Differences between 冊, 書 and 籍

[Mark Yong]

Another post to entertain my *obsession* for differences in meanings between characters... Can anyone tell me what the differences are (no matter how subtle) between 冊, 書 and 籍?

I am aware that in modern Chinese, they all mean "book". However, were there any distinctions between them, say, for Classical Chinese? For instance, 書 connotes the meaning closer to a "letter" or "document" (e.g. 證書), and 冊 suggests the idea of a physical book as we know it, i.e. with a cover and binding (e.g. 手冊). What about 籍?

(I think this is probably an easier question to answer than my previous thread regarding the differences between 選, 擇 and 揀. )

[muyongshi]

And you may want to double check the modern definition again... They are different.

籍 is also record

册 means a volume (a bit different than a book)

In terms of ancient usage you may wish to notice the fact that 籍 has a 竹子头 and that may help you think of the what it refers too...

[Lu]

書 book, plain and simple. Also sometimes document

冊 volume. I've seen this used most for the 'paperback' sewn volumes of a traditional Chinese book, that get stacked together in a box. But that might be because I worked in a library

籍 paperwork, records, documentation

I hope this helps!