Can someone verify Nciku's accuracy?

[Hero Doug]

I'm wondering if a higher level Chinese speaker can provide some insight on the accuracy of the Collins Chinese-Dictionary used at nciku

When looking up words they'll be listed as having a specific meanings, but when that word is looked up directly it seems to contradict the original meaning (that I looked up).

As an example, take the word broad. It lists many possible uses (in English) and their Chinese counterparts. One of these counter-parts is to have a borad-smile (明显的微笑) using the pattern adjective [+smile].

Google says Obvious smile, and nciku says obvious and distinct.

This makes me question how accurate their suggestions are.

On words like 广泛 both lookups say a broad range, this gives me much more confidence.

So now I'm thinking one of two things; 1) I don't have a deep enough understanding of day to day Chinese (very possible), or 2) the suggestions are not to be trusted and need to be checked.

Anyone have and input on this?

[chrix]

Check this out: http://www.jukuu.com/search.php?q=%22broad+smile

BTW, at some point you need to learn the Chinese words as Chinese words, and not just as equivalents of English words (I'm not implying you're doing this, just as a general piece of advice). Words in every language are subtly different in their semantic range, so that's why I prefer a real dictionary (like the 21st Century Chinese-English Dictionary) over word lists (like CEDICT)

In English you can say "a broad smile", but evidently not in Chinese. So as an English speaker you should first ask yourself what "a broad smile" actually means, and then you can look for the best way of expressing that in Chinese.

[Hero Doug]

Nice site, I haven't seen that one before.

And I'm avoiding English as much as possible while learning Chinese, I know better. I'm just rounding out my knowledge of adjectives (one of the keys of language, along with verbs and adverbs).

The reason I used English is because I can read the context and make sure I get the correct word (in Chinese).

Edited December 17, 2009 at 11:25 AM by Hero Doug

[kdavid]

I've probably used/looked at over a dozen Chinese-English dictionaries, and Nciku is by far the most comprehensive and accurate. They provide loads of examples and, perhaps most crucially, common collocations.

at some point you need to learn the Chinese words as Chinese words, and not just as equivalents of English words

This is some of the best advice you'll ever get. Nciku is great because it gives you the translation of what the Chinese would actually say.

[luhmann_br]

Nciku seems to have over 800,000 entries, which is very impressive.

[Hero Doug]

Yeah it is impressive, which is one of the reasons I'm using it to find words.

I asked a couple people and I think the problem comes down to perspective. In English when someone says broad smile their looking at the smile being quite wide, much wider than usual, hence it's broad.

It seems that the Chinese aren't looking at a broad smile as being wide, but as a smile that can't be hidden, making it an obvious smile.

[knadolny]

I've probably used/looked at over a dozen Chinese-English dictionaries, and Nciku is by far the most comprehensive and accurate. They provide loads of examples and, perhaps most crucially, common collocations.

I am a big fan of NCIKU. They might not always be perfect, but are good at giving you a lot of choices to look at to decide what meaning you are looking for. I usually go from the Chinese to English and I've been impressed at how many obscure words they have.

Currently, I'm reading the Chinese Building Code and use NCIKU to look up technical terms. Again it's not perfect, but the best resource I've found yet.

(Note: I read the Building Code for work. I wouldn't recommend it for leisure reading =P)

[Prodigal Son]

I agree, NCIKU is one of the best resources available. I'm looking forward to their iphone app.

[null]

Nciku seems to have over 800,000 entries, which is very impressive.

Content stats as of: May 21 2009

Total entries: 3,005,700

Chinese entries and collocations: 1,398,962

English entries and idioms: 1,606,738

Examples: 233,639

Conversations: 2,658