3-7 per set). You won't find many common words here (eg. maybe you won't find 期待), but you will find a detailed discussion of which word should be used in what kind of situation.

A thesaurus-type of dictionary, like 同义词词林, 上海辞书出版社, has about 70,000 entries, and under 希望 it lists 100+ words somehow related to this meaning, including 成语 (望子成龙 etc.) and other compound phrases. It doesn't tell you what the differences between these words are: you are supposed to know them already. This works more like an English thesaurus, eg Roget's.

Both can be useful for different purposes. Ideally you would want something that has both a large number of entries and notes on differences in usage, but it would weigh a ton.

[muyongshi]

明白了

[youpii]

There is a (simple) synonym dictionary available for Lingoes, it's not the best but it's free

[shibo77]

This one is in Chinese: http://www.zdic.net/cd/

Result for 希望: http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/7/ZdicE5ZdicB8Zdic8C329062.htm

[muyongshi]

youpii thanks it looks nice too bad China is too biased to even think about a mac version though

shibo77- good resource it's now bookmarked... Thanks!

[muyongshi]

http://product.dangdang.com/product....uct_id=9019577

Quick update, the above is the one I wound up getting and it just arrived and it is pretty much what I was looking for. Highly recommend it. I chose it because it had the largest word and group count and had explanations, comparisons, examples and the such.

I am still considering getting this one as well for the 反义词 part.

[gato]

muyongshi, your link to dangdang isn't working. I guess you probably you just copied the one I listed above, but the forum software hides part of the URL, your copied link has "...." in the middle instead of the real address.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9019577

现代汉语同义词词典

I would also highly recommend these "语文基础知识" books targeted towards Chinese middle school students. I bought 《高中语文基础知识》. It has section on punctuation, grammar, sentence style, vocabulary, famous authors and books, etc, basically all the basics you need to be a good Chinese middle school student.

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9193670

锦囊妙解中学生语文系列：基础知识七年级同步

http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9319766

新阳光基础知识——高中语文基础知识

[muyongshi]

Thanks gato for those recommendations.... I will check them out...

I also fixed the link (I'm a dunce)