LI Dong 李冬
TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Tokyo • Rutland,Vermont • Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A. and at 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167.
© 2010 by Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009936627
ISBN 978-0-8048-3992-1; ISBN 978-1-4629-1758-7 (ebook)
North America, Latin America and Europe
Tuttle Publishing
364 Innovation Drive,
North Clarendon,
VT 05759-9436 USA.
Tel: 1(802) 773-8930
Fax: 1(802) 773-6993
[email protected] www.tuttlepublishing.com
Asia Pacific
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12,
Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 6280-1330
Fax: (65) 6280-6290
[email protected] www.periplus.com
13 12 11 10
6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in Singapore
TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Explanatory Notes
Introducing Chinese
1 Pronunciation
1.1 Vowels
1.2 Consonants
1.3 Basic tones
1.4 Syllables: Distinct units
1.5 Pinyin: the romanization scheme to show pronunciation
2 Writing Chinese: 汉字 Hànzì
2.1 Chinese characters as syllables
2.2 The composition of Chinese characters: Meaningful components
2.3 The writing of Chinese characters
3 Vocabulary: Word-formation
4 Grammar: Main features of Chinese grammar
List 1: Meaningful Character Components
List 2: Measure Words
English-Chinese Dictionary
Appendices
1 Irregular English Verbs
2 Common English Names with Chinese Transcriptions
100 Common Surnames
100 Common Male Given Names
100 Common Female Given Names
3 U.S. Place Names with Chinese Transcriptions
4 World Place Names with Chinese Transcriptions
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank my family for all their assistance: my son, David, for his deft typing skills and my wife, Tian, for her meticulous proofreading.
I also want to extend my great appreciation to Ms Nancy Goh whose editorial skills and expertise in both linguistic and publishing matters has markedly improved the quality of my manuscripts.
On a personal note, the completion of this dictionary coincides with my retirement after 45 years of teaching, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to all my students, without whose enthusiasm