Compulsive lookup disorder

[yersi]

Does anyone else have this? Whenever I come across a word or a phrase I don't know, I have to look it up. Once I went two days without a dictionary and I almost had a heart attack whenever I saw a character I didn't recognize.

I'm going through forum posts now and I came across a 成语 rally from 2004. Someone posted a 成语 bomb in there with probably around 1000+. Now I feel oddly compelled to look up and memorize each and every one... argh!!!

[monto]

学中文，戒急噪；

劳有所获，乃永恒箴言。

Never haste in learning Chinese,

Gains through pains is forever the truth.

[Scoobyqueen]

I am glad you posted. I am the same. I cant go through a text without having looked up anything I dont understand. whats more I have to back the next day to make sure I can still remember.. I have resorted to noting down how many times I have to look a word up and some have quite a few "dots". Thay say the best way is to ignore what you dont know and try to work it out from context and I apply this before sneaking a dict preview.

[yersi]

Scoobyqueen I am glad you posted. I am the same. I cant go through a text without having looked up anything I dont understand. whats more I have to back the next day to make sure I can still remember.. I have resorted to noting down how many times I have to look a word up and some have quite a few "dots". Thay say the best way is to ignore what you dont know and try to work it out from context and I apply this before sneaking a dict preview.

Try making a little test for yourself out of the words you look up, writing down the English definition of the word but not the Chinese. After you have about 40-50 do the test and start over again. It's worked pretty well for me, with a retention rate of 70-80%. If I don't do this the words stay in my brain for about one week or two and then I forget them.