This dictionary selects some 1,500 basic and common Chinese words from the impossibly vast Chinese vocabulary for definition, description and illustration. The choice is based both on the Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education and on the practical demands and experiences the compilers have acquired in their past decades of teaching at home and abroad. The dictionary aims to enhance the accuracy of people in their efforts to learn Chinese as a second language and improve their fluency in the application of the included words through characterization and contextualization. To achieve these goals, enough attention is given to collocations of words as well as the fine differences between phonologically or orthographically similar words. The dictionary provides English translation, making it much easier for the intended users of this dictionary to understand precisely and effectively how native speakers of Chinese typically think and express themselves in real-life scenarios.
The thoughtful selection of every Chinese word, with their clear and concise definition and illustration, makes this dictionary an ideal tool in the study of Chinese as a second language.